Chapter 14 Ava #3
He rolled his eyes. “Ellie Hunt? Yeah, word on the street is that she’s had a thing for him forever. Their families go way back. I think their dads knew each other in New Jersey when Desmond’s uncle owned a small mom-and-pop business and Luxe Hotels was just a dream.”
“Uh-huh,” I said, trying to find the nearest exit. “So, how soon can we leave this party?”
“Leave?” Rishi scoffed. “I don’t leave. I’m usually the last one standing,” he said as he checked his newly buffed Italian shoes in the mirror and fixed his tie.
“So, Ava, either you’ve got a crush on our CEO or you had an extremely embarrassing event happen that included him.
In either case, I need to know all the details. Do you know him?”
I turned to comment on this when I saw his gaze fixed on a man in a navy-blue suit, standing by the bar, his back to us.
A frown crossed Rishi’s face. “Can you believe I once spent an entire afternoon helping my ex fit into a suit exactly like that?”
The blue-suited guy had his arm around a beautiful blonde’s waist. As we watched, the blue-suited guy leaned over, his face coming into view just before he kissed her on the lips.
Next to me, Rishi froze. In a second, he strode over, and just as the kiss ended, he put his hand on the blue-suited guy’s shoulder.
The blue-suited guy turned around. I caught sight of clear amber eyes, a fine jaw, and well-groomed hair before a change came over his face. He looked guilty as hell.
“Oliver Mitchell, were you cheating on me?” Rishi demanded.
Oliver looked affronted and angry while Rishi had a pained expression on his face, a sharp contrast to the cheerful guy he’d been in the car with me. He looked more distraught than when he had been assaulted by three homophobic men out on the street.
“Were you cheating on me with her all this time?” he asked again. “For the three months we were together?”
I felt my heart tug at the ache in his voice. For all his flashy exterior, Rishi had a very sensitive, soft heart if he could be so hurt by the loss of a three-month-long relationship.
I walked up just as people around us stopped talking to look at the scene. Oliver tried to get Rishi to step back when Rishi pushed him away, and in an instant, I couldn’t tell how, but a fight had broken out.
“Rishi!” I hissed just as Oliver landed a punch on Rishi’s face and Rishi fell back three steps. I caught hold of his arm just before he hit the floor, and I stumbled to my knees with him.
I tried to get back up when I stopped.
I met a pair of fine light-brown eyes that were intensely focused on me as Desmond walked diagonally across the room to reach us. Eyes that sucked all the breath out of me.
Before I could react, the crowd parted, and Desmond stepped forward, a tall, impressive figure in his deep black suit jacket, his hands clenched into fists. Stern and powerful, Desmond blocked Oliver’s path as he helped me up.
“Get away from her,” Desmond said while Oliver looked like he was going to barrel right through me and Rishi again. “I mean it,” Desmond insisted as Oliver looked between the two of us while Rishi stood up.
“Is she with you?” Oliver asked, his voice going from belligerent to meek when he spoke to Desmond.
“She is,” Desmond said and clasped my hand firmly.
Rishi turned his head sideways to give me an impressed look while Oliver took a step back.
“I’m sorry,” he said, raising his hands up in a small admittance of defeat.
Rishi cleared his throat and forced himself to stand taller. He came up to Oliver’s chest.
“You almost ruined my Michael Kors jacket,” Rishi began.
Oliver seemed to take offense at his tone and took a step forward.
Rishi hastily changed his tone. “But that’s okay. It wasn’t Chanel, so we’re good,” he said in a more amicable voice.
Oliver stepped back, and after a quick apology to Desmond, he disappeared.
“Are you hurt?” Desmond asked, looking me up and down, as though to check that I was still in one piece.
Rishi mumbled something next to me about being only emotionally wounded and not physically, but I could only feel Desmond’s intense gaze on me.
I needed more than a minute to process what had just happened.
I had been involved in a fight at a party, which included attendees the likes of Desmond McKinley.
I felt my mouth go dry at the humiliation of it all.
“She’s fine,” Rishi added after a minute, seeing as how I was incapable of coherent words. “She just needs a minute to catch her breath.”
Desmond was following my look and stepped away. “Thank you,” he said, his tone frosty as he looked at Rishi. “How do you know Ava?” he asked Rishi while Rishi gave me a not-so-subtle oh my, he seems jealous look.
“A few hours ago, Ava saved my life,” Rishi explained. “I’m Rishi Chopra, and I invited her to join me here as a way of saying thank you,” he said, shaking hands with Desmond.
“And yet your brawl almost got her in trouble,” Desmond muttered, stepping in closer to me.
I turned to him and murmured, “Be nice,” while Rishi looked suitably chagrined.
“I promise not to put her in such a situation again,” Rishi said solemnly, hand on his heart. “Ava, I’ll catch up with you later,” Rishi whispered into my ear. “You have some explaining to do,” he said and disappeared into the crowd.
I hoped he would stay away from Oliver.
Desmond interrupted my thoughts. “Are you hurt?” he asked, stepping back to look at me.
“Not hurt,” I responded, even as I felt pinpricks of shame creep up my cheeks. “Just feeling self-conscious.”
“No reason to be,” he said, taking hold of my arm and looking down into my eyes. “You look great, Ava.”
“Thank you,” I said, feeling awkward.
Every time we met, Desmond caught me in an embarrassing situation and got to know the humiliating details of what had been going on in my life. This time, I was just a better dressed woman in an embarrassing situation.
And yet, on every occasion we met, I was floored by the same thought. He looks gorgeous. Did I forget that?
I didn’t seem to remember that vertical crease between his eyebrows or that disarming smile that went with it. It made him look adorable.
I gave myself a small shake. I needed better thoughts. Strong feminist thoughts. Grrr …
“I see you found someone to accompany you today,” I said when Desmond turned to me.
So much for feminist thoughts.
In reality, I had had a surge of powerful emotion when I saw him on the steps with Ellie. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to dig deep into those emotions to find out what it meant. I didn’t enjoy seeing him with another woman.
“Ellie’s an old friend of the family,” he said, taking my hand and leading me away from the crowded room and into a quiet corner at the back.
“I regretted coming with her five minutes into the party,” he added, drawing closer to me.
“I’ve been thinking of you a lot after our lunch together yesterday. ”
I felt my face go warm, and I clasped the strap of my handbag tightly.
“Where is Ellie?”
“She had to leave. Unfortunately, the heel in one of her shoes gave up, and, well, she was having a hard time. I saw her off to a cab minutes ago,” he said simply. His gaze lingered on me. “I would’ve enjoyed it more if I’d been able to show up with you.”
I blushed deeply just as we heard a call.
“Desmond!” called someone from a group of tall, tuxedo-wearing men at the far end of the room. “We haven’t seen you since that night of the NBA All-Star game.”
Desmond nodded at them before turning to me. “They are the investors who once provided seed funding for Luxe Hotels. I’ll need to speak to them unfortunately. Excuse me for a second, Ava,” he said.
The evening passed with Desmond getting a lot of attention from people.
People who’d find a way to come up and speak to him.
He stayed by my side when he could, and if he had to disappear to another group, he’d find his way back to me in minutes.
Hours passed, and I still felt like I’d only just gotten here.
He got me a drink and another, and when that was done, he steered the server with the hors d’oeuvres over to me, and I was feeling pleasantly well fed and relaxed enough to forget that I was completely out of my element here.
I looked over my shoulder behind me and saw Rishi in deep conversation with a couple of artsy-looking people.
Rishi occasionally kept me company when he wasn’t giving Oliver the side-eye.
Soon, Oliver walked out of the party, looking disgruntled, and Rishi and I gave each other a thumbs-up across the room, unable to stop grinning ear to ear.
“Thank you,” I said when Desmond followed my gaze on the departing Oliver. “Thank you for getting us from that mess.”
His mouth tugged into a smile, and he shoved a hand casually into the pocket of his pants. “It seems to be my specialty. At least when it concerns you,” he said with a knowing look, and I burst out laughing when I connected the dots.
“I completely forgot about the horrible date you’d saved me from,” I said while he took a step closer.
“You know, for a while back there, I wasn’t sure if you hated me for stepping in or not. I know how independent you are.”
“I didn’t hate you for that—” I began and hesitated.
“But you hated me for buying your restaurant?” he prodded.
I debated telling him the complete truth. “I hated you for being my boss,” I said finally, my words in a whisper. “Because that meant we couldn’t be the couple that we had been back in high school. And that’s a fantasy I’ve always wanted to bring back to life, just for a little bit.”
He gave me a look of intense longing and regret. His fingers curled over mine for a moment longer before he let go. “That’s something I regret too, Ava. Very much.”