“Don’t walk away from me,” he growled.
“Don’t think of it as me walking away from you,” Ivy said over her shoulder. “I’m walking toward the luncheon, which was so important to you just a few minutes ago.” She couldn’t help but smirk at her own line as she continued down the hall.
Cullen, she imagined, was left standing in place, shocked.
The luncheon itself was relatively painless. Lucas had kindly saved a seat next to him in case she showed up, and the food was actually quite good.
A bit frou-frou for her tastes, perhaps, but on the whole enjoyable.
There must’ve been approximately one hundred of them in a large private room with tables and white linen tablecloths, a DJ booth playing hip music, and black tie waiters and waitresses moving from table to table taking orders and bringing food and drink.
Cullen spoke in the beginning, standing in the center of the room with a microphone, making a few jokes before telling everyone how thrilled he was to bring them to The Observatory to celebrate all of their hard work, and to show his appreciation for the team, meaning everyone who worked with him on a daily basis.
Ivy noticed that Cullen often would gaze in her direction when he was talking on the mic, to the point where she grew distinctly uncomfortable.
Other people around the room appeared to be glancing over at her, as if they were also catching on to Cullen’s focus.
But then again, maybe it was just her overactive imagination.
Before dessert was brought to the tables, Ivy excused herself and left the private room to go to the bathroom.
As she was walking down the hallway, she passed by the main dining room and saw Xavier Montrose eating lunch with a gorgeous raven-haired woman wearing a low-cut dress.
He looked up and happened to catch Ivy walking past the doorway, and she saw his eyebrows rise in surprise, and then he was saying something to the woman, and getting to his feet, putting his napkin on the table.
Ivy kept walking, not sure what was going to happen next—or what she even wanted to happen.
But then Xavier was coming out of the main dining area, calling her name.
She slowed down and turned to face him. “I think it’s very rude that you left your lunch with that beautiful girl to come and talk to me. I wouldn’t like it very much if I were in her position.”
“It you were at the table with me, I would never leave your side,” he replied, his green eyes glimmering with a mixture of mischief and allure.
“You’re very quick,” Ivy told him. “Too quick.”
“That’s never been my problem,” he purred.
She felt her cheeks flush yet again. “I’m—I’m afraid I need to get back to the luncheon soon.”
“Because that silly bastard Sharpe’s going to whine about you leaving him alone for too long?” Xavier chuckled.
“He’s not silly,” she whispered, somehow feeling defensive on Cullen’s behalf.
“I see I’ve hit a nerve. So you like him, then?” He watched her closely.
Ivy flinched at the notion that she still had feelings for Cullen Sharpe after the way he’d treated her.
“No, I don’t like him, but he’s my CEO and he’s a brilliant man.”
“Brilliant is one way of putting it,” Xavier joked, a wicked grin crossing his features. “But you don’t have romantic feelings for him?”
She hesitated.
“Forget I asked.” Xavier put out a hand. “I don’t care about that. Just say you’ll come to dinner with me tonight.”
“You’re date’s right in the next room!”
“She’s not a date, I told you. She’s just a friend.”
“Somehow I doubt very much that you have female friends who look like her.”
Xavier laughed easily. “I have lots of friends. But I don’t have you—and you’re the one I’m interested in seeing tonight. If you’ll give me a chance.” He waited for her answer, a patient but bemused expression on his handsome face.
She sighed. If it wasn’t for Cullen Sharpe, she certainly wouldn’t have turned down a date with a man like Xavier. He was good looking, funny, confident and seemingly normal.
It irked her tremendously that she was feeling guilty because of Cullen, when he’d already rejected her.
None of her mixed emotions made sense, and that made her even more perturbed.
“You know what? I’m going to say yes,” she said, determined not to let Cullen play any part in her decision.
“Here’s my card,” he replied, producing a gorgeous business card with his name on it. “Call me later.” And then he turned and walked back into the main dining area, leaving her alone in the hallway.
She found herself examining his business card closely.
XAVIER MONTROSE, PRESIDENT
VELLUM PHARMACEUTICALS
Her eyes narrowed as she realized that the man who’d just asked her out on a date was clearly a direct competitor with Cullen Sharpe and Biomatrix Pharma.