Chapter 7

   Drake called her two days after the dinner party to thank her again for inviting him over, but she had only a few minutes to spare. She was really busy setting things up for her trip.

 She was leaving for the staktons that afternoon to be with friends, and then She was to leave for France the following week. She told him that she had a lot of things to do at the moment, and when he asked her to dinner, she told him she didn't have time to have dinner with him before her trip. She knew she could shift some meetings  for him if she wanted to, but to her it would not have been a smart move. She was trying every possible means to resist the overwhelming attraction she had for him. She was afraid that things were going to move faster than what was comfortable for her, and she still wasn't sure if she wanted to succumb to the feelings she had for him. Emotional involvements were always messy and dangerous, and she was wary of them.

 Even though anything was to happen, she wanted it at a slow pace, so that she could get some time to think. She sure as hell was in no hurry to rush into anything with him, no matter how attractive he was, and she couldn't deny how insanely attractive he was. She was suspicious of how quick she caught feelings for him. It was too early and too easy, and the thought of it made her want to scurry away.

 "In this case you leave me no choice."

 "I don't understand, what do you mean?" She was confused. 

 "About seeing you of course. I guess I will have to take you up on your offer."

 "My offer?"

 "Yep. I will be needing a ticket to the couture shows ma'am. I have meetings with some clients in los Angeles on the second, but I could fly late that afternoon. Is there any show I could attend then? Only if you are comfortable with this arrangement of course." He was not trying to be a pest, he just really wanted to see and spent time with her  again, even though it meant that he had to sit through what he doubted would be of  interest to him, but France appealed to him a lot, so that was a plus. 

 "Are you kidding?" She gasped.

 "Of course not, does it fit into your plans?" He asked.

 "Actually it fits just right, and I'm sure that it might just be fun for you." She tried to hide the excitement from her voice, just for her own peace of mind. If she thought about it too much, she knew she would get too scared, she was too attracted, but on the other hand he seemed like a incredibly nice man. He had no visible flaws and no bad reputation based on her findings.... He was a really good man, and she knew how rare it was to find a man like that. Right now, all she was going to do was to book him a room at the zarbs... At least he would have a lot of closet space of his own.

 "The Zandor show is at the night of the second, and its the most spectacular if I do say so myself, I think you will really enjoy it. Although  their clothes aren't really wearable, but zashico does his show in unusual locations, and his clothes are spectacular. If you enjoy it well enough, then we can go to bigloix the next day, which is also spectacular and eye catching. I can get you  sits for all. Plus there is a big after party at the night of Zandor, would you like to attend that too?"

 "Trust me, I'll like to be anywhere you want me to. I just don't want to intrude, I know you have to work, and i just don't want to get in your way, but I'll love to go to all of it. I don't really have interest in couture shows, so it is kind of a new experience. I can take a few days off and reschedule some meetings, I'm not planning to rush back. My girls are  busy somewhere, so i can hang around as long as you want me to, or I could leave immediately after the bigloix show if you would prefer that."

 "Why don't we just go for it? See how much you love or hate it, then we know where to go from there. But I'm sure you will enjoy them, they are really spectacular and the after parties are really fun. Everyone goes all out, so that theirs could stand out among the rest. So do you want me to get you a room at the hotel? Brian and I lodge at the zarbs and they're pretty decent."

 "Well I love to look up hotels first, but I trust your judgement. Just send me the bill for the hotel, and I'll pay."

 "Sure thing boss, I will send you an itinerary."

  She was making it sound like it was a business arrangement, and that worried him a bit. She was a lot more friendly before, but she was getting worried that she was being too friendly if Brian was already talking about sharing rooms and closets. She wondered if she was giving Drake the impression that she was smitten. She did not want him to think that she was chasing after him.... Although she never bothered about that before, Emma was someone that always went after what she wanted. But something about Drake made her want to be extra careful. She knew that Drake was attracted to her, he had done nothing to hide it. But they both needed time before diving in, no matter the attraction. She was excited  that he decided to accompany her to France, it was going to be really excited to spend time with him, even though she didn't show it. 

 She called him half and hour later  to tell him that she had booked a room at the zarbs for him. They were only a few left and she was relieved that she was able to book one of them for him.She always stayed in the same suite on the lamboo side of the hotel.

 "Thank you a lot Emma," he said ,as he made a mental note to call his secretary and have her call the hotel to pay the bills and arrange for a car to pick him up from the airport.

   Emma wasn't so thrilled as she drove to north staktons late that afternoon. She began to feel sorry that she decided not to see him before she left, it would've been easier than seeing him in France for the first time since the dinner party. It felt weird that they weren't an item yet, but they were planning to spend time together in a place for lovers just like couples would. Brian would be there too, so if she had work to do, he could keep Drake busy. But she was planning to try and spend as much free time with Drake as possible. It was a great way to know each other better, and a great place to do it.

  She nearly had an accident thinking about him, in the heavy traffic on the moonrise highway, and she didn't get to north skapton till late in the night. The traffic was terrible, but in the end, she was happy that she got to spend time with her friends. When Emma got home three days later, Drake called.

 "How's my only rival?" He asked.

 "Who could that be?" She sounded jolly and relaxed after her  weekend with friends. She seemed to be feeling more comfortable with him, especially since she had not seen him all weekend.

 "Cherry of course, did you take him to skapton?"

 She snorted. "Cherry hates the beach, it is way too much for him, and he hates swimming. Anytime I'm out of town, Siddharth takes him home. When Sid dropped him off he went upstairs without a single glance my way, he is always so mad at me when I go away. Plus he's heading to summer dog camp in a week." Never has Drake ever envied anyone. But in this case, he found himself envying the dog and the love she had for him. He loved the thought of laying around her, sleeping on her bed, minus the horrible noises though.

 "He's a lucky guy," he said, and soon they went on to discuss the last detail of their trip to France, and the kind of clothes he should pack. 

   She went on to tell him to bring a couple of dark suits, because the Zandor parties were usually dressy, and there might be another party by Bigloix. Drake sounded genuinely excited about the trip, and in spite of her occasional conflict and concern about him, she still found Drake hard to resist, and she was just as excited about the trip as he was. It was going to be  fun to have someone other than Brian and other workers there. It was going to be nice to be out with a man again after a while, for whatever reason, whatever purpose.... Friendship, or as a boss.

 As she hurried off to the general meeting, she was thinking about it, and she decided in a moment of bravery to give it a fair chance and be reckless after a while. In truth, what would life be without a little romance and excitement?