“Don’t roll your eyes at me. You need to be careful about showing your disdain for him. He’s well-connected and if you want to move up, you’ll need to at least pretend you like him.”
I huffed out a breath. “I don’t dislike him.”
“Good.” She handed me a folder. “Here is the paperwork, including the bill owed to the Roarke. You know the drill.”
I nodded as I took the folder. “Why me?”
“One, you know him. It’s good for the company to work those connections. Two, you want to move up in the company, right? Your acquaintance with him can help you do that. I’m looking out for you, Rena, even if you’re not.”
I felt like a bratty teenager. “Yes, of course. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” She walked off leaving me alone in the event space.
I finished my work, psyching myself up to talk to Devin as the professional event planner that I was.
“Ms. Moore, Mr. Roarke is in the lounge when you’re ready to settle,” a staff woman told me.
“Thank you.” When I’d checked and double-checked that we were leaving things the way we found them, I headed out toward the bar and into the lounge area. It was late, so the restaurant was empty. A handful of people sat at the bar. I didn’t see anyone but Devin in the lounge.
He sat in a leather wing-back chair overlooking the Manhattan skyline with an amber drink in his hand.
He stood when he saw me. “Can I get you a drink?”
I shook my head. “No. Thank you.”
He motioned for me to sit in the chair next to his. “The event went well.”
“It did, yes.” I pulled the paperwork from the folder and handed it to him. “The payment info is there.”
He glanced at it and set it on the table between us. “I have another job I want you to do.”
“Oh?” At least he wasn’t trying to find out why I didn’t show up five years ago or ask about my personal life.
“My parents are celebrating their thirtieth anniversary in a couple of weeks and I want to host a party for them.”
“A couple of weeks? That’s not much time.” For my parents, I could pull off a party in a matter of days, but high powered, old-money families like Devin’s needed months of planning to pull off a good party.
“My father has Parkinson’s so it was uncertain whether he’d be up to it. We’d like a small event out at the beach house in the Hamptons.”
I nodded. “I’ll let Nikita know.”
“No.” His green eyes held mine. “I want you.”
I swallowed hard and had to remind myself he was talking about wanting a party, not my body. “Important people like you are handled by Nikita.”
“You seem more than capable. I’m sure it would look good to your boss if I hired you.”
I pursed my lips. “I don’t need any favors.”
He studied me like I’d grown horns. And I suppose I had. I was being a royal bitch.
“What did I do to you?” he asked and I could see he was truly baffled. I couldn’t blame him. As far as he knew, I simply didn’t show up like I said I would when we planned to run off together.
“Nothing. Sorry. I’m just tired.” Even so, it was strange how insistent he was around me. “Five years is a long time, Devin. We’re not the same people.”
He frowned. “What does that mean?”
I meant that we couldn’t go back to what we had before, but I knew I couldn’t say that. What if I was misunderstanding him? I didn’t need him laughing at me for assuming he wanted me again.