The chilly temperatures had faded away, expected to stay gone through the weekend. It was bright and sunny outside with a few puffy clouds in the sky. Seagulls circled overhead as I made my way to the beachside restaurant Darin and I had agreed to meet at. After being grilled by Mr. Corbin the day before under the assumption that I might have some involvement in Abernathy's potential buying of other agencies, he gave me strict instructions to pull as much information as I could out of Darin about what companies Abernathy wanted to buy. Mr. Hilliard was a dealmaker. He was a man who could compromise. Mr. Corbin on the other hand was not. I could definitely see them butting heads big time if Abernathy Advertisements ended up knocking on Corbin and Hilliard's door with a proposal.

I walked into the restaurant, awkwardly pausing in the doorway while I scanned the room for Darin Forbes. I spotted him towards the back of the restaurant in a torn, cracked leather booth that was in desperate need of a makeover. He stood up when he saw me and smiled brightly, shaking my hand. I half expected him to kiss the back of my hand again like he had at the gala and I was slightly surprised when he didn't.

"Afternoon," I greeted him, sitting down on the opposite side of the booth.

For the vice president of one of the most prestigious advertising agencies in the western hemisphere, he certainly didn't dress like it. Darin sat across from me in a light blue button-up and slacks that, though they were business-casual attire, appeared a lot more casual than business. I'd expected an Armani suit and shoes shined so perfectly that you could see your reflection in them.

"How are you, Bree?" he asked, folding his hands on the table.

Something about the way his disheveled hair fell to the side captured my attention and I almost forgot to answer. Maybe Carlie was right. Maybe I did need to consider a real relationship instead of friends with benefits.

I cleared my throat uncomfortably, digging my thumbnail into the napkin on the table. "I'm great." I attempted to seem excited to talk with him. I was regretting not making an excuse to cancel. It wouldn't have felt like such a strange encounter if I hadn't had that discussion with Mr. Corbin. "And you?"

"I'm doing quite well." He flashed a toothy grin, tugging at his shirt collar where the top two buttons were undone. "I've been looking forward to talking to you again."

I was reminded of Alec. He usually left three buttons undone to be a tease. He knew it caught women's attention - and normally kept it. Watching Darin touch his collar made my fingertips itch to tug at Alec's. I tried to block out that thought, reminding myself I was in the middle of a supposed-to-be business meeting. It was not a date, despite what Michelle had said over and over all morning.

Without processing my words through the logic filter before I spoke, partially in an effort to rid my mind of the increasing amount of Alec fantasies creeping in, I blurted out, "I hear you're surveying the local industry for agencies to buy."

Darin's eyebrows rose in surprise. I'd definitely caught him off guard. "Well, that was... You get right to the point, don't you, Bree?" he chuckled softly, his hand rubbing the back of his neck as if he was the uncomfortable one now.

"Subtleness isn't always my stronghold." I tried to play it off with a shrug. "But is that true? Is Abernathy looking at buying Corbin and Hilliard?"

He frowned, about to speak, but the waitress came over to see if we were ready to order. I'd quickly lost my appetite and opted for a glass of water. Darin asked for coffee and left it at that. I was beginning to wonder why we hadn't met at the coffee shop instead.

Darin waited for the waitress to bring our drinks and walk away again before responding. "Who told you that's what I'm here for?"

"My boss." There was a bit of ice in my tone. "Is it true?"

He nodded, stirring a sugar packet into his coffee. "Our board, myself, and my boss, Chase, decided it was time to look at expanding to other parts of the country," he explained. "We believe the best way to do that, rather than spend a ton of money on building a new office where we would have new competition, is to buy up the competition but keep their names. That way we can still entice their current, former, and potential clients to work with them - us."

Of course, bigger companies wanted to move in and buy up all the competition so there's almost no way they won't get everyone's business. From a strategic business perspective, it made sense. But that didn't mean it was the right thing to do.

"So you're looking at Corbin and Hilliard," I said. It was more of a statement than a question.

"We're looking at several agencies. Yours, Vexcon, Parker, Harp-"

"You realize that people like Genevieve Parker and Mr. Corbin, and probably even Troy Devereaux, aren't going to take kindly to Abernathy making an offer." I realized I was glaring and attempted to soften my stare. "They're proud of the companies they've built and they don't want some bigger agency sweeping in and taking over."

"I understand that completely," he nodded, tugging at his collar again. "But money speaks louder than words. You know that. You bring in roughly eighty-five percent of Corbin and Hilliard's annual profit."

He was right. There were probably quite a few agencies who would compromise if the check had enough zeros on it.

"You've done your research," I said in reference to his analysis of my work.

Darin scooted closer to the table, pushing his coffee mug aside and put on a serious face. "I have. And that's part of why I'm sitting here talking to you, Bree. I have a pretty good feeling that my company is going to make a proposal to your company, and when that happens-"

"If the offer is accepted, a lot of people are going to lose their jobs because your company will favor its own employees over Corbin and Hilliard's." My glare had returned. "Because your company will see no use in employing someone from Corbin and Hilliard who has the same job as someone from Abernathy. Because your company only cares about the Corbin and Hilliard name and not the people that created it."

Darin seemed surprised by my statement. He shrunk back against the cracked leather, running a hand through his hair while he contemplated his next move.

"What I was going to say was... I want you to come work for corporate in Columbus if a buyout does take place." He cleared his throat authoritatively, trying to reestablish control of the conversation. "We at Abernathy are very impressed with your work and the way you've tremendously increased Corbin and Hilliard's growth in such a short amount of time. We'd like to have your expertise on our team."

All my planned sarcastic retorts were whisked away into a metaphorical trashcan. Darin offering me a job was the last thing I'd expected to come out of this meeting. I rested my chin on my fist so my mouth wouldn't hang open in shock. I couldn't find the right words to say. My mind was still trying to process the fact that the vice president of the company I'd been wanting so badly to work for had just offered me a job and yet I wasn't happy about it. How could I not be happy about it?

My thoughts drifted to Alec. He'd known for a while that I'd had my sights set on Abernathy. He knew how anxious I was to get out of North Carolina and build a successful, exciting career in the big city, hopefully with Abernathy. I had a sudden impulse to call and tell him, but thinking of him reminded me of what Mr. Corbin had said: Abernathy was considering trying to buy Harper Media also.

"What about Harper Media?" I finally managed a sentence. Darin looked confused. "What about people like Alec Shaffers? Where is he going to go if you take away his employment? Abernathy's already got a director of advertising. Surely, you wouldn't keep him."

I realized I had drifted way far off topic and Darin was probably blown away by me not excitedly accepting his offer. Hell, half the reason I'd agreed to this meeting was simply to try to butter him up in attempts to get a job offer at a later date. Yet here I was getting it faster than I'd ever hoped for and blowing it off. I hadn't even verbally acknowledged what he'd said. Even though I was still pissed at Alec, I couldn't push away the nagging concern over his job. That was all I could focus on at the moment.

Darin looked bewildered and began quickly tapping his thumb on the edge of the table in frustration. "Are you going to consider my offer?"

"Are you going to answer my question?" I crossed my arms, brows drawing together in equal exasperation.

His thumb ceased its movement and he pursed his lips, glancing out the window to the nearby ocean.

Looking at the water reminded me that Alec only lived a few blocks away. Stop it! I mentally argued with myself. You don't need to see him! He's probably with Blondie anyway.

"Miss Laughlin." Darin resorted back to addressing me formally, which made it clear he wasn't pleased by my inquiry and lack of enthusiasm. "Is there something going on between you and Mr. Shaffers?"

A pang of surprise and nervousness ripped through me and I could feel the beginning of an cold sweat. I should've thought before asking about Alec's job. Hopefully Darin wouldn't put two and two together between our risqué dance at the gala, which I didn't know how much of he'd witnessed, and my asking about whether or not his job would be safe. Darin had to wonder why I gave a crap about my biggest competitor. Despite how mad I still was at Alec, it didn't change the fact that I cared about him and felt the need to look out for him.

"No." I put on my best lying face and denied every ounce of possibility of anything other than a professional acquaintanceship occurring between us. "I'm aware he's my competitor, Mr. Forbes, but he deserves every opportunity at success as well. He's grown Harper Media just as much as I've helped grow Corbin and Hilliard. He shouldn't lose his job simply because Abernathy is careless, and neither should anyone else. Please consider looking elsewhere for agencies to buy."

I ended our meeting, forcing him to shake my hand upon my exit. I was blown away by the fact that I'd allowed myself to even think just a smidgen about Darin in a romantic way. He was another corporate executive with no regard for the agents earning less than him. He just covered it up a little better than the rest.

I jogged across the road to my car and decided against the voice in my head telling me I didn't need to see Alec. Whether anything physical happened or not, I figured he deserved to know about Abernathy's plans, and I'd rather tell him in person than via email.

I pulled up to the familiar apartment complex. The lawn care workers were trimming the hedges and mulching leaves. I waved to them, jogging into the building. Turning the corner on Alec's floor, I awkwardly came face to face with the elderly woman who'd witnessed my salacious attire in the hallway a couple weeks prior. She simply scowled at me, obviously remembering me, and went on her way. I was relieved that she chose not to stop and talk.

Reaching Alec's door, I knocked three times. The door opened to reveal the shirtless - and pants-less - man I'd been trying to push out of my thoughts for days. Suddenly all my pent up sexual frustration came rushing back with a vengeance.

He eyed me hungrily, his blue orbs shining in the dim hallway light. "Bree."

"Alec."