Crazy Ever After

Chapter Thirteen

Travis had left her bed around four o’clock, and despite feeling cold and alone, she’d drifted back to sleep until her alarm went off at seven. She didn’t see him as she grabbed a quick cup of coffee and a bagel, although every sense was on alert waiting for him to appear.

On the way to the office, her tummy quivered and fluttered whenever she thought of seeing him there. This wasn’t how she’d planned things to go. She’d been convinced she could keep her feelings for him separate, that they could work together at Cedar Mill Coffee and it would all be fine. She hadn’t planned on jumping into bed with him, but whoa... Now that she had, it was hard to regret it. Well, she would show him how mature and professional she could be, by maintaining separate relationships. At work, they were colleagues. Away from work they were...what? Lovers?

“Hooo.” She blew out a breath, the flutter down low inside turning into a warm ache as she thought about being Travis’s lover. Wow.

But that didn’t change anything at the office.

She straightened her shoulders. She was still determined to show them all she could lead the company and pick up where her father had left off. Her bottom lip quivered a little as she thought about making him proud of her. She and Travis might be sleeping together, but that meant nothing when it came to business.

She nibbled her bottom lip as she walked into the office. Paulette was already there as usual, dubiously studying a large cardboard carton on her desk.

“Morning, Paulette. What’s that?”

Paulette looked up at her and didn’t answer. Her mouth flattened then she said, “It’s your father’s things. From the hotel in Matagalpa.”

Samara’s heart flipped over in her chest. “Oh.” She stopped short. “Well. I’ll take it and go through it.”

“Are you sure?” Paulette’s brows slanted down. “I could ask Travis...”

“No. That’s fine. I’ll do it.”

She hefted the box off Paulette’s desk and carried it into her father’s office. Her office. They still had to fight...er...discuss...that small issue.

She closed the door and then turned to the box. Taking a pair of scissors from the drawer, she slit the tape and lifted the flaps of the box open.

She pulled out a small carry-on size bag, which must have been all he traveled with. Not a lot, but then it was supposed to be a short trip, only a few days. Beneath it sat a briefcase. She gazed down at it. That was likely what she was most interested in, but just to make sure, she set the carry-on on the floor and unzipped it around three sides. She flipped it open, lifted out some of his clothes, feeling strangely like she was snooping through someone else’s things. But he was gone.

A few shirts, a couple of pairs of pants, underwear, a small black leather toiletry bag that held his shaver, a small bottle of shampoo, toothpaste, and toothbrush. Just the usual things you’d expect to see. Tears prickled the corners of her eyes at the thought that he’d never use these things again.

She sniffled and bent her head for a moment, hugging one of his shirts, then rose and returned to the briefcase. She lifted it out. It was heavy, and she realized it held his laptop. It was amazing that it had been returned. Something like that would have been so easy to steal. She had to admire the hotel staff who’d packed his things and sent them home.

Was there more information on the laptop than had been on his desk computer? Although she’d found some details, she didn’t have enough to finish whatever he’d started there. Nor had she seen any mention of the amazing coffee bean her mother had mentioned.

There was also a day planner, and she flipped through it, looking at the notes in his illegible scribble, half printed, half cursive. She smiled. A note to meet Javier. The fiesta. Nothing odd there.

She opened the laptop, but of course the battery was dead, so she dug into the bottom of the bag for the cord and plugged it in. When she’d powered it up, she awaited a prompt for a password, but there was none. “Dad,” she muttered. “That’s not smart.” But it worked out well for her, and she began searching through directories, folders and files, and immediately zeroed in on the folder labeled “Matagalpa”.

She heard voices in the office outside her closed door and froze.

Travis?

She didn’t know exactly why, but she didn’t want him to know she had her father’s things. She wanted to do this on her own. She was determined that if there was something her father had being doing there that was worth finishing, she was going to find out, and she was going to finish it.

She quickly lowered the lid of the computer and set it on the floor behind her desk, packed up the box and shoved it into a cupboard in case Travis— or anyone—walked in. She would wait and take it home, study it at leisure there in the privacy of her bedroom.

Curiosity burned inside her and she bit her lip. Better safe. It was the weekend, and she could take her time exploring the contents of the laptop without jumping every time she heard a noise.

When Travis did appear at her door, it was with a soft knock. She looked up from the spreadsheet she was studying on the computer screen to see him leaning against the door frame, all big and gorgeous, arms crossed over his chest.

“Busy?” he asked.

She couldn’t read his face.

“Yes,” she said. “But...” She bit her lip.

One corner of his mouth kicked up, and he moved into the office, closing the door behind him. “You okay this morning?”

“Yes. Of course.” She held his gaze, but heat swept from her hairline to her toes. “You?”

“Great.” He kept coming toward the desk, and she blinked when he moved around behind it, bent and kissed her mouth.

She leaned into the kiss, loving the warmth of his mouth, the brush of his tongue on her bottom lip as he drew back. She stared up at him. “You shouldn’t do that here,” she said, her voice a little breathless.

“The door is closed.”

She nodded. “But seriously, Travis. I don’t know...” She got lost. Godfrey, she was usually so confident, so assertive, and she wasn’t sure what to say or how to deal with this mind-blowing situation. She licked her lips. “I want you to know that this...” She waved a hand between them. “What happened between us doesn’t change anything here at work.”

He arched an eyebrow, the warmth in his eyes cooling. “Really.”

She gave a sharp nod. “Yes. I still think I’m the best one to take over the company. I’m still going to get caught up and prepared for that meeting next week. This won’t change anything.”

He straightened and folded his arms across his chest, his face once again impassive. “Of course.”

She squinted at him. “You don’t think I...that I slept with you to...” Her words trailed off. “Oh my damn, Travis.”

His mouth tightened, and his eyes grew flinty. “You didn’t?”

He thought she’d slept with him to try to soften him up or something when it came to deciding the new leader of the company! “Of course not!” She jumped to her feet and reached for him. She slid her hands around the back of his neck. “That’s not what last night was about! Not at all.”

He gave a short nod, his mouth softening a little. “Then what was it about?”

She dropped her gaze, a flustered feeling overtaking her. She wasn’t about to tell him she was falling in love with him all over again. Or that maybe she’d been in love with him all along. Not yet anyway. She wasn’t going to make that mistake again. She swallowed, her throat tight and dry. “You know there’s always been something between us.”

“Yeah.” His hands settled on her hips, and she screwed up her courage and looked up to meet his eyes.

“I...I...want to explore that.” There, that sounded good.

His eyes darkened. “Oh, Sam. It’s such a bad idea.”

“Yeah. I know it is.” In all honesty she had to agree with him. “But I really think we can keep things separate. Here, it’s just business.”

“And at home it’s just...”

“Hot sex?” she said hopefully.

His lips twitched. “No doubt about that.” Then he looked up at the ceiling. “I’d like to be the responsible, mature one here and say that should never happen again. The truth is I seriously don’t think I can keep my hands off you. God knows I’ve tried.”

She kissed his chin. “It’s okay, Travis. I’m all grown up now. Remember?”

He groaned. “Oh man, are you ever.”

She grinned, feminine satisfaction swelling inside her. She gave him a fast, hard hug then stepped away. “Did you come here on business? Or just to talk?”

He sighed and rubbed his face. “Mostly just to talk. To see how you’re doing. To see if you have any questions.”

“Not so far,” she said cheerfully, returning to her chair. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

“Uh-huh. Okay, let me know if you need anything.”

She couldn’t resist, a new flirtatiousness unfurling inside her. “Oh, I will,” she said, catching his gaze and winking. “But it won’t be until later when we’re at home.”

She saw him trying to repress his smile. “I’ll be late getting home,” he said. “I have an appointment with Wade Burnell this afternoon.”

“Oh.” She frowned. “What about?”

“I’m the executor of your father’s will,” he reminded her. “Apparently I have to sign some documents to get started on probating the will.”

“Oh. Of course.” Her mood dipped a little at that.

“I’ll see you when I get home.”

“Okay.”

He left with a smile, and it took a few minutes of floaty distraction before she could refocus on work. But she had to. Business. Focus.

It was less than an hour later that she was puzzling over the company’s traceability system. She knew how important it was for a company who offered fair trade products to be able to verify their fair trade status, but the system they were using was sadly lacking. She had to be missing something.

It was Daniel she needed to talk to but when she went to his office, he was out. She had no idea who else to ask about that, so she traced her way back to Travis’s office. Damn, she hated to have to ask him questions, but he was the one who knew the most about the company.

More than her? Maybe.

She knocked on his open door and poked her head in. “Hi. Do you have a minute?”

“Sure.” He leaned back in his chair, his hair tousled, his shirt sleeves rolled up on his strong forearms. She gulped. Business. She took a few more steps into the room, and he waved at a chair.

Perched on the chair, she said, “I was just looking at our traceability system.” She grimaced. “Such as it is.”

“Traceability?” He lifted one eyebrow. “Why?”

“Why what? Why am I looking at it? I’m looking for ways to cut costs.”

His eyebrows drew together. “Traceability?”

“Yes.” Impatience edged her tone.

“I thought you were looking at the financials I gave you.”

“I already did.” She shrugged. “I get it. Now I’m looking for ways to cut costs.”

He leaned back in his chair. “I think we have bigger things to worry about than our traceability system, Sam.”

Her jaw tightened. “I’m well aware there are problems,” she said tersely. “Our system seems sadly inadequate. Is that really all we use?”

“Yes.” He shrugged.

“It’s so important these days,” she said. “And not just for process credence attributes. Yes, many buyers now require their suppliers to prove credence, including restaurants and some grocery stores. But there are other reasons for having a solid traceability system.” She asked him a few other technical questions, which he answered but only confirmed to her that what they were using was outdated and inadequate. She took it in then rose from her chair and said, “Okay, thanks.”

Back in her office, she leaned her head back against her chair and stared at the white paneled ceiling. She wished she hadn’t asked him about that because now he thought she was focusing on the wrong things. Was she?

He was the one who knew most about the business. She had to admit it. But she could show him she knew things too. The best way to do that was with a well thought-out business case. Numbers talked, for most people.

She glanced at her watch. She’d get right on that, but first she was going to call Duane Scanlon back and invite him for lunch.