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“Sure.” I rolled away from him.
“What’s wrong?” He climbed back into bed and forced me to look at him.
“Nothing.” I tried to sound calm, but damn, I felt like such a girl. How could I let my guard down like that? Well, it had been a while and I’m sure my battery-operated boyfriend appreciated the night off. I rolled my eyes.
“Hey, I’m here for work. I know I shouldn’t mix business and pleasure. You’re an exception.” He sighed and slid under the covers with me. “I couldn’t help myself. It felt like…fate.”
I turned to face him. “Really?”
Ty nodded seriously. “How else do you explain it? My father wanted me to meet with Doug. I had no idea you lived here. Next thing you know, I couldn’t stay away.” He frowned. “I’m sorry. I don’t want you to feel used, and I know I suck at balancing, but for you, I’d really love to try.” He nuzzled into my neck. “What do you say?”
“What does this ‘trying’ entail?” My brow furrowed.
“I don’t know. I was told not to come home until I have a deal.” He rubbed the back of his neck.
“Well, Mr. Nash has a heart condition. You shouldn’t push him. So…maybe you’ll be here forever!” I laughed maniacally.
“I gotta tell you, I wouldn’t mind.” He grinned. “But seriously, I’m starving. I drank some soda and my only meal was eaten with you. Let’s get dressed and we’ll go to breakfast.”
I stretched and smiled up at him. “Okay.” My arm slid under the pillow when I moved and I realized I’d found my scarf from last night. “Perfect.” I quickly unknotted it and instead, used it to blindfold him.
“Hey, what are you doing? I thought we were going to breakfast.” He chuckled.
“We are. I just need a little privacy to get out of bed.” Then I snuck out from under the covers and made a mad dash for my closet where my robe was waiting. When I returned wearing it, I found him twirling the scarf on one finger. “So, how long ago did you take that off?”
Ty sat up and chuckled. “You’ll never know, but incidentally, did I tell you how much I love your ass?”
I could feel my face burning as I raced for the bathroom. “Ty George, you are an asshole.” Then I shut the door behind me.
When I emerged from the shower, he was no longer in my room and I felt a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I dressed quickly and then strolled out to the living area. He wasn’t there, either. In fact, his clothes were gone too. My heart raced and I could feel the sadness weighing me down. Men like Ty were too good to be true. So, I decided to take an extra few minutes with my makeup today. When he saw me later, I wanted him to eat his heart out.
Then I grabbed my phone off the charger and grabbed for my purse when I realized I’d missed a text message from an unknown number.
Sorry, Kate. My father called and needed to go over a few things with me before my meeting with Mr. Nash. I tried to stall him, but no luck. Any chance I can interest you in lunch instead?
That fucker! Was there no way the man was going to let me hate him? Why did he have to be so goddam good? This made zero sense. I mulled everything over in my head as I drove to the hotel. I parked in the employee parking, rode the back elevator into the office and settled in at my desk. As I turned on my desktop, I realized the light was blinking on my phone, indicating I had a message. I picked up the receiver, which felt as old and clunky as it looked in the twenty-first century. Then I hit the button and listened.
“Hello, Kate. Good morning. I’m so sorry I didn’t get to enjoy breakfast with you, but I want you to know I’m thinking of you and I really enjoyed our time together.”
I melted. Seriously, I was an absolute puddle inside. I could barely believe what I’d heard, so I played it again. Then I knew I’d have to delete or someone else might listen to the message, so I took out my phone and recorded it for posterity. I’m insane. As I arrived at this logical conclusion, I discovered my father was standing in front of me wearing his usual disapproving look.
“You’re wearing makeup.” He scowled.
“Yes.” I smiled sweetly. The last thing I needed was his attitude ruining my otherwise pleasant day.
“Most days you can barely be bothered to dress decently and today you’re wearing makeup. What’s different?” He tugged at his chin.
I sighed. “Nothing has changed. I had a nice relaxing night and felt rested this morning. I even woke up a little earlier than normal. Now the entire office can benefit from me not looking like a hot mess. You’re welcome.”
“Great. Lucky us.” He rolled his eyes. “So, what’s on my agenda for the day?”
I opened the schedule. Given my father’s refusal to learn any new technology, I had to keep his calendar and make sure he followed it on a daily basis. “Well, it looks like you have a meeting at two this afternoon with Ty George.” This was a little white lie, but only because I hadn’t actually entered it on the calendar yet or let Ty know.
“Who’s Ty George?” His mood seemed to be worsening by the minute.
I glanced at the screen while I typed in the appointment I already told him about. “Oh, some developer, I think.” In truth, I didn’t really know which company or even research Ty like I normally did.
“Well, tell him I’m not interested.” My father stormed off down the hall.
