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She entered and stopped when she noticed how I’d decorated it.
“Oliver...,” she began, but her voice died off.
I closed the door, suddenly worried she wou
ld decide to bail from here. I got to the other part of the room, making sure to show her I didn’t want to pressure her or anything.
“I’m sorry if it was too much. Do you like it? I mean, I hope you like it. This doesn’t mean I wanted... I... Shit,” I was mumbling, terribly nervous, and I had to pull myself together. I moved my hand through my short hair and thought carefully about the right way to start our conversation. “Why don’t you take a seat?” I pointed at the chair that was placed opposite from the double bed.
“Okay.” She sat down on it and waited for me to take a seat somewhere. Strangely, I felt too restless to sit, so I just stood.
“Look, I saw the news about the hotel today, and now I understand why you were so angry yesterday.” She opened her mouth to say something, but I raised my hand to stop her and looked at her with my pleading eyes. “Please, let me just say this. That was a lie. We never planned to tear down that hotel. Shit, I want to do opposite from it.”
“Then why did that contractor say that?”
“To ruin the project.”
She looked at me like she couldn’t believe me. “What?”
“Yes. Someone lied to ruin our project.”
“I can’t believe you. That is not possible. That is horrible!”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Yes, it’s possible, and you’re right—it is horrible.” I sat on the bed and leaned my elbows on my knees. “Those things happen all the time in our line of business, Alexandra. There are people who would sell their own mother to beat their competition, and the market is too big. There are a lot of strong players, and each one of us wants to be the best.”
She paled and her eyes widened in shock and displeasure. “Do you want to say that your firm does those things too?”
My heartbeat accelerated again, realizing how my words sounded. “No! Of course not, Alexandra. Not all companies are like that. I assure you that LQT is not that kind of company. We’ve always worked hard to succeed on our own, without resorting to such things. We’re military, remember? We work together. We’re family.”
“How can I trust you, Oliver? I trusted you so far, but then I heard this...”
I wanted to take her into my arms badly, but I didn’t want to scare her away again. “No, Alexandra...” Shit. She had to believe me. “I’m not that kind of person. Everything I’ve told you until now is the truth. I do my job because I have passion for it. My partners and I are the same—we do things we love and we strive to be best on our own. We rely on our own strength and skills.”
“And how about the hotel?”
“I wanted this hotel for a long time. I had the vision for it from the start. I’ve always wanted to bring its old beauty back, and then you came—with your passion, vision, and talent—and I was hooked. You are perfect for the project and you are perfect for me. I’ve never wanted to demolish it, and assure you that hotel won’t ever be demolished as long as I’m involved.” I exhaled, deciding to be completely honest with her. “Look, the truth is that I worried a bit about not being able to give you all the funds you need for the project. I fully believe in you and I want you to redecorate it no matter how expensive it is, but according to my calculations, there was a possibility that finding all that money might not be possible.”
“What? But—”
“Look, that doesn’t mean I won’t find the money. I will find it because I want you to make your design come true, but in any case—the place won’t be torn down.”
She was just looking at me for several moments, twisting her hands on her lap as she thought about my words.
“I thought you were lying to me, you know. I thought you just wanted to use me and dump me when you got bored.”
Screw baby steps. I got up and crossed the room in two strides. I knelt in front of her and took her by the hands. I frowned when I felt how cold they were. “Angel, I never wanted to use you.” I kissed her hands, holding them tight. “I admit that I was a complete jerk in the beginning, and nothing justifies my awful behavior then, but it would be a lie if I told you I wasn’t attracted to you from the start. Then you showed me your worth during the interview and got me completely crazy for you these last few days.”
She was still frowning, like she couldn’t still believe my words completely. “Because of sex.”
“No, angel.” I kissed her hands again and looked her sincerely. “It was never just about sex. While I enjoy our sex more than anything I’ve enjoyed in my life, you’re more important to me—you, as a person. Alexandra...” I sighed. “I can’t be without you. I want you to believe me. I need you. I need you more than anything, and if you can’t believe me, than I don’t know what I’m going to do...”
She didn’t even move as she examined my face carefully. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. “Okay,” she finally said.
“Okay?”
She nodded and offered me a slight smile. “Okay. I believe you.” She shook her head and bit her lip. “This is really difficult for me, because I was really hurt, Oliver. I thought you were lying to me about everything... And this project means a lot to me. And not only this project.”
“Not only this project?”
