by Nina Crespo
It could be worse. She could have ended up stuck at a third-rate motel in the outskirts of the city.
He pointed behind her. “While you’re waiting, you could have a seat in the lobby, or perhaps you’d like to have a drink in the lounge?”
As tempting as a drink sounded, she wasn’t in the mood for a crowd. “I’ll wait here.”
To the right and left, just past a bank of elevators, long patterned rugs delineated seating areas with comfortable-looking tan-and-orange couches and chairs.
At the end of the lobby, two doors leading to the hotel lounge opened. As two women and a man exited, the sounds of music, multiple conversations, and the clink of glasses floated out before the doors shut again.
Delanie flopped into a side chair near the lounge. She took her sandwich out of the crumpled food bag and unwrapped it. They’d topped the sliced turkey with coleslaw. Ugh!
“I didn’t order that . . .”
Aiden had looked so put out when he said that back at the diner. A smile Delanie couldn’t stop tugged at her mouth. He’d been extra picky about his eggs. Hard scrambled was the only way he’d eat them.
Memories swept in of her and Aiden working side-by-side in the kitchen at the cabin, preparing breakfast at night.
Having breakfast for dinner had been her idea to make up for not being able to wake up together and have it in the morning. They’d make eggs for him, waffles with strawberries for her, and lots of crispy bacon for them both. The day Aiden had signed the deal for Clearmount, he’d mentioned how he was looking forward to having breakfast with her in bed that weekend. Well, actually, he’d said he looked forward to having her for breakfast and then his eggs.
The doors opened to the lounge and laughter spilled out.
Perfect timing. Had he and his father laughed all the way to the bank?
A hunger pang hit Delanie, but a hint of nausea also swirled in. Maybe she’d skip the sandwich . . . but then again, she’d missed lunch. Sometimes she got a sick feeling when she didn’t eat on a regular basis.
She nibbled a corner of the sandwich while she waited. The dense wheat bread, sliced turkey, and sweet, slightly tangy slaw didn’t rouse her taste buds. It wasn’t revolting, but she wouldn’t place it on the list of her favorite food choices either.
As she took a larger bite, a small group of people walked past. Coleslaw plopped from the sandwich onto the foil wrap.
Feeling self-conscious, she focused on dabbing her mouth and dribbles of juice from her chin and swallowed.
“Delanie?”
The familiar male voice almost made her choke. She glanced up and met Aiden’s gaze. Since that afternoon, he’d changed into a casual white button-down shirt, jeans, and black Lugz boots.
He took in her luggage and his brow rose. “Are you staying here too?”
Ten more minutes and she would have been upstairs. One less computer glitch and she would have never been here in the first place.
As she put down her sandwich and wiped her hands on a napkin, she swallowed. “Yes.”
“Me too.” Aiden sat on the couch positioned next to her, a couple of feet away.
She paid her taxes, donated money to help stray animals, and she always left a good tip—what could she have possibly done to deserve seeing him twice in one day? Where was Greg with her room key?
Aiden rested his forearms on his thighs and leaned in. “You know. I’ve been thinking a lot about our meeting from this morning.”
“Oh?” If there was still any mercy in the universe, she didn’t have coleslaw stuck in her teeth.
“You’re right about the situation.”
Of course she was. Delanie followed his gaze to her wilted sandwich.
He glanced to the lounge. “Could we grab a bite and talk?”
Was he really giving her that sincere look that made his eyes all soulful and sexy? “I’m fine here. You were about to tell me why I’m right?”
He sat back. “Under the circumstances, Beth should consider all of her options, including why her uncle chose to sell to Kingman Partners when he was still alive.”
“We both know why he chose to sell to your company. You talked a good game and made him believe Kingman Partners had his best interests at heart. He played right into your hands.”
“That’s what you really think?” Aiden huffed in disbelief. “You need to check your facts.”
“Trust me. I have.”
“Then you must know that Benjamin Granger came to us and offered us Echo for five hundred thousand, not the other way around.”
“Says you.”
“Because that’s the way it happened.”
“He didn’t even tell anyone that he planned to sell the property.”
“Are you sure he didn’t leave instructions anywhere confirming he wanted to sell to us?”
She couldn’t stop amazement from rising in her voice. “The only documentation that exists about a sale is that unfair, lopsided agreement that you planned to talk him into signing.”
“We didn’t talk him into anything.” He held her gaze. “I’m telling you the truth.”
At one point in time the flecks of green in his eyes had reminded her of a sunny meadow—one she’d like to bask in forever. She should have paid more attention to the brown in his eyes. Maybe then she would have realized he was full of shit.
“You know as well as I do that I can’t believe anything you say. You have your own agenda, as you always have.”
His eyes narrowed with a look of frustration. “So you’re going to make this personal?”
Delanie’s own irritation flared as incredulity filled his expression. “Don’t flatter yourself. The only personal aspect of this is that a friend asked me to look into this deal to make sure Beth gets what she deserves.”
“Don’t you think you should at least consider what Benjamin Granger wanted before you run off and make a decision?”
“I’m not running anywhere.”
“If that’s the case, meet with me. Let’s use the offer my company made him as a place to start negotiations and come up with a new deal. What time is your flight to Seattle tomorrow?”
“Eleven fifty.” No! She should have said early in the morning to eliminate the chance for a meeting before she left. Delanie groaned inwardly.
Aiden took out his phone and tapped the calendar on his screen. “Good. I’m free all morning. We can have breakfast at the Meridian Restaurant here in the hotel. What time can you meet? Seven? Eight?”
“Excuse me, Ms. Marquette.” Greg crossed the lobby. “Your room is ready.”
Finally! Delanie stuffed her half-eaten sandwich back in the bag on the table. She jumped to her feet and accepted the key card he handed her. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure.” Greg looked to Aiden. “Mr. Kingman, we set up her suite just as you asked.”
Delanie paused in gathering her things. Set up her suite?
Aiden cleared his throat and rose from the chair. “I appreciate it.”
“Please feel free to let us know if you require anything else. I hope you enjoy your stay.” Smiling, Greg walked away.
Puzzle pieces regarding her hotel troubles slipped into place in Delanie’s mind. “This is one of your properties. You had something to do with me losing my room at the Piedmont, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t cause them to be overbooked.”
Even in high heels, she still had to look up at him. “That’s not what I asked. Do you realize how much of my time you wasted by making me switch to another hotel?”
Aiden crossed his arms. “About the same amount of time I ended up wasting because you shut me down and wouldn’t talk to me this afternoon. Bringing you here was the only way I could make you communicate with me.”
“Make me?” Infuriation made her head pound. “Did you really think that bringing me here and putting me up in a fancy suite would suddenly change my mind and make me want to talk to you? You know what? It doesn’t matter. I’m not surprised that
you’d use manipulation to try and further your cause.” She turned to grab her luggage.
He grasped her arm. “I’m not the only one using manipulation. What about what you pulled this afternoon with your grand entrance? And what about everyone in that restaurant? They seemed to know who I was and why I was there, and they didn’t hesitate in showing their disapproval of me.”
“I didn’t tell them to treat you that way. Rumors have been going around, and it’s a small town. It’s not my fault that they knew who you were.”
“But you sure as hell didn’t hesitate to use the situation to your advantage. It was the perfect setup for you to dictate your terms and walk off before I could fill you in on our talks with Benjamin Granger.”
She slipped out of his grasp. “Alleged talks, and I wasn’t dictating anything.” Delanie held up her hand to halt his response. “Spare me. I’m not arguing with you about this. Bottom line? If you want a chance at buying Echo Pines, you’ll enter the bidding process along with everyone else. That’s what’s happening. Deal with it.” She wheeled her suitcase around him and stomped off.
“Delanie.”
She looked back over her shoulder.
Aiden glanced at the crumpled food bag in her hand. “Pissed or not, ditch that sandwich for a real meal. The room service here is excellent.”
First he’d influenced her lodging plans. Now he was trying to control what she ate? Like hell he would. It was a perfectly good sandwich and she damn well planned on finishing it. “Good night, Aiden.”
eight
SITTING AT THE end of the bar in the hotel lounge, Aiden took a pull from his beer. I fucked up. Instead of moving toward a successful negotiation, he’d just pissed Delanie off even more than she’d been this morning.
He should have just called and invited her to dinner instead of using his influence to have the Piedmont Hotel lose her reservation and send her to the LaGrande. A snort shot out of him. Yeah. Like a friendly invitation would have worked. She’d rather eat some crappy sandwich than sit across a table from him. “I’ve got this.” That’s what he’d told King, and now the deal with Echo Pines was going up in flames.
Aiden let his head drop forward on his hands. As he stared at a water-stained beverage napkin, he rested the cool bottle on the middle of his forehead. He’d been so sure of himself seven years ago, too, and back then, he’d also been distracted by his relationship with Delanie and let Gerard get one over on him.
Memories of the worst night of his life bloomed into vivid images. He’d been driving to Clearmount when King had informed him of the side deal their father had made with outlet mall developers, and that Gerard was waiting for him at the cabin. He’d been so consumed with anger when he’d stormed inside, looking for his father, that he’d forgotten Delanie was supposed to meet him there. When she’d made her presence known in the hot tub, he couldn’t process the fact that she’d overheard everything that had been said.
Aiden took a sip of his beer, lost in his memories of the past.
Delanie had shoved him into the hot tub, then locked him out while she’d gotten dressed. He’d stood in the enclosure, pounding on the glass door, demanding that she let him in. Delanie hadn’t spared him a glance. She’d just left.
The same sense of emptiness, loss, and frustration that had engulfed Aiden back then filled him now.
He’d tried reaching her from Colorado, but she hadn’t answered her cell. He couldn’t leave because Gerard’s solution to the Denver problem was terminating everyone he’d deemed as dead weight at the hotel. Then his father had left him to deal with the wreckage. When he’d finally reached Delanie’s father, Bryan Clark had told him that unless he was willing to walk away from Gerard and TriRoyal, he needed to stay the hell away from his daughter.
He’d packed his bags and had been prepared to walk away from his father, but then his mom had called him in the middle of the night. That sixth sense all loving mothers seem to have had kicked in, and she’d reached out to him. She’d reasoned with him, made him see how his father would make his life hell for walking away from him and the company. There was also a greater risk of King becoming too much like their father without him. It was his responsibility to make sure King kept his head.
Aiden drank from his beer. Bringing Delanie into the mess that was his family wouldn’t have been fair to her. He’d realized it was delusional of him to have believed he could have maintained a relationship with her in the first place while working for his father.
As hard as it was to admit to himself, letting her go was the right call. Delanie had gotten married. When did it happen and who did she marry? Now wasn’t the time to pursue those answers, though. What he didn’t have questions about was her business success. She’d been good at finding smart solutions. Since she was one of the key decision-makers in the sale of Echo Pines, the smart thing for him to do so they could move ahead was respect her position and appeal to her business logic when he talked to her . . . right after he apologized for trying to swing things in his favor.
He picked his phone up from the bar counter and checked the time. Seven twenty. She was probably still up. The business card with her cell number was upstairs in his executive suite, five floors above hers. He’d go see her. Asking forgiveness face-to-face would show more sincerity.
Aiden left his half-full beer on the bar and exited the lounge.
Less than ten minutes later, he’d reached Delanie’s floor by elevator. Aiden walked midway down the hall and knocked on the second door to the left. “Delanie.”
Silence stretched into seconds.
He rapped again on the door. “It’s Aiden. Can I have a minute?”
Sounds of movement came from inside the room.
“I can hear you in there.”
Her deep sigh reached him through the door. “I’m done talking.”
“Then can you just listen?”
Silence followed.
“I’d rather see your face when I say it. Please.”
The lock and safety chain disengaged.
Delanie opened the door, stepped aside, and let him in. She’d changed into a purple off-the-shoulder sweatshirt and blue yoga pants. Red nail polish adorned her toes. Her face, devoid of makeup, glowed in the light given off by the white ball-shaped light fixtures hanging over the beige-carpeted living room in front of them.
Two tangerine sofas with matching throw pillows were positioned across from each other, one on each side of a square brown coffee table. Her tote sat on top of it, along with a closed laptop and her cell.
Beyond the seating area, French doors, framed by cream-colored drapes, led out to a balcony overlooking the city lights of Atlanta.
As promised, housekeeping had done as he’d requested and added fresh flowers to the décor. Orange, white, and fuchsia lilies were arranged in a small vase on the brown side table next to the couch. Another taller arrangement was on the square glass dining room table near the L-shaped kitchen.
She liked to have lots of pillows on the bed. Concern and curiosity made him glance to the hall on the right, which led to the master bedroom. Had housekeeping remembered to give her extra ones? And what about the printer he’d asked them to place in the small conference room down the hallway? They’d needed to hunt one down. Had they found it?
“Well?” Delanie held her hands out to her side in question. “What was so important for me to hear?”
He faced her. “I owe you an apology. I shouldn’t have tried to force you into meeting with me.”
She stared at him a moment then huffed out a single laugh. “Who came up with that little gem during the ‘we need to get our asses back in the game’ talk? You or your brother?”
“There was no talk.”
“Oh? Good for you. You came up with that one all by yourself.” She waved him off and marched to the living room. “Again, like I said downstairs—spare me. I already know how you think.”
“No, you don’t.” He followed her.
She
paused near the side table and faced him. “After what you did to me and my father, you actually have the nerve to say that I don’t know how you operate?”
Finally, she’d admitted it. The issue wasn’t about Echo Pines. Frustration rose inside of him. “I’m done dancing around this. You and I have a past and we need to deal with it before we can conduct business.”
“The only thing that’s relevant is that I know what’s important to you.” Delanie stepped closer. Anger flashed in her eyes. “People don’t fit into the equation for you—just fattening your bank account and getting what you want.”
“The money doesn’t matter to me. It’s just as true now as it was back then.”
“I heard what you said to your father back at Clearmount. You were upset about him cutting you out of the bargaining process with the outlet mall developers.”
“That didn’t matter to me.”
“Are you not capable of telling the truth just once?”
The hurt in her eyes tore at Aiden. “The truth is I wanted you.”
Her mouth hung agape. Delanie’s cheeks flushed as her expression mirrored the fury radiating in her gaze. “Don’t you dare say that to me.”
“You wanted the truth.”
“That’s not the truth.” She went to push him away.
He grabbed her wrist. “Yes, it is.”
She shook her head emphatically. “You’re a liar.”
“I’m not lying to you. You need to let me explain.”
“Explain what? How you got me to trust you? How you fooled my father into believing you’d take care of his legacy? That you wanted to make Clearmount better? Fuck you, Aiden!” As Delanie tried to wrench herself from his grasp, she smacked the vase.
It shattered across the surface of the side table.
Oblivious to the water, flowers, and shards of glass falling near her bare feet, she still struggled to get away from him.
Aiden picked her straight up, intending to move her to safety, but she squirmed in his arms. His phone slipped from his hand to the rug. “Stop fighting. I’m not trying to hurt you.”
“Bullshit!”