Just To Be With You

CHAPTER TEN

On Wednesday morning at 7:59 a.m., Ian stood in his office and looked down at his watch for the dozenth time in the past several minutes.

Where was she?

Uncomfortable with the thought of Tatiana waiting outside the building, Ian had given her a temporary employee badge. She’d been in early again on Tuesday, waiting in his office with a cup of coffee just the way he took it. Today, she knew his first meeting with his executive staff for their weekly review and planning session began at eight, which meant she should have been here fifteen minutes ago.

Maybe, he thought as he finally headed down the hall to the conference room, she’d gotten stuck on a business call of her own. While he hadn’t actually seen her do any business beyond shadowing him the past couple of days, an actress of her caliber and popularity had to be overwhelmed with offers and publicity requests from her agent and publicist. He was amazed, actually, that she’d been able to put it all aside to focus on researching her role.

Or, perhaps her taxi was stuck in downtown gridlock.

Or, maybe it was simply that she’d gotten sick of sitting in his meetings and had decided to sleep in rather than beat him to his office for a third day in a row.

He thought about asking Bethany to get in touch with Tatiana, but if she’d decided to blow off shadowing him today, frankly, it should be a relief that she wasn’t here. After all, he’d been more distracted than he wanted to admit. So distracted by Tatiana’s beauty and sweetness and intelligence, in fact, that what had begun as teasing, then turned into laughter, had been teetering on the brink of becoming so much more.

Ian never thought he’d have something to thank Chelsea for, but if she hadn’t barged into his office yesterday, it would have been too damned easy to pull Tatiana against him to finally taste the gorgeous mouth that had been tempting him nearly every waking—and dreaming—moment since he’d met her.

Reminding himself that this was his chance to focus one hundred percent on work again, he stepped into the conference room and began the meeting.

It wasn’t uncommon for these weekly planning meetings to run from breakfast all the way into the lunch hour. Today, in particular, was bound to be a long one as they prepared to move forward the second Flynn Thomas agreed to the new offer.

Every ounce of Ian’s attention should have been on the information and plans that his executive staff were presenting. But all he’d been able to think about for the past hour and a half was Tatiana.

Damn it, where was she?

He pushed his chair back. “I’m sorry, I’ve got to go take care of something. Please continue without me. Bethany, may I speak with you outside for a moment?” The moment they were in the hall, he asked her, “Has Tatiana been in touch yet?”

His assistant frowned. “No, I assumed her plans for the day must have changed, but that she let only you know about it. Would you like me to give her a call to see if I can find out where she is so that you can get back to the meeting?”

He shook his head, knowing he wouldn’t be able to focus on a damned thing until he knew that Tatiana was all right. “I’ll call her myself.”

He wanted to believe it was traffic or work or boredom that had her staying away today, but what if none of those reasons were right? Yesterday afternoon, Tatiana had said, point-blank, that she was falling for him...and in response, he’d not only completely shut her down, he’d also tossed harsh words back at her.

Words he’d regretted the second they were out of his mouth.

Ian cursed as he headed into his office then pulled out his cell phone and scrolled through his contacts list for her number. Even if she was upset with him, he still hoped she would pick up, if only to reassure him that she was fine…or to tell him exactly what she thought of him being such a jerk to her. Then again, he thought as he realized a strange buzzing was coming from the cushions of his couch, he simply couldn’t imagine Tatiana snapping at him, even if she was angry.

What he could still see clearly, however, was the fire—and the hurt—that had flashed through her eyes when he’d told her to forget about the two of them ever acting on their attraction.

Moving toward his couch, he hung up on her voice mail and hit the Call Again button. Moments later, when the buzzing started up again, he reached between the cushions and pulled out her phone.

She’d told him she was messy. Now he was starting to get a sense of just how far that messiness extended, if she’d managed to lose her phone in his office during the few minutes they’d actually been able to spend there the day before.

Ian put her phone in his pocket and stopped at his assistant’s desk. “I need to head out for a while.”

“Is everything okay? Where is Tatiana?”

Clearly, she was now as concerned as he was about the beautiful actress they’d both spent so many hours with in the past couple of days. “That’s what I’m going to go find out.” Bethany’s eyebrows went up in surprise. In the ten years she’d worked for him, he’d never missed a single planning meeting, even that week he’d had a 104-degree fever and could barely walk a straight line. “If she does happen to call or come by while I’m gone, tell her to call her cell phone, would you?” He walked past the full conference room without breaking his stride.

The ride in his town car from the office to her condo should have taken fifteen minutes, tops, but traffic really was bad today. Normally, he answered email on his phone to make up for the lost travel time, but he couldn’t stop thinking—and worrying—about Tatiana long enough to type in a coherent reply to so much as one.

She’d fallen asleep during that meeting yesterday, and he suddenly worried that she hadn’t come to the office because she wasn’t feeling well. If she was sick, would she know that she could call him or his parents or any of his brothers or sister for help?

Telling himself that he would have done the same for any of his siblings who were supposed to meet him over an hour ago, Ian told his driver to keep heading to Tatiana’s place, then got out to cover the rest of the distance on foot.

When Tatiana’s doorbell rang for her meeting with a model who was transitioning into acting and the young woman’s mother, she put aside her script and got up to answer it. She’d never made so many notes in the margins of a script...or gotten so little out of any of them.

Every line of dialogue she’d played out in her head this morning had sounded wrong, worse now than they had before she’d started to shadow Ian. It would be easiest to blame the screenwriter, but her problems with the part weren’t his fault. They were hers, and hers alone.

She knew she was overthinking it, and yet the more she tried to relax and trust that she’d figure out her character before filming began, the tenser she became. By this point, she’d been gripping and crumpling the pages so hard that they looked as if a teething infant had been gnawing on them.

Plus, even though she’d vowed the night before not to keep feeling weird about what she’d said to Ian in his office yesterday afternoon, she couldn’t stop thinking about the way he’d shut her out. And how much it had hurt.

On the way to the door, Tatiana picked up a stray hairband from the kitchen counter and, with a big yawn, shoved her hair into a messy ponytail. She’d always been a good sleeper, which had helped her out a great deal over the years when she’d needed to catch catnaps between scenes. But all the things she’d said to Ian—about falling for him and how could he have paid off his ex and that she wasn’t going to forget her feelings for him—had played on repeat in her head all night long, along with the way he’d carefully scrubbed his expression clean of emotion by the time he’d left for his meeting.

She didn’t much feel like smiling at the moment, but she made sure one was on her lips as she opened her door. “Serena, hello. It’s so nice to see you again.” She gave the positively gorgeous model a hug. “Hello, you must be Serena’s mother. It’s lovely to meet you, Genevieve. Please come inside. Sorry, I know it’s a little messy, but I thought it would be easiest for all of us if we met here rather than on a set or in an office.”

Serena’s mother looked positively gleeful as she said, “I’m so thrilled Smith suggested we meet with you to discuss this role. Serena is absolutely beside herself at the chance to prove herself on the big screen, aren’t you, sweetie?”

Serena nodded and smiled, but evidently Tatiana wasn’t doing as good a job of covering up her gray mood as she thought, because she said, “I hope you weren’t in the middle of something. We could come back later if we’ve interrupted you.”

Catching the horrified expression Serena’s mother gave her daughter, Tatiana replied, “No, this is perfect.”

Smith had asked if she could do him a favor by running through a couple of scenes with Serena and then giving him her opinion about the budding actress. It was a pretty important role in one of his upcoming movies, and because Serena was untried, he wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to regret his casting choice.

Tatiana had worked with models before and apart from the occasional exception, they were never all that great. They looked beautiful, of course, but looking pretty and expressing honest emotion weren’t always synonymous. She’d met Serena at a couple of industry events this year, and each time, she’d been struck not only by just how pure the model’s beauty was, but by how different she seemed. Quiet, and not overly interested in playing the game, the two of them had had a normal, un-Hollywood discussion about a book they’d both recently read.

“Can I get either of you a cup of coffee?”

When both women nodded, she went to fill three mugs. Tatiana had already had one cup too many this morning, but figuring one more couldn’t make her feel any more off-kilter than she already did, she topped off her own cup.

“Is this Smith Sullivan’s family?”

Serena’s mother was holding a picture Tatiana had taken and framed of all the Sullivans and their mates and kids together at Marcus and Nicola’s wedding. Telling herself it wasn’t fair that she felt as though her privacy was being intruded on when she’d been the one to invite them to her house for this read-through, she made herself smile again. “Yes, I took it when we were at—”

“Marcus and Nico’s wedding!” Genevieve exclaimed. “I can hardly believe there are so many famous people in one family. Not just a movie star, but a baseball star and a pop star and Chase Sullivan, who has won all those awards for his photography and Jake McCann with his pubs. Isn’t one of them also a billionaire?”

Genevieve didn’t seem to realize she’d breathlessly cut Tatiana off, but Serena looked mortified—just like any normal teenage girl would be when her mother freaked out over famous people.

Ignoring the billionaire question, Tatiana said, “Yes, they are certainly an exceptional group.” She brought over the coffee and made sure Genevieve had to put down the framed picture to take hers. “Not in the least because they’re all so nice.”

“And so incredibly good-looking, especially this one,” Genevieve said, pointing to Ian. “I’m sure your sister knows how lucky she was to snag Smith the way she did.”

Tatiana thought about biting her tongue, but if there was anything she’d proved during the past couple of days shadowing Ian, it was just how bad she was at it. “Actually, Smith was the one who did the snagging.” Really, she should shut her mouth before she said anything more, but she couldn’t stand the thought of this woman thinking that Valentina had done something to trick Smith into falling for her. “They’re very much in love, and his fame is the last thing in the world that matters to her.”

“Oh, I’m sure,” Genevieve said with a knowing nod. “Over the years Serena has worked with so many stars that we’re totally over it all, too. Aren’t we, sweetie?”

Serena made a sound that could have meant anything, but it was hard to tell if she was agreeing or disagreeing because she was staring down at the couch cushions as if she was trying to disappear into them.

Tatiana immediately felt bad about not letting Genevieve’s thoughtless comment roll off her the way she should have. She was just touchy from lack of sleep...and from not being able to stop thinking about Ian. Besides, she knew how hard auditions were, especially when they all knew that Tatiana’s opinion of Serena’s acting ability would likely weigh quite heavily into Smith’s final casting decision.

She smiled at the model. “Do you need anything else before we do the read-through?”

“No, I’m ready to go.”

Tatiana reached for the printout of the two scenes Smith had emailed her, and when Serena didn’t take one out, too, started to hand her the extra copy she’d made.

“Oh no, Serena doesn’t need that. She has it memorized, don’t you, sweetie?”

Working hard to push her irritation away at the way Genevieve kept speaking for her daughter, Tatiana said, “Great. So, why don’t we—”

Her doorbell rang again and she stopped in the middle of her sentence. She gave the two women sitting on her couch an apologetic smile. “I wasn’t expecting anyone, but if you’ll just give me a second, I’ll find out what they need.” Who could be coming to see her now that Serena and her mother were here? More than that, who even had her Seattle address apart from her family and manager?

Through the peephole, the sight of Ian standing outside her front door was the very last thing she’d expected...and the very, very best.

She flung open the door, grinning like a fool. A lovesick one. “Good morning!”

But he didn’t say a word or smile back at her. His gaze ran over her from head to toe, as if he needed to make sure she was really standing there in front of him. He was beautiful as always in his suit, but when she looked closer, she realized he wasn’t quite as pressed and perfect as always. In fact, from the windblown look of his dark hair and the scuffs on his usually polished shoes, it looked like he’d jogged to her condo from his office. Which was totally crazy, because why would he do something like that? Especially after the way he’d shut her out the previous afternoon.

“Ian, what’s wrong?”

“Why weren’t you at the office today?”

“I had a meeting this morning, remember? I told you yesterday that Smith called and—” She grimaced. “I didn’t tell you, did I?” Her grimace turned into a full-blown groan. “Sorry, he texted me during one of your meetings, and I meant to tell you afterward, but with everything that happened yesterday, I obviously forgot.”

It occurred to her, suddenly, that Ian was probably missing a whole host of really important meetings to come and track her down. “You came all this way to find out why I didn’t show. Why didn’t you just call my cell?” Maybe, just maybe, it was because he cared more about her than he wanted to admit?

He reached into his pocket...and pulled out her phone. “You left it on the couch in my office. Actually, it was inside the couch by the time I found it.”

Oh, so that was why he’d blown off work to come to her house—he hadn’t been able to reach her by phone. “Thanks.” She knew her voice sounded a heck of a lot flatter than it had just a few seconds ago, but it was the best she could do at the moment. “I was wondering where I’d put it.”

But when she reached for it and he put it into her hand, he closed his fingers over hers and didn’t let go. She looked up at him in surprise, and what she saw in his eyes had her breath catching in her throat.

“I was worried about you, Tatiana.” She watched him war with himself for a few seconds before he finally said, “Yesterday, I didn’t deal well with the situation in my office. Not with any of it. And especially not with you.”

Oh my. He had melted her heart from the very start, even though he’d been working so hard the entire time to keep his distance. But now that he was finally speaking to her straight from his heart, without any walls up, she realized just how much harder—and farther—she’d fallen for him than she’d been aware of.

Tatiana had never been in love before. But as she stood with her hand in Ian’s and his dark eyes holding hers with such intensity, she now knew with perfect clarity that she was all the way there.

“Ian,” she began, just as Genevieve’s voice sounding from the living room behind her reminded her that they weren’t alone.

“You’re busy,” he said as he started to pull his hand back. “I’ll let you go.”

“Please, stay.” She kept his hand in hers, knowing instinctively that once he went back to the office, all of his walls would build back up, and likely be even more impenetrable. Thinking fast, and talking even faster, she said, “Since you’re already here, I’m sure Smith would love your opinion on this read-through, too. In fact, I know he’d be thrilled to have a third party here who can look at things totally objectively.” Realizing he had no idea what she was talking about, she dropped her voice so it wouldn’t carry to the women sitting in her living room. “Serena Britten is a really well-known model who auditioned for a part in one of Smith’s new movies. He thinks she’s good, but working with models can be...” How could she put it nicely?

“A pain in the ass?”

Tatiana remembered what she’d learned online when she’d looked up Ian all those months ago—that Chelsea had been a model. She paused, before nodding. “Yes, that’s why he wanted to get my opinion.”

“Only about her acting skills?”

“Mostly that, but also how I think she’ll do in the mix in rehearsals and on set. I haven’t seen her act yet, but I like her. And it would really help if you’d be willing to watch us run through two short scenes and give your opinion, as well.”

His phone rang then, the specific tone that meant it was Bethany calling. Finally pulling his hand from Tatiana’s, he answered it. “Yes, she’s at home, and she’s fine.” He listened to something his assistant said, then asked Tatiana, “How short are the scenes you’d like me to watch?”

She knew how seriously he took his work, and what a big deal it already was that he’d skipped out of a meeting at all. But for him to even consider staying a few more minutes?

Well, if that wasn’t a declaration to her of his feelings...she didn’t know what was.

“Really short. I promise.”

“Please tell them to continue the meeting without me,” he told Bethany, then slipped his phone back in his pocket.

Unfortunately, in her excitement over having Ian stay a little while longer, Tatiana had forgotten about Genevieve…and how over-the-top her reaction was bound to be when one of the gorgeous, famous, successful Sullivan men in the picture on her mantel came to life.

But there was nothing Tatiana could do or say to warn Ian, because they’d barely walked into the living room when Genevieve jumped up off the coach, yanking Serena up by the wrist.

“Well, hello.”

“Genevieve, Serena, I’d like you both to meet Ian.” Tatiana purposely left off his last name, hoping that Serena’s mother wouldn’t make the connection, but between staring at the wedding photo and the stalker-like research she likely did on wealthy, famous men, there was no fooling her.

“Serena, can you believe we’ve been lucky enough to meet two Sullivan men in one week?”

Serena politely offered her hand to Ian. To his credit, he neither goggled at the model’s incredible beauty nor blanched at her mother’s handshake that went on way too long. It was, Tatiana thought, as if the older woman was silently trying to tell him, “You can have either me or my daughter, whichever you choose, big boy.”

“Why don’t we get started?” Tatiana suggested in an overly enthusiastic voice as she boldly put her arms around both Serena and her mother to direct them away from Ian. “I asked Ian to stay and watch, as well, if that’s okay with you, Serena.”

“Of course it’s okay,” Genevieve answered, actually clapping her hands in delight.

Beyond irritated with the woman, Tatiana moved close enough to Serena to make it clear that she was speaking directly to her, rather than to the mother-daughter team.

“Before we start, I want to ask you to forgive me if I’m a little off my game today. I haven’t been sleeping that well the past couple of nights, so I might need a few restarts to get it right.”

“You’re always so good, I thought you always got things perfectly the first time out.”

Tatiana laughed out loud at the idea that she was perfect. Hadn’t Serena already seen what a mess her home was? And wasn’t it also true that she’d gone and fallen head over heels for a man who obviously didn’t want her to feel that way about him?

“Clearly, Smith didn’t tell you about the time I couldn’t stop giggling in the middle of a really sensitive scene in Gravity. I don’t know if you’ve seen it—”

“Of course I’ve seen it.” Serena looked shocked that Tatiana could have thought otherwise.

“Well, you know the scene where Jo is secretly watching Graham cuddling with her baby girl?”

“I cried during that scene.”

“Good. You were supposed to cry. But I was punchy from a long week of sensitive and hushed scenes, and I swear every single thing Smith did and said was positively hilarious that afternoon.” Thinking back on it, she laughed again. God, she’d been such a twerp. But she’d needed the temporary lift to get through the following hours of giving such heavy and strong emotions to the cameras. “I’m sure he would have strangled me were it not for the fact that we already had ninety percent of the movie in the can and he needed me alive to finish the last ten.”

When she saw a real smile on the girl’s face, Tatiana knew they’d both shaken off her mother’s interference, and were finally ready to begin the scene.