Fighting for Love (Second Chances #4)(8)
Snickering, I ruffled my hand through his hair before grabbing my keys and purse, and headed out the front door. It was a cool, breezy morning; the sun was hidden by a thick sheen of clouds, making the smell of the bay more pronounced. Almost a complete opposite of yesterday when I spent the day at the beach. As soon as I got into my black Infiniti Q60 convertible, my phone buzzed with an incoming text.
Lexi: I heard we’re all going on a date Sunday. Caleb called Hayley and Josh and asked if we all wanted to go out.
Me: You heard right :)
Lexi: I’m glad to hear it. So the beach was fun?
Me: YES! It was fun. I have to drive now. Talk to you soon.
Heading down the road toward my office in downtown, I decided to go ahead and call the number Bryan gave me for the agent.
On the second ring, he picked up. “Garrett Wells,” he answered.
“Hello, Mr. Wells. I’m Paige Monroe with Physique Sports and Fitness Magazine. How are you today?” I asked eloquently.
“I’m doing great, actually, and please call me Garrett,” he replied with a chuckle.
“Very well then, Garrett, and the same goes for my name as well. Anyway, Bryan told me you wanted to meet over lunch today. Is that still something you’d like to do?”
“Yes, of course,” he replied. “My client and I are looking forward to working with you. I know your office is in San Francisco, and since I’m only about thirty minutes away from there I’ll just come to you. Is there a special place you’d like to meet? Because if not we can meet at the Presidio Café. I’m a club member out there, and if I call them they’ll set us up a private table.”
Lexi and I had gone to the Presidio Café several times over the past couple of years. It was a great place to eat lunch and nothing could beat their clam chowder; I ordered it every time I went.
“That sounds great, Garrett. It’s actually one of my favorite places. What time would you like to meet?”
“Uh … let’s see. Is noon okay? That should give me enough time to call them, hunt down my client, and make it out that way,” he recommended. “Oh, and if you get there early just go on in and tell them that you’re meeting me. They’ll seat you right away.”
“All right, noon it is,” I complied excitedly. “I’ll see you then.”
We said our good-byes and I hung up the phone. Doing the spreads for the magazine was something I always looked forward to. It gave me the chance to meet some really great athletes and to see how their minds worked. Other than the writing part it was the best thing about my job.
I ARRIVED AT THE PRESIDIO Café fifteen minutes early. As soon as I went inside, I immediately recognized the petite, redheaded hostess at the desk. Her name was Laura and she was always there when Lexi and I came for lunch. It had been a couple of months since I’d been there, but I could tell she recognized me by the smile on her face.
“Long time no see,” she said warmly. “Are you meeting someone for lunch?”
Smiling, I strolled up to the desk. “Actually, I am. I’m here to meet Garrett Wells. I’m not sure if he’s here or not.”
“Oh, he’s here,” she said, grinning widely. “It’s kind of hard to miss him when he’s in a room. Anyway, shall I show you to your table? He hasn’t been here that long.”
“Lead the way,” I told her with a flourish of my arm.
The Presidio Café was a huge open room of casually elegant tables, as well as an immaculate terrace where you could eat and enjoy the view of the golf course the café rested upon. However, most of the patrons were inside since it was a cloudy and dreary kind of day. Laura led me past the tables in the center of the room over to a corner by the fireplace where a single round table sat.
The man, who I assumed was Garrett Wells, watched me approach with an appreciative smile on his face. He was definitely a good looking man, dressed in his expensive gray suit, and from the vibe I felt coming off of him he knew it, too. With perfectly gelled golden-blond hair, a face as refined as his, and striking blue eyes, how could he not be?
He stood before I reached the table and held out his hand in greeting. “Paige Monroe?” he asked to confirm.
With a smile on my face, I shook his hand and nodded. “Yes, but you can call me Shelby. Paige Monroe is the name I write under. I assume you’re Garrett Wells?” I countered.
He let my hand go and pulled out a seat from the table for me. “That’s me. Would you like to sit down?” he offered.
Nodding, I took the seat he offered and placed my bag under the table by my feet. He sat down in the chair to my left, never taking his eyes off of me. “I have to say, you completely blew me away when I saw you walk in. It’s not every day you meet a woman with beauty and brains.”
Yeah, I’ll bet, I thought to myself.
He didn’t seem like the type to go for the women with brains. “Thank you for the compliment, Garrett. I happen to know many women who are beautiful with brains. You must not be meeting the right ones,” I teased, picking up the glass of water in front of me.
“Obviously,” he remarked, his lips tilting up in a devilish smirk.
Taking a sip of the water, I scanned the restaurant before settling my gaze back on him. “Will we be expecting anyone else? Or did you want to go ahead and get started on the planning? I’d like to know your schedule so I can figure out when and where I need to be, and what I need to do to get the perfect story. I’ll have to run the schedule by my photographer, as well. That way, she can join me and take the pictures.”