“Let’s think bigger, Elizabeth. The School Bucks application is a great idea and long overdue. I don’t want Cabot graduates in vast amounts of debt when they walk out of our doors. I want them to easily access free grants and scholarships available to them so they can graduate from this university without tons of loans to worry about. I just recently paid off all of my student debt from graduate school five years ago, so I totally understand this. Implementation of your app will be transformational for some students, and it is in direct alignment with the university’s strategic plan.”
I’m floored.
I’m elated.
I can’t wait to tell Roman about my meeting.
“I’m so excited, Mister—” I accidentally revert back to addressing him formally. “I mean… Jacob. Thank you for the opportunity. I promise you won’t regret it.”
Without a knock or any warning, Roman appears in my doorway dressed deliciously in black from head to toe. His sudden presence startles me and as my head whips around to face him, my messy bun falls out of the ponytail holder and curls fall wildly down and around my face.
“You’re welcome,” Jacob continues talking through my computer screen, not realizing that anyone has entered the room. “And may I just say that you have some beautiful curls, Elizabeth?”
Uh oh.
10
ELIZABETH
I keep my eyes pinned on the brooding man I love in the doorway. I’m ashamed to admit it, but this is probably the first time in weeks I’ve truly taken a long look at him without being distracted by a call or the baby or whatever.
He is the sexiest man on planet earth. He hasn’t shaved in a few days and has a five o’clock shadow covering his square jaw, and his tattoos look especially bright as they pop against the black tee he’s wearing. He is out of the view of the computer’s camera, so Jacob doesn’t know he’s there, but to me it feels like Roman is in every crevice of this room.
“Could you hold on one second, Jacob?”
I mute the sound on our video call without even waiting for a reply.
“I’m in a meeting,” I say to Roman as gently as I can.
He’s in a mood.
I can feel the waves of disapproval rolling off of him, so I need to wrap things up with Jacob quickly before I get into any sort of a verbal joust with him.
“I can see that.”
“So… I’ll be finished shortly. Is everything all right downstairs with Aunt Juliette and Knox?”
“Of course it is,” he replies with a little more bass in his voice than usual. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
Roman doesn’t move from where he’s standing, and it doesn’t seem like he’s planning to. He just stares at the computer screen with malice emanating from his stormy obsidian eyes. I take a deep breath, turn around, and do the only thing I should at this point, unmute myself, and end the call quickly.
“So, Mr. Maxwell—”
“Ah, how soon we forget. It’s Jacob, remember?”
“Right, I forgot that fast.” I smile painfully. “Jacob.”
Roman slides one of the spare folding chairs I keep in the office abrasively across the floor. I do my best to ignore the fact that he has probably caused irreparable harm to my beautiful oak floors and that Jacob can also hear the ear-splitting sound.
“Pardon me, but I just remembered that I have another call with one of my developers overseas. This is the only time he can talk because of the time difference. Would you mind terribly if we pick this up later? I’m so sorry.”
“No need for apologies, Elizabeth. School’s out for the summer, so my load is a little lighter than normal. We can reschedule later in the week. What day is good for you?”
Roman takes a seat in the chair and scoots himself closer to the view of my webcam. This is so embarrassing. I literally feel like wringing his neck.
“Hello,” Jacob says with a friendly tone now that he notices Roman sitting next to me.
I kick Roman’s calf with my bare foot so he’ll acknowledge Jacob’s greeting. I forgot that he does these crazy leg exercises that make the muscles in his calves feel like bands of steel. It’s no wonder that my toe throbs.
“Hey,” he responds tersely.
I don’t bother with any introductions because I’m mortified. Could he be any more unprofessional? I mean, this is the president of a whole damn university I’m trying to close a deal with.
“So, um, let me get back to you on the date and time later today, Jacob. Is there any day that doesn’t work for you?”
I imagine that Roman looks quite ominous dressed in his simple black T-shirt and black jeans to someone like Jacob. Right now he’s crossing his muscular arms across his chest, showcasing the intricate sleeves of custom ink that adorn both of them. This is all a ridiculous show to passive-aggressively let Jacob know that “my man” is in the room. He might as well pee on me.
“I’m in meetings all day Wednesday but any other day will work. We just have to sync our schedules,” he replies.
“Okay, in the meantime I’ll have my team send over a few projections of what we hope a complete Cabot and School Bucks integration would look like and estimates on cost.”
Jacob nods his head in agreement and opens a large calendar on his desk. He leafs through the pages looking for the best time for us to speak again and I feel like I’m making a colossal mistake. The entire point of this virtual call was to get a commitment from the university today, and now that he wants to give it to me, I’m getting off of the phone for what? Because I’m embarrassed that my fiancé is acting like an asshole?
“You know what, can you hold on for just another moment, Jacob? I think I may have figured out how to rearrange a few things and clear up my schedule so we can chat a little longer.”
“That would be perfect. I’ll answer a few emails while I wait. Take your time.”
“Thank you so much for your patience.”
I mute the audio once again and adjust the monitor so we’re both out of the line of vision of the computer camera.
“Roman, can I speak to you outside, please?”
“Why can’t we talk right here? He can’t hear us.”
“Roman, I’m not asking.”
I stomp defiantly outside of the office and into the sitting room, which is one of my favorite rooms in the house because Sloan decorated it so beautifully. It’s a peaceful space decorated with clean lines and muted colors, plus, it’s the sunniest room on the second floor. I like to sit here when I’m reading a novel or just want a quiet moment away from the rest of my life.
After a long defiant pause, Roman follows me into the room and stands silently against one wall, staring at me as if I’ve done something wrong.
Typical.
“I’m having one of the most important business calls of my life in there and you are acting like—”
“I’m acting like what?”
“A jealous brat.”
He scoffs as if my comment is ridiculous. “Why would I be jealous when you’re already mine?”
“I am my own woman and I have been for a very long time or haven’t you noticed?”