Page 17 of Winning Her

I stared at him with my jaw dropped. With the way he was looking at me up and down, I had a good idea what he was thinking. As if I would ever stoop to something so low! In spite of the fact that seeing him in front of me was making my heart beat out of control, there was no way I was going to take shit from this guy after all the crap he’d already given me over the years.

“Excuse you, Trent,” I growled, scowling at him as I tilted my chin up. “But I got my job here because I worked my ass off, meaning I got it the old-fashioned way.”

He smirked, but I wasn’t quite done yet.

“I know you like to look down on me,” I continued, narrowing my eyes at his look, “but believe it or not, I managed to get to school and worked my ass off to get through. I got a scholarship and several jobs even to manage. We’re not all like some people who can buy their way through a university education. I finished school, applied for a job, and worked from the bottom of the hotel to get to where I’m at right now.”

He’d lost the smirk, and I couldn’t help but flash a look of triumph.

“Just how good can you be?” he said with a scoff.

“You know the standards your dad has,” I returned. “Especially for this hotel, since it’s the closest one to home. I’ve done a good enough job that he met me personally and offered me a job at any of the other hotel branches around the world. The only reason I stuck around here was because I didn’t want to move too far away from my parents.”

I didn’t know what I expected from Trent exactly. It wasn’t like he was going to pat me on the head and tell me I’d done a good job. It would be condescending, but I probably would have been happy. Him looking at me a little differently would have been enough for me as well. Hell, I would have settled for him ignoring me and just leaving.

But the way he looked at me, it was with the same ridicule from over a decade ago. Suddenly, under his gaze, I was that same gangly teenager having my dreams stomped into the ground by the boy of my dreams. I could feel my cheeks start to flame in embarrassment, and I hated how he could still affect me with just a look even after all this time.

He can't be thinking about it, I thought frantically. But he was looking me up and down with the same derision, and I knew he was. My mind went back all those years to when I’d kissed him and confessed my feelings for him. Trent was thinking about that kiss, the second most embarrassing thing that had happened to me that day besides him laughing at me afterward.

Why am I not saying anything?

I had a lot to say to him about that day. If he was going to give me looks like the one he was giving me, I at least wanted to let him know what an ass he’d been, and how I’d disliked him since that day. It would be a lie, and he probably wouldn’t care. It might not even make me feel better. But I wanted to say the words, if only to find some closure and finally move on from this man.

But I just stood in front of him, my body starting to tremble the longer he just stood there staring at me. Like he knew how he was affecting me, he smirked again. He didn’t even say anything, just turned around and walked away. I watched his back until he was out of sight.

“Wow.”

I turned to Laura, who’d been sitting there silently the whole time and all but ignored. It had felt like there was only Trent and me in the room, and I felt my face grow even hotter.

“That man is a piece of work.”

I just growled. I’d jumped to my feet at some point as I defended myself against him, and I let out an explosive sigh as I plopped back into it. My body was still trembling, and I could feel the sting of frustrated tears in my eyes. I refused to let them fall. I wouldn’t cry again for a guy like that.

“I just want to strangle him!” I growled to myself as much as to Laura, my fingers clenching into fists at my side as I tried to control my emotions. “Maybe if I cut off some of the air into his brain he might become a little less of a bastard.”

Not that I ever would. It would mean touching him, and even as irritated as I felt, I knew I’d be doing something other than strangling his neck if I ever got my hands on him again.

Like she knew the route my thoughts were taking, Laura gave me a strange look. She didn’t say anything out loud, and I was grateful.

7

Trent

I turned my back to Jessi and walked away, it was the last thing I wanted to do, but seeing her like that, there was no way I could have stayed and kept my composure. My smirk fell away and changed into a look of relief once I was out of their sight.

That was too close.

I was impressed that she’d had the courage to speak up to me when she’d usually just cowed or ran away before. It had taken all I had not to let my eyes drop to her luscious body. I vividly remembered feeling her pressed up against me, even for that short moment when she’d run into me. I’d wanted to close the space between us, reach for her and hold her to me again, only longer.

Shit.

“Don’t lose your head now, Trent,” I said to myself, pausing when a maid walked past me with a giggle.

I’d slowed down without realizing it, then speed-walked out of there with my chin held high.

Why had I even bothered to go to the staff area? I was taking over the higher management of the hotel, but I could always leave the little things to the hotel manager. My meticulous nature just wouldn’t let me. I hadn't gotten as far as I had in my career by letting other people do jobs for me.

When can I go back to that again? I thought wistfully about the past, and how I just wanted to get back to my own business as quickly as possible.