“Yeah.” I turned to her and leaned my butt against the dresser. “Kent. Who is apparently really, Alexander Kent. My uncle’s best friend. Also, the other half investor in Voyeur. And a hotel entrepreneur.”
“That’s a lot for one man.”
I held up a finger. “Can’t forget the best sex I’ve ever had.”
“And he was at your parent’s house?” I could hear the laughter she fought to hold back.
“Trust me, it was more awkward than you’re imagining.”
“Next time, message me immediately, so I can enjoy the show.” She looked me up and down. “So, are you having sex with him again?”
Taking a deep breath, I pushed down the remaining disappointment that I couldn’t quite kick. “No. It was a one-time thing that was easy to do without all the complications staring us in the face.”
“You seem awfully excited about seeing him.”
I smirked, giving a careless shrug. “It’s the hotel, I swear.”
She gave me a deadpanned stare. “And are you wearing the extra tight skirt and red lipstick for the hotel too?”
“Got to make a good impression on my first day.” I turned around and stared at the blue eyes shining back in the mirror. They were wild and excited for the first time in years. But my eyes were easily drawn to my full red lips. Perfect. Exactly where I wanted the attention.
“Well, be careful. You wouldn’t want Daniel to find out.”
Looking over my shoulder, I reassured, “He won’t. Because it won’t happen again.”
My flats didn’t make a sound as I made my way from the carousel door to the man standing at the front desk.
He was hunched over with a woman next to him. One hand was resting on the table, his flexing forearms visible from where his dress shirt was rolled up. The other hand held a coffee, and I almost willed him to move it to his mouth, so I could watch his lips curl around the edge. Just the thought had me squirming.
The woman next to him, stood upright and noticed me first, giving me a bright smile. I almost faltered at how gorgeous she was. She screamed successful in her wide-leg slacks and cream silk blouse, and I couldn’t tell if I was jealous of her confidence or the way she seemed so familiar with Kent. Was she his girlfriend? Was he screwing her? Had he screwed her like he had me?
“You must be Olivia,” the tall brunette greeted me. “I’m Carina, the project manager. It’s nice to meet you.”
I saw Kent stand upright out of my peripheral, but I kept my attention focused on Carina. Kent didn’t want a repeat, and I wasn’t going to make a fool of myself by giving him every ounce of my attention. “Nice to meet you, Carina.”
She collected the papers spread out on the table, filled with colors and drawings. “I’ll get these organized and the final products ordered by the end of the week.” And then she turned and left me with nothing else to do but finally face Kent.
I gave him a bland smile—one I would have given to a stranger on the street. “Good morning, Mr. Kent.”
His mouth twitched as though he was fighting a smile, and as expected, his eyes dropped to my painted red lips. “Good morning, Olivia. And call me Kent.”
“So, what’s the plan for today?”
He stared for a long moment, his eyes assessing like if he looked long enough, he’d find an answer to a question I didn’t even know about. If I did know, I’d help him answer it. Anything to lower the intensity of his gaze.
I kept my face neutral, but I couldn’t stop the way my heart raced as the seconds ticked by. I couldn’t stop the way I breathed harder to get more oxygen to my lungs, bordering on panting.
Finally, he looked away and took another drink of his coffee. “I looked over the project outline you emailed last night, and I’m sure we can cross all these off before the deadline. We’re in the final stages of completion. It will be the perfect time for you to observe.” He moved to the back wall where a Keurig sat. “How do you like your coffee?”
He didn’t ask if I wanted coffee. Apparently, his dominance extended further than the bedroom. “Black, please.”
He froze and looked at me over his shoulder with an eyebrow raised. “I took you for a cream and sugar girl.”
“Black like my soul.”
He laughed and turned back to his task. Once the lid was firmly in place, he handed me my cup. I wanted to sigh when my fingers grazed his. The small touch was intimate and a reminder of how we were pretending we hadn’t touched before.
“I’ll take you around to meet everyone.” He stretched his arm out toward the back and fell in step beside me when I began walking. “I have a meeting, but Vivian is the hotel manager and will be able to help you with any questions.”
Thankfully, he wasn’t looking and couldn’t see the frown I couldn’t stop. I was disappointed in myself for letting him simply not being there with me make me pout like a child. I didn’t get emotionally attached. There was no need. I was twenty and had plenty of time. I wasn’t in a rush to experience what Aaron had put me through two years ago.
Maybe I needed to take Aaron up on his offer and meet him tonight. I didn’t have to stay. I didn’t even need to have sex. Just go over, have him go down on me, and then get out. That idea had my frown turning upside down by the time we reached the rest of the workers.
Kent didn’t waste much time doing the introductions before leaving like the building was on fire. Vivian took over just as promised. She looked just as professional as Carina, but twice her age and half her height. The confidence was the same, and I admired her for it.
I didn’t expect much when I’d signed up for this, but I quickly found myself enjoying the topics. I asked more questions and actually made a suggestion to Vivian in one of their pow-wows. Her praise of my idea had me standing a little straighter. It had me eager for the months to come, and eagerness hadn’t been part of my emotional repertoire in longer than I could remember.
It was the end of the day, and I was standing at the front desk with my elbow resting on the table and my chin on my hand. I was so focused on scrolling through the finance setup that I didn’t even notice someone was behind me until a throat cleared roughly.
I checked over my shoulder to find Kent trying to keep his eyes from staring at my ass, perfectly displayed in the tight red pencil skirt.
“Like what you see?” I taunted.
He didn’t respond, but his mouth tipped on one side, and that was enough for me.
“How was today?” he asked.
“Good. Your hotel is more entertaining than I was expecting.”
“I aim to please.”
“I remember.”
Kent’s jaw ticked. He took a deep breath, but again, didn’t acknowledge my comment. “What are you looking at?”
“Financial setups. Vivian had me looking at the projected numbers from Carina.”
“Let me check it out.”
I expected him to wait for me to get out of the way, but instead, he stepped behind me and reached for the mouse.
My breath became trapped in my lungs, just like my body was trapped between the desk and the hard, hot man behind me. I didn’t dare move, not wanting to push him away. I stood still and watched his long fingers move over the mouse and salivated as I remembered how they felt inside me.