At the Ruthless Billionaire's Command

Yes, he had—but it hadn’t occurred to Lia that Gregorio might turn up at her new place of employment.

Deliberately so?

Or was it purely coincidence that Gregorio had come to the Exemplar Hotel on the morning she began working there?

Lia very much doubted that. With a man as powerful and well-connected as Gregorio there was no such thing as coincidence.

Which meant he had known she would be here. How he knew was probably by the same means he had acquired the address of her new apartment.

She narrowed her eyes. ‘Are you having me followed, Mr de la Cruz?’

‘Followed? No,’ he dismissed. ‘Am I ensuring your safety? Yes,’ he admitted without apology.

Lia’s brows rose. ‘Why on earth does my safety need ensuring?’

‘You are now alone in the world.’

‘We both know why that is!’

‘Lia—’

‘Is there a problem here—? Mr de la Cruz!’ Michael, the hotel manager, quickly hid his surprise as he greeted the other man warmly.

‘Good morning, Michael,’ Gregorio returned smoothly as the two men shook hands. ‘And, no, there is no problem. I just came down to say hello to Miss... Faulkner,’ he finished, with a knowing glance at the badge Lia had pinned on the left lapel of her jacket.

It was a surname Gregorio knew didn’t belong to her.

And he also a

pparently knew the manager of this hotel by his first name’

An uneasy feeling began to churn in Lia’s stomach, growing stronger by the second and making her feel slightly nauseous.

There was no such thing as coincidence where Gregorio de la Cruz was concerned.

Which meant he had known exactly where she would be starting her new job this morning.

He really was having her followed—might he even have had some influence in her attaining this job too?

For what reason?

The churning in Lia’s stomach became a full-blown tsunami as she searched for the reason Gregorio was doing these things.

That guilty conscience she had accused him of having?

No, he had denied feeling any guilt in regard to her father’s death.

The only other reason Lia could think of was to make her feel beholden to him. Not just beholden but trapped, when she badly needed to keep this job in order to pay her rent and bills as well as to buy food.

Trapped enough to give him what he wanted?

Namely herself.

‘Of course.’ Michael accepted Gregorio’s explanation. ‘If you would care to take your lunchbreak early, Lia, I’m sure we can accommodate—’

‘No! No,’ she repeated in a calmer voice as she realised how rude her previous vehemence must have sounded. ‘I’m sure a busy man like Mr de la Cruz has somewhere else he needs to be right now.’ Her eyes glittered in challenge.

Whatever was going on here, and whether or not Gregorio had had a hand in her acquiring this job, she did not want her co-workers seeing her on the receiving end of deferential treatment from the manager on her very first morning. There were already several curious glances being sent their way—goodness only knew what conclusions the people she had only just started working with were drawing about this conversation alone!