Chapter 17
Kimberley
I'm standing in the kitchen with Rosie. The bacon is sizzling in the pan, and the scrambled eggs are almost ready.
We've brushed the toast with homemade garlic butter so it can get crispy in the oven. We're also making blueberry pancakes. There’s yogurt with fruit ready too, of course—but today we’re going for sweet and savory.
Suddenly I hear noises from the hallway—different from what I expected. The door to the garage opens. Did I miss Gabriel coming downstairs earlier?
“Hey, you two. Good morning,” he greets us. His hair is a little mussed, and he’s still in the same clothes as last night.
“Good morning!” Rosie calls out happily, immediately chattering: “We made bacon for you. And scrambled eggs. And pancakes. And waffles…” She runs through everything we’ve been cooking for the last hour, while I study Gabriel in confusion.
“Hey. Where were you?” I ask quietly as I step closer, making sure Rosie doesn’t hear.
“I fell asleep on my mother’s couch. She didn’t wake me until early this morning,” he says.
“Oh. Man, you look completely exhausted.” Like he hasn’t slept at all.
“Yeah. It was a rough night.”
“You can go lie down for a few hours. It’s fine if you don’t get to the office until two. I can handle everything else. I’ll take Rosie to school and take care of the office,” I offer.
“Normally I’d say no, but… yeah. Yes. I’d really like to take you up on that.” He rubs the back of his neck.
“The couch must’ve been pretty hard, huh?”
“Yeah, it was.”
“Want me to book a massage for you?”
“No, I’ll be fine. I just need to eat something and sleep for a few hours.”
“Okay. I’ll have the driver come at 1:20, so you’ve got a little buffer.” In London, you never know.
“Perfect.” Gabriel really does look worn out. Hopefully a few hours of rest will help. Still—not enough, but better than nothing.
We eat, then Gabriel says goodbye. After that I take care of Rosie, bring her to her school on my own, and head to the office. I’d planned to go grocery shopping, but I’ll have to put it off until this evening. It would be best if Gabriel and Rosie came with me—then we could plan meals together.
The morning goes smoothly. I get everything under control—even though I’m completely nervous. After all, I don’t want to make any mistakes.
Steven stops by and helps me a bit, since I’m slightly unsure about one thing or another. Even Sally rises to the occasion and supports me as best she can. I think Gabriel makes her more nervous than she’d like to admit—and since he’s not here today, she can shine.
At one, I call Thomas to make sure he’ll be in front of Gabriel’s mansion on time to pick him up.
Yup, I’d say I have everything under control. We’re right on schedule.
The meeting room is ready and Sally’s set to go. The department heads will probably arrive a few minutes early—fortunately, they’re internal staff and not outside guests. They’ll surely forgive Gabriel if he’s still a bit groggy.
I do wonder, though, why his mother didn’t wake him earlier. Didn’t she realize that sleeping in his clothes on the couch wouldn’t give him a good rest? They seem to have a very interesting and unusual relationship.
But I shouldn’t be thinking about this. He already told me I wouldn’t be meeting her, so I should just put any concerns out of my mind.
I’m sitting in Gabriel’s office going through some documents when the phone rings again. Normally Sally forwards these calls, but I can see on the display that it’s a direct connection from a mobile number. So, it must be someone who has Gabriel’s direct line.
“Hi, my name is Kimberley Prescott, Gabriel Kensington’s personal assistant. He’s not available at the moment, but I’m sure I can help you.”
“Oh. Hey. Isn’t this his direct line?” a male voice asks.
“It is, but he won’t be in the office until later, so I answered since I’m here now.”
“I see. As his personal assistant, surely you can pick something up? He left it here last night,” he explains. Last night?
“Hm. Of course. Who am I speaking with, and what am I picking up from where exactly?”
“Cornelius Grey,” he says—a name that sounds familiar, though I can’t place it. Then he gives me the address of the MG Hotel—the Montgomery Grey Hotel right in the city center. “He forgot his watch.”
“Oh, the gold one?”
“Exactly.”
“I can pick it up. It’s not far from here. Could someone bring it to reception?”
“Yes, Caroline is still here. She’ll give you the watch before she has to head to the airport.”
“Okay. Will I meet her in the lobby?”
“Yes, I’ll let her know.”
“Great. I’ll be there in about ten to fifteen minutes. Thank you for calling.”
“No problem, Kimberley.”
We end the call, and I immediately get going. I know how much his gold watch means to him. I’m just surprised he took it off at all—as far as I know, he only does that when he’s sleeping. Or showering.
But wasn’t he at his mother’s house last night—at least that’s what he told me? So, it was a lie. A hotel…
He was in a hotel room. And a woman is going to hand over the watch. I wonder what kind of woman she is…
I quickly inform Sally and Steven and grab one of the company drivers. This way, I’m at the MG Hotel in just eleven minutes and step into the lobby.
No, this isn’t some cheap motel. It’s pure luxury, like everything Gabriel is involved with.
I look around until I spot a young woman watching me, rising from a black armchair. She immediately catches my eye with her elegant appearance and a red coat that perfectly matches her natural red curls.
I rarely see women here in England who, like me, have freckles and red hair. What a coincidence.
“Kimberley, right?” she asks, an amused smile on her lips.
“Yes, that’s right. Do we know each other?” We could almost be sisters, except her appearance is far more elegant and confident than mine.
“No, but I could already guess you’re Gabriel’s personal assistant.” She takes out his gold watch and hands it to me.
“Thank you. He didn’t even mention he’d lost it somewhere.” I study it a bit more closely.
Why do I suddenly have such a strange feeling?
“He probably hasn’t noticed yet. But he’ll be very pleased when you return it to him.”
Why did she stress “you” so much? And why is she smiling like she knows something I don’t?
“I certainly hope so,” I answer, a little embarrassed.
“You’re truly enchanting. Lucky girl.”
Caroline lifts her hand and strokes my cheek with an elegant motion. At first, I don’t know how to react, but then I take half a step back, and she stops. “You have no idea how lucky you are. I’m a little jealous, I must confess.”
“Of… what?” I ask carefully.
“That’s something you’ll have to figure out for yourself.” She winks at me. “I’ve delivered the watch to you. My job is done. Have a nice day, you sweet thing.”
She winks again, then leans sideways to grab her suitcase. I just stand there, confused, watching her slide into a taxi and drive away.
Okay, what the hell was that wild performance about?
I linger in the lobby a moment longer, torn, before deciding to approach the two gentlemen at the reception desk. I simply have to know if Gabriel lied to me.
“Hello. It’s about the room that Mr. Gabriel Kensington booked last night. Caroline already returned the watch he forgot there.”
One of the receptionists turns to me politely. “And how may I help you with that, Miss…?”
“Miss Prescott. Mr. Cornelius Grey told me I could pick up Mr. Kensington’s watch here.” I hold it up briefly. He nods.
“Yes, he already informed us that Miss Evans would be waiting for you in the lobby. Is there anything else I can do for you, Miss Prescott?”
“Yes, actually. Gabriel—Mr. Kensington—contacted me and asked me to check the hotel room he booked last night. He’s still looking for his two cufflinks. They belonged to his father. Would it be possible for me to step into the room briefly?”
Both receptionists exchange a quick glance before one of them turns back to me, “Yes, of course. But the cleaning staff has already been in the room.” He gives me a questioning look.
“Maybe I’ll find them anyway. Who knows?”
“Certainly. I’ll get you the key card. Just a moment.”
It takes less than a minute before he hands me the card. “Room 701." He points to the elevator. "Seventh floor, first on the left.”
“Perfect. Thank you very much. I’ll return the card as soon as I’ve found the cufflinks.”
I leave the reception and walk toward the elevators. As the doors slide shut, unease twists in my stomach.
So, Gabriel was here last night. And then there’s this woman—this Caroline—who looks so much like me. If I didn’t know better, I’d think…
No. That’s insane.
Isn’t it?
Why do I suddenly feel like a wife suspecting her husband of cheating on her with a hotter copy? There’s nothing between Gabriel and me. Nothing at all. Well… there could have been. Once. But not anymore. Really not.
I swallow hard as the elevator dings at the seventh floor. Just as promised, it’s the first room on the left. At the far end of the hall, I notice two cleaning ladies, but I slip into the room first.
The room is simple and tastefully upscale. Luxurious. Clean and tidy. But what I notice immediately are not just the fine bottles of liquor, but also certain toys. And tons of condoms.
I swallow hard and leave the room again. I hesitate briefly, wavering, but then I approach the two women who are about to enter another room.
"Excuse me, but I have a question," I begin. Both ladies look at me and smile sincerely. "Have you already been in room 701?" I ask.
"Yes. Did you lose something there, Miss Evans?"
Okay, this is very convenient right now. She's mistaking me for Caroline!
“Yes, my earring,” I lie.
“Oh, we’ll gladly check again. But we really did clean everything thoroughly,” the other woman replies.
“I understand. Not a big deal. It was just a small stud, with a little butterfly on it. About this big.” I show about a quarter of an inch between my thumb and forefinger.
“That can happen after such a wild night, right?” she giggles.
“Yes, it really was a very wild night,” I agree.
“One is allowed to be a little jealous, aren’t they?” the second woman says, then adds, “I’ve always wondered—how do men treat escort girls? Are they actually good to you, or not?”
“Very good, actually. Very good…” I keep lying.
“Well, that’s good. Fortunately. You never know, right?”
“That’s true. Yes. Um, if someone happens to find my earring, I’d really appreciate it if you could let me know,” I say, turning to leave.
“We’ll check again right away, Miss Evans,” she promises.
“Thank you very much.” We exchange goodbyes. As I turn away and walk back to the elevator, tears sting my eyes. So Caroline Evans is an escort. And Gabriel was with her in that room last night. He actually lied to me.
I can’t help wondering: is it just some insane coincidence that she looks so much like me? Or does he just have a thing for my type of woman? Is that why he came up to me in the Midnight Lounge? Did he only want to hire me because of my appearance? Because secretly he has a thing for redheads?
So many thoughts are racing through my head that I feel a little dizzy in the elevator. No matter how I look at it, it doesn’t feel good to know what happened here last night.
That he slept with her.
And not with me.
I hand back the card and get into the limo. The driver takes me back to the office. I only have a few minutes to dry my tears and put on an act as if nothing happened.
Do I need to understand this? I don’t think so. It makes no sense at all—yet somehow I feel like I understand everything. It feels strange. So damn strange.
I should probably never tell Gabriel about running into Caroline. Better just to say I picked up his watch from the hotel.
At just before two, the moment comes: the department heads file in one after another, and suddenly Gabriel is there too. But one thing about him strikes me right away—I’ve never seen him this nervous before.
But can I even say that? I don’t really know him. I have no idea who this man really is, or where he goes at night when he says he’s with his mother.