The Consultant

The Pitch

The last time Dani had been in Nathan's office, she'd felt like he had turned the tables on her, moving their conversation from one about her work proposal to a cat and mouse game that she had been unsure of. The tension in the room had been palpable when Dani bolted from the office as quickly as she could without looking unprofessional. She'd still managed to brush against him as she turned to leave his office. She tried to distract herself from the memory of her hand brushing against his leg and... Well, she was trying hard not to think about what else she might have brushed against.

Dani had spent the weekend convincing herself that she'd imagined it. That Nathan was a professional, and she was too, and the things she was imagining were unprofessional. She'd also spent the weekend fighting daydreams about him scooping her up onto his desk, him running a hand up her thigh, crushing his lips to hers...

She was fighting another daydream, this one stronger than usual because she was in his office, picturing herself bent over his desk, when Nathan bustled in. Once again, he closed the door.

He was all business as he sat across from her, and Dani felt her disappointment roiling. Before she could get too upset, he told her to pull her chair around to his side of the desk again.

"I want to go over the first part of your proposal before we meet with the rest of the group. Now..."

He started talking about the site structure again, but Dani was having trouble paying attention. Her focus was zeroed in on the place where his knee was pressed against hers. She was wearing a skirt this time, and it had bunched up when she sat down. The way he had his hand positioned on his own thigh had his fingers brushing against her bare skin when he leaned forward.

"Does that sound like the right place to start? Is that what you want to do?"

"Yes. That sounds good."

Dani had answered quickly, hoping he wouldn't hear her voice waver. She knew her cheeks were already burning. When she looked up, she found him gazing at her with that same piercing, pensive look. She wondered what he was trying to decide.

His fingers brushed her thigh again, deliberately this time, and Dani shivered.

The corners of Nathan's mouth quirked up. He knows, Dani thought. He played this out and he knows. She waited for him to say something, but he just turned his attention back to the screen.

"Let's talk about the menus," he started, as he brushed his fingers against her leg in a steadier rhythm.

I can't let him think it's that easy, she told herself, pulling her focus back to the conversation.

"Right, so right now you have two menus and it's kind of confusing."

She started to explain the issues with the two menu system when Nathan's hand left his own thigh and settled on hers. Dani didn't flinch. She wanted to see how far she could push this, but she didn't want him to think he was in complete control. She pulled her chair closer to his while moving forward. As she leaned toward the computer, she placed her hand on his knee for balance.

"See how these two conflict? We need to combine them."

Nathan was staring at her. She smirked, but continued explaining her idea for combining the menus. As she settled back into her chair, she shifted her legs, opening them slightly wider. He took the invitation, his hand sliding up under her skirt, fingers brushing her inner thigh.

Dani sucked in a breath at the same time someone knocked on the door.

"Come in," Nathan said, back to his usual clipped tones. He didn't remove his hand from Dani's thigh. She squirmed as Celia opened the door and stepped inside.

"They're ready for you in the main conference room."

"Thank you, Celia. We'll be right in."

Celia nodded, casting a curious glance at Dani before leaving the room. She closed the door behind her.

Could she see? Dani had hoped the desk had hidden Nathan's hand. She was still too excited about it to do anything, but she didn't want Celia knowing what had happened. Something about the receptionist screamed gossip.

Nathan pulled his hand back and closed his laptop. Dani felt the absence like ice against her skin. She stood, smoothing her skirt and taking a moment to compose herself. Nathan seemed unfazed, but she caught the edges of his lips quirking up in a hint of a smile.

"What just -" Dani started, but Nathan stood and brushed past her, his face settling into its usual hard mask. The rest of her words were lost in a surprised gasp at his sudden change. She looked down, ashamed. Had she pushed too far? Was he angry that Celia might have seen them? When she glanced up, he was staring at her, his eyes hungry.

"Are you ready?"

Dani's knees felt weak and her thoughts slowed under his gaze. Ready for what? All she could think was that Nathan was the opposite of Darren's bland - he had rough edges, and Dani wanted to know how sharp they were.

She was still staring at him, holding on to that single thought when he said, "Dani? Ready?"

Dani forced herself into the present. She needed to get through the presentation of her proposal and sign the damn contract. What had she done? Her little game could have cost her a job. "Yes."

"Good. I want to get this project started as soon as possible."

He stepped around her shocked form and opened the door. "After you, Dani."

Snapping out of her daze, Dani snatched up her laptop bag and brushed past Nathan on her way out. She didn't look back, but she imagined a slight look of surprise on his face at her touch in open view of any of the nearby staff.

The pitch was a wild success. Dani, still distracted from the private meeting with Nathan before, hadn't felt like she did her best to sell the website redesign project. But Nathan had jumped in and done most of the talking when she started to falter. Coming from him, the project sounded like it had the power to transform the company overnight. Dani knew better, but the other board members were nodding and murmuring their agreement, so she kept silent and used the opportunity to study Nathan.

He wasn't attractive in the traditional sense - certainly not someone she would have picked under other circumstances. His sharp cheekbones and pointed chin gave him an elven look, accentuated by his short crop of dark brown hair. The planes of his face would have been too severe to be attractive, but his steely blue eyes softened them. The soft wrinkles in the corners of his eyes creased when he was amused, which seemed to be the case most of the time.

The man exuded confidence. He sat back in his chair as he spoke, sleeves rolled up to the elbows, accentuating the occasional gesture he used to emphasize an important point. She had wondered how a 27 year old found himself as CEO of such a successful company, but watching him sell her project, she knew he'd maneuvered into the position with his uniquely assertive charisma.

Dani was imagining what the muscles beneath his button down might look like when she realized he was staring at her, no longer pitching the project. She flushed, hoping none of the men in the room would notice. What had they been saying? What was she supposed to say? Dani cast around for a non-committal response that would make it seem like she had been listening to the entire conversation.

Curtis piped in before Dani could look too foolish. "Nathan, I suppose you'll take the lead on drawing up the contract?"

The contract! Nathan had sold them on the project, despite Darren's trepidation that he might be the most difficult board member to persuade.

"Certainly. Miss Reid, I'll be in contact so we can iron out the details of your contract. In the mean time, would you mind getting started? I believe our IT Manager can help you out with anything you may need." Nathan's tone was back to business, with no hint of the playfulness he had shown her earlier.

"Of course. I'll start coordinating the staging website right away."