Kissing Under The Mistletoe: The Sullivans (Contemporary Romance) (6 page)

“You’re a lifesaver, Ms. Ferrer,” Howie said
as he reached for her hand the very second Larry let it go, nearly
pulling her arm loose from her shoulder socket in his excitement.
“My girlfriend wanted me to tell you that she’s your biggest
fan.”

She smiled warmly at both of the men.
“Please, call me Mary.”

Jack had done his research after putting Mary
into a cab in front of the diner last night. He’d quickly confirmed
that he’d been having pie and coffee—and fumbling through every
last second—with one of the most successful models in the world. No
doubt, she had men throwing themselves at her feet, men with a hell
of a lot more to their name than a dream.

She’d been right to get up and start to walk
out on him last night at the diner. He’d deserved worse than that
for the way he’d gracelessly asked her to be the face of their
product, without making it clear that business wasn’t the only
reason he wanted to spend time with her. It was just that as soon
as they’d started talking about his invention, and she’d been
clearly interested in it, he’d automatically fallen back into
engineering mode, the same way he would have with Howie or
Larry.

The hurt that had flashed across Mary’s face
when she’d thought he was only interested in her as a spokesmodel
for an advertising campaign had kept him up half the night.

Jack had lived his life using intelligent
calculations and analysis. Not only did a model and an engineer not
make any sense as a couple, but a serious relationship had never
factored into his plans or his life. What’s more, it had been less
than twenty-four hours since he’d met Mary. He should have been up
all night planning for this meeting today with the board. If ever
he needed to have perfect focus on his work, on making his
long-held dream come true, it was right now.

But thoughts of Mary had remained front and
center since the moment he’d set eyes on her.

Placing his hand gently on her lower back, he
guided her away from his partners. She looked incredibly beautiful
this morning in a long-sleeved navy wrap dress and high-heeled
boots. There was a slim gold chain around her neck and another on
her wrist. Her dark, glossy hair moved over her shoulders like
silk, and her complexion was so perfect he honestly couldn’t tell
if she was wearing any makeup. She was both naturally sensual and,
at the same time, approachable and down-to-earth.

He wanted to tell her that he’d thought about
her all night long, but he knew he needed to respect her request to
keep business and pleasure separate.

“Do you have any questions for me about
what’s going to happen in the boardroom?”

“I don’t think so. From what you explained to
me last night, and the documents you couriered over early this
morning, I think I have a good understanding of the selling points
for the Pocket Planner.”

When they’d first met yesterday in Union
Square, she’d smiled so easily at him. Now, her eyes were guarded.
Jack silently cursed himself for putting those shadows there. She
must still believe he wanted her more for business than he wanted
her as a woman.

She was wrong.

“You don’t have to do this, Mary.”

She blinked at him, confused. “I don’t
understand. I thought you needed me to help you.”

“You’re perfect for the job,” he agreed, “and
we do need your help, but if it’s a choice between selling a
million Pocket Planners this Christmas and getting the chance to be
with you…?” Maybe it was out of line to reach up and stroke her
cheek with the back of his hand, but he’d never been this drawn to
a woman and he honestly didn’t know how to stop himself. “I’ll
figure out some other way to get this product off the ground.”

When she put her hand over his where it
rested against the incredibly soft skin of her cheek, he could have
sworn his heart actually expanded inside his chest.

“I’ve never done anything I didn’t choose to
do, Jack. Not when I was nineteen, and certainly not now at
thirty-two. If I didn’t want to be here with you, Howie and Larry,
I wouldn’t be. You’ve worked hard to create something great and you
deserve this chance at the big time.” Slowly, she lowered his hand
from her face and slipped her fingers from his. “I’m just asking
you to be patient so that we can see the business through
first.”

He had so many questions for her. What had
happened in her past? Who had hurt her to make her so cautious, so
wary of his motives? But before he had the right to ask for
answers, he knew he needed her to trust him. Which meant he needed
to be completely straightforward with her at all times, no matter
what.

“I’m sure you have your reasons for wanting
things to be that way, and I’m also sure they must be good ones,
but I have to be honest with you, Mary.” He was blown away by her
beauty all over again as she waited for him to explain himself.
“I’ve never been a patient man.”

“You worked for ten years on your invention,”
she said softly. “I’d say that shows more patience than most people
will ever have.”

“It’s one thing to wait ten years for chips
and wires and motherboards to fire correctly. But I knew ten
seconds after we first met that I wanted to kiss you, Angel.”

Mary’s skin flushed, and her full lips opened
on a soft gasp at his impulsive declaration just as the
receptionist walked into the entryway and indicated it was time for
them to head inside to the boardroom. The young woman’s eyes
widened when she saw Mary.

“Oh my gosh, you’re Mary Ferrer! You’re even
more beautiful in person.” The girl grabbed a notepad and pen from
a nearby table. “Could you sign this for me?”

Mary’s cheeks remained flushed from what Jack
had said to her as she took the pen and paper from the young woman.
Jack couldn’t tell if she was upset about what he’d just
admitted.

Usually he calculated, figured, assessed—and
then, only then, made a strategic plan toward his goal. But with
Mary, all of the rationale he’d lived by his whole life had flown
out the window…leaving him with just his instincts.

“That’s a lovely dress you’re wearing,” Mary
told the young woman. “The color is so flattering on you.”

Jack didn’t think he’d ever seen anyone as
happy as the receptionist was at that moment. “Do you really think
so? It’s new, and I wasn’t sure if I could pull off the
hemline.”

“You definitely can,” Mary assured her. “I’d
love to know your name so that I can personalize my autograph.”

“I’m Sarah, with an
h.
” Just like Jack, the young woman couldn’t take her
eyes off Mary as she wrote a quick but charming note to Sarah.

“Here you go.” The young woman stood staring
at Mary for a few more seconds before she remembered her job.
“Please, follow me this way.”

When Jack’s partners stepped aside to let
Mary precede them into the boardroom, she gave the three of them a
wide smile. “Ready to knock their socks off?”

It was just the right thing to say to give
them the jolt of confidence they needed to close the deal. Larry
and Howie grinned back at her. “Ready!”

Jack held out his arm for her, and when she
took it, he felt the sensation rock them both. He was a large man
and, despite being a model, Mary wasn’t particularly tall. Yet,
they fit together perfectly.

Jack had figured Allen would be impatiently
waiting to send them on their way so that he could get on to other,
bigger money meetings, and the way the gray-haired man was standing
in the boardroom with his arms crossed over his chest confirmed
that. But when he caught sight of Mary, his eyes went as wide with
surprise—and pleasure—as his receptionist’s had.

Without so much as acknowledging Jack, Howie
or Larry, he moved to greet her. “Hello. I’m Allen Walter. I’ve
long been an admirer of yours from afar, Ms. Ferrer, but I must say
that you are even more exquisite in person.”

“Mary, please,” she said as she let him draw
her into the room and introduce her to the other members of the
board.

Jack guessed she must have played this role
dozens of times in her career, meeting strangers and making them
feel as if they were already friends.

Once the introductions were made, Allen said,
“I’d love to know to what we owe this pleasure?”

Mary took a seat beside Jack and nodded for
him to deliver their news to the chairman. “Mary has agreed to be
the face of the Pocket Planner.”

After three decades of running his large and
powerful company, Jack doubted there was much that surprised Allen
anymore. This news, however, clearly had. Despite being quite
obviously impressed that Jack and his partners had managed to pull
Mary into the project, he approached the situation as any good
chairman of the board would: with questions.

“You have been associated with some of the
most exclusive products in the world. May I ask why you would agree
to work with a group of fledgling start-up engineers?”

Larry was yanking at his tie as if it had
just shrunk three sizes too small and Howie was sweating. Clearly,
they were waiting for Jack to jump in and salvage the situation
before it could go too far off track. But Jack simply sat back in
his leather seat. He had every faith that Mary could answer the
chairman’s question better than anyone else could.

“I met Jack yesterday in Union Square. I
believe it was right after your meeting, when you indicated that
the product needed more sex appeal.”

Though his partners’ eyes went wide at her
honest response, Jack appreciated her candid reply. She was
nobody’s fool, and she didn’t expect anyone to be hers, even when
he himself had tried to change the words
sex
appeal
to
mass appeal
.

Mary smiled at each of the powerful
businessmen in the room, not in the least intimidated. Even as a
brand-new teenage model so many years ago, he guessed she must have
been a force to be reckoned with, her strong will just as potent as
her gorgeous face.

“I appreciate the advertising power of
sensuality,” she said in a voice as smooth as Glenlivet whisky,
“but sensuality is nothing without the smarts to know what to do
with it. The Pocket Planner is a brilliant invention. More than
that, it’s actually useful. I can literally think of a dozen men
and women I could give it to as a Christmas gift this year. And I
can guarantee they’d all love it simply because it would make their
lives easier.”

That was when Allen actually clapped his
hands in glee, a sixty-something man who Jack thought might have
just fallen head over heels in love with the beautiful woman
sitting before him.

But when the man at his left leaned over to
whisper something into his ear, Allen frowned. “There’s no question
that you’re perfect for the job, Mary. However, there may be one
small problem. At this point in the fiscal year, our budget is
rather low, and I’m sure your fee is, justifiably, extraordinarily
high.”

Jack had already decided on a solution to
this issue. “I’ll split my royalty share with Mary.”

Everyone turned to him with a shocked
expression, including Mary. “Jack,” she said as she put her hand on
his arm, “you don’t have to do this.”

“And you don’t have to, either,” he said
softly, “but you’re here.”

“In that case,” Allen said before anyone
could change their minds, “I believe we have ourselves a deal.”

The four of them shook hands with the board,
and while Mary was chatting with one of the other men, Allen pulled
Jack aside. “I don’t know how you pulled this off. Mary Ferrer is
one in a million. People will be tripping over themselves to find
out why she’s so excited about your invention.”

Jack liked and respected Allen. It was one of
the main reasons he’d wanted to work with the man and his company.
But he had no intention of using Mary as if she was a product to be
sold.

“We’re very lucky that Mary has agreed to
work with us,” Jack said in a measured voice. “Very lucky,” he
repeated, before adding, “I expect everyone to treat her with the
utmost respect at all times, all the way down the chain of command.
And if someone should forget to do so and she feels she must leave
the campaign as a result, it will be our fault. Not hers.”

Allen’s eyes narrowed at the clear warning,
but Jack didn’t care how many millions the man was worth. The two
men stared at each other in silence for several moments before
Allen finally nodded. “Agreed.” He glanced at her again. “She is
most definitely one in a million.”

“It’s time to celebrate!”

Howie had used the receptionist’s phone to
call his girlfriend, Layla with the good news. She left work early
to meet them at the Gold Dust Lounge in Union Square.

After they got off the trolley, Jack and Mary
walked down the sidewalk behind his partners. He was strong and
steady at her side, just as he’d been in the boardroom.

The sharp winds from the previous day had
blown out of the city, leaving behind bright blue skies and a
surprisingly warm sun. It was one of the things Mary liked best
about San Francisco—the weather could be so topsy-turvy, with cool,
foggy summers and warm, sunny winters. And, now, Mary felt just as
topsy-turvy over what Jack had said to her just before they’d gone
into the meeting.

If it’s a choice between
selling a million Pocket Planners and getting the chance to be with
you, I’ll figure out some other way to get this product off the
ground.

When was the last time a man had put her
first?

She honestly couldn’t remember.

Though she was a naturally positive person,
Mary had seen enough over the past thirteen years as an in-demand
model to develop a necessary cynicism. As much as she would have
liked to take everything people said and did at face value, she
made herself ask the difficult question: Had Jack simply been
trying to make her feel good by telling her what he thought she
wanted to hear?