| Over the next few weeks Brian attended a few charity events thus putting his attempts to see Shelby on hold. There was a basketball game in New York and a couple of golf tournaments that took him away from Lexington. He did leave some messages at her office but the calls were never returned. He was beginning to think that he was the cause of her leaving Florida and spent hours trying to remember if he had said or done anything to warrant this kind of behavior on Shelby�s part. He continually came up empty handed. It was late June before he returned home and took up his daily pursuit of Shelby. And as fate would have it, on the last day of the month, he was handed a golden opportunity. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Elise stood at the door. Shelby saw her and nodded impatiently as she concluded the phone call. �That would be wonderful Mrs. Winston.� Shelby rolled her eyes at Elise as she gathered her files. Elise pointed to her watch and Shelby made a face as she continued to listen to the benefactor ramble on and on. �Mrs. Winston, I really hate to cut you short, but I am very late for an important meeting. Would you be able to come in tomorrow at ten and we can continue?� Shelby smiled. �Good. I look forward to seeing you then. Goodbye.� Shelby dropped the phone in cradle and raced to the door. �They are waiting for you,� Elise said as they walked down the hall together. �I know, but I couldn�t just let her go. Large contributors like that we need to handle delicately,� Shelby justified as she checked to make sure she had all her notes. �Make a note on your calendar that Mrs. Winston will be in tomorrow at ten and remind me to tell Ron. Seems she has been advised to divest herself of some stock and we are going to be the recipients.� They stopped outside the conference room and Shelby took a deep breath. �Wish me luck,� she said over her shoulder to Elise as she slowly opened the door. Heads turned as she entered the small conference room. Shelby looked directly at Ron and mumbled her apologies and then took the nearest seat not looking at anyone else. She opened her notes and taking a sip of water from the glass looked around the room. She choked on the water nearly spewing the liquid all over the table when she saw Brian sitting across from her. He just smiled mischievously and Shelby could feel her face turn beet red. As she gasped Ron came to her aid and helped her sit in the chair as she tried to catch her breath. He offered her more water, which she drank slowly, her eyes closed the entire time. �Shelby?� Ron waited while she continued to compose herself. All Shelby wanted was the floor to swallow her up. She wasn�t told he would be here. But then again, this event would involve his charity along with the others so he had every right. �I�m fine, thank you.� She whispered pulling the chair closer to the table. Jackie watched from across the room. The girl was definitely rattled which was unusual. She had met with everyone present before, except Brian. And yet, his presence shouldn�t have upset her unless her hunch was right. Shelby had feelings for Brian too. Oh young people, they could be so blind sometimes. �Well,� Ron continued, �now that we are all present I�m going to let Shelby outline her idea for the summer carnival.� He sat back in his chair and looked at her with a nod. Shelby gave him a weak smile and took a deep breath. She was on and under normal circumstances this would have been a breeze, but suddenly having Brian sitting there across from her, looking so fine, caused her palms to sweat and her self confidence to falter. She cleared her throat and took another sip of water. Shelby drew from within herself and slowly outlined her ideas. Everyone received a copy of her proposal complete with number of volunteers needed, how the event would be set up, cost and it�s potential as a profitable fund-raiser for all their charities. She spent 30 minutes, without any interruptions and the more Shelby spoke, her enthusiasm heightened and she even looked Brian in the eye a couple of times. This is what she did best and by the time she sat down Shelby could tell there wasn�t a person in the room who wasn�t sold on the idea. The room hummed with excitement. Small conversations had begun among those present and Ron leaned over and gave her his usual approval. Shelby could feel Brian watching her and when she looked up all he did was nod. The meeting lasted another hour as questions were answered and some minor details and conflicts ironed out. When Ron thanked everyone and the group began to disperse, Shelby bolted for the door, but a hand on her elbow stopped her. �Not so fast, Shelby.� His voice was low, almost seductive and Shelby could feel her insides begin to go soft. �You have some explaining to do and I�m not leaving until I get some answers.� He led her down the hall to her office, smiling at Elise as they walked by. Elise leaned over her desk to watch as Brian escorted Shelby into her office and closed the door. She began to tiptoe down the hall to eavesdrop, but was caught as the rest of the group converged on the waiting room. As soon as the door shut, Brian released Shelby. She immediately went around her desk providing her a barricade and some distance between them. Brian stood waiting patiently. Simple wood furniture filled the room and he noticed a familiar framed photo on the credenza behind her desk. It was taken while they were on tour for Millennium. Shelby stood with all the guys around her. Someone had told a joke just as Andr� snapped the picture and they were all laughing. Time had passed and now they were all off in different directions. Shelby made no attempt to speak. She sorted through various folders on her desk and Brian took a seat in the leather chair and waited. Shelby felt like she would suffocate as she felt Brian�s eyes on her. �I really have a load of work here Brian,� she said absently not looking up from her desk. �I know you do, but I think I deserve some explanation as to why you just walked out on us a year ago.� �There is nothing to say. It was time to move on that�s all.� She thumbed through the papers trying not to let her inner turmoil show. �Be that as it may, most people would have given notice and a forwarding address to friends so they could have kept in touch. � She looked up at his comment and he raised his eye brows at her. �But you vanished Shelby. Even AJ, who seemed to be your best bud there for a while, even he couldn�t tell me where you had disappeared to.� He laughed. �Yeah I even accused him of coming on to you and that he scared you away.� Shelby sat still. AJ. She should have called him at least. �What do you want me to say? I apologize okay. I was wrong to just walk away, but at the time it seemed like the right thing to do. Now if you�ll excuse me,� Shelby stood and started towards the door, but Brian blocked her way. �No! What did we do?� She shook her head. �Nothing.� �Okay, if not us as a group, then who individually?� She looked at him. She wanted to scream at him. You! It was you Brian. I couldn�t stay because of you, but she kept silent. And now it looked like she may have to run away again. She went to move but Brian took her by the shoulders. �Shelby, answer me. Please?� His touch, his smell, his voice, it all came flooding back and all her months of forgetting were gone in an instant. A knock on her door brought her back to reality. �Shelby?� Ron poked his head inside, �oh I�m sorry. When you have a minute Shel, I need to talk to you.� She nodded and Ron closed the door. �I need to go, Brian.� �But, we�re not done here.� �Yes we are.� She opened the door and marched down the hall leaving Brian standing in the doorway. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Brian could have demanded that they give him her address and phone number. But he was not one to use his celebrity in that fashion, so he tossed the idea out with all the others. He could work on Elise. It would be easy. He saw how she looked at him, but he didn�t want to lead her on. And so Brian brooded and Shelby lost sleep. Both of them headed on a course that neither one was expecting. |