Page 14 of Restrained

“Gretchen . . .”

“It’s not like we haven’t before.”

Lust flickers in her eyes, and I look to the clock in my office seeing it’s ten o’clock. Lola is supposed to be here, although I'm sure she will be a little late just to test me. “That was a mistake.”

And it was. A moment of weakness months ago. I’ve been successful at such a young age because of my laser focus and never allowing myself to get distracted. Never mixing business with pleasure.

She lets whatever hurt she feels wash over her quickly and shakes her head. “It was a wonderful mistake.”

Fuck. This is not good.“Gretchen, I'm your boss, and I shouldn’t have done that.”

“I wanted you to. Let’s not pretend I wasn’t totally willing and thrilled when you kissed me,” her voice turns husky as her hands slide up my thighs, “when you fucked me.”

“Stop.”

She stands up in an angry huff, folding her arms yet again. “It’s because of her, isn’t it?”

“Who?”

She cocks her head to the side, angry and annoyed. “Lola Sterling. She wants to sink her claws in you, Hayden. You’re exactly what she needs.”

I nearly laugh in her face but decide against it. Lola Sterling doesn’t need anyone. She might need the contract, but she doesn’t need me. “This is a separate issue.”

“You should have heard her yesterday, Hayden. She practically told me she would fuck you. And you’re just going to go ahead and fall for it.”

I hear the doorbell and stand, looking over at the clock and seeing she’s only three minutes late today. I turn to Gretchen quickly, not able to fully process what she just said. Part of me doesn’t believe a word she’s saying. Lola looks at me like she’d love to kill me, not fuck me.

And she already has the contract. She’d never need to sleep her way into work because her reputation speaks volumes about her.

“You need to go.”

I gesture for her to walk ahead of me, and she drops her arms to her side. “I could stick around, take notes.”

“No.”

She’s angry, but I think she finally accepts the seriousness in my tone and grabs her purse, heading toward the front door.

She yanks it open before I can, and we’re both graced with Lola Sterling. The woman just screams class. She’s wearing a cap-sleeved, button-down white blouse with a gray pencil skirt, and her blond hair in a loose bun.

I can’t see her eyes because they’re covered in black sunglasses, but I can feel her heated gaze as she turns to Gretchen. “Decided to join us after all?”

Gretchen bristles with apparent anger, and I don’t think she gave me an accurate account of the meeting. “I’m heading out.”

Lola removes her sunglasses, her sights set on Gretchen. Obviously these women aren’t fans of each other. “That’s too bad.”

Gretchen practically growls as she pushes past her, her shoulder making contact with Lola’s on her way out of my house, but she spins around at the last minute to address me. “I’ll call you this evening to check in, Hayden.”

Something tells me that’s all for Lola’s benefit, and I won’t be part of their childish games. I ignore her and turn to head to my office, hoping Lola just takes the hint and follows. I’m not in the mood to walk her through anything.

Luckily, I hear the door close behind me and her heels clicking on the floor as I lead the way to my office. I take a seat behind my desk, and she wastes no time sitting in her own chair, the one Gretchen just left.

She pulls out an iPad and quickly gets to business. I can’t deny it, I like her style. “From the pictures I've seen of the hotel, I've started with the lower level first. The theater. There are no seats as of yet, correct?”

“Not yet.”

She turns the iPad toward me, showing me a fancy theater chair that seems more like a recliner than a typical chair. “I think this screams luxury.”

I nod my head in quick approval, barely offering a grunt, and she turns the tablet back to her, flipping to the next picture to show me. “For the spa, I really love the ancient Roman vibe.” For some reason, that makes my chest swell with pride. The spa has three private rooms, complete with a Roman bath house pool and area for private massage and steam. “So, for the towels, I think it would make sense to have plain white towels with gold trim.”

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