CHAPTER 2

            A waiter was passing near them and Lance took two glasses of champagne and handed one to her. She didn’t like champagne but she accepted it anyway.

“Lance,” Annalise replied, greeting him with a slight nod. “You finally freed yourself from your adoring fans. You were having so much fun…”

“Yeah, I was having the time of my life,” he replied in a sarcastic tone. “Come on, Annalise! You know very well I’m not into these gatherings.”

“Do I?” she asked and raised an eyebrow. “Even so, you are the ‘New King’ in town. This is just one of the many social events you will have to attend from now on. So, prepare yourself, ‘Your Highness’. Every important person in this town will request your presence.”

          Lance smiled, and his eyes locked with hers for a few seconds, then checked her from head to toe, lingering way too much on her curves. Annalise started to feel a bit uncomfortable under Lance’s intense scrutiny.

“The new King…” he said.

          He was practically undressing her right then and there, in front of all those people. Annalise felt nude and vulnerable under his gaze. His dark brown eyes were devouring her and for the first time during that evening, Annalise wished she could have worn a suit instead of that ridiculous, sparkling cocktail dress.  

“Talking about socializing… Why aren’t you there, with the rest of the adoring crowd, talking my ears off with proposals on upgrading 'HL Sportswear'? Helena Christiansen already explained how her agency will take my pet company straight to the top. She even talked to me about making 'Hamilton Inc.' number one in the world.”

“Your main company is already well-known internationally,” Annalise answered and a smile appeared on her red lips. “But your sportswear brand… your ‘baby’… Well, that’s a totally different thing. It’s doing well in the States and the sales are way above the forecast. That is quite good. But you need excellent, mind-blowing! With the right push, you will get it. That’s why you need 'S&W Advertising'. I can take you higher than you ever dreamed of.”

“Such a clever answer, Miss Walsh… You taking me higher… Such an… interesting idea… Such an emphatic speech… This is exactly what I was expecting from you,” Lance said.

          Annalise felt cold shivers down her spine realizing that he was right. She was kinda… flirting with him. Okay, this wasn’t the right way to do business, otherwise, she would’ve been part of the adoring fan club that was gathered around him earlier. She looked quickly across the ballroom and saw that all the other AEs were looking at them with suspicion and malice.

“Lance, allow me to be clear with you. I love my job and I’m extremely good at it. Choosing our agency is going to be the best decision you can make.”

“Really?” he asked raising an eyebrow.

“Absolutely! I already have some suggestions on how to make 'HL Sportswear' a universal success. Am I arrogant for thinking this way? Maybe I am. All I need is one opportunity to show you what 'S&W Advertising' can do for you.”

“What can your agency

do for me?! No, Annalise… It’s more like what ‘you’ can do for me,” Lance said slowly.

          Suddenly, Annalise felt extremely warm inside. Her eyes widened.

          What was Lance saying?

          Was he suggesting that they…? That she…?

          And then he went on to correct the wrong supposition she’d just made.

“Well, correct me if I’m wrong. If the ideas you’re telling me about are yours and they are as good as you’re presenting them, it means that I won’t be hiring the agency… I’d be hiring you… right? You and only you will take care of my every need, right?”

          She swallowed hard and looked at him a little stunned. His behavior was making her feel at a disadvantage. And Annalise hated that feeling.

          Was he flirting?

          Was he being serious?

          What the hell was going on?

          What was Lance trying to say to her?

          Annalise tried not to frown that much. She didn’t want to show him how uneasy his words were making her feel. But Lance was way too clever. The grin on his lips let Annalise know he was well aware of her thoughts.

“Stop frowning, Miss Walsh. It wasn’t a proposal. When it will happen, you will notice the difference, trust me!”

          In a daring move, Lance traced a fiery line on her arm. His fingertips burned her skin and Annalise felt her stomach churn.  

“I only meant that IF your pitch will be as wowing as you’re implying and I decide to sign with your agency, you won’t disappear… Because it is you that I want, not another AE. I’d expect you to oversee every single detail of the campaign.”

“I won’t disappear and abandon the campaign,” Annalise replied, looking straight into his eyes. “You will be my top priority… Are you thinking of signing with us?” she asked, trying not to pay attention to the people gazing in their direction.

“I might… if you are as good as you’re saying and your ideas are better than all the others I’ve heard so far.”

          There was a glimpse of amusement in his dark brown eyes while Lance was looking at her lazily.

“I feel like I should warn you… Helena Christiansen from 'Empire Promotions' came up with some interesting propositions. For now, she is in poll-position.”

“Well, wait to hear mine,” Annalise said and placed the glass half empty on the table. “Prepare to be won over by 'S&W Advertising' and by me.”

“So full of confidence! I’m impressed! I like this in a person, especially in a woman. I hate false modesty. I think that people should learn how to own their true selves. I’m quite curious to see what you have in mind, Annalise,” Lance told her and smiled.

          That smile… The same smile that already melted her bones earlier.

“Does this mean that we have a meeting in the next few days?”

“Dance with me, Annalise, and by the end of this dance, I’ll give you a date,” Lance urged her, putting away his empty glass.

          Annalise widened her eyes and looked at him like Lance was crazy.

          Dance with him?

          Seriously?

          Apart from the fact that she had two left feet, dancing with Lance Hamilton in front of a room filled with chatty envious people, wouldn’t look good. No, dancing with her future boss was out of the question.

“Suit yourself, but, just so you know, Helena, Brenda, and Vivian already agreed to have a twirl with me on the dancefloor,” Lance whispered in her ear, provoking Annalise.

          Dammit!

          At this point, saying ‘no’ would be similar to a professional suicide.

“I see you’re making your AE selection based on who’s the best dancer. Well, I must inform you that I might come up last on your list. However, since I’m no quitter, I’ll join you on the dancefloor. I’ll try my best to move as decently as possible, as long as you won’t force me to do some strange dance challenge. But I’m warning you! If you’re fond of your toes, keep them as far away from my feet as possible.”

          Lance threw his head back and started to laugh harder. People around looked at both of them quite suspiciously and Annalise did her best not to run out of the room. Too much attention wasn’t what she wanted at such gatherings, and she hated how relaxed and carefree Lance was acting in front of the whole audience.

          Not giving a damn about what people were saying about him, behaving the way he was feeling… this should be such a freeing exercise. Maybe she could experience it in the future.

          Since there was no way out of this mess, Annalise put her hand in Lance’s and slowly followed him to the dancefloor. To her amazement, Lance put his arm around her waist and pulled her extremely close to his body.

“Follow my lead, Annalise, and I promise you no one will notice that you can’t dance,” he whispered, and totally in awe, she looked straight into his gorgeous eyes. “If you feel like it, close your eyes and surrender yourself to me.”

          But Annalise didn’t close her eyes. She couldn’t. She kept her gaze locked on him. They weren’t lovers, but she knew exactly what Lance was thinking, and he knew exactly what she was thinking. That dance wasn’t doing her any good. Annalise wasn’t able to hide her emotions, no matter how hard she’d tried.

          A couple of questions came out in the back of her mind…

          Was Lance offering her a chance because he was expecting ‘something’ in return?

          Was he similar to every man she knew in all her twenty-seven years?

          ‘Come on, Anna, give the man a chance! Judging and convicting Lance Hamilton based on the fact that he is a man, isn’t something you should do! Don’t do to others what has been done to you!’

“Stop seeing too much in what is happening right now,” Lance said softly at her ear. “We are just dancing, nothing more.”

          At this point, Annalise relaxed her body in his arms and decided to simply follow his lead for the last moments of the song. They both were moving perfectly to the rhythm, something that left her stunned.

          Lance was such a good dancer and she was in his arms. There was nothing more to be said. For the rest of the song, she just kept daydreaming, thinking how good it was feeling his arm around her waist, his manly scent slowly driving her insane.   

“So, Annalise, what do you think about Friday? Maybe in the afternoon, after my weekly board meeting?”

          His unexpected words brought her back to reality. Just for a second, Annalise looked at him like she had no idea of what he was talking about. Then she squeezed her eyes for a second, totally embarrassed of her behavior.

“I was thinking we should have an informal meeting first. This way, you will show me all these spectacular ideas… If I’m interested, we could do the official presentation at your agency. Maybe this will save us both a lot of time and hassle if I don't like what I’ll hear.”

          The song was over, and the dance was done, but Annalise found it hard to open her mouth and speak. Lance’s arm rested on her body just a little bit more, making it impossible for her to formulate a normal, logical phrase. So, she just nodded.

“Very well then. I will have my private assistant call you and give you all the details.”

          He escorted her to the edge of the dancefloor. Then, he picked up her hand and brought it to his lips. The warm brush of his mouth over the back of her hand sent a bolt of pleasure straight down her spine.

“I’ll see you on Friday, Annalise.”

          Without saying a word, Annalise watched Lance leaving her all by herself. He was immediately surrounded by a group of people. Still, he turned and found her gaze and, for a moment, they simply stared at each other. The corners of Lance’s mouth lifted into a half-smile.

          Oh, yes, he knew exactly what she was thinking, what she was experiencing at that moment. She should be more careful the next time they will be together in the same room.

          This account was too important!

          Elaine counted on her!

          Annalise turned and walked toward the exit. There was no reason to keep sticking around and socializing. If there was any gossip over her dance with Lance, she certainly didn’t want to hear it. She had to concentrate on their meeting.

          A very anxious Elaine followed Annalise in the hall of the hotel that was hosting the event. She stopped in front of Annalise and waited without saying a word.

“I’m going to meet him this Friday. No formal pitch. He wants to hear my ideas first. If all goes well, he will come to 'S&W Advertising' for a final presentation.”

          Elaine nodded and Annalise saw the satisfaction in her eyes.

“Now, I’m going home to take off this ridiculous dress, take a shower, and sleep until tomorrow morning.”