Silence.
He smiled. “What? No smart-mouthed comments about dinner on Saturday?”
“I think we should go Dutch...I don’t want you getting the wrong impression.”
“And what impression would that be?”
“That I’m attracted to you, because that still hasn’t changed.”
“You’re right.” He slipped his arms around my waist. “I wouldn’t dare think that. Is that a yes to Saturday?”
“It’s a maybe.”
I heard him laugh and then I felt his lips brush against mine—softly, gently, as if he didn’t want to completely kiss me. He slowly released me and stepped back.
“I’ll call you while I’m in New York. We’re going to make sure that maybe becomes a yes.”
Chapter 6
Jonathan
Why did I ever agree to come to this conference?
I sat in the front row of the Four Seasons’ ballroom and sighed as other software techies talked about their rise to fame and how they’d built their empires from the ground up. Normally, this type of thing would excite and inspire me, but all the techies this year were people I’d worked with before; I knew their success stories like the back of my hand.
The only thing different was the fact that I was the keynote speaker, and thousands of high school students were invited to come watch.
As the CEO of Apple, Inc. finished his speech, I clapped and made sure my speech was still in my breast pocket.
“And now,” the conference host said as he walked onstage, “for the final speech of the night. Ladies and gentlemen, I am honored to introduce our keynote speaker. Over the past nine years, he has become a force to be reckoned with in the software industry—breaking almost every sales record when it comes to the latest technology. His latest product, the sPhone blue, is due to debut this spring and has already earned fifty million dollars in pre-order sales!”
The audience clapped and my face appeared on the massive projector screens that flanked the stage.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the host continued, “a man who needs no further introduction—CEO of Statham Industries, Mr. Jonathan Statham!
I stood up and made my way onto the stage, nodding at the standing ovation, waiting for the crowd to sit back down.
“Thank you all very much for inviting me to the annual Innovative Technology Conference.” I pulled my speech out of my pocket. “It’s an honor to be here, and I’ll do my best not to bore you for the next twenty minutes.”
The audience laughed.
I read my speech off with ease, making eye contact with the people I knew in the crowd, bracing myself for the worst part of being the keynote speaker: the extensive Q&A session.
For three hours I answered questions that had nothing—absolutely nothing to do with Statham Industries: “Are you single?” “What do you look for in a woman?” “How often do you work out?” “When do you plan on getting married?”
What’s worse was that my colleagues were playing along with the students and acting like these questions were completely normal; they even asked me a few questions about women and dating themselves.
When the Q&A session was finally over, I attended a smaller meeting with the top students in the country. Gratefully, I engaged in conversations that were solely about computer development.
It was ten o’ clock by the time I finished, and I made a conscious effort to disappear for the rest of the night.
I rode the elevator to the penthouse suite and headed straight to my bed, walking past the custom living room and double kitchens. I took off my jacket and turned on the light.
“Took you long enough!” My friend Stacy rolled off the bed wearing a silky piece of black lingerie. “I was beginning to think you weren’t coming!”
I completely forgot about this...
Stacy was an international supermodel who I’d met earlier in my career. Back then, she was only doing local magazines and commercials, but I took a huge risk and made her the national spokesperson for my company’s first laptop.
The campaign was an overnight success—launching her into superstardom. We tried to do the relationship thing soon after, but we realized that we were better off as friends—with benefits.
“I’ve got strawberry, pina colada, wild berry, and spicy cinnamon. I personally prefer the wild berry lube because it’s a lot smoother and doesn’t leave a weird aftertaste, but I figured I’d let you pick this time. Oh! And, guess what I also brought?” She pulled a silver packet from her bra. “Ultra-ribbed for his and her pleasure! Sexy, right?”
I collapsed into a chair and laughed. “Sounds great, but I don’t feel like it tonight.”
“Excuse me? You don’t feel like it tonight? This is the third time you’ve been in New York and you’re turning me down again?”