Setting me back on my feet, I spun to face my rescuer, but had sensed him almost immediately.
I stared into Scott’s confused eyes and fought to catch my breath.
“Isabel, what were you doing? I saw you look up in that direction before you crossed, how did you not see that cab coming?” he was breathless, almost angry.
“I—I don’t know, I’m usually…I guess I thought I could make it.”
His hands dropped from my coat, still confused. “Didn’t you hear me call you?”
I didn’t remember hearing my name. Although when lost in thought, I didn’t typically respond toIsabel.
I shook my head. “I didn’t, but…thanks for the save, Superman,” I answered, still catching my breath.
He moved us all the way to the sidewalk and stared at me in wonder. “What are the chances you’re on this side of town again visiting the same client? Or are you finally going to admit that you do indeed have an office near here?”
I shrugged and strode forward, tossing him a backwards glance. “Manhattan’s not that big of a city, I get around quickly.”
He caught up to me and grabbed my waist, twisting me. “Well, I’m certainly glad to run into you in any part of town.” He leaned down and kissed me gently on the lips, some of the day’s stress already dissipating somewhere behind me.
I was so thankful for him at that moment, not just for saving me from oncoming traffic but for…existing. For being there in the moments I’d needed him before I even knew I needed anyone.
I broke our kiss and held him back with one hand on his chest, catching my breath. “I was just going to take a walk to clear my head; it’s been… a crazy week. Want to join me?”
He swiped a hand over his face, suddenly appearing exhausted, “Actually, that sounds like a stellar idea. I just survived an intense meeting just across the street and my brain hurts,” He rubbed at his temples and looked down at me. “And nobody better to do it with.”
We strolled through the park in silence for a few minutes.
“I take it you were at Blue Reserves?” I asked.
“Actually not today, I mean yes, I did stop in for my usual and to check in but I was actually here on other business today.”
“Oh?”
“The old friend’s business I told you about.”
“Ahh. By the looks of it, it’s not going as smoothly as you’d hoped.”
“I actually just closed that deal; they’ve done very little to impress me with any changes, but I’ve given them some time to come up with something before we revisit the idea of any cuts.”
“That’s a start,” I said but at the same time, not thrilled with the fact that he’d been ignored and still signed with them. “Aren’t you concerned that they couldn’t come up with anything?”
“I suppose, but maybe it’s not as easy as I might have thought.” He shrugged.
I shook my head at such nonsense. “An agenda I’d recently put together for um…my team… took me less than twenty minutes to put together, and I honestly didn’t know where to stop. How can a struggling business not be able to come up with a single idea in a matter of weeks? Maybe the focus doesn’t have to be with changing business plans or number of employees to save money. It might be worth starting with—helping the help. Managing staff and each of their efficiencies. Eliminating waste and tracking hours spent on projects. I mean it doesn’t matter what business they’re in really, a little bit of oversight goes a long way.”
I hadn’t realized that we’d stopped walking at this point. Somewhere along the small planked bridge that led across the pond, Scott had stopped us to listen to me rant about how easy it can be to figure out what was wrong.
No one ever listens to me.
Except Scott. He was listening. Or watching. Yep. He was just watching me. His eyes searching mine as if he’d seen flashes of gold in them.
My initial instinct was to apologize. But that wouldn’t be like Isabel. That was Elle. Isabel needed to be more prominent, not the type to hold anything back or apologize for what she thought. Isabel was the woman I let out when I wanted to have my voice heard.
My brow arched instinctively and I rolled my shoulders back before continuing on our path.
He caught up, clearing his throat. “Thanks for that. I’m afraid that might not work for another investment I’m looking into; the guy has been incredibly difficult. The firm appears to be adequately staffed, but it’s more about his laziness that bothers me. His efforts have been minimal. We’ve met a number of times, but he’s convinced he’s fresh out of ideas and wants me to do the thinking for him. It seems strange since the guy appealed to me to save his family’s legacy. You would think he’d give it a flying chance to try.”
I thought about it, but the red flag was hard to ignore in that one. “Sounds like he’s not very interested,” I mumbled.
