Not a Date

** Eli **

The trousers were still damp when Eli put them back on, but he didn't mind. He even liked it, for the scent and the warmth of Harper's touch lingering on the fabric. When he called the concierge on Sunday to pick it up for cleaning, he was even a bit disappointed that he couldn't keep it the way it was.

Yep, he got it bad.

The realization was beyond clear when he reluctantly put on a different set of suits in the evening, for the other "not a date" with Vanessa Jones.

The temptation to call Justin and cancel the reservation again was too strong. Eli clutched his phone tight and forced down the thought multiple times. Backing out at the last minute would be a bad idea — a deal was a deal, and he knew how much worse things would get when his father found out about his change of mind. Unpalatable as it was, he had chosen to do this, and he had to follow through.