Page 385 of Billionaire Temptations

Laughing, I blew her a kiss and ended the call. When I reached the gallery, I stepped inside and smiled when I saw Ellery. The place was crawling with construction workers. Noise infiltrated the place as hammers banged against the walls, and saws were going off every second.

“You’re here!” she exclaimed as she walked over and hugged me. “Welcome home, Chloe.”

“Thanks, Ellery. It’s good to see you, and it’s great to be back in New York.” I took hold of both her hands. “I can’t thank you and Connor enough for giving me this opportunity.”

“Don’t mention it. You are an excellent worker with an incredible eye for art. You remind me of me when I was your age.” She winked. “Come on, I’ll show you around.”

After walking around half of the 5,000-square-foot space, Ellery took me up the wrought-iron stairs that led to the second level.

“Up here is where your office is, the bathroom, and a kitchen area. What do you think?”

“I love it. It’s perfect up here.”

“Come and see your office.” She took my hand and led me to a space that consisted of glass walls and a large glass door.

“Wow. This is beautiful,” I spoke as I sat down behind the large L-shaped glass desk with the Apple computer sitting proudly on top.

“You should have everything you need. The file cabinets are being delivered tomorrow, so you can place those wherever you see fit. Also, I’ve ordered some couches, tables, and chairs to go in the space out there. You’re going to love them. I went way over Connor’s budget, but he doesn’t need to know that.” She smiled.

“I promise I won’t tell him.”

Settlinginto my new apartment was a piece of cake compared to the hustle and bustle of trying to get the art gallery ready for its grand opening reception tomorrow night. Everything was in place and ready to be seen. My main focus the last month was getting the gallery ready, leaving very little time for anything else, including a personal life. The good thing that came out ofimmersing myself in my work was the fact that I hadn’t given one thought about the man from London. He had now become a distant memory in my mind. An incredible one-night stand that I had let affect me for too long was now buried and locked away.

After changing out of my work clothes and into something more casual, I grabbed my purse and headed to Bellini’s, where I was meeting Sienna for dinner. As the cab pulled up to drop me off, I reached into my purse to pay the cab fare. I froze just as I was about to open the door and climb out.

“Ma’am, is everything okay?” the cab driver asked.

I gulped as my eyes stared at the handsome stranger from London. My heart began to race, and the dormant butterflies awoke, causing a stir in my belly.

“Just give me a second,” I spoke as I pulled up the hood to my jacket, took my sunglasses out of my purse, and put them on to hide from him.

Opening the door, I climbed out and kept my head down, but as I passed the two gentlemen standing and talking on the sidewalk, I slightly lifted my head so I could get a glimpse of his sultry chocolate eyes. Both men looked at me, probably wondering why the hell I was wearing sunglasses when it was almost dark out. He was just as gorgeous as I remembered him to be. As I made my way into the restaurant, Sienna was standing there waiting for me.

“Hey.” I tapped her shoulder. “It’s me.”

She turned around and looked me up and down with an odd look on her face.

“What the hell are you doing? Why are you wearing that hat and sunglasses?”

Looking behind me and out the door, I saw he was gone.

“I saw him!” I whispered.

“Saw who?”

“Him! The stranger from London.” I removed my sunglasses and hat.

“What? Where?” She looked over my shoulder.

“He was standing outside the restaurant talking to some guy. I had to hide myself so he didn’t recognize me.”

She placed her hand on my shoulder. “Are you sure it was him?”

“Positive. Do you think I’d ever forget him?”

The hostess walked up and told us our table was ready. After being seated, I told the hostess to tell our waitress that I needed a double shot of tequila ASAP.

“Why are you so nervous?” Sienna asked. “It’s a miracle that he’s here in New York, and you saw him again. I have no clue why you hid yourself from him. You should have walked up and said, ‘Hey, remember me? The girl from London who you had a night of wild sex with and then escaped the next morning without as so much as a goodbye?’”

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