“I look forward to hearing from them,” he says with a polite nod.
A waitress approaches our table and asks if we need anything. Mr. Hatanaka dismisses her politely, telling her that he’s just getting ready to leave. I wave my hand to indicate I’m fine, and she walks away.
Mr. Hatanaka stands up. “I’ll be sending a gift over to your room soon, to honor our newly formed business relationship,” he says.
I stand to shake his hand one more time. “You don’t need to do that, Sir,” I say. I flash my ‘I’m-a-good-guy’ grin. I’m weird about receiving gifts.
“In Japanese culture, we do not deny our friends the pleasure of giving,” he says this with a smile.
I nod my head. “It’s a good practice. Thank you. It’s very kind of you. I’ll be looking forward to your generous gift.”
We say our goodbyes, and I watch him leave. Then my brain immediately switches back to Jade. I want to tell her about the impromptu meeting I just had with Mr. Hatanaka. She was crucial in landing this deal, so I know she’ll be over the moon. But the way things are right now, she’ll probably slap me in the face before I can even open my mouth.
I get up and head back upstairs. A group of smiling, chatting conference attendees wait by the elevators. The last thing I want is to be stuck in a confined space with them while they try to strike up a conversation with me.
I hang back then get into the next free elevator. The doors close, and I’m thankful to be alone inside the elevator car. The elevator comes to a stop on my floor. I get out and go straight to her door. I rap on it. There is no sound from inside. I turn the handle and step into her room. She’s not in it.
This is driving me insane. I want to talk to her. I want to kiss her. I want to tell her I know I acted like an ass last night. I want to tell her that I’ve never felt this way before and it scared the shit out of me. I want to tell her how sorry I am for hurting her. Then I want to tell her I love her and want to be with her. No matter what, we’ll work it out.
I pull out my phone and call her, but her’s is switched off.
I pace the floor. Well, she has to come back. All her things are still here. I decide to get started on my talk for the following day. I sit down on my bed with my laptop, but I can’t concentrate. My inspiration is gone. Jade isn’t here to help inspire me. And it hurts.
At that moment there’s a knock on my door.
“Finally,” I mutter. Thank God, Jade has more sense than me. She’s making the first move to crack the icy wall between us. I rush through the lounge and pull the door open.
“You’re not Jade,” I say, a frown creasing my brow.
Chapter 19
Jade
Luke and I haven’t spoken since last night, but he is speaking at the conference tomorrow, and I still have a job to do. So I woke up at four am and I’ve spent all this time arranging and preparing for that. It didn’t help keep my mind off of Luke, though. I’ve thought about him non-stop.
I wonder what he’s doing. Is he thinking about me? Does he feel bad? Probably not. Why would he, after the way he treated me? You don’t treat people that way if you care about them. It’s obvious he doesn’t give a damn about me.
I want to talk with him and work something out.
I walk into the elevator and ride up to our floor. I step out, and as I’m walking down the hall the door to our suite opens and a local girl with long black hair and a pink mini skirt steps out. Her heels are at least six inches high. She’s tarted up like she’s going to a club, but it’s the middle of the fucking morning. My insides burn with jealous rage at just the sight of her.
What the fuck is going on?
She closes the door softly and starts walking towards me in her high heels. She’s got that cat got the cream look on her face. The look I see in the mirror after Luke has fucked me good. She would have passed me by without even a glance if I had not stopped in front of her.
“Who the hell are you?” I’m aware that my voice is hard and cold and I’m being mean, but I can’t help it. I hate her.
Her dark eyes flash. “Who are you?” she asks me cockily.
“Did you just have sex with him?” I ask her.