Page 9 of Love and Other Champagne Problems

I stilled as the person spilled into the hallway, not quite believing what I was seeing.

Sumner Pennington, stumbling from the suite beside mine. Gone was the white shirt and dress pants from the night before, replaced with a black sweatshirt and a pair of loose sweatpants. His face scrunched up as he, too, grimaced against the bright light of the hallway, looking as if he’d just rolled from his bed to thecorridor.

Last night felt a bit like a fever dream, especially looking at him now.

Sumner stretched his long arms before opening his eyes wide enough to realize I stood before him. He cleared his throat, attempting to stand straight and appear professional despite stumbling out of his hotel room in his pajamas. His smile was awkward. “Morning.”

“What are you doing?”

“Um… standing? Standing. I’m definitely standing.”

I blamed his dimwitted response on his clear sleep deprivation. “No, what are you doing on this floor? In that room?”

“Your parents put me in the room beside yours… so I can hear when you come and go.”

Sumner’s voice was friendly as he explained the lengths my parents would go to, keeping me controlled. As if it were the most common thing in the world. As if asking him to listen to my comings and goingswasn’tcreepy.

They truly must’ve been paying him well if they were putting him up in one of their expensive suites. “Don’t you have a house? An apartment?”

“I’m, uh—well, I’m in between places at the moment. I actually just moved here?—”

That was why he took on the job, then. Who would’ve refused when they got a suite and given a salary most dreamed of? “You were the one with that alarm, then?”

“You could hear it?”

“I thought my fist banging onthe wall made that clear.”

“Isthatwhat that sound was?” Sumner scratched the back of his head. “I thought it was the air conditioning kicking on.”

Without a word, I turned on my heel and headed toward the elevator.

Of course, Sumner trailed behind me.

“I told you that you weren’t coming with me this morning,” I said, running a hand down the front flap of my suit jacket to make sure it was straight.

“I know,” Sumner said as he followed. “I’m going down for the free breakfast. It’s on the ground floor, right?”

I stopped in front of the elevator and paused, and it didn’t take him more than a handful of seconds to realize I waited for him to press the button. He hit it, and it took its sweet time to draw all the way up to us. “Eat at the country club,” I told him, disinterested. “The ambiance is better.”

Sumner rocked on his heels. “That’s okay. I don’t really care aboutambiance.”

The way he said it had me frowning. “Youdoknow what that word means, right?”

Sumner hesitated a second too long. “Of course.”

“What are your qualifications to be a secretary?” I asked as the elevator arrived, and for the second time in twenty-four hours, we stepped on together. “Where did my parents find you?”

“We can go over my resume at brunch if you want.” Sumner scrubbed a fist into his eye, looking very much like a toddler that just woken from a nap. “And maybe we can get to know each other more.”

“We don’t need to get to know each other.” The elevator began its rapid descent, and I kept my chin set. “You’re my secretary. Not my friend.”

I watched Sumner tilt his head in the mirror a second before the elevator doors opened at the lobby, taking away his image. We both stepped out, and to the left was the direction of the entrance, and to the right was the way to the breakfast bar. I paused at the crossroads, as if wanting to linger in the conversation a moment longer.

Sumner, however, had his sights set on food. “Have a good morning,” he told me with a lopsided smile. He took a step backward, toward the right, still holding my gaze. “Your parents gave me your number yesterday, so I’ll text you, so you have mine. Shoot me a message when you get back to the hotel, and I’ll meet you out front for brunch.”

“Wear something business casual,” I told him, to which he ducked his head in acknowledgement.

“I’ll see you when you get back.” And with that, Sumner turned around fully and set off in the direction of the breakfast bar.

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