12. Ian
Chapter 12
Ian
I t didn’t get past me that every single woman at the gala tonight was staring at Mia, but thankfully, I don’t think Mia noticed. It’s not her fault that these snobs hate her. It’s mine.
They all want to land the rich, eligible bachelor. To claim me as their own. To show their friends and high society that they matter more than anyone else. But it’s all lies. All of it.
Not one of them, and I’ve dated my fair share of them, wants what Mr. and Mrs. Sutherland have, and that’s the only way anyone is going to land this rich bastard.
“Did you have fun tonight, Mia?” We’re in the limo heading back to the hotel and I’m finding I’m dreading the return to the hotel and not being around Mia any longer. I’ve really enjoyed her company. She’s funny and extraordinarily smart. I have no idea why she’s working as a receptionist when she could do so much more.
And she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. I haven’t been able to keep my eyes, or hands, off of her tonight.
“I had so much fun. It felt like a fairy tale, but the clock’s about to strike midnight.” She laughs. “Time for a reality check, although I don’t know if I’ll get that until I’m back home in my one-room apartment.”
I watch her as she looks mesmerized by the monuments all lit up at night as we pass by them. “Would you like to take a tour of Washington tomorrow with me?” I wasn’t planning on spending more time with Mia, but that idea just popped out of my mouth. I want to be around her. There’s something special about her and I can’t put my finger on it.
“Oh, no, but thank you. I’m sure you have a lot on your plate, and you don’t need to be playing tour guide to me.”
“Nonsense. If we get up early enough, we can at least take a ride to all the monuments before we fly back. How does that sound?” I’m hopeful she’ll say yes to my plan. Mia makes me feel different from anyone I’ve ever met before, and I don’t want it to end.
She ponders my offer for a few moments and then she smiles like a kid at Christmas and suddenly all I ever want to do for the rest of my life is to do whatever I can to make her smile like that every day. “If you’re willing, I’ll take you up on your offer.”
“Great.”
“But… only if you’re not already busy.”
My hand automatically reaches up to her cheek and caresses it before I even know what I’m doing. “I’m all yours.”
She has no idea how much I mean that.
I’m fucked.
“Welcome back, Mr. Gallo. Miss McIntosh,” the doorman to the Waldorf Astoria says as he opens the door to the limo.
“Thank you, Philip. How’s your son Travis doing?”
“Nice of you to ask, sir. He’s doing well and should have the cast off his leg next week.”
“I’m sure you’re relieved.”
“That I am, sir. Have a good evening.”
My hand is on Mia’s lower back, and I’m guiding her up the stairs and into the hotel. With those fuck-me heels she’s wearing and this marble floor, I’m afraid she’ll slip and fall. Plus, she must be exhausted after such a long day. At one point in the limo, I saw her try to stifle a yawn. She’s probably not used to twenty-hour days like I am.
The silence between us while waiting for the elevator to arrive is thick and feels awkward, but once we step into the car, the mood shifts.
“What floor?” Mia asks once she’s pressed eighteen.
“No. I’ll walk you to your room, Mia. My mother raised a gentleman.”
She nods her head and smiles, but looks nervously at the floor numbers as they count up.
“Thank you again for coming to my rescue. Both as a date and with the reporters.”
“You’re welcome, Mr. Gallo.”
I sigh heavily, “I thought we we’re past this ‘Mr. Gallo’ nonsense.”
She turns to me. “That was for the gala. It made sense that your date would call you by your first name. But now we’re back and the evening is over. You’re my boss’s boss and technically, I work for the temp agency. It’s best this way.”
She’s right and I hate it. In a few weeks, Lily will be back at the front desk and Mia will have moved on to her next assignment. Leaving Gallo Enterprises, and me, behind her.
“Well, we still have tomorrow’s monument tour. Meet me in the hotel restaurant at eight o’clock and we’ll have breakfast before we go. Okay?”
Mia smiles, “Sounds like a plan, boss.”
The elevator arrives on her floor, and I follow her to the end of the hallway. “This is me.” She pulls out her room keycard and then sticks out her hand for me to shake. “Have a good night, Mr. Gallo.”
Reluctantly, I shake her hand and watch her open her door. “Good night, Mia.”
As I make my way back to the elevator and swipe my resident keycard to bring me to the floor my apartment is on, I can’t help but feel like I've missed out on something special with Mia.
She’s different, and I’m finding it harder and harder to justify how I’m feeling for her. She has no clue, either. Which may be a good thing. My life is hectic enough and very public. Mia seems like a low-key type of person and would probably hate being in the spotlight.
No, I need to get over myself and think of her first. And that means we can only be friends, co-workers, whatever she wants to call it.
I just need to keep my distance. Tomorrow, I’ll show her the monuments and then we’ll fly back to Hibiscus Harbor and my driver will take her home.
Done and done.
This morning, I woke up earlier than I usually do, so I headed down to the gym and ran twice as far as I normally do in punishment for not sleeping later. Ten miles equals two hours of lost sleep.
I look at my watch as I swipe my keycard in the elevator to bring me to my apartment and realize that I have about an hour before I’m supposed to meet Mia downstairs for breakfast. As I make my way inside, I grab the morning papers stacked outside my door and a photo of Mia on the front page catches my eye.
Opening up the paper, on the front page above the fold, is a picture of Mia and me kissing on the red-carpet last night with the headline, ‘Who’s The Mystery Woman?’ I throw the paper down, making a mental note to cancel my subscription when another paper has the same photo with a similar headline, ‘Not The Most Eligible Bachelor Anymore’. A third paper has another photo of Mia and I smiling at each other, ‘Hearts Are Breaking All Around the World’.
“FUCK!” I grab my phone just as I get a text from my brother Sawyer.
Sawyer: Who’s the chick?
Me: My date last night.
Sawyer: So, you’re not getting married?
Me: What? Fuck no!
Sawyer: Are you sure? ‘Cuz that’s not what the internet is saying.
He sends me a screenshot, and it’s me and Mia standing next to the Sutherlands and the caption says, ‘Wedding bells are ringing, and hearts are breaking’.
Me: What the hell?! It was one date for the charity gala. These assholes never did this to Maria.
Sawyer: You never kissed Maria in public. If you’re not getting married, you might want to call and tell Mom before she’s got the entire wedding planned by this afternoon. Oh, and you might want to warn your date what’s about to happen to her life.
Me: Gotta go.
Sawyer: Hey, if you don’t want her, I’ll take her. She’s hot.
I growl at my brother’s text and ignore it. Then he sends some flame emojis and I text him back about a hundred middle fingers.
I jump in the shower and get cleaned up as I rehearse what I’m going to tell Mia and how I’m going to have to fix this mess. Her life is about to become a fishbowl, not unlike that princess from London all those years ago.
I climb out of the shower and, as I’m drying off, I get another text. Probably the first of many, many texts I’m going to get over the next few days.
Sutherland: Congratulations, Ian. I knew you two were meant to be together. You both had that sparkle in your eyes last night whenever you looked at each other, although I had no idea you were going to propose! I’m so proud of you. Looking forward to an invitation to the festivities. We’ll talk later this week about finalizing the deal. We have much to discuss.
Fuck me. What the hell am I going to do now? He thinks Mia and I are getting married, and he’s hinted at this merger is going to go through. Now what?
The first thing I do is send a group text to both my parents and Sawyer telling them not to believe what they see online and that I’ll explain everything when I get back to Hibiscus Harbor.
The next thing I do is contact my security team and make arrangements for close protection from the hotel to the airport. I rarely need them when I’m in Washington, so I don’t have them travel with me, but now I’m rethinking that strategy.
Thankfully, Hughes International can have someone here within the hour and then have someone meet us at the airport when we land in Hibiscus Harbor. I’ve also had them set up around the clock security for Mia until this all blows over.
As I make my way down to the eighteenth floor, I order breakfast to be delivered to her room. I want to catch Mia before she goes downstairs to the lobby because it will be filled with cameras, reporters, and the like.
I also make arrangements to have the driver bring the car around to the back of the hotel to pick us up when we’re done eating. Having the driver pick us up in the back is the best way to avoid as many paparazzi as possible. Some are smart enough to go back there and wait for us, but most will be out in front of the hotel. The tour is going to have to wait until next time.
If there is a next time.
I knock on Mia’s door. “Mia. It’s Ian.”
She opens the door dressed in jeans and a turquoise top. “Good morning, Mr. Gallo.” She smiles brightly. “I thought we were meeting downstairs. Did I get that wrong?”
I shake my head, realizing she hasn’t seen the news yet. “No, but we need to talk before we go down there. Can I come in?”
She opens the door wider to allow me to enter. “Is everything okay? You look upset.”
All the rehearsing I did in the shower and in the elevator down here evaporates from my head.
Mia walks to the window. “Hey, look. There must be a big celebrity here. There’s like fifty news vans outside and a lot of people standing around waiting for a glimpse of them. The police even put up barricades.” She laughs. “I wonder who the poor soul is. Can’t even get some privacy when on vacation.” She shakes her head. “Piranhas. I would hate that kind of life.”
I don’t have the heart to tell her, but I don’t have a choice either. These are the last few moments before her life changes for the foreseeable future. “Mia. You’re the celebrity they’re here to see.”
She laughs at me. “You’re funny.”
There’s a knock at the door. “Room service.”
“I didn’t order room service.” Mia says with a confused look on her face.
“I did. Go into the other room while I have him bring in the tray.”
“Why?”
“I’ll explain in a minute. Just go in the other room, Mia.” I don’t mean to snap at her. “Please, Mia.” I plead softly.
She doesn’t answer me, but she at least goes into the other room. The last thing we need is a hotel staffer letting the reporters know what room she’s staying in.
Quickly, I hurry the attendant into the room and then tip him very well as he leaves. “Thank you, sir.” He says as I close the door.
“Mia?” I find her sitting on the bed with her phone in her hand and the most confused look on her face. “Let me explain.” I try to defend what’s she’s reading.
“Explain what, Ian?” Oh sure, now she calls me by my first name. “What happened? How on earth did they get this nonsense about us being engaged?” She paces the room. “What is Mr. Sutherland going to think? Oh! The merger. Do you think he’ll still want to do business with Gallo Enterprises?”
“Mia… wait, what?” Now, I’m confused. She’s worried about my company and not what is happening to her? She has no clue.
“This is all over the internet, Ian. The whole point of me being your date last night was to get you out of the tabloids so that Mr. Sutherland would want to continue doing business with you, right? That’s what you said last night. That he’s old school. Isn’t this…” she waives her phone in the air, “bullshit going to hinder that? Do the complete opposite?”
“Well, to be honest, he texted me this morning to wish us congratulations on our pending nuptials.”
“What? You put him straight, right?” She recognizes my hesitation. “Are you kidding me right now?”
“Mia…”
“ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME, IAN?!”
I hold up my hands in surrender and step into her path as she’s pacing the bedroom. “I just haven’t answered him yet, that’s all. But there are more urgent issues to address right now.”
“Like what? What could possibly be more important than setting Mr. Sutherland straight about us?” Her phone dings an incoming text and she opens her phone. “You have got to be kidding me right now.” She mumbles.
“What?” I move closer to read the text, but she closes the app before I’m able to read it.
“Nothing. It’s nobody.”
It’s most definitely somebody, and the jealousy and rage I’m feeling inside makes no sense to me, but we don’t have time for that now. “Come on. Let’s eat some breakfast and then we can head to the airport. The tour will have to wait until next time.” I lead her into the other room where the breakfast is getting cold.
Mia looks at me funny and I can’t decipher what that look means. “I’m not hungry. I’ve lost my appetite, but thank you for the offer. What time are we leaving? I’ll meet you at the airport.”
I place my hands on Mia’s shoulder and look directly into her beautiful blue eyes. “Mia, you’re going to have to trust me right now. You cannot go anywhere without me or by yourself. Do you understand me?” She’s not getting it – not understanding how complex this is.
Her head flinches back slightly in confusion. “No. Why?”
“Because those people and news vans outside,” I point towards the windows, “are here for you. I wasn’t kidding. You’re the reason they’re here. I’m so sorry that this has happened, and I promise to fix it when we get back home, but right now, you have to promise me you won’t go anywhere without me or one of my security team. Okay?”
"Ian, I don't understand. What do they want from me? What security team?" her eyebrows knit together in confusion. This has got to be a lot to digest all at once.
I sit her down on the couch, “Right now, your entire world is going to be under a microscope. I should have predicted this, but I didn’t, and I’m truly sorry about that. They think that you’re dating, engaged to,” I correct myself. “one of the most eligible billionaires in the world. My money is a blessing and a curse. This is the curse.”
I pull open a few more news articles on my phone. “See? You’re going to be the most envied and hated woman for the next few days until I can get this fixed. But I promise you, I will fix this.”
Mia nods and is looking at me with the most trusting eyes, and I vow to myself that I will protect her at all costs.
At all costs.