When Love Takes Over You (2 page)

Susan felt giddy but did her best to sound
professional. "Sure, why not? Let’s go." Mike led the way and they
strolled out of the park and along the bank of the Thames until
they were standing in front of the restaurant and a huge building
site.

Mike pointed to the boarded up disused car
park. "So, that’s where the building will be. Clearing the site
starts later this month which means I need to get a move on and
prepare an artist’s impression of the interior. With your help we
should be able to make that happen fairly quickly."

Susan looked up and down the street and then
down the river. "I see what you mean now, what a great location!
You must be excited, this has the potential to be a real landmark
building."

"I am excited, very excited but also a little
apprehensive, any cock ups and it’ll cost me a lot of money. I
can’t afford any mistakes." Mike furrowed his brow and turned back
to face the restaurant. "Anyway, let’s go and eat, I don’t know
about you but I’m starving."

Over lunch Susan learned more about the
project as well as all about Mike’s rise from obscurity to where he
was today, known and respected as a true innovator in London’s
property development world. The more she got to know him the more
impressed she was with this good looking, intelligent, self-made
man before her.

"I like you, Susan. I meet a lot of people
and it’s rare I meet someone I can really talk to. You don’t know
this but I had you fully checked out before I asked you to bid on
the project. And you’ll be pleased to know you come highly
recommended and not one person had a bad thing to say about you.
And that’s rare, very rare in this cut throat business."

Susan felt her heart flutter and struggled to
focus. "Oh, thank you. That’s very kind of you. I have a great team
working with me and we always aim to please our clients. Even the
unreasonable ones!" Susan smiled and noticed that Mike seemed much
more relaxed than the first time they met.

"Forgive me if this is too personal but are
you seeing someone?" Mike smiled.

Susan looked at the glint in his eye and
didn’t know how to respond. "Not at the moment. I’m all about work
these days, I just don’t get the chance to meet new people. As for
dating, well, that’s just a pipe dream with the long hours I put
in."

"You know what? I’d really like to meet you
another day to get to know you better. Just to talk but business
will be strictly off limits. What do you think?" Mike waited and
watched Susan avoid eye contact.

"You mean like a date?" Susan stuttered and
hoped he couldn’t hear the pounding of her heart .

Mike smiled from ear to ear. "Well, I wasn’t
going to say it, but, yes, like a date. Please don’t get me wrong,
I’m not in the habit of dating people I work with and as soon as
the project gets off the ground you’ll be dealing with my design
team not me, so don’t worry about any potential confusion in how we
work together. It’s just that there’s something about you, and I’d
really like to get to know you better."

"Mike, I don’t usually, in fact, I never date
clients, so I don’t know if this is such a good idea. I just don’t
think it’s very professional that’s all. I hope you
understand."

Mike pursed his lips and grimaced. "Don’t
worry, Susan. I completely understand where you’re coming from and
you’re probably right. Please forget I even mentioned it. I
shouldn’t have, sorry."

"Don’t worry about it. Let’s just keep it
professional, I really enjoy talking to you and I’m very excited
about the project so let’s just focus on work for now. After a few
more weeks of me you might be glad, very glad, we kept it all
strictly professional." Susan laughed even as she wondered why she
was walking away from a date with the guy that made her unable to
think straight.

"I doubt that very much, Susan. But anyway, I
better be getting back to the office and now that we’ve agreed
there’ll be no funny business I won’t have to sit here and admit to
my dark secret." Mike looked Susan in the eye and wondered how she
would react.

Susan stared back at him and wondered what on
earth he was talking about but decided it was best to say nothing
and to just let it go. What did she know about Mike as a person,
really? He’s a womanizer and he has a dark secret, he’s highly
successful and very good looking, he’s open about his business life
but his personal life is a mystery, a complete mystery.

Susan knew this was the walk away moment, the
time to walk away from a possible romantic future with Mike and
never look back. He was a wild card and she had no desire to get
burned yet again by a guy with a past he never talks about. The
warning signs were there and for the first she was going to heed
them and ignore that flutter in her stomach that never went away
when she was with Mike.

She looked over at Mike as he paid the bill
and wondered if she’d even be attracted to him if he wasn’t a dark
horse. Without that danger element would she feel so deliciously
confused in his company? Without his bad reputation would she feel
compelled to catch him and keep him? She didn’t know, she couldn’t
think straight. And her heart was still pounding even though she
had tried to calm down.

* * *

Becky took her usual spot on the living room
carpet in front of the roaring fire. "Oh my God, Susan. I haven’t
seen you in months. How have you been?"

Susan filled their wine glasses and admired
Becky’s winter tan, earned during a 3 month career break on the
beaches of Morocco. "Oh, I’m doing fine. Everything is rolling
along, very busy at work, as usual, and I’m looking forward to
taking my own holiday as soon as things quieten down."

"No change there then. But what about that
hot guy you mentioned last time I saw you? What was his name
again?" Becky nudged her friend.

"Oh, you mean Mike. I haven’t seen him in
ages. I deal with one of his managers these days, he’s off setting
up his next big project. Oh, I didn’t tell you this. He asked me on
a date once." Susan winked and tasted her wine.

Becky raised her eyebrows. "Oh really? This
is the first I’ve heard of that. So where did he take you?"

Susan looked down and moved her hands along
the carpet while she spoke. "I told him I didn’t think it was such
a good idea seeing as how he’s a client. Maybe I shouldn’t have
been so uptight about it and gone for it. I don’t know. I felt weak
at the knees every time I met him, I don’t know if I could trust
myself with a man like that. And, he’s a womanizer, it was all one
big disaster just waiting to happen. I wasn’t prepared to take the
chance."

Becky shook her head. "I don’t even want to
hear this. So, you meet this hot guy and you turn him down. What
did you have to lose? Worst case scenario you’d get some well
needed male attention, best case scenario maybe the two of you have
a bright future together. The way he makes you feel, you won’t get
that with just anyone. I say listen to what that feeling is telling
you and go for it."

"I suppose you’re right, Becky. Hey, this
kind of funny. I went to a few gossip sites yesterday and it’s like
he disappeared from the social scene. He used always be on the
front page with the hot babe of the moment but now it’s like he
disappeared in a puff of smoke. I wonder if he’s ok. Do you think I
should call him to find out?"

Becky nodded. "Yeah, call him. Just don’t
mention you read the gossip news or he’ll run a mile. Think of a
better reason and call him before you change your mind."

"Becky, I’m just worried that I should know
better than to be even thinking of dating a womanizer. It’s not
exactly a recipe for happiness, you know."

"Maybe you need to stop over thinking this,
Susan. Give the man a chance and get to know him better before
writing him off. His public reputation may be unfair or even out of
date, maybe he’s matured and moved on in his life. If it was me,
I’d take a chance and go for it. Very few things in life come from
saying "no" as they say."

"There is one other thing, Becky. He told me
he has a dark secret, whatever that is."

"Oh my, you sure know how to pick them, don’t
you, Susan? Anything else you’re not telling me?"

Susan averted her eyes. "Actually there is.
Apparently, Mike is always asking how I am. Quite a few people from
his office have told me that, it’s the worst kept secret on the
building project team. One girl I know quite well told me he’s
never asked about someone so much before."

Becky shook her head. "So, why doesn’t he
call you in for a meeting to get to see you?

Susan wiped a tear from her eye. "Maybe it’s
because I told him I never mix business with pleasure and I don’t
date clients. That probably did it."

"Don’t cry, Susan. Trust me on this, call him
and just see how things work out."

Susan sniffled and dried her eyes, "You’re
right, nothing ventured nothing gained. I’ll call him tomorrow, I
just hope he’s not already dating someone."

* * *

After an hour’s drive out of London the car
turned down a dirt track to reveal a secluded beach. Mike held
Susan’s hand as she stepped out of the limo before leading her over
to their candle lit table for their private picnic. He helped her
into her seat before sitting down.

As Susan sat down she felt the same
butterflies in her stomach she always felt whenever she was with
Mike, and her pulse raced. She felt almost too excited to eat and
when she looked into his deep blue eyes she felt breathless, he
looked so handsome in his navy suit that she found it impossible to
slow her pounding heart no matter how hard she tried.

"I’m so pleased you phoned me, Susan. I never
called you because I respected your wishes to keep everything
strictly professional. But so many times I had to stop myself from
dialing your number. I’ve really missed your company."

"I’ve missed you too, Mike. And thank you,
for asking me out and for dealing with my change of heart. I feel
so much more comfortable about this now that we don’t deal directly
with each other at work."

"It’s funny, this is the first time I’ve been
on a date in months, I hardly go out that much anymore. And it was
well worth the wait, you look beautiful tonight and you’re
wonderful company as usual." Mike beamed as his eyes twinkled in
the candle light.

"Oh, thank you! And you don’t look so bad
yourself, Mike. So, why haven’t you been going out lately?
Actually, I did notice you’re not in the gossip news so much of
late. Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to mention that." Susan blushed.

Mike laughed. "Hey, don’t worry about it,
Susan. I read the London gossip news myself. It’s all a bit of fun
just don’t believe half of what you read. The gossip sites make me
look like a womanizer when nothing could be further from the truth.
What they don’t mention is that my day starts at 5 in the morning
in the gym before I cycle to the office. I don’t have the time or
the stamina to be out all night with a different actress each
week."

"Oh really? And you haven’t been out at all,
for a while?" Susan furrowed her brow and tried to make sense of
what he was saying.

"To be perfectly honest, after I met you I
just didn’t feel like hanging out in the night club scene any more.
I’m tired of it. I only ever went along with it to establish myself
as a name in the property development game, my clients hang out in
all the right clubs so it’s where I used to socialize. And, yes,
over the years, I dated some famous models but not half as many as
the gossip media would make you think. A lot of those women I’m
photographed with are good friends, clients and wives of business
partners. It’s all much more innocent than the journalists would
like it to be."

"Oh, I see. Thanks for explaining that, I had
thought we were very different people." Susan felt herself relax
and saw a different side of Mike.

Mike lowered his voice. "What I’m trying to
say, in a round about way is this, after meeting you the night life
scene seemed shallow, and frankly, it started to bore me. I’d be in
a club for a couple of hours, until it was acceptable to leave, and
the whole time I’d be thinking about you and comparing other women
to you. Which wasn’t very fair on them. You’ve got it all, Susan.
You’re beautiful, you’re intelligent, successful and great to talk
to. You’re just very different to anyone I’ve ever been out
with.

"And, I’ve really missed your company. I’ve
been thinking about you a lot even though I never expected we’d
meet again outside of work so I tried to block my feelings for you.
But the truth is, I’m crazy about you, from the moment you walked
into my office, I’ve had you on my mind."

Mike reached across the table and squeezed
her hand. Susan started to feel light headed but looked into his
eyes anyway, not knowing if she could take anymore of this
electricity between them.

"Mike, I feel the same way. I’ve thought
about you every single day since we met. I just can’t get you of my
mind. Every time my phone goes, my heart leaps in case it’s you.
I’ve been an emotional wreck for weeks and weeks.

"But please, tell me, what is that dark
secret that you mentioned the last time we met?"