Chapter Six
Keighley headed to the lobby early enough to settle in and relax before there was any chance Sterling would be there.
She brought a list with her so he wouldn’t catch her off guard if he asked again what she’d been spending her time on.
Impressing him on a personal level didn’t really matter so much anymore; she simply wasn’t going to let his doubts become her doubts like she had the morning before.
She set her list on the side table, on top of the receipts for all the things she’d purchased and arranged. She’d stood in front of her mirror that morning and practiced answering the questions she anticipated him asking. This meeting would go better than the last one.
Sleep had been elusive the night before. Nervousness about the next morning. Thoughts of Conall. Shock that she’d kissed him. She’d texted her best friend, which had ended up in hours of back-and-forth.
Keighley pulled out her phone. Another text had come while she was asleep. She’d read it at least a dozen times already, but she did again.
You better hide Conall in your suitcase and bring him back with you.
If only. Sterling was the one who would be going back to New York. It was amazing how disappointing that had become in only a few days.
He arrived just as she was finishing her tea. His demeanor was a lot more at ease than the day before. “Good morning,” he said.
“Good morning.”
He sat in his usual spot but didn’t immediately launch into questions. “I was frustrated yesterday, and I’m sorry about that.”
She hadn’t expected to hear an apology first thing. “I noticed. But I got a lot done yesterday, so there’s less for you to be worried about now.” Keighley reached for her papers, but he spoke again before she could begin rattling off her list.
“I knew you would, and I shouldn’t have snapped at you.”
Wow. He was being more gracious than she would have guessed. “We finished almost all of the arrangements yesterday. I’m picking out some flowers and other decorative elements today, but otherwise, it’ll just be keeping tabs on everything and checking in with anyone we don’t get an RSVP from.”
“We?” he asked.
“Conall and I,” she said.
“Oh.” He took a sip of coffee. “I didn’t realize he was still part of it.”
“You didn’t fire him, did you?” She hadn’t heard he had.
Sterling shook his head. “I just assumed you were getting the work done.”
“I am.” Hadn’t they just established that?
“He’s the reason you fell behind two days ago. Is it really smart to—”
“I didn’t fall behind,” she said. “Everything got done on time and on schedule.”
He didn’t look at all convinced. “And he’s been part of it?”
“That’s why you hired him. He’s good at what he does.”
He muttered something under his breath as he drank more coffee.
“What was that?” she asked.
He shook his head, a look of obvious annoyance in his eyes. “Never mind.”
Her frustration was growing. “If you have a complaint, I’d like to hear it.”
“It wasn’t a complaint,” he said.
“No,” a familiar Irish voice answered, “it was an insult.”
She looked over at Conall, who was listening from not far away at all. His gaze on Sterling was hard and cold.
“Why would you insult him?” she asked Sterling. “He’s worked hard.”
“It wasn’t me he was insulting,” Conall said.
Then it was her.
“Keighley’s been working hard,” Conall said. “And this event of yours is going to be brilliant because of her. I’d say you owe her an apology.”
“She works for me,” Sterling said. “And so do you. I don’t apologize to employees.”
“I’m not your employee.” Keighley’s voice and fire returned very suddenly. She’d spent her first day with Conall insisting Sterling wasn’t her boss. She wasn’t going to cave on that now. “I don’t require you to apologize, but I will be treated with professional respect.”
Apparently no one had ever spoken to Sterling that way. He looked surprised, baffled. How had she thought this man was anyone’s ideal, let alone hers?
“Your event will be a success,” she said, standing up. “That is a promise I always deliver on. It’s the reason my event planning services are in demand. It is the reason the last event I put on for you was so impressive that you gave me this event to plan as well.”
Conall stood, watching Sterling with firm silence, arms folded, jaw set.
“I’ll email you updates as needed, but I don’t think these morning meetings are necessary.” She gathered up her papers. “And I’ll contact your travel secretary directly to get the details of my return flight and hotel checkout.”
She walked away without giving him a chance to either defend himself or rip into her. Conall remained behind, but she made directly for the elevator. She felt like she didn’t even breathe until she was in her room, door closed, curtains pulled.
This job had seemed like the ultimate opportunity: a dream trip to Ireland, working for someone as influential as Sterling, the stupid stars she’d had in her eyes for him.
I was such an idiot.
There was a knock. So help her, if it was Sterling . . .
She squared her shoulders and pulled open the door. It was Conall. Of course it was.
“You holding up?” he asked.
She sighed and motioned him in, closing the door behind him. “What was it Sterling actually said?”
He shook his head. “I’m not going to repeat it.”
Keighley dropped onto the sofa and slumped down, tired and frustrated. “He always seemed so . . .”
“Charming?” Conall sat next to her.
She could smile a little at that. “I did describe him that way, didn’t I?”
He shrugged. “I’ve worked for a few people like him: wealthy, used to getting whatever they want, able to be whatever they need to be to get things from people. I know his type, so it was easier not to believe the lie, ya know?”
“I live in New York. I should know the type as well; we’re crawling with them.”
He took her hand. “Don’t be ashamed of thinking well of people. It’s not a failing.”
“But it makes me look like an idiot.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
She leaned against him. The jet lag hadn’t been too bad, but in that moment she felt tired to her bones. “So, is he pulling me off this event?”
Conall half-laughed, half-snorted. “He can’t afford to.”
“He’s a billionaire,” she said. “I don’t think there’s anything he can’t afford.”
“I don’t mean the money. If the event falls apart, he’ll be humiliated. If there’s one thing these wealthy, spoiled, always-get-their-way types can’t endure, it’s embarrassment.”
“Maybe I should sabotage the whole thing and get my revenge.” She wasn’t at all serious, but it felt good to make the threat.
“I have a better idea,” he said. “Let’s go see a few sights. You didn’t get to tour Dublin Castle.”
“An actual castle?” Her heart flipped a bit.
“More of a palace, really, and nothing so grand as Buckingham, but a castle.”
“I would like to see a castle.”
His smile sent waves of warmth over her. “I thought you might.”
“But you said you had another event to work on this morning. I wasn’t expecting to see you at all, let alone run around the city with you.”
He leaned closer to her and lowered his voice. “Are you turning down the invitation?”
“No,” she whispered.
“I’m glad to hear it.” His breath tickled her lips.
“I’m guessing you didn’t mind that I kissed you last night,” she whispered.
“Oh, I didn’t mind.”
He closed the gap and brushed the lightest of kisses to her lips. Such a soft and fleeting touch, but it sent jolts of electricity through her.
He stood, her hand still in his, and tugged her playfully toward the door. “Let’s go see a castle.”
A castle. A handsome Irishman. A heart-fluttering kiss.
She could get used to this.