Page 35 of Release Me

As the CEO of a multi-million dollar company, there are a number of things I should be doing right now besides standing here with her. On my desk alone are five urgent, and potentially expensive, issues that need my immediate attention, but she’s my priority.

“I just wanted to make sure no one gave you a hard time. I know the kitchen staff can be pretty temperamental.”

“Oh, no, everyone’s great.”

“They all seem excited about you being here.”

Her eyes light up, delight dancing in pools of caramel and gold. “They do, don’t they?”

I nod, happy she can see it too. “Yeah. It sounds like you have some great ideas about how to make things run smoother. Make sure you let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you execute them.”

For a moment, she looks like she wants to tell me that won’t be necessary, but then she remembers that I’m a relentless bastard and acquiesces. “I will. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” We stare at each other, silence neither one of us knows how to fill stretching between us. Not wanting to make it awkward, I clear my throat and take a step back, breaking the hold she has on me. “Well, have a good rest of your day.”

I turn and walk away, heading for the door that leads to the stairwell and feeling good about what might be our only interaction today. Moments later, I hear her heels slapping against the floor as she hits a jog to close the distance between us.

“I almost forgot!” She says, not the least bit winded from exerting herself. “There is something I wanted to talk to you about. Do you have a minute?”

Her legs are about as long as mine, so I only have to slow down a bit to give her time to fall into step beside me. “For you? Always.”

I don’t look at her because I don’t want to see her reaction to what I’ve just said. If she looks horrified, then I’ll feel terrible. If she looks intrigued, then I’ll probably ask for permission to taste her lips right here in the middle of this stairwell.

It’s a no win scenario, so I keep my eyes trained on the ground, silently counting every step we’re taking on our descent to the twenty-ninth floor.

“I wanted to ask if you’d noticed that the number of reservations coming from people that aren’t staying in the hotel are down. Like way down?” Her attention is on the screen of the iPad, so I chance a glance at her face. She’s biting her lip, and there’s a regretful dip in the middle of her forehead, right between her two perfectly arched brows. “It’s almost like we aren’t doing any outside marketing, but that can’t be right, can it?”

“I wish I could say it wasn’t, but unfortunately, I don’t know. When my cousin was managing the restaurant, I didn’t keep a close enough eye on things.”

We’re back on our floor now, closer to my office than hers when Nadia stops walking and gawks at me like I’ve just told her I’m best friends with a serial killer.

“Your cousin?” She asks. “Vince is your cousin?”

“Unfortunately.”

“That really is unfortunate. He’s such a fucking creep.” A shiver runs through her, and she pulls a face that makes me think she’s speaking from experience. “Is that why you guys had to part ways?”

“I’d rather not talk about this in the middle of the hallway. Would you like to come into my office?”

“We’re the only two people with offices on this floor, Sebastian, I don’t think there’s anyone around to overhear.”

“Normally, that’d be true, but HR is having a team building seminar in the conference room that’ll be starting shortly. Heather will have my head if she hears me discussing termination agreements in public.”

I give her a reassuring smile and hope that it’s enough to make her feel okay about being alone with me in a space that’s solely mine. The last time has me scarred, and I’m determined to be cautious, to make sure we don’t lose all the ground we’ve covered because of a misstep on my end.

Nadia blows out a steadying breath, and I watch her psych herself up, doing the mental work necessary for her to extend this bit of trust to me. “Okay, yeah, I guess that makes sense.”

“We can leave the door open, if that’d make you feel more comfortable.”

As soon as she processes my offer, the tension melts out of her muscles. She takes one step forward, and then another, and another until she’s passing through the doors of my office first, leaving me to follow. Once she’s inside, I open both doors and secure the latch at the top that will keep them propped open. When that’s done, I turn to find Nadia making herself at home in my space.

It’s a mirror image of her office. The same layout with different furnishings. Mine are darker, more traditionally masculine, built large to accommodate my height and weight. Nadia’s tall, with a frame that’s both slender and curvy but not dainty by any stretch of the imagination, but even she seems smaller among the furnishings. She watches me with eyes that try to appear relaxed as I move to take a seat behind my desk, allowing it to act as a barrier between us and hating the way she seems to be put at ease by it.

“Thank you for being so…accommodating.”

I shrug like it doesn’t bother me that the woman I can’t stop thinking about doesn’t feel comfortable being alone in a room with me. “It’s not a problem. Now, where were we?”

“Umm, I believe we were talking about you firing your creepy cousin.”

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