Carolyn noted that Annelie avoided the issue about leaving her alone in Orlando.
"I understand you're busy, but this is important too. When I called Grey from the cab on my way to my apartment, he almost bit my head off for not going directly to his office. It's just that I'm not so sure I should sign the contracts."
Annelie's eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about? What's the problem? They're standard contracts for this kind of project. You're the perfect choice for the role, and you've made it very clear you want it more than anything."
Carolyn lowered her eyes, a pang of guilt and other undefined emotions exploding in the pit of her stomach. "Not more than anything," she murmured.
"What do you mean?"
"Saturday night," Carolyn murmured huskily, "something more than the physical part of it happened. If signing the contracts drives a wedge between us…If it means I'll miss the opportunity to…"
Suddenly Annelie seemed to relax. Lowering her arms she walked over to Carolyn and gently touched her left shoulder. "Listen to me. I promise we'll talk, but not here. I won't be done until late this afternoon. Why don't we have dinner at my apartment? We can talk uninterrupted in a more private setting and," she gestured at herself with a faint smile, "in comfortable clothes."
Carolyn swallowed hard, forcing her breathing to become even. "Sounds good to me."
"And, Carolyn, do me a favor? Go by your agent and sign the contracts. You're the one we want for the Maddox role. Nothing that's taken place between the two of us has anything to do with that, nor will it, in the future."
"All right." Carolyn's voice was noncommittal.
"Here, let me give you my home address." Annelie walked over to her desk and pulled out a small notepad and a pen. "I'll let the doorman know you're coming. How about sevenish?"
"See you tonight, then." Carolyn watched as Annelie turned to walk toward the door. She was elegance personified—the black suit tailored to fit her curvaceous body, the high heels adding to her length.
Annelie surprised Carolyn by stopping in front of her and raising a hand to cup her cheek. "Yes, see you then." After she disappeared out the door, Carolyn could hear her talking to someone outside. "On my way."
Carolyn reached for her coffee again, taking a large gulp of the still-warm liquid. Her eyes reverted to the Little Women poster on the wall, narrowing as she tried to figure out its potential importance. Something had made Annelie put this up in her office, and she was dying to know what it was. Adding it to the picture Annelie had of her in her house in Florida, Carolyn was indeed mystified.
"Everything all right, Ms. Black?" Margo poked her head through the half-open door. "Anything else I can do for you?"
Carolyn shook her head and put the coffee cup down. "No, thank you, Margo. I'm fine. I'll be going now, so thank you for being so obliging."
"Not a problem." She escorted Carolyn back to the reception area. "If you need a cab, this young lady will be glad to call the company we use."
"That would be great."
Margo motioned for the receptionist to make the call, smiled, and said goodbye to Carolyn before returning into the inner regions of the office.
"The cab will be here shortly."
"Thanks. I'll head downstairs, then."
Riding the elevator, Carolyn glanced at her reflection, noticing she had more color in her cheeks than when she'd arrived. Meeting Annelie for the first time after their night together had gone reasonably well.
Squaring her shoulders, Carolyn took a deep breath and willed herself not to return to her previous confused frame of mind. Right now she would take Annelie's advice and go by Grey's office. She had contracts to sign.
***
Annelie pondered what to wear. Riffling through the rack of clothes in the walk-in closet, she let her fingertip bounce off the hangers and finally settled for dark blue stretch jeans and a white T-shirt.
She'd called for Italian takeout, though not pizza this time. Glancing at her watch, Annelie tried to ignore the butterflies cavorting in her stomach.
The doorbell startled her, making her drop her hairbrush. Chastising herself for being so jumpy, she picked it up and placed it on the dresser before walking to the front door and opening it.
Dressed in a long black coat, Carolyn looked completely calm as she leaned against the wall, one leg bent over the other, her arms crossed over her chest.
"Hi, Annelie," Carolyn said, a slow smile making goose bumps appear on the other woman's arms. "Colorful fellow downstairs. Chatty."
"Yes. He's quite a character, but somewhat overwhelming."
"I could tell. I think he likes me. I thought he was about to propose before I could escape to the elevator." Carolyn paused, raising an eyebrow. "May I come in?"
Blushing faintly, Annelie stepped aside. "Forgive me. Of course you can. I might as well level with you—I'm nervous."
Something vulnerable flickered across Carolyn's features before she smiled and patted Annelie's arm. "Don't worry, so am I."
"Want to look around the apartment?" Annelie asked, knowing she was stalling. "It's going to be another ten or fifteen minutes before our food gets here."
"I'd love to see your home. Lead the way."
Annelie took Carolyn's coat, noticing the other woman had changed into khaki chinos and a chocolate brown turtleneck. She started the grand tour by showing Carolyn the large living room with the open fireplace, then moving through the kitchen and the long hallway with oak parquet floors. The guest bedroom was decorated similarly to the one in Florida, but the rest of the apartment was more of a mix between East Coast style and Scandinavian influence. Walking toward the recreation room, Annelie looked at Carolyn as she opened the door, not about to miss the other woman's reaction to what was hiding behind it.
"Oh, my God. A pool!" Carolyn's jaw actually dropped.
"Thought you'd like it," Annelie grinned. "Actually, it's more than just a pool. It's called an Endless Pool. Let me show you."
She pressed a button next to the eighteen-by-eight-foot pool, causing the water to move.
"You swim against the current," Annelie explained.
Carolyn looked impressed. "You know about me and swimming…" She smiled.
"You're welcome to try it anytime." The words left Annelie's lips before she realized what she meant to say. The invitation hung between them, and Carolyn had opened her mouth to reply when the doorbell interrupted them.
"The food's here. We can finish the tour later." While switching off the controls to the pool, Annelie wondered if she sounded as relieved as she felt.
After she took the bags from the delivery woman, Annelie carried them out into the kitchen with Carolyn in tow.
"Did you mean it?" Carolyn's voice was low.
Not about to pretend she didn't understand what Carolyn meant, Annelie busied herself with the bags of food. "Of course I did. You can use the pool if you like." She took heated plates out of the oven and arranged their meals on them.
"You said anytime."
Pausing, Annelie shot Carolyn a glance. Carolyn looked serious, and she had an unreadable expression in her eyes.
"I meant that too."
Carolyn moved closer, standing next to Annelie at the counter. Frowning, she pressed her lips together before she spoke. "Why did you run? I mean, I can think of several reasons, and I have, ever since yesterday morning when I woke up alone."
Reaching for the bottle of Bettinelli chardonnay breathing on the counter, Annelie carried it over to the table she had set for two when she came home. Picking up the two plates, she motioned with her chin toward the table. "Please have a seat."
Carolyn complied, not taking her eyes off the other woman.