Page 17 of One Little Mistake
I bite the inside of my cheek until I taste copper to keep from spilling the beans that I gave him the name. My silence gives me away, though, and his laughter erupts anew.
“Lexi,” he coos, “am I really that bad?”
No!
“Yes. You are,” I lie.
You may not be Miles, but you’re just as dangerous to my heart.
His smile fades, and I feel terrible.
“Do you want to talk about what happened out there?” he asks, changing gears so fast I have whiplash.
“Not particularly. Do you want to discuss the worst days of your life with your boss?”
He’s silent as he observes me, then finally shakes his head. Holding up the bottle, he asks, “You good?”
“Yeah, I’m good. Thanks. I’m just going to freshen up if that’s okay?”
Easton places a large arm on my shoulder, and the heat sears my skin through layers of fabric.
“Take your time, Lex. We have a couple of hours before the meeting. I’m going to get some work done in the cabin.”
There’s something in his eyes that makes me believe he understands my loss, but we’ll never find out. My loss will weigh heavy on my soul until the day I die, and no one will ease that burden. I won’t allow them to. It’s mine to carry, and it’s mine to bear.
The rest of the flight is mercifully uneventful, and we arrive at the Four Seasons in New York’s Tribeca neighborhood with plenty of time before our meeting.
“Easton?” I hiss as he exits the car ahead of me. “I cannot afford to stay here.” I’m broke. I grew up poor, and all those old insecurities rear their ugly head. Unfortunately, I’m not in a position to care. It’s better to embarrass myself in front of East than get to the counter and not even have a credit card to check in with.
He stops mid-stride, causing me to collide with his very muscular back. Turning, he removes the aviator sunglasses covering his beautiful eyes, and I catch Cartier engraved on the arm. Of course he has Cartier sunglasses.
“You know, you could get a knock-off pair of sunglasses for twenty bucks, and no one would ever know. You could probably feed a small village with the amount you paid for those.”
Easton stares at the sunglasses as if he’d never given them a second thought. He probably hasn’t.
“First, the company pays for your room, your food, and all expenses you accrue while traveling. Second, I do, in fact, feed multiple villages all over the globe, and that’s in addition to my expensive sunglasses,” he adds with a hint of snark. “If you must know, Lexi, these were my father’s. You should also know that I will never feel shame for what my parents blessed me with. My brothers and I work too fucking hard to be anything but proud.”
I don’t know much about his father, other than they lost him too soon, but the fact that Easton can make me feel like a turd nozzle should be a giant red flag to keep my walls high. Even as he takes me down a notch, though, I find myself closing the distance between us. Then he opens his big, fat, stupid mouth.
“If you can stop thinking about the cost of things on my body for two seconds, can you manage to run the numbers with Mason one more time before we leave?” He doesn’t wait for a response, so I’m left standing there, mouth agape, watching him take long strides to the hotel receptionist.
Thinking about things on his body?Ugh, as if that’s what I’d—
Easton turns and points me out to the lady behind the counter, and all rational thought leaves my head. Holy hell. I like fighting with Easton. I enjoy being near him. I even like it when he gives me shit. Crap, that might be my favorite part. Oh, mother of mercy, I like Easton Westbrook.
Rooted in place, I watch as he converses with the hotel employee. Lock it down, Lex.Nothing good can come from catching feelings for a Westbrook.
“Ready?”
“Huh?” I glance up to find Easton in front of me again.Jesus, Lexi. Get your shit together, girl.
Easton squints like he’s trying to figure me out.Yeah, good luck there, buddy. I don’t know who I am these days, so you’re shit out of luck.
“I asked if you were ready? Our room is ready.”
“Oh, yeah.” I take a step to follow, then realize what he said. “Wait. Room? As in one? Are you kidding me? Are you some kind of power-hungry pervert? I’m not sleeping with you just because you’re my boss, you asshat.”
East grabs my elbow with an almost painful grip. “Will you keep it down, Lexi? Jesus Christ, you’ve worked for me for less than a week, and you’re already trying to ruin my reputation?”
