Chapter 10
U pon arriving at the hotel, I walked straight up to the check-in desk and gave my name to the receptionist, who quickly found my booking in the system and passed me a keycard. As the room had been paid for, it was a hassle-free process.
However, there was still no sign of David. He’d been answering emails today, but I hadn’t seen him at work or on the train and refused to give in to the temptation to text him and ask about his whereabouts.
As I turned towards the lift, I finally heard a familiar voice behind me.
‘Hi. I’ve got a booking under David White.’
I spun round. ‘Adam? What are you doing here?’ I asked, staring at the dark-haired man in front of the check-in desk. He had a large black backpack on one shoulder and a suit bag across his arm. Like me, he was still wearing his work clothes.
‘You mean David,’ he told me with a wink.
His constant winking annoyed the hell out of me.
‘Sir, will you be needing a second keycard? Your partner has already got one.’
‘I beg your pardon?’ I said to the receptionist. ‘We’re supposed to have two separate rooms.’
The young man with the nametag ‘Josef’ and silver loop earrings scrolled through his screen and looked back at me sheepishly, his face going red. ‘The system says one room was booked for Miss Evelyn Harris and Mr David White.’
‘That can’t be right. Can you please double-check?’
‘I’ve just done that, Miss. ’
‘You don’t understand. We’re not a couple. We’re colleagues. We’re here for a building conference…’
‘I’m sorry, Miss.’
‘Have you got another room available?’ asked Adam. ‘I’ll pay for it.’
‘I’m sorry, sir, but all the rooms are sold out.’
Adam frowned. ‘I didn’t realise construction conferences were this popular.’
‘They’re not normally,’ I told him.
Josef cleared his throat. ‘Ed Sheeran is performing in the Stadium tonight,’ he said.
I was surprised Diane had managed to make a booking at all and stay within budget.
‘I’ll find another hotel,’ Adam offered.
He looked absolutely shattered, with large bags under his eyes and a day’s worth of stubble that made him look older. I began to feel sorry for him.
‘If a four-star spa hotel is sold out for a pop concert, the rest are likely sold out too,’ I pointed out, and the receptionist looked at me gratefully.
‘What do you want to do then?’ asked Adam. ‘Are you happy to share a room?’
‘I don’t think we have a choice…’
‘I’m fine with it.’
‘Of course you are,’ I murmured, heading towards the lift.
We didn’t talk until we got out on the top floor.
‘So how did you get up here?’ I asked.
‘I rode with you in the lift, or did I just imagine it?’
I gave him the benefit of the doubt – he may have been just that tired and not a complete idiot. ‘I meant up to Manchester.’
‘Oh, I drove up. David called me this morning to say he wouldn’t be able to make it, but someone from the ops team ought to show. Diane texted me the code to collect the train ticket, but I left my work phone in the office, so once I’d packed, I just got in the car. ’
‘And you were his first choice?’ Considering how new he was to the company, I found that incredible.
He shrugged. ‘Apparently, I was the first one who said yes.’
I felt angry that everyone else at work must have known David wasn’t coming. Then I realised it could have been worse: instead of Adam, I could have been forced to share a room with Joel or Ardas. They probably snored. Had it been up to me, I’d have opted for Chrissy, our proud specimen of a female site manager, the only one of her kind in the south region. Yes, she’d have been the best option, although the sexes representing our site at the conference would have been out of balance. However, there was no need to analyse what could have been – I was now stuck with Adam.
‘You didn’t know he wasn’t coming, did you?’ he asked, as if my reaction to seeing him downstairs hadn’t given my surprise away already. ‘If you weren’t hiding in that tiny office all day, you’d have heard it.’
‘It doesn’t matter to me who else is here from the team,’ I lied, opening the door to our room and turning on the lights. It contained the usual chain furniture, though slightly higher spec, and there was more floor space than I was used to when staying over for work. ‘And of course there’s no sofa.’
‘There are chairs to sit on,’ he pointed out.
‘I meant a sofa to sleep on,’ I said and put my travel bag on the suitcase holder, ready to unpack.
‘You expected me to sleep on the sofa?’
‘You didn’t think we were going to share the bed, did you?’
Adam sighed. ‘I might as well go and sleep in the car then.’ He turned towards the door, but before opening it, he paused, his fingers still resting on the handle. He then looked back at me with sad-puppy eyes. ‘Oh, come on, Evelyn, we’re adults. And we’ve shared a bed before…’
‘I’m not sleeping with you. And I’d prefer it if you stopped bringing that up.’
‘Why? I can control myself. Believe it or not, I was once in bed with a beautiful woman, and nothing happened. Or are you afraid you won’t be able to resist jumping me? ’
My pity for him wavered. He clearly wasn’t exhausted enough not to make silly jokes. ‘You wish.’
‘Then what’s the problem? It’s a queen-size bed. Surely we can fit on it without touching each other?’
I cast him an annoyed look.
‘Okay, there must be an extra blanket in the room,’ he went on. ‘I’ll sleep on top of the cover; you can sleep under it.’
‘Fine.’
He dumped his bags in the corner and said, ‘Finally, you’ve seen the light.’
‘Don’t push it,’ I warned him, grabbing my toiletry bag. ‘I’ll have a shower. Or do you need the bathroom before me?’
‘No, ladies first. But shall we start with dinner? It’s getting late.’
‘I had a sandwich on the train, but you can go down to the restaurant if you want.’
‘It’s okay.’ He picked up the menu from the desk. ‘They must do room service here.’
His words made me pause. ‘You want to eat in the room?’
‘Why do you look so shocked?’ he asked. ‘Have you never ordered room service before?’
‘You can eat at the desk, but you’re not eating in the bed. And please don’t order anything that stinks. I won’t be able to sleep if the room smells like a curry house.’
‘There’s a thing called a window here we can open.’
My deadly stare prompted him to retreat.
‘Okay, okay,’ he said, browsing the menu in his hand. ‘Hmm, let’s see what we’ve got here. Am I allowed to order a ham-and-cheese panini with chips and salad?’ Then reaching for the phone, he added, ‘I’ll take your silence as a yes.’
*
When I finished in the bathroom, I came out wearing only a towel. Adam was still unpacking his bags. I wondered what on earth he could have been doing in the past twenty minutes – he clearly hadn’t used his time efficiently and had probably checked out the sports channels first.
‘I forgot to take my clothes,’ I explained to him. I wasn’t used to sharing a room with a man, and tiredness had caught up with me too, impacting my ability to plan ahead. ‘Why are you looking at me like that?’
‘It’s just that all the sweet memories are coming back…’
I threw a pillow at him. ‘Oh, shut up! Go have a shower or whatever.’
Once he locked himself in the bathroom, I drew the curtains and quickly put on my cream silk pyjamas. Then I hung up the rest of my clothes next to his, using my coat as a divider. Once everything was neatly arranged, I straightened up a chair at the desk opposite the bed, grabbed the book I’d brought, and climbed under the duvet.
I’d only read a few pages when he emerged from the bathroom, wearing only boxer shorts. His hair and body were still wet, the dark shade of stubble gone.
It turned out Adam wasn’t chunky at all, and he had a lean upper body and a slim waist, though his broad shoulders made his back appear bigger, sort of like the top half of an hourglass. His torso was toned but not overdone like that of a professional bodybuilder.
‘Haven’t you got pyjamas?’
‘These are my pyjamas,’ he said, offended, as he rummaged through the cupboard. ‘I put them on because of you. I normally sleep naked.’
‘I’m honoured. What are you looking for?’
‘An extra blanket.’
‘I’ve already checked; there’s an extra pillow but no blanket. It’s fine; you can come under the cover as long as you stay on your side,’ I offered generously.
‘Yes, boss.’
‘I’m not your boss.’
He climbed into bed and said, ‘It’s funny – normally I have to remind you of that. ’
‘Stop being clever,’ I told him, thinking I should start logging how many times I had to repeat this sentence to him. ‘You must be starving; it’s almost ten o’clock. They aren’t rushing off their feet with your order, are they?’
‘To be fair, they were pretty quick, and I already finished it.’
I looked at him, astonished. ‘When?’
‘When you were in the bathroom. You were there for ages.’
‘I was only there for, like, twenty minutes,’ I said, my eyes searching the room. ‘Where’s the leftovers then?’
‘Erm… more like forty – your estimating skills must have washed off in the shower. And there wasn’t any left. Why? Are you hungry now?’
I pulled a face. ‘Don’t be gross.’ I may have exchanged saliva with him before, but I had no intention of going through the remains of his half-chewed food. ‘I mean, I can’t see a plate,’ I said.
‘I put the tray outside the door, since you’d made it clear that you didn’t want the room to stink of food.’
Maybe I was wrong about him, and he did have some decency in him.
‘Do you want to watch something?’ he asked,.
‘I’m good; I think I’ll go to sleep now. It’s been a long day for both of us.’ I put my book down, turned onto my side away from him, and closed my eyes.
He laughed – or tried to, but it didn’t sound like he had much energy left to move his lips. ‘I get it. Why don’t you just say it?’
I turned back to him. ‘Say what?’
‘That you want me to keep the TV off because you want to sleep.’
‘That’s not what I meant at all,’ I said. ‘For all I care, you can watch TV as loud as you want; it doesn’t bother me in the least. I just meant you look tired too. You must have had a long drive up. Goodnight!’
His expression was dubious; he clearly didn’t believe me.