The CEO's Christmas Proposition by Merline Lovelace

Author:Merline Lovelace [Lovelace, Merline]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Holidays Abroad, Category
ISBN: 9780373769056
Publisher: Silhouette
Published: 2008-11-11T00:00:00+00:00

Seven

T hey made it to the train station with exactly twenty minutes to spare.

Miracle of miracles, Cal’s leather carryall and suit bag had been delivered and were waiting at the front desk when he went down to check out. He’d managed a quick change into a fresh suit, a crisp white shirt and a red tie for the three-hour trip to Berlin. Devon had scrambled into her stacked-heel boots, gray wool slacks, an off-white turtleneck and her heavy winter coat. The hot pink pashmina fluttered behind her like a cape as she and Cal jumped out of the cab and hit the crowded station.Stranded travelers thronged the ticket booths, all anxious to get to their chosen destinations for Christmas after the horrendous delays caused by the storm. Since Devon had booked their tickets online and printed them at the hotel’s business center, she and Cal didn’t have to fight the crowds at the booths. There was another logjam at the gate, but they got through it just as the two-minute departure warning sounded.

The high-speed bullet train hummed on its track, as eager as a thoroughbred at the starting gate. Cal slung his suit bag over his shoulder and shifted his carryall and briefcase to one hand so he could relieve Devon of her roller bag while she made a dash for the first-class coaches. With his longer legs, he kept up with her easily.

Mere seconds after they jumped aboard, a final warning sounded and the doors glided shut. Devon led the way to their reserved seats and flopped down, breathless.

“We made it!”

“So we did,” Cal said as the train started to move.

He stashed their bags in the overhead compartment and swiveled his airline-style seat around to face hers. They had a small table between them and, when the train pulled out of the station, a bird’s-eye view of Dresden’s Old City through the wide windows.

The spires and turrets rose above the frozen River Elbe, a sparkling, ice-coated panorama Devon knew she would never forget. She propped her chin on her hands and drank in the view until apartment buildings obscured it. Sighing, she swung around to face Cal.

“Quite a city,” he commented, shrugging out of his overcoat. “If this deal with Hauptmann Metal Works goes through, I’ll have to make several return trips. “The skin at the corners of his eyes crinkled. “Think you can work it so we don’t get buried under ice next time?”

Devon didn’t know which pronoun carried more interesting implications. The “you” that indicated he wanted EBS to handle his future trips to Germany or the “we” that suggested she would be traveling with him.

“I’ll do my best to skirt the ice,” she replied. “You didn’t have a message from Hauptmann waiting on your cell phone?”

“No, but I didn’t expect one. If it were me, I’d wait until the last minute and try to work some extra concessions in terms of salary adjustments and stock options.”

He helped Devon out of her coat and hung it alongside his on the hooks attached to their seats.

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