Carved in Stone (The Stone Series) (4 page)

             
Our events department has it’s own small conference room on the tenth floor but I was guessing with the importance of this event and the CEO of the Norwood Hotel group in attendance, the executive boardroom was more appropriate for this particular meeting.

             
All week I have dreaded running into Aidan. Anxiety engulfed me every time I walked through the lobby, drove into the parking garage or stepped on the elevator. And all week, I’ve made a point to get to work half an hour early and leave later than normal to avoid seeing him but I wasn’t holding out much hope that this tactic would work for long. Aidan was a workaholic and seeing as this was his company not to mention the whole freaking building was his, I had the sinking feeling my luck was going to end sooner rather than later. 

             
The elevator bell chimed, signally the arrival of our car. As the doors opened I subconsciously let out a relieved sigh.

             
“Gabby, everything okay?” Jeremiah’s asked, giving me a puzzling glance.

             
“Yeah, everything is good. Just a little nervous.”

             
“Ah, yeah you and me both Sunshine. Well let’s go ride this pony shall we.”

             
“Ride this pony? Really Jeremiah, I think
your
use of metaphors totally sucks big time babe.”

             
The twentieth floor of Stone Tower is almost as impressive as Aidan’s level with it’s sleek contemporary design and modern decorative artwork. But rather than the cool charcoal marble flooring like on the twenty-first level the floors here are a warm polished walnut timber. The walls are an inviting cream and the signature frosted glass doors are prevalent throughout this floor as well.

             
As we approach the double frosted glass doors to the executive boardroom a sense of panic engulfs me. What if Aidan is attending?

No
… surely not.

Please not
be!

             
Whirling on Jeremiah I gasp, “Besides you, me and Mr. Norwood is anyone else going to be at this meeting?”

             
“Yes,” replies Jeremiah cautiously, “Mr. Norwood’s personal assistant Ian Fleming. Ian is going to be our liaison with the Norwood Hotel group. Why?”

             
“Ah okay,” I exhale in a rush of relief. “Just want to be prepared.”

             
“Hmm,” Jeremiah studies me skeptically. “You know Gabby, you’re not going to be able to avoid him completely. This
is
his company and with this opening gala being a huge high profile event I expect Aidan is going to have some involvement even if it’s only attending a briefing or two. Not to mention he’ll most likely be coming to the event as well.”

             
Busted - Jeremiah can so totally read me. Why do I have to be such an open book?

             
Wincing, I nod at Jeremiah. “Yeah I know. Okay lets do this.”

             
The executive boardroom is spacious with floor to ceiling windows that take up one whole wall of the room. I layout copies for Mr. Norwood and his PA Ian of the initial ideas and designs Jeremiah has drafted for the gala on the polished walnut conference table and double check the water pitcher is full. Molly has already sent up a selection of pastries, a small fruit platter and coffee. She is waiting at the bank of elevators to show Mr. Norwood and Ian in when they arrive.

             
Jeremiah has resumed his pacing while fiddling with his cufflinks. He really is worked up over this meeting.

             
“Jeremiah,” I chide softly. “Stop with the pacing already. You’re going to nail this so calm down.”

Smiling encouragingly at Jeremiah, I hear
Molly behind me as she enters the room announcing their arrival.

“Gabby?”

Instantly, recognition hits me - I know that voice. Stunned, I turn around coming face to face with our arrived guest.

“Caleb?”

Chapter Three

“Well my morning just got a whole lot br
ighter,” drawls Caleb, in that smoldering southern accent of his.

             
“Err…you two know each other?” Jeremiah asks, confusion threading through his tone.

             
“Yes, we certainly do,” smiles Caleb, sauntering towards me with a cheeky flirtatious grin on his all too handsome face.

             
Qualifying, I answer, “Yes, Caleb…umm, I mean Mr. Norwood and I have met before, briefly.”

Shit!

             
Why didn’t I put it together before now? Caleb Norwood is
the
Mr. Norwood of the Norwood Hotel group. I really have to get my head outa my ass! I’ve been so preoccupied in my own personal pity party this past week I didn’t even make the connection at yesterdays meeting. And let me just add, Caleb Norwood is not the kind of man you could easily forget.

             
An imposing figure at six foot two, inky black hair that’s short at the sides, a little unruly on top and gorgeous illuminating blue eyes that when fixated on you, you feel as if those baby blues are undressing your entire body. A girl would have to be deaf, dumb and blind not to find this man extremely attractive despite his outrageously arrogant and cocky manner. Reluctantly I had to admit, there was something so endearing, engaging about Caleb Norwood. He was literally charm personified.

             
Jeremiah’s head looks as if he’s at a tennis match; his gaze is bouncing back and forth between Caleb and me. Molly, in the mean time, has ushered Ian, Caleb’s PA, I presume, into a seat and is offering him a cup of coffee.

             
Caleb steps in close towards me reaching out grasping my shoulders firmly with both of his warm large hands.

             
“No formalities Gabby, please. It’s Caleb,” he grins, lowering his head and brushing his lips softly across my right cheek.

             
Frozen speechless, I just stare at Caleb like a startled deer caught in the headlights, noting absently that the room has become deathly quiet.

I kid you not, if someone dropped a pin, you would hear it
.

Awkward.

              “Norwood, would you mind
not
manhandling my staff,” grates out an achingly too familiar voice from within the doorway entrance of the conference room.

             
Closing my eyes, I soak up the sound of that heartbreakingly beautiful deep voice as it washes painfully through my heart.

Fucking hell
!

Why?

Can someone please tell me why I’m having the worst fucking luck lately?

             
Looking around Caleb, I see Aidan standing just inside the boardroom with his hands fisted by his sides, his strong angled jaw set rigidly, his piercing green emerald eyes glittering hard and cold like icicles and they are narrowed on Caleb.

             
“I wouldn’t call giving this exquisitely beautiful woman a kiss, manhandling Stone,” scoffs Caleb, releasing my arms on a mischievous wink of his eye.

             
Slowly he turns towards Aidan, widening his grin and in challenging taunt he adds, “Why I consider Gabby a dear friend.”

             
“You’ve met her
once
Norwood,” says Aidan wryly, taking an intimidating step further into the room and closer towards us.

             
“I’d hardly say that’s the definition of a dear friend,” he adds, spearing me with a scowl.

             
The tension within the room notches to a stifling level as I shift uncomfortably on my heels trying to desperately to avoid Aidan’s icy glare that’s now directed at me.

Shit, shit and
shit!

             
“Mr. Stone, Good Morning Sir. I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you’d be attending the meeting this morning,” Jeremiah says, recovering from his previous muteness.               Aidan’s subzero glare shifts, piercing Jeremiah and I’m amazed that Jeremiah isn’t turned into a Popsicle instantly.

             
“I know you weren’t expecting me,” curtly replies Aidan.

             
“Well… um… it is good to have you here Sir,” rallies Jeremiah gallantly.

             
“And Mr. Norwood, I’m Jeremiah Quinn, Director of the Events Department here at the Stone Corporation. It’s a pleasure to meet you Sir,” says Jeremiah, thrusting his hand out to shake Caleb’s.

             
“Shall we take our seats?” Invites Jeremiah, on a cordial wave of his hand towards the table.

             
“Gabriella,” snaps Aidan gruffly, pulling out the chair next to his.

It’s obvious he wants me to sit next to him but does he
bother to politely ask me? No. No he doesn’t!

Damn
bossy caveman!

             
Swallowing the sudden lump in my throat and attempting to avoid Aidan’s continued glacial scowl, I take the seat next to him. My heart is beating hard and I swear the anger radiating off Aidan is palpable which only serves to notch up my own annoyance towards him by several degrees.

“Don’t cry, don’t cry and for god sakes, what ever you do Gabby, don’t sh
ow him how effected you are by his presence here,”
I mentally chant to myself.

             
Furthermore, what’s it to Aidan if Caleb was a little over friendly in his greeting towards me? It’s not like him and I are together. After all,
he
was the one who ended things between us.
He
was the one who broke
my
heart. Not the other way around.

             
Caleb takes the seat opposite mine, a shameless smirk playing across his face, his baby blues dancing with unabashed humor. He’s clearly finding the whole situation amusing.

****

             
“Oh. My. God. Gabby! What the fuck was that?”

             
Still reeling from the most extremely uncomfortable meeting I’ve ever attended, I stare mutely at Jeremiah who’s reclining back in his office chair looking almost as frazzled as I feel.

             
“No, I’ll tell you what
that
was,” he says, leaning forward bracing both hands on the edge of his desk.

             
“That was the most intense scene EVER! Two magnificent specimens and I
do
mean
magnificent
, marking their territory. At one point there Sunshine, I didn’t know whether to fan myself from all the testosterone flying back and forth or duck for cover. They couldn’t have been more obvious if they both hiked their legs and pissed all over the table!”

             
Creatively articulate as always, Jeremiah has managed to sum up the last fifty minutes of our morning.

             
Still too speechless to respond, I replay the meeting over and over in my mind, cringing in recollection.

             
After taking my seat, I continued to feel Aidan’s anger seething, rolling like waves over me as well as everyone else in the room. Aware of little else but the sound of his steady breathing, the feel of his strong muscular thigh brushing against mine, the sound of his thumb tapping softly, rhythmically, scarcely restrained against the table tabletop. With each passing second my anger progressively increased until I sat there fuming at the way he barged in on this meeting unannounced (although I really had no right to be mad over that - it was his company and his hotel after all), his scolding rebuke towards Caleb and his pompous, demanding tone towards me.

What’s it to Aidan if Caleb touch
es me, gives me a peck on the cheek?

And what gives him the right to order me where I should sit?

              Jeremiah however, was the consummate professional, asking all the pertinent questions, sharing his initial ideas for the gala and generally engaging Caleb’s vision for the hotel’s opening.

             
I on the other hand, uttered no more than a handful of words, all in the appropriate places of course for which I was silently relieved, as I studiously avoided Aidan’s gaze while taking meticulous notes for Jeremiah.

             
Caleb Norwood was another matter entirely. Caleb took great delight in provoking Aidan by catching my gaze repeatedly, smiling, winking and asking my opinions on certain aspects in regards to the event, which in turn caused Aidan to tense beside me. Several times Aidan actually interrupted our exchange by asking Jeremiah a question as if my opinion on the matter was irrelevant. By the end of the meeting my irritation had well and truly risen to that of fury.