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I turned and spotted a tall, almost painfully thin man a few feet away. He smiled as we made eye contact and bobbed his head. “I’m Felix. I’ll be happy to take you anywhere you need to go.”
“Thanks.”
He escorted me to a sleek black town car and opened the door for me. Sinking back into the leather seat, I closed my eyes to organize my thoughts. I needed to go home and shower, change, then go to my office. I had a toothbrush and toothpaste in my purse, but…
My purse.
The car pulled away from the curb as I swore. “Oh, shit. Wait!”
Immediately, the car halted, and Felix looked at me in the rearview mirror. “Is there a problem?”
“I left my purse in the elevator. Can you wait a minute while I run inside?”
“Of course.” He opened the door, but I already had mine open and was striding toward the hotel entrance.
Once inside, I strode toward the frosted glass door and punched in the code. My purse was still there, exactly where I’d left it. I grabbed it and headed back out, taking time to make sure the door shut securely.
“I…well, hello.”
I stilled, looking up to see the blonde in the daisy sundress from just minutes ago standing a few feet away. She looked at me, then back to the frosted glass door. “Were…” she stopped and pursed her lips, then shook her head slightly. “You spent the night with Maximus.” It wasn’t a question.
“I…excuse me?”
She came closer, stopping only a foot away. “There’s no point in lying, honey.” She rolled her eyes. “There’s only one reason a woman comes out of those doors looking like…that.” She sniffed. “But you must not have been all that entertaining. Maximus and I are having brunch together.”
She gave me a cool smile and arched an eyebrow, clearly waiting to see how I’d respond.
Hurt ripped through me.
But I didn’t let it show.
“Well. Isn’t that nice for you?” Without saying another word, I cut around her and strode for the doors. I felt her gaze on me the entire way, but I didn’t look back.
I didn’t want to see her face or anybody else’s in this damned hotel.
My reaction wasn’t rational, I knew. The man I’d just slept with and barely knew had made no promises to each other, and we certainly didn’t have any sort of commitment or obligation not to see other people.
But damn.
After wooing me with flowers, wine, and expensive bowls, I was only one in a line of many with whom he toyed. Maybe the risk of seeing a playboy hadn’t been worth it after all.
As Felix pulled away, I kept my gaze fixed straight ahead. If I could have had my way, I’d forget that this place and its charming, deceptive owner even existed.
Eleven
Tina
“Gorgeous…”
Smiling into the laptop camera at Roseanne Humphrey’s evident appreciation for the specs and mockups I had sent, I continued my presentation, “I’m glad you like it. I’m rather pleased with how the mockups turned out.”
“Oh, honey…” She beamed at me, her bright smile luminous against her dark skin. “Like don’t touch it.”
My phone vibrated. I barely controlled my grimace.
Rosanne continued... “Overall, how much time do you think the re-modeling will take? And you’re sure we won’t have to displace our residents?”
I flipped through my copy of the proposal to double-check my estimates and gave her the timeline. She smiled, clearly pleased. “And I don’t expect your residents will have to be displaced. We’ll need to close off certain areas while we renovate, but we’ve already discussed the arrangements for that. However,” I held up a hand. “Hattie’s Place is in an ancient building. On my walkthrough, I saw nothing that would concern me, but sometimes we find problems after we start the renovation.”