I finally had hit my limit. So, I stood. "It's all right, Noah. We will give each other space. I’ll work with Phil and you can deal with the technical stuff. We’ll get this project done and then we can go home. It will be like last night never happened." If only I could forget.
I didn't wait for his response and instead I walked out. I would order lunch up in the room. As I entered the lobby from the restaurant, I noticed that the security squad was no longer at the front doors. I walked over to the front desk.
"Is the lockdown lifted?" I asked her.
"Yes, it is. You’re free to come and go as you please. I’m sure the concierge would be happy to arrange an outing if you like."
I thanked her deciding I could arrange my own outing. I headed out the door and onto the street deciding I’d find a quaint restaurant for lunch and maybe walk a little bit through the streets of Hong Kong.
I knew I had a job to do, but I could take a lunch break to take in the sights and smells in this exotic city. As I walked up the street, I ended up behind a couple who look like tourists like me. They were holding hands and every now and then the woman would drop her head onto the man's shoulder. At one point, he turned his head, kissing the top of her head. I don't know why but seeing them like that made me feel lonely.
I knew I didn't need a man in my life to complete me, but after seeing Ryan with Kellie, Hunter with Natalie, and now Carter with Jess, I could see how love could bring more depth and texture to life. All of them could be completely successful and content on their own, but somehow together they had even more. That sort of love and connection eluded me, and I was sure it always would.
Now, again feeling dejected, my interest in exploring waned. I turned, heading back to the hotel so I could shake the funk. When I arrived back, I went to my room planning to order lunch. But as I approached my room, a server did too.
"Mr. Strong asked that we bring your lunch to you," the server said as I reached my door.
I grumbled something about Noah for the first time in his life thinking about someone other than himself. I opened the door and let the server bring the food in and set it on my table. I gave him a tip and then he left.
I sat and stared at my food. As it turned out, I found that I wasn't hungry. I was rethinking my tour through the city, when my phone texted.
I haven't heard back from you about the possibility of giving you a tour of the city.
I stared at the text from Marcus, wondering what I should do. It didn't seem right to take him up on his offer, even though Noah had made it completely clear that there would be nothing between us. Plus, there was something about Marcus that had made us both uneasy, even though Marcus had been a great partner in our expansion through the country.
Then it occurred to me if we were suspicious of Marcus, what better way to learn more about him and his business, as well as the possibility that he could betray us, than accepting his offer of a tour of the city. If we weren't involved, seeing would clear his name, and I’d get a chance to get out and see the sights with a handsome man who appreciated me more than Noah did.
I texted back:
Actually, I was just thinking about a tour of the city and would enjoy having a guide.
He responded right away.
Excellent. I'll be there in a half hour. Be prepared to be wowed by Hong Kong.
I set my phone down feeling strange about what I’d just done, but not sure why. It almost felt like guilt, but I hadn’t done anything wrong. I wasn’t betraying Noah or the business. Was I?
15
Noah
I wanted to say fuck it and run after Andi and tell her the truth. I wanted to tell her how smart and amazing that I thought she was. I wanted her to know how much she lit me up on the inside, not just my dick but my whole being, when I was around her.
But I figured at this point the damage was done and I'd finally gotten what I'd set out to do, which was to put distance between us. I just wished I hadn't h
ad to hurt her to do that. I wished I'd been able to resist her.
Our breakfast arrived, and I gave an excuse to our waitress that Andi had an emergency come up and asked them to pack her breakfast and send it up to her room. Of course, I didn't have the room number so I had to trust that they would be able to get her breakfast to her.
Sitting in a hotel restaurant by myself in the middle of Hong Kong was not the place I wanted to be. If I was going to get out of here anytime soon, I needed to figure out who was sabotaging our system. So, as I ate, I pulled out my phone going through my emails and looking through the notes I'd made about the hack so far.
I couldn't figure out how our perpetrator got into the system, but it seemed to me it had to be through an existing employee. Not that that employee knew they were the doorway, but whoever the hacker was didn't just bust their way through our security. Instead, he was invited. Or at least duped someone into opening the door. But who that source was, I didn't know.
I'd already scanned through all the computers at the Hong Kong office, but I would do it again in case I missed something the first time through.
I finished my breakfast and arranged to have it put on my room bill, and decided to head back upstairs to regroup. Then I’d head out to the Hong Kong office.
I was halfway to the elevators when the doors opened, and Andi stepped out. She had changed and was now wearing a pair of jeans that hugged her curves perfectly. She had on a pretty floral top that dipped tantalizingly low in the front. It was the kind of cut that wasn't risqué, and at the same time drew a man to want to discover what was underneath it.