“Maybe.” I’ll believe it when I see it, a.k.a. get the deal. “How do you know her so well?”
Luisa was twenty years older than Christian, but that didn’t mean anything. Older women slept with younger men every day. It would explain the way she lit up when she saw him.
A tiny frown creased my forehead for a reason I couldn’t name.
“I’m friends with her nephew. And no, I never slept with her.” A hint of laughter threaded through his voice.
My cheeks blazed hotter, but thankfully, my voice came out cool and even. “Thank you for the information, but I’m not interested in your love life,” I said with a regal tilt of my chin.
“Never said anything about love, Ms. Alonso.”
“Fine, I’m not interested in your sex life.”
“Hmm. That’s a shame.” The hint of laughter intensified.
If he was trying to get a rise out of me, he wouldn’t succeed.
“Only for you,” I said sweetly.
We stopped in front of my hotel. The light from the windows slashed across Christian’s face, casting half of it in shadow. Light and dark.
Two halves of the same coin.
“One more thing.” My breaths formed tiny white puffs in the air. “Why did you show up at dinner tonight?”
It wasn’t to catch up with Luisa; he’d barely spoken to her all night.
A shadow passed through his eyes before it sank beneath the cool amber surface. “I wanted to see someone.”
The words soaked into the pocket of air separating us. I hadn’t realized how close we’d gotten until now.
Leather, spice, and winter. That was all that existed before Christian stepped back and tipped his head toward the hotel entrance. A clear dismissal.
I opened my mouth then closed it before I brushed past him.
It wasn’t until I reached the revolving glass doors that my curiosity overpowered my hesitance.
I turned, half expecting to see Christian already gone, but he remained at the base of the stairs. Dark hair, dark coat, and a face that was somehow even more devastating when partially cloaked in shadow.
“Who did you want to see?”
It was so cold my lungs burned, but still I waited for his answer.
Something amused and dangerous surfaced in his eyes before he turned away. “Good night, Stella.”
The words drifted into my ears after the night had already swallowed him whole.
I exhaled a rough breath and shook off the pinpricks of electricity dotting my skin.
However, thoughts of Christian, Luisa, and even Delamonte vanished when I entered my room, checked my phone, and disaster number four struck.
I’d kept my cell in my purse the entire night because I didn’t want to be that person texting at the dinner table. Luisa had been doing it, but she was the host; she could do whatever she wanted.
Now, I realized my attempt at appearing professional might have backfired, because my screen was littered with missed calls and texts from Meredith. The last one was from twenty minutes ago.
Oh God.
What was wrong? How long had she been trying to reach me?
A dozen possibilities raced through my head as I called her back, my heart in my throat and my palms clammy with sweat.
Maybe the office was on fire, or I’d forgotten to send the Prada bag back to—
“Stella. How nice to finally hear from you.” Her frosty greeting slithered down my spine like the cool skin of a reptile.
“I’m so sorry. I put my phone on silent and just saw—”
“I know where you were at. I saw you in the background of Raya’s Instagram Stories.”
Despite her contempt for bloggers, Meredith followed their social media religiously. Something about competition and staying on top of trends.
I seemed to be the only one who saw the irony in that.
I swallowed hard. “Is something wrong? How can I help?”
Never mind that it was near midnight on a Saturday night. Work-life balance didn’t exist for junior magazine employees.
“There was an issue with next week’s photoshoot, but we figured it out while you were partying,” Meredith said coolly. “We’ll discuss this on Monday. Be in my office at seven-thirty a.m. sharp.”
The line went dead, as did any hope she would let the night’s transgression slide.
I had a sinking feeling that come eight o’clock on Monday morning, I would no longer have a job.