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“I’ll be having a drink in the library if you need me.” There’s no missing the teasing in his tone. I hope it’s because I called him predictable and not because he suspects I spent nights in Paris spying on him.
“Okay.” The word flies out fast.
He needs to get out of here. Before I find out how serious he was about the begging. Before I beg.
Crew disappears, closing the bathroom door behind him. I climb into the tub, letting the hot water envelop my body inch by inch until I’m accustomed to the temperature. It feels like heaven. The steam clears my head and the warmth chases away the long day of travel followed by work.
I sit in the tub until the water starts to cool. Once it’s tepid, I climb out and pull on a silk robe, not bothering to dry my hair or brush it. When I walk back into my bedroom, there’s a glass of water on the table next to the bed. Along with a bottle of Tylenol. I stall in place for a few seconds, unexpected emotions threatening to overwhelm me.
After taking two pills, I slip between the cool sheets and immediately fall asleep.
CHAPTEREIGHT
CREW
Her eyes widen she sees me. Barely, but I’m watching her closely enough to see the subtle shift in her face. Aside from her eyes, Scarlett’s expression remains sanguine. Two women are trailing her. One is typing frantically on her phone, probably taking notes. The other is balancing a tall stack of binders.
Scarlett’s steps don’t falter as she strides straight toward me. As they near, I can hear what she’s saying. “Hopkins should be booked for Thursday. Tell him I want two locations, preferably three. I handled the models already and all the samples from Chanel should be arriving on Monday. Tell Jeanette Richardson I need her piece on the wildlife foundation next week or she’ll be bumped until next year. Same with the travel feature. I’ll need final versions by Wednesday.”
She stops at my side. “Crew.”
“Scarlett.”
“Ready?”
“You’re not going to introduce me?”
Scarlett shoots me an annoyed look before turning back to the two women. “Crew, this is Leah, my main assistant.”
A petite woman with a blonde bob and black glasses gives me a small smile.
“And Andrea, my head of editorial content.”
“Lovely to meet you both.” I smile.
Andrea gives me an unimpressed look, while Leah looks away. Working with Scarlett has clearly rubbed off on them.
“I’ll be in the office tomorrow, if you need to reach me,” Scarlett says. Her tone is brisk. Both women hang on to every word. “Did you bring the Lorenzo sketches?” she asks Andrea.
Wordlessly, Andrea hands over one of the binders. Scarlett opens it and flips through a few of the pages. “Perfect. Good night.”
“Good night,” they both chorus, ignoring me. Whatever impression Scarlett has given them of me, it hasn’t been complimentary. And they’re loyal to her, the sort of loyalty that can’t be bought, only earned. It makes me admire her more, and there wasn’t a lack of it to begin with. She bought this flailing magazine and turned it into a thriving enterprise. I’m impressed. Proud—despite the fact I have no credit to claim. My sole contribution is that Scarlett seems set on spending as little time in my company as possible. If she’s actually spending the bulk of the time she’s not at the penthouse working, she’s logging ninety-hour weeks.
I move, straightening from the side of the limo I’ve been leaning against, and open the door. Andrea and Leah disappear back inside the building that housesHaute’s offices, leaving us on the bustling street.
“What a gentleman.”
“You’d think differently if you trusted yourself to be alone with me.”
Scarlett’s eyes flash as she slides onto the leather seat, arranging the blue organza so it covers up the flash of calf I just caught. The gown she’s wearing is off-the-shoulder with a sweetheart neckline that dips between the curves of her breasts. Standing while she sits offers one hell of a view.
“It has nothing to do with trust.”
I hum before shutting the car door and rounding the rear of the car to climb in the other side. As soon as my door shuts, the limo pulls out into traffic.
“Good day?”
She’s already started flipping through pages in one of the binders Andrea left her with. “Yeah. Fine.”
