“Is there a problem?” he interrupted me with a slight frown on his brow.
“No, I just need to find her…”
“I’m sorry sir, she doesn’t sound familiar, but I’ll keep my eye out.”
Keeping an eye out wasn’t good enough, or going to help me find her again.
“Can you check the security tapes?”
His expression creased with concern. “Sir, what’s this about? Is there a problem?”
In my haste to find her I hadn’t considered how crazed I was sounding right now, in fact if my publicist could see me, she’d likely give me a slap round the ear. I rolled my shoulders back, trying to ease some of the tension building, then took a deep breath.
“No, I… no… Look, if you see her can you give her this?” I grabbed the pen from the desk and scribbled my name and number down on a piece of paper, then handed it over.
“Certainly, Mr Crawley.”
“DREW!”
I spun to find Cooper glaring, while everyone else was looking as bad as I felt, sunglasses on, meekly following his orders.
“Drew, get your fucking ass in the car or you’re making your own way!” He growled in a voice I couldn’t be fucked to argue with.
I turned back to the concierge, tapping the piece of paper. “Please try and find her, give her that.”
I slowly made my way out of the hotel, taking one last scan around the lobby, searching for a flash of copper hair.
Nothing.
It seemed my luck had run out.
Chapter 5
One Year Later
“Emily?” The barista called out, heaving a green juice in the air and waving it around. “Emily?”
I frowned, realizing she meant me - having got my name wrong. I knew Emerson wasn’t the most common name in the world, but wasn’t even close to Emily.
Fine. It was a little bit close, but still not the same.
Leaning over the counter, I grabbed my juice from her hands. “Thanks.”
I took a long sip as I walked through the door, out of the artificial cool air and right into the fire... and the last person onearth I wanted to see. Nine million people in New York City, and for the life of me, I couldn’t understand how it was impossible to permanently avoid one.
Although I knew this wasn’t a coincidence.
My shoulders dropped in frustration as I backed far enough away so he couldn’t touch me. “What are you doing here? Are you following me now?”
He reached a hand toward me, and I took another step back.
“I’m on my way to work. My shift starts in thirty minutes; and is that any way to greet your boyfriend?”
“Ex-boyfriend.” My free hand fisted at my side. “You lost your right to call yourself that when I caught you fucking another woman in your office.”
His face dropped. He did a good job acting remorseful, but I knew from previous experience that it was bullshit.
“She came on to me, I told you. It was a momentary lapse in judgement.”
