"Kate, come on! We're going to be late!"
"Shit! Yeah, I'm coming," I call out after Mark as he dashes past my desk to the conference room. I down the dregs of my coffee before bundling my files into my arms and hurry after him. The conference room is just down the hall and Mark is already setting up when I get there, the projector powering on as he brings up the Powerpoint that we've prepared.
"What do you need?" I ask, setting my folder down on the long table in the centre of the glass room.
"Nothing yet," he says with a smile.
I nod, taking my seat silently as we wait for the clients to arrive. I can't help but feel a little jealous of him as I watch him mouth the words to the presentation. Pitching to new clients is always a nerve wracking experience but it's also fun and nothing beats the feeling of knowing you've done a good job when they accept the proposal. Though I've helped Mark put it all together, these are his clients and so he'll be the one taking the lead today.
The door opens and Tristan, the third cog in our group, pushes a trolley of refreshments into the room. "All set?" he asks as he wheels the trolley to the far end of the table.
"I think so," Mark replies.
"You'll do great," I say. Mark has been here a lot longer than I have and has way more experience than me but I still feel the need to reassure him.
"Yeah!" Tristan agrees, pouring us all coffees. "And we're here to back you up if you need us."
"God help me," Mark replies sarcastically. "This looks like them now."
I stand, tugging down the hem of my pencil skirt and smoothing my blouse as the door opens and one of the interns leads the clients into the room. My stomach drops as Mark steps forwards to greet the two men because I know one of them. Sam's face flickers only briefly as he sees me but he doesn't miss a beat as he shakes Mark's hand. He's wearing a sharp black suit and an immaculate white shirt with a green tie that matches his dazzling eyes. He steps towards me and extends his hand which I shake numbly. How can he be here?
"Can we offer you both a drink?" Tristan asks as everyone moves to take their seats around the table.
"I'll do it," I say, my voice sounding unusually loud.
"Er..." the first man whose name I didn't even register says uncertainly. "We'll both have coffee. White with sugar for me, black for Sam."
I manage to compose myself and smile sweetly at the client before hurrying over to the trolley to prepare their drinks. Is it my imagination or do I catch Sam staring at my ass out of the corner of his eye? I take as much time as I dare making their drinks, trying to keep my hands from shaking as I spoon sugar into one of the cups whilst wishing I could text Meg for advice.
I hand both men their drinks, unable to meet Sam's piercing gaze as I hurry back around the table and take my seat, opening my file and burying my head in the numbers as Mark begins the presentation. I don't understand why I feel this way. Sam had been a one night fling; we'd talked, we'd danced and we'd fucked. That was it. He had wanted more but that wasn't what I wanted... Was it?
I stole a glance at him, watching as he pulled thoughtfully on the stubble of his beard whilst listening to Mark. I was still attracted to him but told myself it was only physical. That was all I ever wanted.
"Kate, do you have the projections?"
I turned to Mark who was looking at me expectantly before remembering what we were doing. "Yes!" I reply quickly, fumbling in my folder for the copies of the different marketing strategies we had come up with. I pass them to the two men, Sam's gaze lingering on me long after he's taken the papers.
"You'll see the projections for the different strategies are quite different," I say, desperately trying to keep my voice level. "The first is a more standard approach whilst the second is a little more unorthodox but could yield more immediate results."
"Who doesn't like a little risk, eh?" the older client said, nudging Sam with his elbow.