Page 19 of Tempt Me Forever

I smiled sweetly. "We're both very discreet, sparring under the radar, so to say."

"Jesus, Kimberly. Don't scare the dude away, okay? We just got him."

"Hey, you're the one who lost our last manager."

Travis groaned. "True. I still can’t believe he went back to Oceanside Bay."

***

Ileft my aunt anduncle's house a few hours later. Shivering, I turned on the heat in my car. I really should have ordered a car with all the bells and whistles—more specifically, the option to turn on the heat via the remote before I even climbed in it.

Taking out my phone, I checked my emails, keeping my fingers crossed that Amazon delivered the air fryer I'd ordered yesterday.Oh, they did. Thank heavens for Prime delivery.It was awaiting me at the hotel, as I’d set that as my default address.

I drove straight there, parking in the underground garage and then hurrying to reception. Nina was on shift tonight. She was one of our very best receptionists.

"Hey, Kimberly, can I help you with anything?"

"Yeah, I got a package today. Did they take it up to the office or leave it here with you?"

"Let me check." She looked under the desk and said, "Nothing here for you."

"Thanks, I'll go up."

"You want me to get it for you?" she offered.

"No, it's fine. You stay here." I didn't like asking the staff to do anything personal for me. It felt like I was taking advantage.

I jogged up the stairs, which I usually did if I wasn't in a hurry. It was a good workout. I hated the StairMaster at the gym—it was the bane of my existence—but I did like walking up and down the stairs here at the hotel. The office floor was dark and quiet, as I'd expected. I flicked on the light in the corridor, first checking the table by the coffee machine. We usually dropped the packages there, but it was empty. I assumed whoever signed for it took it to my office, so I headed there next.

The package was on my desk. It was also much bigger than I thought. I would need to carry it with both hands. I wasn't sure I’d be able to see anything over it. Thankfully, it wasn’t heavy, so I lifted it easily. The box reached up to my nose, so I had to be very careful where I stepped. No question, I was going to ride the elevator back down to the parking garage.

I was headed to the elevator when a voice caught my attention, and I nearly dropped the package.Who could be here on a Friday evening?I listened intently.

"Suze, don't worry. I promise we'll figure it all out, and I'll be there for you every step of the way." He sighed. "You don't need any of that, Suze. Trust me. Want me to come to your place tonight?"

Drake.I'd recognize his voice anywhere, though it was incredibly soft.

I was rooted to my spot for a few seconds before deciding I had to move on. I didn't want to listen, as it was obvious it was a private call.

"Wait, I think there's someone here. I’ll call you later. Love you too. Bye."

My heart somersaulted.Definitely personal.

"Who's there?" he called.

Caught in the act.

"Just me. I came to get a package," I said loudly.

Glancing to the side of the box, I noticed that Drake was looking straight at the box, probably because he couldn’t see me from around it.

"That's huge. How are you even carrying it? Let me take it from you." He grabbed it right away.

"It's light, but thanks. I won't say no if you want to carry it for me. What are you doing here? It's Friday night."

"I was catching up on some work."

"Drake, I know your workload. What is it that you're catching up on?"

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