Of Course, It's You

Chapter 26

CARMEN

That kiss.

Every thought consuming Carmen's mind came back to that kiss.

Not the one in Hannah's kitchen, but the one where she had been asked first. Where she hesitated, sought Carmen's permission. No one in Carmen's life had ever cared enough to ask before diving in, not when it came to her. But Hannah had. She knew there were risks and still allowed Carmen a choice. To make sure she was okay with throwing those cautions out the window.

At first, Carmen was scared to death. Her fears screamed at her but with Dani's advice slapping her in the face, she wasn't sure what the right move was. But with Hannah so close, their breaths colliding, everything in her head fell silent.

And she chose to dive in headfirst.

*****

Carmen connected her tablet to the projector in the conference room and let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. She hadn't really talked to Hannah since that day at her house. And now, Hannah would be sitting somewhere in this room at any second.

But the moment the meeting began, Carmen had something far more pressing to deal with.

Her father.

He waltzed right to the front of the room to stand next to her like he had been the one running this acquisition from the very start. He began speaking to the room before she even had a chance to get a word in.

"Good morning, everyone." He addressed the group, launching into a dramatic self-introduction, completely ignoring the fact that she had been the one who called the meeting. Forgetting that she had built the entire agenda and was supposed to lead it.

She gritted her teeth. Her gaze dropped to the table as he rambled on. She did her best to listen, tried to stay present in the moment, but her thoughts drifted.

Then, as his voice finally came to the foreground and not a distant murmur in her ears, she realized he was still talking about himself. Mentioning his accolades and his company. There was nothing about her or what she'd accomplished in the weeks since he'd left her to start this venture and disappeared.

When she finally lifted her eyes, they met Hannah's across the table. Hannah gave her the slightest hint of an eye roll.

Carmen nearly smiled.

Instead, she cleared her throat loudly.

Her father paused and turned to her, one brow raised expectantly.

"Sorry to interrupt," she said, not a sorry bone in her body. "But this meeting is going to be long enough as it is, and I'd rather not hold people past lunch. Nobody wants to sit through a meeting while they're hangry."

A few chuckles rippled around the room.

Her father's face flushed, but he recovered quickly with a curt nod. She knew she'd pay for that later.

And she did.

As soon as the meeting ended and she made it back to her office, he was right behind her.

"And what the hell was that, Carmen?" His voice was sharp. Sharp like it used to be when she was young enough to fear it.

When she'd been a kid, that tone used to make her cower. But now, she'd been accustomed to handling at least five work catastrophes at one given time, so the tone felt pathetic.

She sank into her chair, flipping through documents Jules printed earlier that morning.

"I'm talking to you." He barked.