“See you later,” I said to Nolan before I left the kitchen, doing my best not to smile too much at him. Unfortunately, I spent most of the rest of the day wondering about where all of this was going, and whether Nolan and Bryant’s bodies were as fantastic as Landon’s. By the evening, I was struggling to focus on my job, given how intense the thoughts were.
Then, my phone vibrated while I was in the middle of sorting out a towel emergency. I checked the message; it was from Landon, requesting my presence in his office.
It was strangely formal, and I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. This had to be about the elevator incident. We hadn’t spoken about it at all yet, and obviously we couldn’t just leave it there.
“Can you take over?” I asked the receptionist on duty, who agreed, but seemed curious about the sudden frown I had on my face.
I tried to walk at an even pace, even though my heart was racing and my legs wanted to run. I wasn’t sure if I was nervous, excited, or terrified. It was probably a mix of all three.
I stood in front of the office door for a long moment to catch my breath. I wondered if Landon regretted what had happened, or if he planned to keep to what he said; “we’ll have to finish this later.”
The thought of that sent a thrill through me, but I kept myself calm. I couldn’t seem too eager.
Finally, I knocked on the door, and Landon called for me to enter.
When I did, he was standing beside one of his many bookcases, watching me closely. I closed the door behind me and stepped forward. I couldn’t quite place Landon’s expression, but it was somewhere between stoic and unhappy.
“Is there something I can do?” I asked, not quite ready to drop the professional facade. “I believe the schedules are still in line.”
“It’s not about that,” Landon answered, and he seemed pretty frustrated as he spoke. “I need to warn you. Stay away from Bryant Thatcher.”
I blinked at him a few times. I knew that he was likely jealous about how flirty Bryant had been with me, but I didn’t think that it was that serious. I didn’t think that we were exclusive, and on top of that, nothing had happened with Bryant. I had onlybeen professional until now, aside from accepting the drink that afternoon.
“What’s the deal with him?” I asked sincerely, crossing my arms. “Why is everyone so weird about him? And how do you expect me to avoid him when it’s my job to—”
Landon lifted a hand. “Listen, just trust me, okay?”
The way he said it was really convincing, so I simply nodded and kept back my curiosity. I still hoped that my questions would be answered one day, but for now, I’d do as Landon asked.
The air between us was quiet for a moment before I spoke again. “Is that it?”
“What?”
“Did you just call me to warn me about Mr. Thatcher?”
“Why?”
I felt exasperated, and sighed. “What about the elevator? Aren’t we going to talk about that?”
Landon walked up to me so fast that it seemed like it happened in a single movement. He stood almost against me, looking down at me with what looked like fire in his eyes.
“There’s nothing to talk about,” he said, before putting a hand around my neck and pulling me close.
This kiss was even more urgent and full of passion than the first one had been. It was a promise that there was more to come, that I’d only had a small taste of what was truly beneath Landon’s suit.
And I was looking forward to seeing more.
11
Adriana
“Our transport has arrived,” I announced to Allan and Megan Loucester, two of the current VIP guests who had insisted I accompany them on their trip to Big Sur. I had agreed and Landon had taken over the rest of my schedule, telling me to enjoy myself.
“Great!” Allan said as he and Megan joined me to walk outside. “I’ve been told it’s magnificent.”
“You Googled it, nobody told you anything,” Megan said grumpily, but Allan seemed to completely ignore her.
He was fairly short and round, dressed in mostly flannels, while she was tall and thin, dressed as if she’d just done a shoot for a safari magazine. It was difficult to think of a couple more opposite to one another, but somehow, they still looked like they belonged together. Like they were the rich people in a cartoon about talking animals.
