Perfect Fit - Brenda Jackson [69]
She was still pretty damn mad at him.
He rubbed a hand along his jaw as he took a few seconds to continue to sit there and think about things, although the business meeting was now ending. Parnell lifted an inquiring brow at him, but otherwise said nothing as he packed up his belongings and left the room.
“You plan to spend the night, Blackwell?”
Gabe looked up into Langley Mayhew’s grinning face. He had never cared much for the man, and after the way he’d badgered Sage during her presentation, Gabe liked him even less. In fact, he had a good mind to knock that silly grin off Mayhew’s face, which surprised Gabe since he normally wasn’t a violent person.
His gaze narrowed as he watched Mayhew cross the room to where Sage was standing packing her briefcase. Mayhew’s voice, since the man didn’t know how to speak softly, came across rather loudly in the room. Gabe decided to stay where he was and listen.
“That was a nice presentation you did, Ms. Dunbar. Perhaps we can go somewhere and have a few drinks and you can tell me more about it,” Mayhew was saying.
Sage, in the most professional voice she had, said, “There’s nothing else to tell, Mr. Mayhew. I covered everything in today’s meeting.”
Mayhew’s smile widened, but didn’t spread to his eyes, which were scanning Sage from head to toe. “Oh, but I’m sure there’s something we can talk about over drinks.”
Sage picked up her clipboard and pretended to study it. “No sir, I don’t see anything listed that we need to discuss. But I do note another marketing meeting scheduled in two weeks; perhaps you’ll have more questions for me then.”
At that moment, Malcolm reentered the room, unaware of the conversation going on between Sage and Mayhew, and of the fact that the man was trying hard to hit on her. “Ready for me to drop you off at home, Sage?” he asked, smiling.
She quickly turned to Malcolm, returning his smile. Before she could open her mouth to say anything, Mayhew cut in.
“That’s not necessary, Grainger. I’ll drop her off at home,” he said with authority, slanting Malcolm a look that reminded him of his position. Malcolm may work for the Denmark Group, but ultimately the Denmark Group was under Landmark Industries’ employ, of which Mayhew was a top executive.
Malcolm met Sage’s gaze. “Just say the word, Sage.”
Sage knew that all she had to do was say that she would prefer Malcolm taking her home, and at the risk of incurring Mayhew’s ire, Malcolm would. But she couldn’t do that. There was no doubt in Sage’s mind that Mayhew would deliberately try and make things difficult for Malcolm, and he had a wife and child to think about. This wasn’t the first time Langley Mayhew had tried coming on to her, and she intended to talk to Mr. Landmark about it. There was such a thing as sexual harassment in the workplace.
“That’s okay, Malcolm, I’ll be fine.”
Across the room, still sitting quietly and evidently forgotten, Gabe had heard enough. Mayhew might think of himself as Sage and Malcolm’s boss, but he sure as hell wasn’t his. And it would be a damn cold day in hell before he allowed the slimy man to be alone in the same car with Sage.
Gabe stood. “Ready to go, Sage?” he called out to her.
He saw her blink. He saw Malcolm’s brow lift in amused comprehension and then saw Mayhew’s jaw tighten in anger.
“I’ve offered Ms. Dunbar a ride home, Blackwell,” Mayhew said through gritted teeth.
Gabe slowly strode over to the group of three. “Sage doesn’t need a ride home since she’s spending the weekend at my place.”
His gaze slowly shifted from Mayhew’s to meet Sage’s. He saw the look of comprehension and appreciation in her eyes.
She followed his lead and said, “Oops, I’d forgotten about this weekend, Gabe. I’m sorry.”
He smiled at her. “That’s understandable. I’m sure you’ve had a lot on your mind in getting ready for today’s meeting. We’ll stop by your place to pack some