Chapter 5: Naked Conversations

Hunter nailed that pitch just like he told her he would. He acted with so much confident and he proved to live up to it. Not only did he surprise her with his kindness he also showed her why he made a name for himself. The way he spoke caused people to listen to his every word. His voice was deep, very manly yet very soothing to listen to. Hunter spoke dynamically, it made you want to follow him every move too. She was obsessed about the way he performed during the pitch, she figured Hunter would also be great at giving speeches. It also made her wonder if that was the reason why Hunter was the one making the important announcements while Starr operated in the background.

Currently they were seated in the backseat of a renter car, the driver skillfully gliding through traffic while they made their way to their hotel, they'd spend the night and leave the next morning. Thankfully not so damn early in the morning she felt like a zombie awoken from the dead. Traffic was awful though and Valerie felt like they'd be in that car forever. It gave Hunter time to respond to as many emails as possible, which also resulted in the ride back to the hotel being awkward. The only sounds being heard were their movement whenever they shifted in their seat, cars honking and quiet classical music which the driver was listening to.

"Do you want to have dinner together?" Hunter asked, surprising her by suddenly speaking up.

"What?"

He looked up from his phone, his eyes scanning her face before he spoke up again, "Dinner." He said emphasizing that word, "Do you want to have it together with me?"

Smiling she shook her head at him being silly again, "I'd love to."

A smirk spread across his face while he lowered his gaze again and focused on his cellphone, "I'm not going to share Gabe's secrets though if that's the reason why you're smiling so cheekily."

Her cheeks heated, she placed her hands against them, trying to get rid of that feelings. She glanced out the window, inhaling deeply to calm herself down.

"I didn't think that." She muttered weakly.

He chuckled at that, his chuckle alone telling her he didn't quite believe her, "Sure, you didn't."

He was onto her without her having to say anything. She didn't like the fact that Hunter could read her like an open book. She needed to get better at hiding her emotions, now she got caught and wouldn't be able to subtly ask about his co-founder, partner and best friend. At least she assumed they were very close considering how Hunter talked about Starr. Starr, however, didn't mention Hunter that often to her, but that could be because he didn't felt oversharing. The two times they met it had been her who did all the talking mostly. It was only fair she had more information about Starr. Hunter wasn't going to give that up though so her only option was to meet up with that man again. When they'd meet up she'd ask the questions, hoping he'd share more with her too.

"So we'll freshen up first and then meet for dinner?" Hunter asked her, "Say we'll meet up at the restaurant around seven-thirty?"

She glanced at her watch, "Sure, sounds good to me."

***

Valerie was getting ready for dinner together with Hunter, she didn't bring clothes with her to attend formal dinners though. She assumed this was just a casual dinner so it was okay to show up in a simple black dress which reached just above the knees and had short sleeves. She tied her hair up in a messy bun and wore her small diamond earrings. It was a gift to herself when she felt down due to Daniel getting on her case three months ago. It was more expensive than her regular jewelry, it wasn't the amount of money she wanted to pay for material things, but it made her feel better. It was odd how beautiful things like that had that much effect on her mood. Taking her appearance in Valerie figured it wouldn't get any better than this, it wasn't like she had to impress Hunter. She'd be okay.

Leaving the hotel room Valerie made her way to the elevator bank. It was a little over seven-thirty so she figured Hunter was already waiting for her at the restaurant. He was a punctual man after all. Stepping inside the elevator Valerie brushed her stray hairs back and straightened up. She smiled at the man who glanced over his shoulder while he talked to his conversation partner. He smiled back and focused back on his partner. She held tighter onto her clutch and stepped out of the elevator once they arrived at the lobby. She made her way to the restaurant, her heels clicking away which caused a few people to glance at her since she caught their attention. As she spotted Hunter she made her way to him and was pleasantly surprised when he stood up when she approached him, being a gentleman.

"Hello Valerie."

"Hi."

She took a seat across him, placed her clutch upon the table next to her glass of water and shot a glance at Hunter who reached for the menu.

"I wanted to thank you for your help today. I know it was last minute so your help is very much appreciated."

"It's okay." She didn't know what else to say.

She didn't accept the offer because of pure intentions, she wanted it to work in her favor. Like her co-workers she was aiming to get Daniel's position. She wanted to be the next sales-manager and she figured this trip would win Hunter and Starr over.

"Hope you didn't make any plans this weekend."

She reached for her menu, frowning at what he said. Starr knew she made plans that weekend, she told him about them. But clubbing wasn't as important as making a good impression. Andrew didn't mind it as well, he was supportive of her nailing this opportunity. They could go another weekend, it was all about having a good time. There was no need to rush those things.

"I was going clubbing with a friend, but there is always time for that."

Hunter kept gazing at his menu, but she could tell that she had his attention, "True. You like going clubbing?"

"Occasionally, if you're with close friends it could be really fun."

He laughed, nodding at that, "It's been ages since I've done that."

"Well, I like going out drinking at this secluded lounge more. But you know, there are times when you enjoy drinking quietly and other times you just want to let your hair down and dance like crazy."

His eyes softened, a big grin spreading across his face. Hunter could be cute when he looked laidback like that. She tried not to think about it too much, it would make things awkward. She'd behave like they were friends, they managed to get along so far.

"I don't know what that's like." He told her putting his menu down, "You ready to order?" When she agreed he winked the waiter over, "But I do know about letting go. Sometimes it's a good way to relieve some stress. You met Gabe at the lounge, right? I think he mentioned that before."

"We met at the lounge." She agreed, giving her order to the waiter who patiently waited for them to place their order. Once he had everything he moved away quietly, letting them go back to their conversation, "I'm a regular there."

"Maybe I should join Gabe some time."

"It's pretty relaxing." She reached for her glass of water and took a sip, "But do you have the time? I heard you're traveling the world mostly."

"I travel a lot." He agreed, "But when Starr needs me at the office I take a jet back."

The waiter came back with their plates, serving them quietly. They discussed their favorite places to hang out at over dinner. It was fun talking to Hunter because he visited a lot of different places. What surprised her more was the fact that Hunter was seeing someone. He mentioned being in a serious relationship with his high school sweetheart. His high school sweetheart occasionally joined him while he travelled. They lived together in a fancy apartment downtown, she loved that place so her accompanying him became less and less. She could tell Hunter wasn't entirely okay with that. It might also be the reason why he was staying at the office more often.

"Does that mean it will be Starr who'll do the traveling from now on?"

"We're thinking about switching things up." Hunter neither confirmed or denied that, "But when the time comes we'll let you know."

He wasn't letting anything go when it came to their management decisions. So she figured he wouldn't tell her about their decision about the management position either. She just had to wait like everyone else.

They finished their dinner, had dessert and then headed back to their rooms, strolling back together. They'd head to the airport around nine, that would mean she'd be home around noon. Since it was a Sunday she'd laze around all day and start fresh come Monday.

***

Getting back home after only a day still made Valerie appreciate her own city. She placed her weekend bag on the edge of her bed, undressed and shrugged on a robe. It was fluffy, pastel colored and felt amazing against her skin. On bare feet she strolled into her bathroom, the cold tiles feeling amazing, it helped cool down her heated body. Filling up the tub, she sprinkled in some lavender, mint bath oil. The whole room smelled amazing and it caused her to relax already. The scent was that calming. She pulled her hair up in a bun and cleaned her face. Getting ready to get into the hot water, she glanced over her shoulder when her phone started ringing. Sighing she tied up her robe again and headed to the bedroom, grabbing her phone from her bedside table.

"Hey Andrew." She answered, heading back into her bathroom, "I'm getting in the tub, so I'm sorry if my voice sounds echoey."

"Getting naked while talking to me, you're one daring girl."

Smiling she got rid of her robe and carefully stepped into her tub, leaning back immediately and closing her eyes while she inhaled the calming scent.

"The water would get cold if I talked to you."

Andrew chuckled, "So how was your weekend away with Hunter?"

"Quick." She opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling, "Hunter is fun to hang out with though. When he made the announcement I thought it was going to be horrible. But I actually had a pretty good time."

"He looks intimidating."

Valerie couldn't agree more, "Yeah, that's one of the reasons why it stressed me out."

"So does you having fun together with Hunter over the weekend means you getting that big promotion in the future?"

She narrowed her eyes as she pondered over that, "You probably should rephrase that." She giggled, "Hunter might be fun to hang around with, but he stays professional when it comes to the company. He wouldn't let anything go."

"You sound upset by that." She heard the change in Andrew's tone, "Did you want to hear more about a certain someone." His teasing tone made her blush, "And Hunter wasn't going to amuse you? Poor thing."

She pouted, "Hunter knew about me since they're apparently besties. The balance between us wasn't great. But then we had dinner together and Hunter started sharing. He's a different person when you get to know him."

"It works in your favor, Val, I seriously hope things will work out for you."

She smiled at that, she could tell by Andrew's tone of voice that he was sincere about that. She was blessed having a friend like him.

"We'll go clubbing soon, okay?" She gently asked him, "I'd love to hang out with you."

"Sure, Val. I'll let you go now, enjoy your bath. See you at work tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow."

Ending the call she leaned over the tub and placed her phone on the floor. Leaning back again she closed her eyes and tried to relax. So much had changed after she met Starr, she never would have even dared to imagine her getting on a private jet together with Hunter to assist him during a pitch. Change was good, but it was also scary. She guessed she was just lucky things went well when she assisted Hunter, it could have gone seriously wrong. Luck was a tricky thing so she had to make sure she wouldn't get used to things looking up for her. It would surely mean she'd get disappointed in the future. She had to focus on her job, like Starr mentioned someone would notice her hard work. It would never stay unnoticed. It could eventually lead to great things.