The Fate Date (Glengarry Curse #1)

24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Gavin

T here were very few things Gavin could say he loved: his family, of course, although Gilbert only begrudgingly. Spying the perfect symmetry of a snowflake before it melted. The sight of his tidy apartment, everything in its designated place, and the smell of his favorite cleaning products still lingering in the air.

Waking up with Sabrina in his arms had jumped to the top of that list. He’d thought nothing could feel better, until she’d slid down his body, and taken his already hard dick in her mouth like some sort of karmic retribution for denying her the experience yesterday. He ran his hands through her silky hair as she bobbed up and down, sucking and licking and tonguing him to ecstasy—until she stopped. With a glint in her eye, she’d made him describe all the times he’d wanted to fuck her over the past three weeks. He had listed them off unabashedly: in the car when he’d driven her home, at his place with donut filling dribbling down her face, on Ian’s table, when he’d seen her in the bedroom. She seemed to understand intuitively that holding off on pleasure intensified it for him. His cock ached for more, and when she did let him orgasm it started in little tingles at the base of his spine before rocketing through him as he spent all over her bare chest and neck, marking her with his cum.

They’d showered together, and she’d used his chest as a loofa, trying to rub herself all over him to suds her body. Gavin hadn’t laughed like that in years, holding her close as she giggled and gyrated against him. The levity felt so strange, like he was floating in some alternate universe, because never in his life had he felt this free. It was better than the flip of a card. More exhilarating than the spin of the roulette table. After she’d cleaned herself off, he’d made her hold the shower head to her clit. He’d pumped his fingers inside her—gentle after their intense session the night before. She’d come on a sigh, face flush, and he knew he would never, ever, grow tired of that sight.

He was going to take a week off work. Maybe two? He’d never used a single vacation day in his ten years at IM Securities, so no doubt he had the time. He’d help her with her shop, and when there were no customers, he’d pull her panties to the side and—

“…Wouldn’t you agree, Gavin?”

Gavin was ripped out of his sexual fantasies, back to the reality of twelve faces glowering at him.

The small conference room was walled in by beige shades blocking out the natural light from the windows. The tables were set out in a horseshoe for everyone to witness his confusion, the bar graphs clashing with his daydreams.

“Could you repeat that?”

“We were reviewing the financial opportunities for next quarter,” Ian supplied, looking a bit frustrated.

“Sorry.” They were working on the strategic plan, reviewing the organizational SWOT analysis: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. One of which was his libido, apparently.

He searched through his papers for his tablet. He’d prepared notes on this topic ahead of the meeting, only he’d forgotten his device at the cabin. “There are three major investment options that presented themselves to us last quarter, which could open up new markets for us in the field of digital surveillance.”

“Do you have the figures?” Bojana asked.

“I can get them to you later this evening.”

Malcolm’s face turned sour .

“I have a copy here, actually,” Mariana said. “Gavin was kind enough to provide me with some figures for my presentation.”

It was good of her to give him credit. It lessened the blow of his disorganization. As he gave Mariana a nod of appreciation, he noticed Leslie making notes in her black leather-bound book. He wanted to resent Mariana because she was the competition, but so far she had fit into the team seamlessly and was knowledgeable to boot. He recognized competency when he saw it, and other than the fact his finances would be in shambles, he wouldn’t mind having her as a boss if she got the job.

At break Alfred joked, “What’s wrong, Gavin, have a bad sleep? Doesn’t Sabrina have a magic potion for that?” Some of his colleagues exchanged humorous looks that matched Alfred’s.

Gavin resorted to familiar tactics. He glared, relieved that his distracted countenance hadn’t reduced its potency, making it clear to the crowd he wouldn’t tolerate any more jokes on the topic.

Gavin was modestly engaged for the rest of the SWOT analysis session which took them into a “working dinner”. He hadn’t seen Sabrina since this morning, and he not only missed her—but also the carefree side that she elicited from him.

Malcolm pulled him aside before Gavin could make it to the buffet line that had been set out at the back of the room. The “spouses” had their own dinner arrangements for this final evening.

“You’re bungling it,” he said.

“I know.” Gavin scrubbed his face. Despite all his best efforts, he was unfocused. What’s more, Mariana and Alfred were not. He didn’t know how it was possible, but it was as if Alfred had read all Gavin’s notes in preparation for the retreat. Gavin only recognized them as his own ideas after they had been said, because calling anything to mind today was impossible.

“It’s a disappointing follow-up to your little performance last night. ”

“It was all in good fun.” He tried to summon some of the bravado he’d felt yesterday evening reciting the verses of the curse.

“I’ve mentored you for ten years, Gavin, and it’s a disgrace to see you throw away an opportunity like this, especially given the work I put in to get the board on your side.”

Gavin bowed his head, his frustration bubbling: anger at being treated like a child and irritation in knowing that Malcolm was right.

“I don’t know what’s got you so distracted, but if it’s your witchy girlfriend, get rid of her.”

Gavin wasn’t going to do that. Couldn’t do that. But he may need to re-evaluate his earlier intentions. Maybe they should wait until Monday before pursuing more of their physical relationship? Or until he had the job offer? He’d need to see to the renovations too…

Gavin was thankful that his miserable mood was detectable to others, sparing him the need for small talk over dinner. It wasn’t improved by the message on his phone either.

Kick corporate butt. That signing bonus is ours.

He heard a large guffaw of laughter from the other side of the table, where Alfred was recounting a story. Bojana Filipovi?, among others, was beaming at him warmly. Guilt suffused Gavin, constricting the muscles in his neck. He tried to stretch but found no relief. He wasn’t only screwing up his future, but his promise to Sabrina too. His earlier naive plan—that he should act on his feelings at the retreat—was fast devolving into ruin. He’d never felt this way about anyone before, and thus had failed to put proper mitigating precautions into place for the greatest risk of all—his heart.

** *

W hich lingerie said “you’re going to rock your presentation tomorrow”—hot-pink lace or teal satin? Sabrina held the items up to herself in the mirror, frustrated that she’d taken Véro’s advice and packed her most ridiculous underwear as a means of deterring herself from any half-naked activities with Gavin. Her earlier hesitation now seemed like a ridiculous worry. She was almost angry with her past self at taking so long to get frisky.

She'd come to a realization earlier in the day while rambling the rocky trails at the “Lac Gaudreau Kick Butt Spirit Hike”. Sabrina wasn’t sure if it was the fresh air, or the affirmations Sue was yelling through the megaphone, but she felt so free now that her witchy secrets were out in the open. No one was greeting her business success, or her relationship with Gavin with skepticism—so why should she? There were even a few retreat attendees interested in pre-ordering her planner when it launched. The only hiccup had come late in the day. Whispers turned to knowing looks, and her intuition was abuzz. She cornered Bethany who showed her the concerning texts from Mariana—Gavin was not having a good day.

Deciding that teal was a less blinding option, she dressed in her bra, panties, and a pair of heels. When she heard Gavin’s footsteps at the cabin, she attempted to artfully arrange herself at the end of the bed.

Head hung low, he trudged into the room, tossing his key on the small table next to the door haphazardly instead of placing it in the “designated key spot”—his own invention—as he’d done the rest of the weekend.

He looked up at her with weary eyes. Yet instead of her lingerie being a welcome surprise, the crease on his forehead deepened and his palm came to scratch across the shadow of a beard that appeared at his jawline.

“Hey,” he said. “You look nice.” He tried for a smile that looked more like a grimace.

“Um, thanks.” Her nipples were hard from the chill he’d let into the cabin, and she gave a little shiver .

There was a long pause, and uncertainty started to creep up her bare skin. His face was stony again.

“How was your day?” she asked, overbright to her own ears. She crossed her arms over her chest, both for warmth and self-preservation.

“Good, thanks. And yours?”

“You had a good day?”

“Yes, very productive,” replied Robo-Gavatron.

He crossed over to the small writing desk and began searching for something.

“I had a good day too,” she said, as she padded over to her dresser and pulled out the sweater he’d loaned her the other night.

“That’s great. Have you seen my tablet?”

He located the device under some papers, brought up an app, and his mood went into full-fledged Terminator mode.

“Everything OK?” She sat back down on the edge of the bed, curling her fingers into the oversized sleeves of his sweater.

He looked up to see her, really see her, for what felt like the first time since he’d walked into the cabin. His eyes grazed the sweater she’d put on and his jaw became tense. “Sorry, Sabrina, I’m a bit distracted. It’s good to see you, I have some work I need to get done before the presentation tomorrow. I need to focus.”

“Of course,” she said, trying to smile though it felt like little shards of glass were slicing through her chest.

He frowned at his tablet again and sat down at the desk chair, his back to her. Sabrina sank back on the bed, head spinning, unsure what to do with herself. She had been dismissed, her half-naked greeting thrown back in her face, and she felt…foolish.

He was shutting her out. Compartmentalizing her. And she was letting him, plagued by the relationship patterns that were repeating themselves. She’d gone for years without telling Duncan how she felt, for fear of what—conflict? Abandonment? Being too needy? The fact was, she could sit here stewing about the situation, or they could talk about it. Her mom had always said that you choose how people treat you. And she didn’t like his actions one bit.

“I know you had a bad day, Gavin,” she said.

He froze and then ran his hand through his hair. He turned in the chair to look at her, his eyes darting up to hers before he looked towards the door.

“You can’t shut me out and hide those bits from me. That’s not how I want this to work. Also, you’re a really bad actor.”

Though she only saw the profile of his face, she noticed he flinched. “How did you know?”

“Well, you coming back in factory-reset mode was a pretty good tip-off, but…I guess some of your colleagues were texting about it. Bethany told me.”

“Fuck,” was all he said, for a beat. She waited him out. “I didn’t want to tell you how bad I screwed up. I know you’re counting on that signing bonus too.”

“Why didn’t you just talk to me about it? We can come up with a plan together—”

“I don’t want you to have to fix my fuck-ups—”

“That’s what this whole weekend was about. You asked me to help improve your image with the board. Did you think I couldn’t manage it?”

“No, I didn’t want to let you down.”

“Well, you did.” Her hands came to clamp over her mouth, to shut the words back in, but they’d been released. She saw the shock of them strike Gavin in the face. There was a long silence in the cabin, with only the cursed frogs croaking in the background. “Not in the way you intended, I don’t think,” she said, trying to soften the blow of her truths. “But I’d prefer honesty than being blindsided by your very grouchy form of chivalry. ”

It was amazing how buoyant honesty could make you feel. She floated across the creaky wooden battlefield that separated them. “I want to see you be successful too, Gavin, not for the signing bonus, or even to fulfill my end of our ridiculous bargain. I want them to see all your good bits, just like I have.”

He pulled her onto his lap, and although still tense from the day, it felt like the cold wall of Mr. Monotone had been eradicated.

She wanted to give him the same weightlessness. “Tell me how awful it was.”

He pressed his forehead to her shoulder. “When trying to come up with a definition for our unique selling proposition I wrote the word ‘susceptibility’ instead of ‘sustainability’. And I didn’t even spell it right.”

“No. That’s so embarrassing.”

“I kept calling one of the board members by the wrong name, and they only corrected me at the end of the day.”

Sabrina winced.

“Malcolm tore a strip out of me. I busted out my scowl and sat alone at dinner. I was so disorganized I even made Alfred look good.”

“I’m so sorry it didn’t go the way you’d hoped.”

“It was the weirdest thing too.” He looked over her shoulder to the tablet on the desk. “I had prepared notes for this session—I should have nailed this part of the retreat—but I left them here and it was as if Alfred had taken the ideas right out of my head.”

His hands snaked around her, holding her close.

“So, what are we going to do about it?” she said, throwing her arms around his neck, which coaxed a smile out of him.

“We,” he said, shaking his head slightly, like he was just remembering he had a partner in all this. His thumbs stroked her up and down at her sides. “Can I show you my presentation? ”

He wanted to show her his presentation? “Uh, I’d love to hear it. I’m not sure how much help I’ll be?”

He looked at her with that endearingly confused look of his. “I’d really appreciate your feedback.”

She tried to hide her blush by going to sit on the edge of the bed. He pulled up his slideshow on his screen. Some of what he said was over her head, but she understood more than she was expecting thanks to his business coaching. The way he explained his graphs and matrices was so concise, and strangely sexy. Maybe she had a competence kink too?

When he was done, he eyed her carefully. “What do you think?”

Sabrina swallowed. Like with tarot readings, she had an immediate impression, but she wasn’t quite sure how to say it. “It’s really good.” She wasn’t lying. It was. The presentation itself was flawless.

“Sabrina, you’re not helping me by going into ‘nice’ mode. I asked for feedback.”

She tucked her knees inside Gavin’s sweater. “It seems conservative. Especially as your job is riding on this, the board might want to be wowed with something flashy. Could you find a way to include some creative ideas to balance out your position?”

He stared at his screen for a moment. “Given the economy, I thought maintaining the status quo was the best course of action.”

Sabrina felt flustered. “Like I said, I’m not an expert, I’m sure you’re absolutely right.”

Gavin eyed his presentation again, deep in thought. “You’re right. This would keep the company on an even keel, but like I’ve been preaching to you—there’s nothing innovative here.”

“What if you had to make the presentation only for me?” she said, flipping the perspective. “What outrageously daring moves could your company make?”

He smiled, humoured by the exercise. “We could hire you as a consultant, financial forecasting determined by your transit planner. ”

“That’s a brilliant idea,” she said. “I’m going to write these down.” She dug out her stationary supplies from her purse as he listed off ideas. Some, like having Gilbert act out their quarterly reports, were said in jest. But others, like exploring new avenues in AI for investment, were really good, especially with Pluto currently transiting Aquarius. She put little stickers next to those ones.

She passed the list over to him. “I don’t know if there’s anything there—” He pulled her back onto his lap, this time with her legs spread, straddling him.

“I’m sorry for earlier. I came back determined to push you away and focus on work. What I needed was you.” He gave her a gentle kiss that made up for his earlier surliness. Her fingers came to the buttons of his shirt but fumbled when his hands started to move over her. They skimmed her back, her butt, around to her thighs. She rocked her hips against him in approval. Gavin gave a hungry groan before he broke the kiss abruptly. He fumbled to grab his phone which was vibrating in his back pocket. Sabrina read the word “Mom” on the caller ID.

Gladys sure had some pretty shit timing.

“I’ll call her back,” Gavin said, but the moment was gone. He was rolling his shoulders back like he was trying to loosen the concern creeping up into them.

“No, no, go ahead.” Sabrina clambered off him and crossed to her closet to pull out her nightie.

“Hey, Mom.” His body stiffened. “Are you sure?…I can text Gabe…” His hand came to rub his jaw. “OK. I’ll come out tomorrow evening.” He gave Sabrina an apologetic look. “Are you able to get by without hot water until then?” He gave a dry laugh. “No, I’m sure the plants in the greenhouse won’t mind that you haven’t showered…I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Hot water heater?” Sabrina asked, after he hung up.

He nodded, glancing over at his tablet again .

“I’m not trying to push you away. God knows I’d rather be here with you. But, if you don’t mind, I think I’ll head over to the main lodge to work on my presentation a bit,” he said. “I don’t want to keep you up.”

“Of course. Is there anything I can do?”

“No. You’ve helped so much already.”

She gave what she hoped was a bolstering look and said, “Good. I’m exhausted anyways. It’s not easy being this intelligent and perceptive all the time.”

He packed up his stuff and came over to give her a searing kiss. He stared at her wistfully at the door, a stark contrast to when he’d entered. “I’ll see you in the morning.” She nodded and tucked herself into bed as he left. She didn’t hear him come back in.