Dispute Resolution

Chapter Five

Well, this was interesting, Gray thought. He had no intention of going away this weekend, yet here he was on a Saturday morning, suitcase in tow as he waited for Quinn to arrive at his building. He had no plans to go to Byron Bay this weekend. At all. He'd only seen Taryn and Sim last weekend for Sim's birthday. He'd only meant to give Quinn the article scope, the background information and the time of the plane she could catch to get to her destination. He certainly didn't make a habit of escorting employees to various locations just for a story. He'd never get any work done if he did that.

Now he was going to spend an entire weekend in Quinn's company. This was more than just keeping an eye on her, or helping her find her way around Byron Bay. She was the woman who had attempted to destroy his family, why would he want to put himself in her company for longer than what he had to? He told himself it had nothing to do with the simple, navy dress she had worn to his office the other day or the way her legs had looked in a pair of heels. But he was lying to himself. It had everything to do with that, and maybe the vision of having those longs legs wrapped around his waist.

But it was more than that, she stimulated him, stirred up some feelings that had not seen the light of day since his marriage breakdown, maybe even for the first time ever. She made him feel alive aroused. She was smart; she was quick and she cut to the chase. Sassy. He knew that Quinn had been right in her description of his mother. It was something he had said often enough, she dressed too young for her age and needed to accept the definition of the term ageing gracefully.

But he was not going to give Quinn the satisfaction of being right and maybe that was because he enjoyed their exchanges. He'd almost forgotten himself a number of times during their heated meeting the other day, almost caught himself smiling at her, even did it once. It was like they had their own special brand of foreplay and that was dangerous. But no matter how brilliantly she fought with him, or how good her legs looked in a pair of heels, he hated Quinn and this weekend was all about gaining back his control.

It was with that thought in mind that he stepped into the foyer of his building. He left his luggage by the front door for his driver, Curtis, to collect and then looked about the vast room where Quinn was now waiting for him. His heart rate did a funny little thing inside his chest at the sight of her. She was dressed more casually today in a simple, tight-fitting white t-shirt and a pair of short, cut-off jeans, but she still managed to make it look breathtaking.

She hadn't seen him yet. She was looking at one of the displays on the far wall. He had made an effort with his foyer to make it as inviting as possible with comfortable lounges spread over the room, tables fitted with power outlets that allowed people to plug in their electronic devices, free Wi-Fi and coffee stations everywhere, traditional newspaper stands and lots of free publications. It seemed to have the desired effect on Quinn. She was so immersed in what she was looking at that he had to clear his throat to get her attention. Quinn jumped.

"Hi," she said, her voice croaky.

She was looking him up and down. She had probably never seen him in anything but a suit and today he had dressed casually in a pair of khaki shorts and a black Bonds t-shirt.

"Changed your mind?" she asked him.

He had no idea what she was talking about. He looked at her, a confused expression on his face.

"No luggage," she elucidated.

"My driver has already taken it to the car. Ready to go?"

He grabbed her suitcase and without waiting for a response, began to wheel it toward the door, expecting her to follow. The second they were in the car he opened up his laptop and started to work because that's what people did on business trips, they worked. Quinn decided to find something to read on her phone. They were driven to a secluded section of the airport once they arrived, straight onto the tarmac, rather than in any departure lounge. He exited the car and Quinn followed suit. She stood waiting for him to open the boot of the car so she could retrieve her luggage.