The last meeting ended at 3pm the next day and Anna found she had some space in her schedule to fill. One of the clients had offered to show her around Paris, but his motives had seemed less than honourable so she'd politely declined the invitation. There was a small risk she might have offended him, but frankly Anna was past caring at the moment. The way things were heading, it seemed likely that she would be looking for another job imminently. After the way she'd reacted last night, he was probably drawing up her P45 right now.
A small part of her brain irritatingly suggested that she'd perhaps overreacted last night, but she squashed it firmly. 'No men' was her motto and she had managed to stick to it fairly successfully so far. She certainly had no intention of allowing Sean to be her Waterloo just yet.
The busy Paris streets were teeming with late afternoon traffic and Anna stood enjoying the sun for a few moments, wondering what to do and where to go. There were lots of places to see and she was torn as she flicked through an old guide book she'd brought with her. Finally she decided on a trip to the Louvre; it had been many years since her last visit and it would be a relaxing way to kill a couple of hours.
A short time later Anna found herself wandering round the second floor galleries, losing all sense of time amongst the Old Masters. It was quiet and there were very few people about other than a few museum staff sat watching the rooms, slumped in boredom on their small gilt chairs. She walked slowly through the rooms, completely immersed in the paintings and feeling the tension of the last couple of weeks falling away.
When a voice spoke to her, it startled her. Somehow she wasn't surprised to see Sean standing next to her looking slightly pale. He had the knack of popping up in her life whenever she least expected it so why would today be any different?
"Hey," he said, pointedly not looking at her.
"Hey," she replied, not looking at him either.
They both gazed in studied fascination at the Gericault on the wall before them. Anna could feel every nerve in her body tuning into him, alert to his slightest movement. The problem was, her body was crying out to be touched and it was only her mind that was fighting the urge.
Sean could smell her subtle perfume as she stood next to him. He was actually rather relieved that she hadn't screamed for security and gotten him thrown out already. He still wasn't sure what had even brought him to the Louvre. He was normally much too busy for site-seeing trips and he had never bothered with the Louvre before. But today he'd been at a loose end and rather than change his flight to an earlier one, he'd decided to stick it out in the hope of seeing Anna again.
He hadn't expected to bump into her like this, but maybe fate was taking a hand in things. God knew he certainly needed a helping hand the way he'd been messing things up lately. Another couple walked into the gallery chattering away loudly and he suddenly wished he could be alone with Anna. There were so many things he needed to say to her and this was neither the time nor the place.
"Do you think you might like to come and have a coffee with me?" he asked warily, expecting a blistering knock back.
Anna contemplated his question for a minute while she admired the intricate brush strokes detailing the sailors adrift on a raft in the painting.
"Alright." She said simply. Coffee would be good and she was feeling rather more magnanimous today. Ok so he'd been out of order last night, but she actually did fancy a coffee now he'd mentioned it and it was a woman's prerogative to be fickle.
Sean thought he'd misheard her for a moment. Why the sudden thawing in her attitude? Last night he'd been spawn of Satan and now she was agreeing to go for a coffee with him? Women were a mystery to him at the best of times and this particular woman was certainly proving challenging!
"Shall we go to the café here? Or would you prefer to go somewhere else..." he asked hesitantly, still reeling in surprise that she hadn't told him to go fuck himself again.
"Here will be fine. The café's on the lower ground floor are open until 5.30pm" she offered helpfully.
They left the gallery and headed downstairs together. Sean couldn't help but admire Anna's shapely legs in her dark stockings and tailored skirt, but he reminded himself that she had only agreed to a coffee. He couldn't afford to upset her again so it was strictly hands off for now. Damn she was sexy though...
Because it was fairly late in the afternoon, the café was pretty much deserted. Sean paid for two cappuccinos and they sat down at a table on the far side of the room. Anna played with the froth on the top of the coffee and wondered briefly why she was here. She surreptitiously watched him through her fringe and noted the dark circles under his eyes. He must have had a bad night, she thought with a slight twinge of guilt. Still, he had deserved it she added, remembering the way he had interfered last night.
Sean sipped the hot liquid and tried not to stare at Anna too blatantly. She looked a whole lot better than he felt today. His hangover had lingered on most of the morning despite the bracing walk round miles of footpaths in an attempt to clear his head. He had attempted to buy some painkillers in a pharmacy, but his French was non existent and the Pharmacist had stubbornly refused to comprehend what he was asking for, so after a frustrating fifteen minutes he'd given up and left.
"How did the meetings go today?" he asked eventually, figuring he was on safe ground if he stuck to work for the time being."
"Very well I think. They liked the idea's I suggested and with a few small changes to the contract, I think we have them on board" Anna replied, before adding "I wasn't too keen on Monsieur Chiraque though - he was a little too friendly." Her eyes narrowed as she recalled the small mans lecherous stares and not so subtle innuendo thrown into conversation during the coffee breaks they'd had.
Sean inwardly bristled in outrage. How dare the man behave in such an unprofessional manner with his employee! He chose to forget of course that he had behaved in a less than professional manner himself.
"Don't worry about him." Sean growled angrily, "I'll have a word with the Director; he won't be trying that again!"
Anna hid a smile; would the man never learn to stop interfering in her life?
"I am more than capable of dealing with creeps like that!" she stated firmly, fixing him with a hard look.
Sean looked down into his coffee, realising that he had made the same mistake again. He just couldn't seem to help himself; she aroused his manly protective instincts every single time. She also aroused a lot of other instincts but it was better not to think about those right now.
