Chapter Three #3
“I don’t feel that way about my work. I guess you don’t understand mine and I don’t understand yours,” she said lightly, but meaning every word.
“So you have the biggest and best chain of luxury hotels. Will they keep you happy when you’re not working?
Will they entertain you? No family, no love, no companions, no laughter and fun.
All you have are hotels and money. Makes no sense to me. ”
“I told you—this won’t go on forever. I’m young, energetic and ambitious, and I want to build my chain of hotels now.
There’s time for love and laughter later when I have a fortune.
I have moments when I enjoy myself and the others in my life.
I know how to have a good time. Let’s take last night for instance—”
“Never mind,” she interrupted hastily and shook her head, smiling. “I remember last night without you bringing it up again. No matter how much we talk about our views, I doubt we’ll ever understand each other.”
“Maybe not,” he stated, leaning closer and lowering his voice. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t have a great time together or become friends. There are times when I enjoy life to the fullest, and I suspect you do also.”
Tingles raced through her as she saw the hot desire blazing in his brown eyes.
“I’m amazed you took tonight off from work and social appearances,” she said, knowing he had a very active social life that was chronicled in papers and Texas magazines.
“I can forget completely about work when I want to,” he said quietly, his voice dropping another note. He stood and closed the distance between them, grasping her wrist lightly to pull her to her feet.
Startled, she gazed up at him as his arm circled her waist and he leaned close to kiss away what she had been about to say.
Her heart thudded the instant his mouth covered hers. For a fleeting moment she started to push against him and step away, but then she was lost in sensation, spiraling away in a kiss that made her heart race.
Hot kisses made her want more as she ran her hands across his strong shoulders. When his palm drifted lightly over her breast, she gasped with pleasure and strained for his touch.
She didn’t know how long they kissed. She was lost in him, his hands moving over her until she felt his fingers tugging at her blouse. Holding his wrist, she looked up at him. “Let’s back up,” she whispered, trying to catch her breath while she stepped out of his embrace. “This isn’t why I’m here.”
“You’re the one who told me I’m missing out. That I need to learn how to really enjoy life. I can’t think of a better way to enjoy it.”
She walked away from him, straightening her clothes. Then, with space between them, she turned to face him. “Let’s enjoy the conversation tonight. We can get to know each other.”
“You’re ending some of the sexiest kisses I’ve ever experienced. Or maybe you don’t find them so sexy.”
“I’m not answering that because you’re pushing me into more kisses.”
“It was just a statement—nothing more.”
“Do we sit and talk, or do we say good-night and I go to my suite?” she asked.
“We sit and talk,” he answered, taking a deep breath. “As a matter of fact, let’s get a cold drink. What would you like?”
“I’ll have iced tea,” she said, and watched him move to a bar and fix her drink. She crossed to perch on a barstool as he worked. She felt as if they both needed a moment to get away from the past few minutes. “So tell me more about who you see staying in these rooms in this new wing?”
He smiled, and she knew he guessed her efforts to shift their attention back to business. “I see myself staying there. It could become easy to see you staying if you wanted. Would you like that?”
She laughed softly. “I will not be staying in your new wing and you know it. If you don’t want to talk about that, tell me about your newest hotel.”
“A twenty-story tower in Orlando,” he said, opening a beer for himself and walking around to motion to her. “Let’s go sit where it’s comfortable. C’mon, we’ll go inside now. It’s chilly this evening.”
When she sat in a tall, brown leather chair, he pulled another closer to her. They had a small table between them. He took a sip of his beer. She drank some tea, and then turned slightly toward him.
“The hotel in New York that I was hired to do was close to one of your father’s hotels. I’m surprised to hear you don’t see or talk to him, because your hotels are so close. I figured you worked together, or even each owned a share of the other one’s chain. That must not be the case.”
“No, it definitely isn’t,” he said so quietly that a chill went down her spine. A subtle change came over him, giving him a hard, cold look.
“Your father’s hotel was older, so it was built first,” she said.
“Yes, it was.” As he gazed at her, she realized he had built near his father’s hotel on purpose.
“Do you have any other hotels close to your father’s?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact. And yes, I’ve built by his hotels on purpose.”
Shocked, she stared at him. “That sounds as if you are competing. Is this a battle between the two of you? Does he ever build close to a hotel you already have?”
“No, he doesn’t.”
“So, it’s only you building where you will give him competition,” she said, looking at him intently. “He’s so successful—aren’t you making it more difficult for yourself? Competition goes both ways.”
“I hope I’ve done a better job than he has, and frankly, I hope I’ve made a dent in his hotel business.
My hotels are bigger, newer, have more amenities and are more luxurious, so I’m sure you’ve got the picture—I intend to put my father out of the hotel business,” Blake said quietly.
“I’m building an empire that I want to make larger than my father’s. It is a competition I intend to win.”
She stared at him. “You’re doing this because of the past—because he left you when you were a baby,” she said, unable to imagine that life mission.
“You’re out for revenge.” He intended to get even with his father for old wrongs.
The idea was so removed from her way of life, she could only stare at him as if she had never seen anyone like him.
“You’re bent on revenge—the absolute opposite of all that I hope to accomplish,” she whispered without realizing she had spoken aloud. “You’ll ruin your life, Blake.”