Intractable Souls : Book 1 of the Bound for Ireland Series (58 page)

She knows that he entertains clients all the
time and she’s at a loss to understand why this one seems to be
causing him so much anxiety. He’s obviously not telling her the
whole story. Not wanting to add to his stress, she gives him a
reassuring smile and gives his hand a tight squeeze. “Ok, so let’s
get it over with so we can get back home and you can collect on
your bet.”

He gives her a quick smile but his forehead
is still creased with dread when he lifts her hand to his mouth and
kisses it. It’s not quite the response she was hoping for but she
smiles anyways. “Just promise to trust me… no matter what happens
tonight there can’t be any ripping out of anybody’s uterus.”
There’s a small hint of stress in his voice.

Oh… she gets it now. He’s worried that she’s
going to get jealous and make a scene. She’s quick to tease and it
catches him off guard. “How about a karate chop to the ovaries? Is
that allowed?”

“No, that would be frowned upon as well.”
Slightly amused, his mood starts to lighten a little.

“Spin kick to the taco?” She looks at him
with a mischievous grin, watching his face contort into different
expressions as he tries to work through what exactly she means by
‘taco’ and then understanding flashes in his eyes and he smiles
with a light chuckle. “Uh… No.”

There, that’s much better. She finally gets
him to smile. They approach the entrance of what looks like an old
English pub. There’s a coat of arms on the window and a British
flag hanging lazily on a short staff just outside the front door.
It looks like a small, intimate place from the outside.

“You know, it’s times like this when I’m
absolutely certain you’re trying to drive me crazy… and enjoying
every minute of it.”

“Possibly.” She says, giving him a wry smile
and glancing up into his gorgeous green eyes. “Please, stop
stressing, Ethan. I get it. Really, I do. Jealous friend… NOT COOL.
I entertain clients from time to time, so I know what’s
expected.”

His body stiffens and he stops walking,
abruptly jolting her backwards. “Ethan? What the hell?”

After raking his hand through his hair, he
holds the back of his head, his expression as if he had just
received some horrible news. She looks at him quizzically waiting
for an explanation. “Jesus, don’t tell me that shit. I can’t think
about you trying to secure business from some douche bag who wants
to get into your pants. I’ll go insane.”

Whoa ! There’s a lot implied in that
statement. “Ethan? Is the woman we’re having dinner with expecting
to get into YOUR pants?” She finally brings herself to ask.
Swallowing hard, he looks away, focusing on the doorway. Pulling
the knob he opens the door and gestures for her to go in,
completely ignoring her question. “Ok, obviously the answer is
yes.” Anxiety prickles through her when she looks into his eyes and
sees something dark and unfamiliar in them.

“Mr. O’Connell! It’s so nice to see you!”
Speaking as if they are old friends, George the Manager greets him
with a handshake. “Your friends are here. They are sitting in the
bar watching the game, but I have made available your favorite
table when you are ready to eat. Come, I’ll show you the way.”

“It’s ok, George. I know my way, thank you.”
As he leads her through the restaurant, she understands why he
likes this place. It’s much larger inside then it appears from the
street and it has all the charm of an authentic British pub. Well,
not that she had ever been in one, but she imagines this is what
one would look like. Pool tables are lined up along the far side.
Dart boards along the other. In the bar are several big screen TV’s
playing all the popular overseas sports. Cricket, Soccer (or
football as Ethan calls it) and Rugby.

As they near the bar, she can see that John
is in the company of two beautiful blonde women. Ethan drops his
hand from the small of her back as they get closer to them. Olivia
notices how one of the women leans softly into John’s side and
assumes that she’s the woman that was in Ethan’s office. She didn’t
get a good look at her this afternoon but she’s stunning in a
classy, feminine way and Olivia wishes that she had it in her to
look like that. John immediately introduces them. “Olivia, this is
my girlfriend, Shannon Quinn.”

“And my lawyer.” Ethan adds.

“Not tonight, buddy. Tonight, Shannon is my
girlfriend and nothing else. You keep your ass out of trouble. Got
it?” He grins at him, but it’s a warning hidden in jest for
sure.

Ethan smiles. “I’ll do my best, but trouble
seems to stalk me.”

Olivia shakes Shannon’s hand, trying to
ignore the awkwardness of the afternoon events, when she notices
the other blonde swooping in to stand at Ethan’s side. Olivia
immediately hates her; from her blonde hair and perfect complexion,
to the long slender legs that go on forever and disappear
underneath an obscenely short dress. Those come fuck me stilettos
bring her sparkling blue eyes conveniently to Ethan’s eye level,
and her ruby lips within a dangerous range of his. She smiles,
feeling a little satisfaction at the slight swell of her small
breasts. Ethan would never be happy with those little things.
Olivia turns towards them, waiting for an introduction which Ethan
neglects. Taking a step forward, she takes matters into her own
hands and gives her a polite smile. “Hi!”. It isn’t until then that
Ethan realizes that he needs to make the introduction. Wow, he’s
totally off his game tonight. “I’m sorry, Olivia. This is Stacey
Daniels from Bramtech Industries. Stacey this is my friend Olivia
James.”

FRIEND? What the? Something jabbed sharply
at Olivia’s heart. Odd, since she had used the word FRIEND to
describe herself on the walk over, but there was something
upsetting about his lack of acknowledgment all of a sudden. Olivia
tries not to look annoyed as Stacey gives her a quick once over
evaluation from head to toe, sizing her up and obviously finding no
threat. She doesn’t even extend her hand in greeting but merely
offers an insincere, “Hello” instead. Turning her attention back to
Ethan, she reaches up and touches his arm.

“I’m sorry we’re a tad late.” Ethan
apologizes. He has just made a huge mistake in his introduction of
Olivia. When he saw Stacey, he had a moment of anxiety over the
possible loss of business and his brain misfired. It’s too late to
make amends now but still Olivia tries to come to his rescue.
“Totally my fault.” She adds, trying to steer the blame away from
him. “I kept him waiting.”

Stacey nods at her and makes no effort to
hide that she’s not pleased at all that about Olivia being there.
In fact, a few times she gives her a look that makes Olivia wonder
if she’s trying to make her disappear with her mind. After a few
awkward minutes of trying to engage Stacey in friendly small talk,
she finally gives up. What a Bitch! Ethan glances at her, his
expression sending her a silent apology. Sensing the awkward moment
between the two women Shannon tries to intervene. “John, didn’t you
say another one of your colleagues is joining us this evening?”

“Yes, actually. He should be here shortly.”
John is thankful that Shannon is well attuned to the situation.
Ethan looks at him for an explanation. “Carter Brant took an
earlier flight. He just checked into the hotel and he’s on his way
here to join us for dinner.”

Ethan nods and then directing the
conversation solely to Stacey, he explains. “Carter is the Sales
Manager at our office in Australia. He’ll be here for a few weeks
while we work out a new business plan.” Olivia feels the anger
start to niggle at her as she watches him engage Stacey in a
conversation that doesn’t include her. His hand rests on the edge
of the bar and Stacey conveniently situates herself into the crook
of his arm, leaning her ear into his mouth as if she needs to be
closer to hear what he’s saying. And he’s falling for that?
Jerk!

“My ears are burnin’ so they must be talkin’
bout me.”

Olivia tenses at the sound of the sexy
Australian accent behind her, standing alarmingly close and
practically whispering in her ear. She glances back at his towering
6’ 2” of height and meets the smile of a sun kissed God. He steps
to her side and extends his hand. “Carter Brant.”

She reaches for his hand and smiles. He’s
the most strikingly handsome man she has ever met with his movie
star good looks, bronzed skin and totally buff body. His sun
bleached hair is almost completely blonde but not quite, and is
just slightly wavy, brushed back and styled away from his chiseled
face. The sides of his hair is slightly shorter around his ears and
runs along his jaw line into well manicured sideburns. His eyes
remind her of the pictures that she’s seen of the Caribbean ocean.
Crisp, clear and brilliantly blue. He’s definitely a hottie!

“Olivia James.” She answers, feeling her
cheeks flush in his presence. Carter grins at her reaction and
prolongs the release of her hand. When she looks up, Ethan is
glaring at them. Her heart thumps quickly in her chest as he
abandons Stacey at the bar and starts towards them.

“Carter.” He says holding out his hand for a
brief shake and then a quick man hug. “Good to see you. How was
your flight?”

“Brutal, as usual.” He says. “Thank god for
my long standing membership to the Mile High Club.“ He jokes.

“I thought you were travelling alone?” Ethan
asks, looking past him for a companion.

“I am.” He raises his eyebrows and smirks.
“There is never a shortage of eager participants on those long
flights.”

Olivia is a little embarrassed and wondering
if they’ve forgotten that she’s standing right there. Or maybe they
just don’t care that she knows about his casual manwhore escapades
in the airplane washroom with random women? Hell, he’s so beautiful
that she might even consider it. Her mind drifts off for a moment
on a little Australian vacation. She’s vaguely aware that Stacey
has joined them as Carter introduces himself and then the sound of
Ethan’s voice pulls her back to reality.

“Olivia?”

“Yes, sorry, what did you say?”

Ethan flashes her a look, as if to say what
the hell is wrong with you? “I said, if you’re ready, we’ll head to
the table and order dinner now.”

“Oh, Ok.”

She’s about to make her way to the table
when Stacey flanks in from the side in front of her and takes
Ethan’s arm. Olivia walks behind them, trying not to let it bother
her that he has chosen to escort his client instead of her to the
table. She repeats his words in her mind, He’s only interested in
the business. Carter places his hand gently on her back and guides
her through the bar towards the table. John and Shannon are already
sitting and Stacey strategically insists that Ethan slides in
around the back of the booth closing him off from any unwanted
distractions or communication from anyone but her. Shannon looks
over at Olivia with regret in her eyes, wishing she could do
something to reassure her that Ethan is only doing what he thinks
he needs to for the sake of the business.

Looking at them snuggled closely together on
the bench seat, Olivia can’t hide the hurt look on her face. She
looks at the two empty chairs side by side on the far side of the
table and then glances up at Carter, whose large hand is still
pressed firmly against her back and making her feel warm. “I guess
you’re stuck with me.” She says apologetically.

Carter’s brilliant blue eyes sparkle in the
light of the chandelier that hangs centered over the table. He
pulls out her chair and smiles. “I wouldn’t consider that
unpleasant.” Once he makes sure that she’s seated and comfortable
he pulls out the chair beside her and settles in. Ethan briefly
glares at her again looking extremely agitated. What is his
problem?

Sitting for what seems like forever, Olivia
feels awkward and fakes interest in the small talk at the table.
She takes note that Carter’s accent and language is a little more
polished than she expected from an Aussie. Through polite
conversation she discovers that it’s because he had spent his
younger years in boarding schools in the US before finally choosing
a university in London. That’s where he met Ethan. They shared a
‘flat’ while they attended school with two other friends, Reese
Wilson and Landon Scott. Landon, is the sales manager for Aurora
Tech’s division in South Africa, Carter goes on to tell her. He
looks awkward when she asks him about Reese and only offers that
he’s in Ireland but he hasn’t seen him in some time. She wonders
why discussing him makes him look uncomfortable. Obviously there is
a story there.

Glancing over at Ethan, she thinks how
incredible it is that he’s a man with such devotion to his friends
that he would hire two of them to head up important positions in
his empire. She assumes that in return he will always have their
loyalty.

The boys eventually end up talking to Stacey
about the benefits of the Bramtech proposal, leaving her feel even
more out of place. Thank God for Shannon, who takes the opportunity
to engage Olivia in conversation about her career and her
interests. Olivia already knows that she and Shannon will be great
friends. She really likes her. She’s beautiful and kind and
extremely intelligent but not in a geeky way. Olivia downplays her
intelligence a lot of the time, not wanting it to define who she
is… but Shannon… she makes being an intelligent woman very
sexy.

As hard as she tries not to look, she can’t
help it. Every few moments her eyes take a quick peek to see what’s
going on between Ethan and Stacey. Slipping into his normal
charming self, Ethan listens attentively and flirts in his special
way that has the potential to get any woman addicted to him. She
knows that it’s his nature; he just has this way of drawing women
to him and making them eager to rid themselves of their panties.
Let’s face it, he is one hell of a sexy man to begin with but when
his voice gets thick and heavy with that Irish accent he could make
any woman come on command. A fact that he has proven to her many
times.