Of Course, It's You

Chapter 26

CARMEN

That kiss. Every thought that consumed Carmen's mind had been that kiss. Not the one in Hannah's kitchen, but the one where she had been asked for permission first. Nobody in her life cared that much, where they knew that there might be repercussions when it came to being with her. And even though Hannah had been aware of the consequences, she wanted to know if Carmen was okay with all of that. If she was okay with throwing those cautions out the window.

At first, Carmen was scared to death. With her fears screaming at her and Dani's advice slapping her in the face, she wasn't sure what the right move was. But when she stood so close to Hannah, and their breaths collided, everything went silent, and she dove headfirst.

~~~

She connected her tablet to the projector in the conference room and let out a sigh to try and relax. She hadn't had a chance to speak much with Hannah since their lunch together at her house. And yet, she would be sitting somewhere in this room in a few short minutes.

However, right after everyone filed into the room, Hannah was the last thing on her mind, because her father waltzed right up to the front of the room to stand next to her.

"Good morning, everyone." He addressed the group before she could even speak. She gritted her teeth and stared at the table in front of her. As he continued to speak, she tried to listen and pay attention, but she found it difficult.

When her ears finally began to listen to his words and her brain comprehended the meaning behind them, she realized he was still giving a very long-winded introduction of himself and his company. Nothing about her or what she had started prior to his arrival.

When her eyes rose off the table, she caught Hannah's. She gave her a slight eye roll and Carmen fought the urge to laugh. Instead, she cleared her throat to catch her father's attention.

It worked. He turned to her with a raised brow.

"I'm sorry." She wasn't. "But this is going to be a long meeting, and I don't want to hold anyone past noon. Nobody likes to be in a meeting while they become hangry." A few chuckles lifted throughout the room. Her father's face flushed slightly, but he was able to recover quickly with a curt nod. She knew she'd be hearing about it later.

And she did. As soon as the meeting ended and she made her way to her office, he glided in right behind her.

"And what the hell was that Carmen?" He asked in his stern voice. When she had been a kid it was a tone that used to make her cower. But now that she was older and able to handle at least five work catastrophes at one given time, she found it pathetic.

She sat down in her chair and began to go over the documents she had Jules print for her earlier in the morning, before she could even begin to think about his concerns.

"I'm talking to you." He reminded her.

She looked up over the papers.

"What the hell did you think you were doing?" he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Making sure that we stayed on topic and maintained a timely fashion." She said as matter-of-factly as she could.

He placed his hands on the desk. She looked at them and then up to his reddening face. "This is still my company-"

"As you continue to remind me." She easily cut him off. His face turned a darker shade. "You haven't been here for weeks. Which is what you had wanted; what you preferred. You wanted me to do the hard part while you vacationed... wherever it is you were."