Maurice was punctual, and so was she, which was why she told herself that any recollection of Gordon around Maurice was a mistake. This wasn’t the same. In fact, it couldn’t be more different than what she’d gone through six years ago.
“How is it possible that you make even pajamas look sexy?” The twinkle in Maurice’s eyes as she walked toward him was alluring. She’d noted that long ago, which was why she never questioned how so many women were swept away by him, even though they knew he’d never commit to any of them. “I mean, you’re not showing a bit of skin. Well, except for your toes, which are mighty cute with that yellow nail polish.”
“Sexy Is a Complete Package,” she replied, coming to a stop beside him.
“Ahh.” He grinned and nodded. “Last year’s Women of the World Collection slogan. That was brilliant then, and it’s still relevant now.”
She couldn’t help feeling the flush of pride wash over her as he recalled one of her most recent marketing campaigns. RGF’s Women of the World Collection—which featured both upscale business and business-casual wear as well as budget-friendly designs—had given career-minded women more fashion choices than any other line across that season, and she’d been in charge of getting the word out to the world about it. It was one of her favorite projects.
“Skin doesn’t always mean sexy. You should know that by now,” she told him.
The elevator came, and they stepped inside.
“Why? Because the women I date all show a lot of skin?”
His response seemed defensive and was a little off topic. “I meant because at RGF, we’re not all about showing off a woman’s body with revealing clothes. We cater to the entire style of a woman.”
The look on his face said he was rethinking his words. It should’ve been the look of someone realizing they’d put their foot in their mouth, but that wasn’t Maurice. While he could admit when he was wrong, it was always on his terms. He remained silent for the duration of their ride, and she stepped off the elevator first when the doors opened again.
She already knew which direction to go without the help of the signs and arrows the resort had put up to assist them in getting around. Besides that, she could smell the food coming from the resort restaurant and her stomach churned in response. She was actually following her stomach’s lead.
“Hey, there! I sent you a text this morning after the mimosas session, and you didn’t respond.” Kelli came out of nowhere, stopping Desta in her tracks.
“Oh, hi. Yeah, sorry about that. We went skiing and then I came back and took a nap. Didn’t know the slopes could be so exhausting.” That was a lie. After all her tumbles and the emotional upheaval of too many trips down memory lane, she’d gone straight to her room when they were done and taken a hot shower. She’d felt better after that, and she’d checked and answered emails until it was time to get ready for tonight’s festivities. She gave Kelli a tentative smile. The woman returned it with a beaming one of her own.
“I’ll just bet you were exhausted.” With a wink and a chuckle Kelli glanced over Desta’s shoulder. “Guess your match is working out?”
“Yes. Yes, we’re...working out just fine.”For the weekend, she wanted to say for clarification. One more day and they’d be back in the city working on something other than turning each other on. “Um, Maurice, this is Kelli. Kelli, this is Maurice.”
“Oh, you don’t have to tell me who he is.” Kelli stared at Maurice, accepting the hand he’d already extended for a shake. “I know exactly who Maurice Gold is. The elusive fashion mogul who loves the ladies but not enough to settle down with one. I recognized him as soon as I saw you in his arms yesterday.”
If Maurice felt as uncomfortable with what Kelli just said as Desta did, he didn’t show it. In fact, his most dashing smile was in place as he shook and released Kelli’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Kelli. Did you have a chance to link up with your match this weekend, or are you just hanging out solo?”
Desta had wondered that, too, since Kelli had not only sent her a text this morning but had also sent one late last night. Desta had responded to that one after she’d left Maurice’s room this morning.
“Oh no, I found my guy. He’s right over there getting us a table. Hey, why don’t you two join us? We can have a double date.” Kelli didn’t wait for their response but immediately turned and fast-walked over to the restaurant entrance, where a guy wearing gray sweatpants and a matching T-shirt was speaking to the host.
“We should get out of this,” she said to Maurice the moment they were alone.
“Nah, then we look like we’ve got something to hide. And we don’t, so let’s just go.”
“We don’t? Are you sure?” She couldn’t help but question him here. “How’s it going to look that two RGF employees were caught spending the weekend at a sex retreat?” Because when it came right down to it, regardless of any of the names they slapped on it, that’s exactly what this weekend was turning out to be.
Maurice easily took her hand in his and said, “It looks like two consenting adults decided to do some adult things.”
Unable to hide her exasperation with his unbothered attitude where the media was concerned, she sighed. “Look, I know you like to believe that you’ve got everybody eating out of the palm of your hand all the time, especially the media. But this time I’m attached, too. My career’s on the line, and unlike you I’m not related to the bosses. I could lose my job.”
He stopped, dropped her hand and turned so that they were now face-to-face. “I’m damn good at my job, Desta. No matter what the media prints or says about me, RGF is always at the forefront of my mind. So don’t throw my family in my face as if I can afford to be reckless because of them.”
She wanted to snap back, but creating a scene wasn’t going to help make her point. Besides that, she’d never seen Maurice look as serious as he did right now.
“I’m just saying we should think about this.”
“You can think about it. I’m going to have dinner.” With that, he left her standing there.
She felt like an idiot as that itchy sensation rippled over her skin again. She closed her eyes, intending to start her breathing exercises to calm herself down, but stopped. She opened her eyes again. Maurice was right: now was not the place to fall apart. If Kelli was going to run to the media with this tidbit of information, Desta’s reaction to it would just add fuel to the fire.
Pasting on a smile, she pulled out her phone as she began to walk after Maurice. If it looked like she was reading a message or something, maybe it wouldn’t seem like they’d had a disagreement and he’d just walked away from her—something she wasn’t going to forget he’d done.
