There’s a slight lift to one of his eyebrows.
That’s it, the only hint of recognition he gives. It soothes the jagged edge of my nerves and sets off my professional script.
I’ve done this many times before.
I extend a hand to the man closest to us. One after one, they all rise.
“Sophia Bishop,” I say. “It’s a pleasure to meet all of you. Thanks for considering Exciteur for this project.”
They introduce themselves. I don’t hesitate when I reach Mr. Winter.
His hand closes around mine. The skin of his palm is warm and dry, the grip firm. “Isaac Winter,” he says. “A pleasure, Miss Sophia… Bishop, was it?”
“Yes, that’s right,” I say. “Bishop.”
“Lovely last name,” he says.
Yeah. He remembers, all right.
“Thank you,” I say, and release the hand I’ve been shaking for a tad too long. “This is my team, Jenna Nguyen and Toby Sutton. They’re both invaluable to Exciteur’s business development department.”
Jenna and Toby have snapped into professional mode. Their voices are clear and comfortable, and standing side by side, they radiate competence.
We all sit down again.
I end up opposite Isaac Winter. Him, the head of the entire corporation. Me, head of my development team.
I’ve met with plenty of companies where the CEO doesn’t take the time to attend these meetings.
This one has.
I lay out the information they gave us in brief, sweeping sentences, and reaffirm our commitment to excellence. “Whatever you need,” I say, “Exciteur can provide.”
There’s silence on the other side of the table. Isaac runs a hand along his jaw, eyes moving from me to Toby and Jenna. Like he’s evaluating us.
“I’m considering expanding into a new chain of hotels,” he says.
I nod. This had been part of the brief overview that had landed on my desk. “You want a spin-off brand,” I say. “Targeted at a different clientele, with franchise possibilities? I’m guessing it needs long-term capacity to spawn a chain across the country, not just in big cities.”
“Potentially,” he agrees. “I loathe to use the word budget, but…”
I hide my smile. “More economical, perhaps?”
“Let’s use that word, yes. Economical in all but quality.”
“Naturally,” I say. “What elements do you want to keep from the main Winter Hotels?”
Isaac lays out their vision. His chief acting officer does too, filling in on technical specifications and details. Beside me, Toby and Jenna take note of all of it.
This is the info we’ll need to deliver a pitch in just a few weeks’ time, complete with sketches, budget options, names and logos, and the contact details of potential architects.
They want a new hotel chain? We’ll design an entire one from scratch for them.
I look at Isaac during their presentation. His face doesn’t give anything away, but I can’t stop looking for clues. He looks just like he did in the picture included in my research. Thick, dark hair cut fairly short and swept back. Eyes that pierce. A flawless suit and just the hint of a stubble across his cheeks, at odds with the polished conference room.
There are faint lines around his eyes and across his forehead, but if anything, they make him look more distinguished. His age had been a part of my research. Thirty-eight, turning thirty-nine in a few months.
And never married.
Unusual, I think, for a man of his station in life.
“Sophia,” Jenna says. She’s using her professional voice, sharp and intelligent. “Care to wrap this up?”
I ask them to trust us with this project and promise a six-week turnaround on the pitch. “We’d love to be allowed inside your flagship hotel here in New York. A tour by one of the staff, perhaps, through the different parts of the hotel?”
“We can arrange that,” Andrew says. I know from my internal brief that he’s fifty-two and Isaac’s right-hand man in running the company. He also has twin daughters who attend a fancy prep school three blocks from here and likes to golf on the weekends.
It’s scary how thorough Exciteur is at research sometimes.
And then we’re done, sitting across from this executive team, one woman and three men, all led by the man who’d seen me sob so hard my mascara ran down my cheeks. Jenna makes sure everyone has a copy of our contact details and Toby gathers up our notebooks.
Show time, Sophia. I let people file out of the conference room before I direct my words to the man-in-charge.
“Mr. Winter?”
Isaac stops by the door. His second-in-command sends me a curious look, and so does Jenna, but I ignore them both.
“Yes, Miss Bishop?”
“Might I have a brief word?”
His eyes remain unreadable. “Certainly. Andrew, please escort Miss Bishop’s team to the lobby and make sure they get a cup of coffee.”
He pulls the door half-shut behind the others. The room feels smaller with just the two of us in it, and without the designer table separating us. Less formal.
More nerve-racking.
“Well,” he says. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t intrigued.”
I lean against the table. “I just wanted to thank you for trusting Exciteur with this project,” I say. The next words are rehearsed. “I’m not sure if you remember what happened in the lobby of your hotel, almost a year ago, but if you do, I can assure you that you’ll get nothing but professionalism from me going forward.”
One of Isaac’s eyebrows rises. “You planned this speech ahead of time?”
The question almost throws me off my game. I give him my most corporate of smiles. “I did. This project is important to me, as is doing a good job. Is there a chance we could forget about what happened?”
“There is.” He looks down at the papers I’m carrying, the folder with the Exciteur logo on it. And then he says the next few sentences matter-of-factly, like we’re still discussing his company. “We delayed your husband’s check-out process by forty-five minutes. From the curses he aimed at my staff, I believe we ensured he missed an important business meeting.”
I blink at him. “Oh.”
“We threatened to sue him for civil indecency too, for leaving his hotel room naked,” Isaac says. Face still serious, eyes unreadable on mine, but with the same quirk to his eyebrow. “He’s not welcome back as a guest. Ever.”
It takes me a moment to find the words. My hand tightens around the hem of my blazer. “Thank you. He’d have seen that as a pretty heavy blow.”
“Well, I don’t take kindly to people exposing themselves in my hotel hallways.”
I feel like I’m having an out-of-body experience. “No, of course not. That makes sense.”
“So you divorced him.”
Isaac’s words aren’t a question, but I nod anyway. My left hand curves into a fist. The absence of my rings has finally started to feel normal. Freeing, even. “Yes.”
Isaac uncrosses his arms. His face looks settled, as if something that previously bothered him had been resolved. “This can be our first meeting, if you’d like. What happened in the lobby won’t affect our working relationship.”
Working relationship. Familiar words. They lead me back to safe ground and my professional smile stretches back into place. “Thank you, Mr. Winter. I appreciate that a great deal.”
He extends a hand, and this time, the shake lasts longer. Dark brown eyes lock on mine.
“I’m looking forward to working with you… Miss Bishop.”
