Page 21 of Blindsided

Easton recoiled at my words and opened his mouth to refute them, but I cut him off as I stepped around him on my way to the elevator. The door to my room clicked shut as I scanned my phone on the elevator pad and then jabbed the button to call the elevator.

“I’m just fucking fine.” The door opened immediately and I stomped on, leaving Easton to stare at me in confusion. The door was about to close between us when I realized he would need a key, at the very least, to access the elevator. As I slammed my hand against the open button, I was simultaneously mentally kicking myself in the ass for not thinking about that the night before. I’d likely been too overwhelmed, but the entire situation just added another level of annoyance to my morning and I huffed. “In.”

Easton looked between the pile of bedding and the elevator, torn on what to do. “Just leave it. I’ll deal with it when I get back.” Housekeeping knew not to come up unless requested, and I had no intention of requesting them that day.

The private elevator for my suite didn’t have the standard floor options, so we were stuck together until we got to the lobby twenty-four floors below mine. Normally the elevator ride was fast, but with the tension between us, it felt like the seconds stretched out for hours.

“What about dinner last night? Nothing was brought up. Should I pay the restaurant?”

The question made me forget about being angry. My family owned the hotel; no one was going to expect payment from us. I opened my mouth to say as much, then thought better of it. “I’ll take care of it.” After breakfast.

Easton didn’t look entirely convinced, but the elevator stopped and the doors began to open. He nodded his head and stepped out, removing a flimsy plastic key from his wallet and tapping the call button for the elevators beside ours.

“What are you doing?” The words came without my brain’s input.

“Going to my room. Strange, the Parliament got me a room here.” Sarcasm dripped from his words as he spoke, but he sobered before adding, “I have a meeting to get to and not enough time to go back to Brax’s to change. I need to clean up.”

The elevator opened and he stepped on before I could ask who Brax was, if Easton was still planning to take the job, or if I should send breakfast to his room. I watched the closed elevator and the numbers above it as they climbed to floor eighteen, then stopped. It then dropped to floors fifteen, eight, and finally four before opening in front of me to let a handful of people off. A handful of people that didn’t include Easton.

I couldn’t figure out why it bothered me as much as it did—not that I had time to dwell on it. I needed to eat, take care of the dinner bill from the night before, and then get to the office for a day of meetings.

As I walked toward the restaurant, I pulled my phone out and texted my assistant.

Please make sure to have everything bagels, garlic and chive cream cheese, and dark roast coffee available at the meetings today.

If those happened to be what Easton had lived on in college, I was just going to call it coincidence.

* * *

Coffee, unhealthy amounts by most standards, helped to shake the last of my irritability and at least had me feeling more awake than asleep. Of course, the three cups of coffee with breakfast and another from the shop between the hotel and office had left me jittery, but as long as no one asked me to hold anything that could spill, I was confident I’d be fine.

A glance in the mirror of the lobby bathroom told me my eyes were only slightly clearer and the bags under my eyes no less pronounced, but the moisturizer had at least calmed the redness in my face. “Showtime,” I said to my reflection before turning to head to the elevator that would take me to my office.

While waiting for the elevator, my phone pinged in my pocket.

Bodhi

Good luck. You’ve got this. Don’t sleep with him. I’m going to bed. Love you.

I smiled in spite of everything. Bodhi was the best best friend I could ask for and I missed her like crazy.

I laughed. “Don’t sleep with Easton. Too late.” The elevator door opened and I entered, pressing the button to my floor and waiting in silence as it rose steadily. All too soon I’d arrived at my office and for a moment, I wasn’t sure that I was ready to face the meetings that day.

Not only was the contract negotiation happening later that morning, I had a meeting with Daisy starting in just minutes. I rolled my neck, trying to release the tension building between my shoulders. The loud pop of vertebrae moving should have brought release, yet only sent a wave of pain through my back. “I’m too young to fall apart,” I said as I walked toward my desk.

As I’d requested, a tray of bagels sat along the back wall of my mostly empty office, along with two carafes labeled Dark Roast and Medium Roast. I nearly went for the coffee, but my jittery hand stopped me and I opted to grab a bottle of water instead, then turned and yelped when I saw the woman sitting in the chair across from my desk watching me.

Daisy stood, her long black braids behind her shoulders. She was taller than I’d anticipated, only a few inches shorter than me in a pair of dress shoes with a low heel. Her cream linen slacks and red top complemented her dark skin, and as I took her outstretched hand for a shake, I noticed how firm her grip was and just how confident she was.

“Francis,” she greeted me, her voice carrying and filling my office. “Nice to meet you in person.”

“Lincoln, please.” I was getting tired of correcting people and added having my email and nameplate changed to the top of my mental to-do list.

Her deep brown eyes showed a moment of confusion, and then she nodded in acceptance. “Lincoln then. So, how much do you know about Easton Lafferty?”

Right to the point, and taking the air from my lungs with the question. I took a moment to compose myself as I walked to my chair and took a seat, gesturing toward the one she had been sitting in upon my arrival. Finally trusting my lungs and voice to work, I shrugged. “Professionally? Very little. He played for Yale. Got signed to somewhere out west, I think. After that, I’m not really sure.” At least it was the truth.

She shook her head and let out a resigned sigh. “We have a lot of work to do.”

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