Dating the Boss (Blue Harbor #2) - Jaclyn Osborn Page 0,12
Reed walked at my side as we left my office. A sweet, yet spicy, fragrance drifted from him as he looped a heavy scarf around his slender neck. “The car will be here at five forty-five.”
“Great.”
“Will you need me to come with you?” he asked.
“That won’t be necessary,” I said, perhaps a bit too quickly.
“Oh.” The light in his hazel eyes dimmed a little. “Okay.”
I hated seeing his disappointment, but I was already struggling with my attraction to him. Being stuck in a car with him for four hours would be torture. And the other four hours back to Blue Harbor after the meeting would most definitely kill me.
“Looks like it’s gonna snow,” Reed said once we were outside.
I looked up at the overcast sky and pulled my coat tighter around me as cold air pierced right through my clothes. “The forecast said there was a chance of snow tonight and into tomorrow, but it would just be a few flurries.”
“Can you imagine if there was a blizzard?” Reed unlocked his car.
“We haven’t had a blizzard in years. At most, we’ll get an inch. If that.”
“Can’t do much with an inch.”
“Huh?” I asked, looking at him over my shoulder as I opened my car door.
“Oh. Nothing.” Reed slid into his car. “See you in the morning, Mr. Sawyer.”
The light snow we were supposed to have hit a lot harder than predicted. I woke to a blanket of white on the grass and icy roads. I said more than a few colorful words as I showered and hastily got dressed.
If my meeting was canceled because of fucking snow, I’d… No. It wouldn’t be canceled. I was getting to that meeting if it killed me, one way or another.
“Bad news, boss,” Reed said over the phone as I drove to work, the sun not even having risen yet. “The driver can’t make it. I just got a call from him.”
The universe was testing me. I was in the midst of a project that could not only make me look good to Mr. Crawford, but also push my career even further. A huge bonus was on the line, as well as a raise, if we sealed this deal. To make matters even more time sensitive, another advertising agency was trying to steal this client right from under us. We couldn’t afford to have the meeting canceled and moved to a later date.
“The roads are fine,” I said with more heat to my voice than intended. “I’m driving on them now.”
“Yeah, me too,” Reed answered. “I’ll meet you at the office. We’ll figure this out. Don’t worry.”
Funny how he was the one reassuring me. I was supposed to be the levelheaded boss with all the answers, yet it was Reed’s positivity and determination that let me take a deep breath and stay calm.
Right after I ended the call with him, my phone rang again. My gut clenched at seeing the caller ID.
“Mr. Crawford,” I answered before it could ring a second time.
“Roads are lookin’ good, Sawyer,” he said in his gruff voice. “Are you still planning on traveling to Greenville?”
“I am, sir.”
“Good. Don’t mess up this deal. We have a lot riding on this.”
“Understood, sir.”
A moment after I pulled into the lot, Reed drove up and parked beside me.
“Ready to go?” he asked, rolling down his window. When I only stared at him, he gave me that look: slightly annoyed and impatient, wide eyes mixed with a duh expression. “I’m driving you.”
“I can drive myself.”
“You can, but you’re not going to,” Reed countered, then smiled and added a bit sheepishly, “Sir.” He patted the steering wheel. “Now, come on.”
I opened the back door to put my briefcase and laptop carrier in the back seat before getting into the passenger seat and buckling my seat belt. Reed’s car was clean, spacious, and smelled just like him, sweet with a subtle spice. It was quickly becoming my favorite scent.
Goddamn him.
“Think we have enough time to get a coffee and some food?” Reed asked as we left the parking lot. “I didn’t get a chance to eat before leaving the house.”
“Of course.”
His fingers lightly tapped the steering wheel as he drove, drawing my eye to the silver ring he wore on his forefinger. It was a flat band with some kind of design twisting around it. I didn’t even notice I was leaning closer to see it better until he turned his head to me, a smile forming on his lips.