WAKING UP WITH THE CEO

CHAPTER 4

Annalise widened her eyes and looked at him like Lance was crazy.

Dance with him?

Seriously?

Apart from the fact that she had two left feet, dancing with Lance Hamilton in front of a room filled with chatty, envious people wouldn’t look good. No, dancing with her future boss was out of the question.

“Suit yourself, but just so you know, Helena, Brenda, and Vivian have already agreed to have a twirl with me on the dance floor,” Lance whispered in her ear, provoking Annalise.

Dammit!

At this point, saying ‘no’ would be similar to a professional suicide.

“I see you’re making your AE selection based on who’s the best dancer. Well, I must inform you that I might come up last on your list. However, since I’m no quitter, I’ll join you on the dance floor. I’ll try my best to move as decently as possible, as long as you won’t force me to do some strange dance challenge. But I’m warning you! If you’re fond of your toes, keep them as far away from my feet as possible.”

Lance threw his head back and started to laugh harder. People around looked at both of them quite suspiciously and Annalise did her best not to run out of the room. Too much attention wasn’t what she wanted at such gatherings, and she hated how relaxed and carefree Lance was acting in front of the whole audience.

Not giving a damn about what people were saying about him, behaving the way he was feeling… this should be such a freeing exercise. Maybe she could experience it in the future.

Since there was no way out of this mess, Annalise put her hand in Lance’s and slowly followed him to the dancefloor. To her amazement, Lance put his arm around her waist and pulled her extremely close to his body.

“Follow my lead, Annalise, and I promise you no one will notice that you can’t dance,” he whispered, and totally in awe, she looked straight into his gorgeous eyes. “If you feel like it, close your eyes and surrender yourself to me.”

But Annalise didn’t close her eyes. She couldn’t. She kept her gaze locked on him. They weren’t lovers, but she knew exactly what Lance was thinking, and he knew exactly what she was thinking. That dance wasn’t doing her any good. Annalise wasn’t able to hide her emotions, no matter how hard she tried.

A couple of questions came out in the back of her mind…

Was Lance offering her a chance because he was expecting ‘something’ in return?

Was he similar to every man she knew in all her twenty-seven years?

‘Come on, Anna, give the man a chance! Judging and convicting Lance Hamilton based on the fact that he is a man isn’t something you should do! Don’t do to others what has been done to you!’

“Stop seeing too much in what is happening right now,” Lance said softly in her ear. “We are just dancing, nothing more.”

At this point, Annalise relaxed her body in his arms and decided to simply follow his lead for the last moments of the song. They both moved perfectly to the rhythm, something that left her stunned.

Lance was such a good dancer, and she was in his arms. There was nothing more to be said. For the rest of the song, she just kept daydreaming, thinking about how good it was feeling his arm around her waist, his manly scent slowly driving her insane.

“So, Annalise, what do you think about Friday? Maybe in the afternoon, after my weekly board meeting?”

His unexpected words brought her back to reality. Just for a second, Annalise looked at him like she had no idea of what he was talking about. Then she squeezed her eyes for a second, totally embarrassed by her behavior.

“I was thinking we should have an informal meeting first. This way, you will show me all these spectacular ideas… If I’m interested, we could do the official presentation at your agency. Maybe this will save us both a lot of time and hassle if I don't like what I hear.”

The song was over, and the dance was done, but Annalise found it hard to open her mouth and speak. Lance’s arm rested on her body just a little bit more, making it impossible for her to formulate a normal, logical phrase. So, she just nodded.

“Very well then. I will have my private assistant call you and give you all the details.”

He escorted her to the edge of the dance floor. Then, he picked up her hand and brought it to his lips. The warm brush of his mouth over the back of her hand sent a bolt of pleasure straight down her spine.

“I’ll see you on Friday, Annalise.”

Without saying a word, Annalise watched Lance move away, leaving her all by herself. He was immediately surrounded by a group of people. Still, he turned and found her gaze, and for a moment, they simply stared at each other. The corners of Lance’s mouth lifted into a half-smile.

Oh, yes, he knew exactly what she was thinking, what she was experiencing at that moment. She should be more careful the next time they are together in the same room.

This account was very important!

Elaine counted on her!

Annalise turned and walked toward the exit. There was no reason to keep sticking around and socializing. If there was any gossip over her dance with Lance, she certainly didn’t want to hear it. She had to concentrate on their meeting.

A very anxious Elaine followed Annalise in the hall of the hotel that was hosting the event. She stopped in front of Annalise and waited without saying a word.

“I’m going to meet him this Friday. No formal pitch. He wants to hear my ideas first. If all goes well, he will come to 'S&W Advertising' for a final presentation.”

Elaine nodded, and Annalise saw the satisfaction in her eyes.

“Now, I’m going home to take off this ridiculous dress, take a shower, and sleep until tomorrow morning.”