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It still doesn’t change the fact that he shouldn’t have been asking those questions with Jamie less than two feet away from us. He shouldn’t have been asking them at all.

Matteo Valenti doesn’t exist, and Marcus aka Ash is actually Jamie aka Ash’s father, and you just lied through your teeth about it.

I have my reasons. How was I supposed to know that the father of my kid was someone I would one day work for? And that he would be the CEO of Ashford Hospitality and would buy enough shares of my dad’s company to kick him to the sidelines and bench him, possibly forever? And how was I supposed to know that he would be back in my life in other ways as well, ravishing me in a storage room between the lanterns and the dish plates in perfectly calibrated mood lighting?

The short answer: I couldn’t have known. And it doesn’t change anything. He’s still my boss and I’m still his employee, and at the end of the day I have to protect my son. For all I know, if Marcus finds out the truth, he’ll think I withheld it from him on purpose and might try to take him away.

Or he’ll want to have nothing to do with either of you, and you’ll lose your job and have to sell your fancy condo and move into your sister’s mansion…

I shudder at the idea of it. “Not going to happen,” I tell myself as I head towards the elevator. Marcus and I are having yet another meeting today about a different event. I need to stop letting all these intrusive thoughts blur my focus because none of this is going to happen. I can work for him without him finding out that Jamie is his and without letting my horniness get the best of me and without my heart getting involved.

I have to.

The elevator doors are open, and I hurry toward them.

“Hold it, please,” I call out as I see the doors start to close. A large, familiar hand reaches out, wraps around the edge of the door, and shoves it open again hard enough that the elevator makes a clunking sound.

“Thanks,” I say as I step inside with all my things. “Although the way you man-handled it, I hope it still runs,” I joke and Tuck laughs.

“Where you headed?” he asks.

“All the way to the top,” I tell him. “I have a meeting with Marcus.”

“On the top floor?”

“We’re having lunch too, I think. On the patio,” I say.

“Ah. Sounds like Marcus. Wining and dining his employees,” he says as the elevator doors finally close.

“Really?” I ask. “He does this a lot?”

“No,” Tuck chuckles. “He never does that, actually. Ash prefers most of his meetings on a screen,” he says as he pushes the button for the top floor. I wonder if he’s going to the meeting too, but then it occurs to me, he’s taking me to my stop first. And then going back down to his own.

“Really,” I say thoughtfully.

“Really,” he says. “In fact, you’re the first person he’s had one-on-one meetings with in person in a very long time. Other than me, of course.”

Something about the thought of that makes my heart do little somersaults in my chest. I don’t know if it’s because I feel weird about it or if it’s because I like it.

“You know, it’s probably just because I’m the new director of events,” I tell him as the elevator slowly heaves its way towards the sky. It’s taking longer than usual and with slightly more effort than usual. I wonder if Marcus fired the elevator mechanic?

“I don’t think that’s it,” he says, and I give Tuck a funny look. He stares back at me with a speculative smile.

“No?” I ask.

“Nope.”

“Then what do you think it is?” I ask.

“Are you into him?” he asks, and I nearly choke.

“Am I what?” I ask.

“You heard me,” Tuck says with a smirk.

I shake my head and my hip pops out as I readjust my things in my arms and look at my phone to check the time. I’m going to be late for the meeting, and I know I am going to hear about it.

Just then, the elevator stops. We’re only about midway up the building.