He parks the car outside the hotel. There are a few trucks parked outside, and the smell of sawdust invades my senses as we walk into the grand lobby. The construction is still ongoing, and several sweaty men bustle around the main floor. One of them waves to Hayden, who gives a curt nod.
He gives me a tour of the first two floors we’ve already gone over before we move to the first floor with the guest rooms. Each floor only has two large suites, and I mean large.
We walk into one, my eyes drifting over the empty space I'm sure is the living room area and see a bar, I turn to look at Hayden. “No kitchen?”
“No.” I’m already growing tired of his short answers. My hand rests on my hip as I wait for more of an explanation. He gives in. “They won’t be cooking for themselves. That’s a waste.”
I suppose it makes sense. I open the double doors and see it contains the bedroom area. There’s no furniture except for a king-sized bed. “So, furniture selection is needed?”
“Headboards, side tables . . .”
“Television.”
“No.”
I swear, despite being nearly thirty years-old, Hayden is like a petulant child. “No?”
His head cocks to the side, looking at me like I'm stupid. “The bedroom isn’t for watching TV.”
My cheeks flush, catching his meaning. “Sometimes it is.”
“Not here.” He’s so damn stubborn I want to slap him. I have to close my eyes and take a deep breath to will myself to go on with this meeting. When I open them back up, Hayden is standing right in front of me, nearly stealing that breath away. His head dips to look into my eyes. “Bedrooms are for fucking and sleeping, period.”
I hate that his words, paired with the intensity in his eyes, cause me to swallow hard, begging for the dryness of my throat to disappear. “And if they’re here alone? Maybe they would like entertainment in bed.”
His right eyebrow quirks up, and I realize what I just said, knowing it didn’t come out the way I meant it to. “They can use their phones for porn.”
He makes me feel like a child, inexperienced and naïve. And I don’t like it. “It’s your hotel, but prepare yourself for bitching if you don’t have a television in the room.”
“There will be one in the living room. And if they want to piss and moan about something like that, they aren’t welcome anyway.”
He means it. Hayden West is not desperate for business whatsoever.
I eye the bed, ready to talk about something else. “I’m thinking charcoal for the bedding.”
His eyes meet mine. “Gray?”
“Dark gray. Elegant.”
He’s clearly not impressed. “Gray is still fucking gray. This hotel is not gray.”
I fight rolling my eyes, knowing that won’t go over well with an egomaniac like Hayden. “Fine. What is this hotel then?”
He looks annoyed yet again as he walks over to the large window overlooking the courtyard area outside. “That’s supposed to be your job. Not mine.”
I refuse to admire how well his suit fits his muscular body any longer and turn my attention to the bed. “Black. With very simple gold trim.”
He turns to face me, and I brace myself. “I like it. A hell of a lot better than gray.”
Again, I don’t let my eyes roll and quickly jot that down on my notepad. My eyes drift around the room, noting it will also need drapes to match. I think with Hayden, less is more. My instincts tell me to go with understated, not in-your-face, luxury. Subtle details.
I walk into the large bathroom and feel him behind me but don’t turn to face him as I take in all the details.
“Penelope is dating your brother?”
That was random. Now I do spin around on one heel and eye him suspiciously. His fascination with Penelope has me on high alert. “Are you her stalker?”
“What?” My question caught him off guard, and his reaction seems genuine. “No.”
“So then, why the interest in my partner? Did you see her picture when you did your background check and fall instantly head over heels or something?”
He’s perturbed by my line of questioning, but I couldn’t care less. I may want this contract, but not bad enough to put Penelope in harm's way. And I notice he didn’t argue the whole background check thing either. “Of course not.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
My eyes lock with his, and I don’t back away when he takes a step closer no matter how badly I want to. “I’m not lying. I ask one question and suddenly I'm a deranged stalker?”
“You were obsessed with her at our meeting.”
His eyes study me, and I force myself to lift my chin and not tuck it away from his harsh gaze. “I like to know everything about who I'm going into business with.”
“You didn’t ask much about me.” I flinch, knowing that sounds like I'm hurt by his lack of interest.
The slow smile spreading across his lips is infuriating. “There wasn’t much to learn, Lola. My P.I. found everything out about you in a matter of minutes.”
I bite my tongue, holding back the actual “fuck you” festering beneath the surface. “You really hired someone to dig into our lives?”
“I told you, I don’t take chances. Ever. Humans are disappointing. There are always secrets hidden under the surface.” He doesn’t touch me with his hand, but his eyes seem to stroke my skin as they move over me. All the way down to my heels and then back up to my face. “Except you.”
Do not let him see how much that bothers you. “Secrets are secrets for a reason. Some things even a P.I. can’t find.”
His eyes darken and flicker with something that makes me shiver as he leans in, his full lips taunting me. “Is that so?” I try to stay strong, keeping my back straight as I keep my eyes on his, which pulls his lips into a slight smirk. “Lola Marie Sterling. The oldest of four siblings. Graduated top of your class in high school and college. Went to work for your father right after college. Never married. No car accidents. Not even a parking ticket.”
Hearing my boring life broken down into even more mundane terms is disheartening, but I don’t react. “Public record. And what makes Penelope all that more intriguing?”
I know, but does he? “Her story is quite something. In and out of foster care most of her life until she was fifteen and moved in with a wealthy family that took her under their wing. Of course, I don’t know the details of what went on in that house or how it led to her dating your brother.”
I want to throttle him. “And what about you, Mr. West? If I hire an investigator. What will he find?”
“Nothing out of the ordinary.”
He seems so sure, and I want to scream. “You sure about that, Hayden? Or is that your actual name?”
His body crowds mine, and I didn’t know I had been backing away from him until my butt hits the bathroom counter behind me. “It is.”
He smells so damn good. I need to snap out of it. How many women has he charmed? Gretchen seems willing to kill for him, and she’s the only woman I’ve met who knows him. “Penelope was a foster kid, but she’s so much more than her background and a picture.”