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Sometimes hanging out with Liz could be stressful because she was so high energy. However, she was a good friend, and Kayleigh appreciatedmostof the time they spent together.
She’d been in the gym for around half an hour, still caught up in her thoughts about the past several days, when the door opened. Glancing over, she spotted Hudson walking in. Her heart gave a couple of crazy thumps in her chest at the sight of him.
Removing one of her air pods, she smiled, not even trying to keep her joy at seeing him under wraps. “You’re back.”
Rather than go to the weights like he usually did, Hudson walked over and got on the treadmill next to hers. “I am, indeed.”
The happiness she felt in that moment was… a lot. It was definitely out of proportion to how she should feel when faced with the presence of someone who was, essentially, a co-worker.
“How was your trip?” Kayleigh asked as she slowed from her flat-out run to a jog.
Hudson fell into a similar pace. “It was good. The location was beautiful, and the hotel itself was nice. It would require some work to bring it up to Remington standards, as it’s pretty dated. Also, the marketing department will have to figure out what might draw guests to the area.”
“Does Alexander make the final decision on purchases like this?” Kayleigh asked.
“For the most part, though, he gets a lot of input from others. I gave him a general rundown when I saw him yesterday, but I’ll still present him with an in-depth report in a few days. The marketing people who went with us will also give their report on the marketability of the hotel.”
“Are you Alexander’s right-hand man?” Kayleigh had wondered what role Hudson played in relation to the top man in the company. “He seems to really rely on you.”
“I suppose he does,” Hudson said.
“That’s great. I’m sure he doesn’t trust easily.”
“Someone in his position really can’t.”
Kayleigh would hate to live that way, but she supposed it was inevitable when one dealt with rich and powerful people, or worse, those who wanted to be close to the rich and powerful.
“Are you suffering from jet lag?”
“It’s not too bad,” Hudson said with a shrug. “Definitely easier dealing with the time change coming from the UK than when I fly in from somewhere on the other side of the globe, like Australia.”
Hudson chatted a bit more before Kayleigh realized she needed to go if she wanted to be ready in time to start her workday.
“I’ll come by around ten,” Hudson said. “So we can catch up on what’s been going on while I’ve been out of the country.”
“Sounds good.” She flashed him a smile as her treadmill slowed to a stop. “I’ll have lots of coffee available.”
“I’d definitely appreciate that.”
After she grabbed her stuff from the locker, Kayleigh left the gym and returned to her office, smiling all the way. As she got ready, she tried not to think about how much happiness the sight of Hudson had brought her. It would serve no purpose to attach any personal feelings to that—though the joy singing in her heart seemed to say it was already far too late to prevent that.
Once she was ready for the day, Kayleigh made herself a cup of coffee, then settled down behind her computer, determined to get some work done before Hudson showed up for their meeting. Otherwise, she was going to get lost in thoughts about the man.
By the time Hudson appeared in her doorway, Kayleigh had kept control of her thoughts and worked through most of the emails in her inbox. However, all thoughts of work scattered at the sight of him.
“Would you like a cup of coffee?” Kayleigh asked as she got to her feet, offering him a smile that couldn’t be contained.
“Please. That would be great.”
Kayleigh went to the coffee machine and quickly made him a cup, then joined him at the table she used when she was meeting with just one or two people in her office.
Hudson had taken off his suit coat—a lovely dark charcoal color that day—and draped it across the back of one of the chairs at the table before sitting down. Kayleigh set the mug of coffee in front of him, then freshened hers up and settled into the chair opposite him.
“Did you get some breakfast?” Kayleigh asked. “I can have someone bring you some if you’d like.”
“No. I’m good. I had enough time to grab a bite.”
As Hudson took a couple sips of his coffee, Kayleigh thought he looked a little tired, even though he’d said the jet lag wasn’t too bad. She couldn’t imagine what it must be like to travel as much as he did. That would certainly never be something she aspired to do.
