Chapter 27
AVA
Ifinished the rest of my meal surprisingly fast. When we were done, we got up and walked outside, heading in the direction of my work.
A brief noise from the footpath ahead of us distracted Rishi, and he craned his neck to look.
“Ooh, I think the paparazzi finally got the memo,” he said, smoothing back his hair and preparing to look composed.
“I did remember a newspaper mentioning my tremendous acting in Monsters and Munchies. Perhaps they want an interview.” He tried not to look too pleased as he double-checked that his shoes were shiny and the cuffs of his full-sleeved shirt were drawn back.
I looked again and noticed a rather familiar dark head among the crowd of reporters in the distance. I turned back to Rishi. “I’m really sorry to burst your bubble, Rishi,” I began with mixed feelings, “but I don’t think they’re for you.”
He stood on his tiptoes for a better look and caught sight of Desmond walking on the footpath up ahead.
Rishi spun around to face me. “Is Desmond following you around? Do you really have your very own obsessed stalker? A wealthy one at that?” He looked both jealous and impressed at the same time, which made him seem quite adorable.
I scoffed. “I didn’t tell Desmond I’d be here.”
Rishi threw his hands up in the air dramatically. “Of course you don’t need to. The man can hire a platoon of private investigators to figure out where you are. Heck, he can buy the whole company if he wants to.”
We walked closer to the crowd for a better look.
“Well, at the moment, he’d be better off hiring a better security detail,” I muttered as the paparazzi shoved a mike into his face.
He stood on the steps of Luxe Hotels’ offices, and I couldn’t go past him while the crowd still remained.
“Mr. McKinley, can you discuss any plans for the expansion of Luxe Hotels?” a reporter asked.
“Mr. McKinley, how does your company prioritize corporate social responsibility and sustainability?”
Desmond held his hand up, and all the journalists outside fell silent. Sheesh. The guy commanded respect like no one else I’d ever seen. I could see him speak as the journalists held their microphones and recording devices out to him.
Is this normal for him?
“An impromptu press interview out on the street?” Rishi said, standing with his back to me. He gave a running commentary on Desmond. “They’re shoving the mikes in his face. One’s aimed at his nose—nope! Missed it just by an inch. He has a really fine nose. Wonder how they managed to miss that.”
“His strong reflexes,” I mentioned before I could help myself.
Rishi guffawed. “Someone’s memorized his every skill, I see,” he said, eyes still on the spectacle in front of us.
“Desmond’s making a run for it—his car or the building doors?
Let’s see. He sees an opening to his left.
Is he going for it? Nope. One man blocked his path there.
Did I mention in my previous acting role that I played a football commentator?
I’m doing a splendid job, if I say so myself. ”
“Oh dear God,” I said, bringing my hands to my head in disbelief.
To my utter relief, Desmond disappeared inside the building. Rishi shot me a disappointed look and indicated that we follow. I checked my watch. I still had twenty minutes to go before I needed to get back to work.
“Where’s he gone?” Rishi asked as we walked into the spacious lobby and looked around.
I remembered the employees-only break room on the second floor and decided to have a cup of green tea in peace before I started my afternoon shift.
“You’ve gone Desmond crazy, and I need to leave,” I said, looking around.
I walked to the elevators at the center of the lobby before Rishi could accuse me of wanting to sneak in more looks at Desmond.
“Bye, Rishi,” I said. “I shouldn’t have accompanied you to the party that night, you know,” I said.
He scoffed. “Tchah. You love me and haven’t stopped texting me all day ever since. Oh shoot, where did Desmond go?” he asked, craning his neck to look around.
“Good luck finding him,” I said.
“You’ll miss me,” Rishi warned just as I reached the elevator doors, which were closing.
I hit the elevator button, and as the doors opened, I could see Desmond in it.
He gave me a disarmingly cute smile, a very melt into a puddle kind of smile, that I’d bet he spent ten minutes every morning perfecting. I would not fall for that smile again.
“Ooh, this is going to make the news.” Rishi grinned, walking up behind me. “CEO of Luxe Hotels and his love-interest employee meet again.”
I spun around to face Rishi, who seemed to realize he was in trouble.
“I’m leaving,” he said, putting his hands up in the air in a mock surrender pose. “Toodle-oo!”
And he was gone. Leaving Desmond to me. Smiles included.
“I want to say hurry up, but also, take your time,” Desmond said, holding the door open.
His attention snapped over my head, and I realized the reporters were still out there, outside the hotel doors and looking like they’d barge in at any moment now.
“Okay,” I said and stepped in just as the elevator doors closed.
He turned to me, his smile now a rather cheeky grin. As though he realized with pleasure that he now had me all to himself. Before he could speak, however, the elevator stopped at the second floor, and I got out. I turned to wave goodbye but saw him step out with me.
“Are you spying on me?” I challenged, walking with him down the corridor. It was empty, and our footsteps resounded in the quiet hallway. “For the record, I think you’d make a terrible spy. But also, in case I’m wrong, I must warn you that I have very good reflexes.”
We came to a stop midway in the passage. It was secluded, dimly lit, and Desmond took a step closer to me.
“Nah, I’m just going to follow you around until you agree to quit and put me out of my misery.” He grinned and put his hands in his pockets.
“Ah, so you’re a stalker,” I teased, turning around to face him. “Why didn’t you just say so? I know someone who takes care of them for me.”
He put his hand on the wall behind me and leaned in. “If I remember right,” he said, his voice dipping low, “you are the stalker. You followed me to a party some nights ago, remember? With an admirer, no less.”
I pushed him back with my hand. “I was right. You make a terrible spy.” I turned around to face the door to the break room, reaching for my employee badge to get access.
A distant shout from outside caught my attention, and I paused to walk over to a window. The reporters were still circling the hotel grounds like vultures.
“What are they here for?” I asked.
He looked over my shoulder. “We’re planning to expand the hotel business,” he said finally. “Just work. It’s all good.”
I wanted to laugh.
“Well, one of those reporters just flung his well-heeled shoe at the building’s front doors,” I said dryly. “If that’s what a good day looks like, then I’d love to see what a bad day at work is, Desmond McKinley.”
This time, he gave me his signature grin. The one that made me weak in the knees.
“I have no bad days when you’re around, sweetheart,” he said, closing the distance between us. “None.”
The air between us crackled with electricity as he leaned in. I was so close that I could see his dark eyes flash, the sharpness of his cheekbones, and the cut of his jaw.
The blood rushed to my face, and my chest started to rise and fall rapidly just as Desmond moved nearer.
I put one hand on his chest and pushed him back. “I feel like every time we meet, I need to remind you that we’re at work and you’re the CEO. That’s not something people should be reminding you of.”
He ran a hand over his tousled hair and groaned, looking fairly adorable.
“Working with you does that to me, Ava. It’s like my brain gets wiped clean whenever I see you,” he said as his head dipped dangerously close to mine.
I held my breath.
This time, I’m not going to resist.
He inched nearer, and I could smell his musky scent just as a door opened from a restroom down the corridor. The two of us jumped apart.
Desmond shot me a look that was pure regret before he turned and walked away from me. Juniper Halstead came out of the restroom, dressed in a maroon pantsuit and her silver hair in a bob at the nape of her neck. She smiled when she saw the two of us, her lips stretching.
Juniper always had a no-makeup look that she pulled off really well.
She’d informed me long ago that, growing up, she’d seen her mother stick to one rule—moisturize at night and sunscreen during the day—and her mother had the best skin for a woman in her eighties she’d ever seen.
She’d also brought me a small bottle of her favorite moisturizer to the café after I saved her a piece of cake during a busy day.
But now, all I wished for was that she had been a tad bit better with her timing.
“Mr. McKinley, just the man I wanted to see,” she said, walking toward him and coming to a stop. She caught sight of me in the distance and waved before turning to Desmond. “How did you know I’d be here?” she asked with a frown.
“A beautiful coincidence,” he said with a smile. “Now, what did you say was troubling you?”
Desmond glanced at me over Juniper’s head as she spoke about an email. I turned and walked into the break room, my heart hammering against my chest.
I shut the door and leaned against it, taking a few deep breaths.
That had been close.
I couldn’t afford to lose my job, and I certainly couldn’t afford to lose my mother’s restaurant along with it.