Page 28

At that moment, a group of men passed by us on their way out. They must have been meeting in one of the back rooms. In the past year, our evening course had been held twice at the Hotel Tiffany to give us practical insights into hotel operations. That's why I knew about the conference rooms behind the bar.
Judy fell silent again, and we waited for the men to pass by.
But then... The third to last in the line stopped so abruptly that the men behind him ran into him and almost knocked him to the ground.
"Isabella!"
I had only noticed the man out of the corner of my eye until now. Now I looked more closely. And groaned loudly. The person standing before me in an ill-fitting suit, with a not-at-all attractive stubble and piercing eyes, was none other than Owen.
My ex.
Him? Here?
I had thought he'd left New York long ago and moved to the Bahamas. Or Hawaii.
"Owen," I responded, surprised but cool. "You're here? I never thought I'd see you again."
"Well, things never turn out the way you expect." Owen laughed mockingly.
I nodded. Owen was right about that. This was probably the first and only time in our entire relationship that I agreed with him. Today had certainly turned out differently than planned. I blinked twice. The alcohol and Carter had provided the necessary distraction, but now... Now I realized that standing before me was the man to whom I owed the mountain of debt I was sitting on, which was slowly but surely suffocating me.
"You owe me a lot of money," I said to Owen. The two men walking behind Owen looked at me curiously.
"Don't talk nonsense," Owen replied gruffly. "You're living in my apartment!"
"Your apartment!" I laughed shrilly. This wasn't usually my style, but somehow the alcohol seemed to be affecting my vocal cords at that moment. Or maybe Owen's presence had this effect. "Sure, it's half yours. Just like the debts that I'm currently paying off alone every month are half yours."
Owen shrugged. "You guys go ahead, I'll catch up," he said to his companions. They glanced at me again but then obeyed Owen. Did he have some authority over these men? Who were they anyway? And what was Owen doing here?
"Do you have a new job?" I wanted to know.
"Not specifically. I was here for exploratory talks."
Exploratory talks.
That term was usually used in politics. There it was mostly promising. With Owen, it was more likely to mean a lot of talk that amounted to nothing but hot air in the end. Although - maybe that applied to politics too.
This thought made me giggle.
Owen suddenly grabbed my arm. "Don't make fun of me!"
"Hey. Let go of me!" I demanded. Unfortunately, my voice didn't sound as forceful as usual. Damn alcohol.
"Let her go," the girls chorused in support.
"Quiet!" Owen snapped at my friends. He kept a firm grip on my arm and dragged me two steps away from the bar. I hadn't sat down again after Carter left.
"Hey! I don't want to go anywhere with you," I continued to resist. But Owen was simply stronger than me.
"I'm not going to let you ruin my reputation. Debts! Don't make me laugh! YOU live in that apartment. YOU've practically occupied it. I can't even use it. YOU threw me out."
"Yeah, because you cheated on me with your colleague."
Owen tightened his grip on my arm. "Don't you dare get insolent now."
"Insolent? Because I'm telling the truth?" I took a deep breath and tried to clear my head. The Tequila Sunrises had tasted good, but at that moment, I wished I had drunk a little less.
"Let Isabella go!" Judy and the others came to my aid again. They tried to pull Owen away from me. But Owen wasn't gentle. He lifted his leg and kicked back briefly.