“I totally understand.” She stood up and extended her hand to Preston.
He stared at it.
I cleared my throat and motioned for him to shake her hand.
“We’ll be in touch,” he said, his voice terse.
“I hope so!” She grabbed her purse and walked past me, shutting the door on her way out.
“Do we not have an app for guests to make hotel reservations at my properties?” He looked at me.
“We do. And before you ask, yes, your logo is better than Hilton’s.”
“I’m well aware of that.” He smiled. “I wasn’t going to ask.”
“Of course, you weren’t …”
“Is there any way I could pay you more to stay here and work for me? I can promise not to stress you out as much.”
“Never.”
“Even with more stock options?” He stood up and walked over to me. “More benefits?”
“I already have the most benefits and some very generous stock options.”
“One more year wouldn’t kill you.”
“I really think it would.”
He let out a low laugh and closed the gap between us, leaning in to kiss me.
“We can’t.” I pushed him away and stepped back, pulling out my phone. “You have a two-hour meeting with—” I glanced at his schedule. “TLM in a few minutes. Did you add this? I didn’t approve any meetings with Thompson Lane Marketing today. Why are they scheduled to meet with you multiple times this week?”
“Because TLM isn’t Thompson Lane Marketing,” he said, walking past me and locking the door. “I just figured Tara Lauren’s Mouth would’ve been too inappropriate for my executive assistant to approve.”
I laughed, and his lips met mine in a kiss.
“I need you to handle all of my upcoming international meetings on your own.”
“Really?”
“Yes.” He ran his fingers through my hair. “I’ve started getting Violet’s personal things shipped to my place, but I’ve yet to find her passport. I don’t feel comfortable leaving her here alone while I travel.”
“I thought you said you didn’t know anything about kids?”
“I know they don’t like to be left alone.” He trailed his finger against my lips. “Do I need to send any interns on the trip with you?”
I shook my head. “Just my driver.”
“Does your boss treat you somewhat better now?”
“No.” I smiled. “He’s just very good at sex.”
He laughed and pushed me against the wall. “Cancel the rest of my day …”
Twenty-Four
Preston
A few nights later, I woke up in pain—feeling massive heart palpitations in my chest. No matter how many doses of anxiety medication I took, they came harder each night, and they always brought along memories of my brother. They were always the same. Images of Weston and me fighting in our childhood backyard. Us fighting on the school bus. Us fighting about anything and everything.
Sighing, I rolled over and found myself face to face with a set of purple button eyes.
What the …
I sat up and saw Violet sleeping on the other side of my bed. This was the fifth night in a row that she’d snuck into my bed in the middle of the night, and I was still getting used to it. Kissing her forehead, I pulled a blanket over her and made my way into the kitchen.
Opening the refrigerator, I shook my head at all the juice boxes, fruit, and mini snack meals that were there for Violet. Thanks to Tara, she now had her own nutritionist who premade weekly meals and ensured that my refrigerator and freezer were always “eighty percent toddler and twenty percent adult.”
I grabbed an apple juice box and a bag of animal crackers, carrying them over to my sofa. I opened my laptop and looked for some work I could focus on for the next few hours, but for the first time in forever, the last thing I wanted to do was work.
Shutting it down, I pulled out my phone. I scrolled down to Tara’s name and stared at it. Then I hit call.
It rang once. It rang twice. And before I could hang up and tell her that the call was a mistake, she answered in her familiar, breathy voice.
“Hello?” she said. “Hello?”
“Hello, Tara.”
“Are you calling me about the Grand Rose’s grand staircase remodel? I can get you those numbers in two minutes.”
“Not at all.”
“Oh, then, is this about my travel itinerary? I’m waiting on the Von Strums to approve two of the final meeting spaces, but I have everything set to go for the Scotland and Amsterdam sessions.”
“I’m not calling you about that either.”
“Oh … Then what’s this about?”
I sighed. “I can’t sleep.”
“I didn’t know you were capable of sleeping.”
“Contrary to the rumors at the office, I sleep at least five hours a night.”
“I’ve heard you’re supposed to get eight.”
“I’ve heard that as well,” I said. “But never from anyone successful.”
She laughed. “That’s exactly why everyone thinks you’re an awful boss.”
“Do you still think that?”
“Absolutely. You’re the worst boss I’ve ever had.”
“I’m the only boss you’ve ever had.”
“Still doesn’t change what I said.” Her laughter came over the line again, and I realized that over the past two years, we’d never talked on the phone without work being the main topic of conversation.
“Were you thinking about your brother?” she asked.
I didn’t answer.
“I’m sorry for asking.”
“Don’t be,” I said. “I was thinking about him.” I paused. “I was thinking that it’s my fault we weren’t close, but I’m honestly not sure how I could’ve fixed it. I also wish I could’ve met Violet under different circumstances.”
She remained silent, listening.
“I’m just not good at emotional shit, and all he wanted to talk about was his feelings when our parents died. As if talking about the way he felt would bring them back.”
“How did they die?” she asked softly. “If you don’t mind me asking.”
“They were murdered. Shot dead in their home over an empty safe.” I clenched my jaw at the memory of receiving the phone call, of the officer saying, “these things happen all the time” right after. As if he’d just given me speeding ticket. “Weston and I were never the same after that. We always handled things differently, and grief was no different.”
“Did your brother happen to own The W Hotels, the budget hotel chain that you stalk all the time?”
“He did.” I smiled. “He went into budget hotels, and I went into luxury. He saw something in the long term that I didn’t, and I’ve been trying to make up for that ever since.”
“No wonder you’re trying to break into that industry with the Von Strums, then,” she said. “I’m pretty sure your brother was obsessed with your chain, too.”