Chapter 3

      “Oh, my goodness, please let the weather stay this warm,” Cyd said to the sky as she walked down the busy streets of Chicago’s West Loop wearing her favorite designer sunglasses. The sunny October weather was unlike any she’d ever experienced in Chicago and she was enjoying every minute of it.

      This afternoon she was meeting with Mr. Vallant to get the final details on the appreciation event tour for the Rebuild Your Community initiative. Elite Events, Incorporated was extremely honored to plan the events and Cyd was very proud of the agenda she’d created for each occasion on the tour.

      She dodged through walkers, making sure she didn’t roll over anyone’s feet with her suitcase. “On your left,” yelled a biker who was forced to use the sidewalks due to heavy traffic and street construction. Since the weather was so nice, Chicago construction was at its highest after the city decided to restructure several major streets in Chicago’s West and South Loops. Cyd was glad she’d worn her most comfortable black high-waist skirt and heels. She’d completed her outfit with a teal blouse and complementing accessories.

      Reaching her destination, she promptly signed the visitor logbook and waited in the tastefully decorated lobby for Mr. Vallant’s assistant.

      “Ms. Rayne?” said a woman with a questioning, raspy voice.

      “Yes, I’m Cydney Rayne,” Cyd replied as she shook hands with the woman. The woman didn’t say anything at first, but observed her so intently, Cyd felt as if she were under a microscope.

      “My name is Verona Neely and I’m Mr. Vallant’s assistant,” she said, her awkward demeanor growing perky in a matter of seconds. “Mr. Vallant invited a few other individuals to the meeting and he apologizes for not telling you about this change sooner. Please follow me to the conference room.”

      “Thank you, Ms. Neely.”

      When they arrived at the conference room with tall, floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Lake Michigan, seven people were already seated at a large table. Cyd placed her belongings on a counter off to the side of the room.

      “Ms. Rayne,” said Mr. Vallant as he stood to shake her hand. “Allow me to introduce you to a few members of my executive team. We have Kim Lathers, chief marketing officer. Jim Pearson, senior vice president of business development. Jacob Early, chief financial officer. Brittany Higgins, senior vice president of client services. Tom Mendez, senior vice president of communications and Paul Jensen, general counsel. Everyone, this is Cydney Rayne from Elite Events, Incorporated.”

      Cyd made her way around the table as she shook hands with each member before taking a seat in one of two vacancies. “Nice to meet you all.”

      “Throughout the next month members of the executive team will be present at a few of the appreciation events. I felt it best that we all attend this meeting to ensure that everyone understands the schedule. Team, I trust that you will make Ms. Rayne feel welcome during the tour.”

      Everyone nodded their heads in agreement and exchanged a few warm words. Adjusting herself in her seat, she tried to place the reason behind her suddenly quickened heartbeat. Her heart only beat this fast when she was nervous, but she usually never got nervous on the job. She momentarily stopped observing her behavior when she heard the conference door open. No way.... No freaking way. Now it all made sense. There was one new development in her life that seemed to be wreaking havoc on her nerves since the day she’d laid eyes on him.

      “Ms. Rayne. This is the newest member of our team, Shawn Miles, chief information security officer,” Mr. Vallant said, rising once again from his chair to make the introduction. “Shawn, please meet Cydney Rayne from Elite Events, Incorporated.”

      “Nice to meet you, Ms. Rayne,” Shawn said with ease, once again giving himself away and proving that he wasn’t surprised to see her at all. Of course Shawn works for the Peter Vallant Company, she thought sarcastically. What was it with this man! How did he manage to pop up in her life not once, not twice, but three times!

      “Nice to meet you, too, Mr. Miles,” Cyd replied, accepting his handshake and ignoring the electric surge that shot through her arm. He looked great in his navy blue suit, but she refused to give him a compliment. He never told her what he did for a living, but he’d admitted to researching her online. She guessed it was partially her fault for not researching him online, too. She’d much preferred to keep him a mystery, but had she just searched his name on the internet, she could have saved herself some embarrassment.

      She was so sick and tired of Shawn getting the upper hand. Even if he was new to the company, he’d probably been told that she would be the lead planner for the appreciation tour. Cyd nervously glanced around the table before her eyes settled back on Shawn. She wished he’d wipe that smirk off his face. Better yet, she wished she could punch it off him. But Cyd had way more class than that.

      “Let’s all take a seat,” Mr. Vallant said as he returned to his chair. As Cyd sat back down, she twisted in her seat so that her back was slightly to Shawn, directing her full attention to Mr. Vallant at the head of the table.

      “I’ll begin our discussion with the rotation schedule for the events. As lead event planner, Ms. Rayne will be attending every event. Here is the schedule for the rest of the events,” Mr. Vallant said as he directed his attention at the material that had been placed in front of each attendee’s seat.

      Cyd didn’t hear Mr. Vallant announce that as CISO, Shawn would also be present at every event, though a quick scan of the document made that fact evident, anyway. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on high awareness as Shawn leaned forward to pick up something he’d dropped on the floor. She sighed a little deeper than necessary as she gripped the mahogany table while uncrossing her legs just to cross them back again.

      There it was again. The butterflies she couldn’t stop from swarming in the pit of her stomach. Yet she managed to answer every question that was directed at her during the course of the meeting. Though she wasn’t sure how she answered anything at all, given all her attention was secretly fixed on the man to the right.

      She glanced at the clock on the wall and prayed that the already forty-minutes-long meeting would conclude in the next twenty minutes. She looked through a folder that Mr. Vallant had handed her a few minutes prior to see the list of hotels she would be staying at during the appreciation tour. Over the next month, there would be four stops. Cyd lived in downtown Chicago, but tonight she would be staying at the JW Marriott, host hotel for the Peter Vallant reception for the employees to thank them for all their hard work. On Friday, they left for their first stop, Springfield, Illinois.

      At the sound of Shawn’s voice, Cyd turned her head to listen to what he was saying, as did everyone at the table. She wanted to comprehend his words, but she couldn’t. His lips looked too sexy today. He stuck his tongue in and out between sentences to moisten his lips, glancing at her after every lick. I’ll definitely be changing my panties after this meeting, she thought. She was a visual person and right now the only thing she could visualize was seductively bouncing on top of him and riding him like the bull she’d ridden at her sister’s bachelorette party.

      “Is that okay with you, Ms. Rayne?” asked Mr. Vallant. Crap, she’d missed the question. “Yes, that’s fine with me,” she replied, hoping that her answer would suffice.

      “Great. Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes our meeting. I’ll see you all tonight at the reception.”

      Cyd quickly grabbed her belongings, politely smiling to the others as she tried to leave the room so she could seek refuge in the privacy of her hotel room, but Shawn had other plans.

      “Are you ready?” Shawn asked, gently catching her arm before she dipped out into the hallway.

      “For what?” she asked, trying not to notice his blatant appraisal of her outfit. He smelled of men’s soap and aftershave that complemented his natural masculine scent. The fact that she