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But James doesn’t look upset at all. He’s practically glowing. It could be all the scotch but either way he looks thrilled.
“You two, ah, I should have known. You’ve done an amazing job keeping your relationship out of the office. Good work. Knew I could count on you.” He claps Milo on the shoulder and gifts me with a wide, loopy grin.
Even if I knew what to say to him right now, I don’t think I’d have the heart to wipe that smile off his face. Tomorrow is soon enough for him to realize that we’ve screwed up this deal. Maybe a good night’s sleep will make him more lenient when he’s deciding whether to fire us.
Milo pulls out my chair for me as I stand and I follow wordlessly as we leave the restaurant. It’s a Thursday night but as we walk back through the casino to reach the elevators to the rooms, there are so many people out you’d never think it was a weekday. Time seems to move differently here. I notice an older lady with a purple fanny pack methodically feeding coins into a slot machine. She looks like she’s been at it for awhile. Maybe I should just stay down here, living off the free drinks and the adrenaline of gambling. It would probably be better than what’s waiting for me when we get back to D.C.
I’ve been so deep in my thoughts that I wasn’t paying attention when we got on the elevator. Its only when it stops on the twelfth floor that I realize we didn’t push the button for my floor. But Milo loops his arm around my waist and guides me out of the elevator anyway.
“But my room–”
“Not here,” he murmurs in my ear. The deep rumble of his voice so close sends a shiver down my spine. “Some of the Lavin team are on this floor. Wait until we get inside.”
“Inside what?” Belatedly I realize he means inside his room. He has his key card out and the door open before I can say no way in hell.
The door slams shut behind us and all the things I was getting ready to say get stuck in my throat.
Trying to gather my thoughts, I look around the room. The layout is the same as the one I was given, TV, big window directly across except he has a King sized bed instead of two doubles. Behind him, there are several dress shirts scattered on the bed and the covers are all tangled, like he took a nap before coming down to dinner. Just like that I have a mental image of Milo naked in those sheets and being alone with him in this room seems like a very bad idea.
Completely at ease with the idea of the two of us being alone, he shrugs out of his suit jacket and loosens his tie. I’m instantly distracted by the small patch of skin revealed at the top of his shirt where it’s unbuttoned. “I know you must have a million questions,” he says finally.
But I don’t. Truthfully, I only have one.
“What the hell just happened?”
8
“What just happened is I secured a multimillion dollar ad account for our agency. I just saved both our jobs.”
She snorts delicately. “You just lied to a potential client and to our boss! Besides since when have you ever cared about my career?”
There it is again, the veiled accusation that I’ve hurt her somehow. I move closer, noticing how her eyes focus on my lips.
“Why would you think I don’t care about your career? Tell me, I can see you’re dying to since you keep bringing it up. What did I do that was so bad?”
That seems to take the cork out of whatever was holding her back. Arms flying, she gets all up in my face and damn if it isn’t the sexiest thing watching her march around while that clingy dress drapes around her.
“You stole the Adler account after I told you how much I wanted it! Six months. That’s how long I spent researching them and planning for how we would approach them. And then James just gives it to you.”
By the time she’s finished, my mouth is hanging open and I’m experiencing something that I don’t feel often. Remorse.
“Mya, I’m going to tell you something. And you probably won’t believe it. But I need you to understand that I’m being 100% genuine.” I pause. “I’m a clueless jerk sometimes.”
She crosses her arms. “I won’t have trouble believing that.”
“But you might have trouble believing that I didn’t realize you wanted the Adler account for yourself.”
Her eyes fire up again but I hold up a hand before she can respond. “Just let me explain. When you first told me about the Adler account, I was already handling two other jewelers, remember?”
She nods reluctantly.
“We used to do that all the time, right? I’d see an account that I thought would be perfect for you, so I’d mention it. You’d do the same for me. We were friends once. Or at least, I thought we were.”
The anger on her face has softened somewhat. “We were friends. That’s why it hurt so much. I thought you knew how much I wanted that account.”
“I truly didn’t but that’s on me. Because that means I wasn’t listening well enough and I’m sorry.” Then because I know it will make her laugh I add, “but if it makes you feel any better Owen Adler has a serious flatulence problem. So you can take over those update meetings if you really want to.”
Mya covers her eyes with her hands. “No, thank you. I got a little preview of that the last time he was in the office. Maybe the universe was doing me a favor in this particular case.”
