Five Star Temptation

by Jacquelin Thomas

  He backed away from her. “Okay, I’ll give you space. But I want you to understand that I’m not just going to disappear. What we have together is special, and I’m not going to just give up on you.”

  Sage kept her expression blank until he left her office. She slowly turned the doorknob and opened her door, widening the exit. Cautiously, she walked into the hallway. At the far end was a floor-to-ceiling window that gifted Sage a picturesque view of Beverly Hills.

  She navigated across the plush carpeting. Sage stood at the window looking out while fighting back tears. She loved Ryan with a fierceness that surprised even her.

  Ryan says he loves me. Do I believe him?

  The answer to that question was a difficult one for Sage. Ryan was willing to live on the streets in order to pursue material for his research. She truly believed he would do just about anything for a story, including leading her on.

  The thought brought on more tears.

  Sage made her way back to her office before anyone could see her crying. What’s wrong with me? Why am I crying over this man like this? He’s so not worth it.

  She had just sat down at her desk when Blaze strolled in. “I wanted to check on you.”

  “I’m okay,” Sage responded with a tiny smile.

  “Where is Ryan?”

  “He’s probably at the restaurant.”

  “Why?”

  “He asked if he could stay on until we found someone to replace him. I told him that it was fine.”

  Blaze shook his head. “He was hired under false pretenses. He should be fired.”

  “We have no one else to manage the restaurant, and it is a success partly because of Ryan.”

  “Sis, you have a kind heart, sweetheart. I’m ready to throw him out on his butt.”

  “My decision was based on business and not my personal relationship. Ryan did an excellent job, and I’m not going to take that away from him just because he kept secrets from me. Besides, we are already looking for a replacement for him.”

  “Good,” Blaze uttered.

  “I love you, Blaze, but this is between me and Ryan. I want you and everybody else to stay out of it.”

  “He was writing about all of us,” her brother countered. “That gives us the right to be involved.”

  Sage released a long sigh.

  Blaze checked his watch. “I have a meeting to get to, but call me if you feel like talking. If not, we can take in a movie or something. I don’t think you should be alone right now.”

  “Why is it so hard to understand that I want to be alone?” Sage asked.

  “Maybe it is because we don’t think that you should be alone right now. Sage, we don’t want to see you fall into a downward spiral of self-pity.”

  She wiped away her tears. “I’m t-tired, Blaze. Please just leave me alone. I’m not about to sink into depression because I broke up with Ryan. I would think that you would know me better than that.”

  Sage smoothed a lock of hair into place and wiped her face with her hands.

  Blaze sat down beside her. “You’re right. I’m sorry, sis. It’s just that we all know how much you loved this dude.”

  “I’ll get over him,” she said. “I just need some time alone right now. I want a couple of days to just grieve the relationship and get myself together. Please give me that,” she pleaded.

  “Okay.” Blaze rose to his feet. “I’ll give you two days, and then I’m coming back here to check on you.”

  Sage watched as Blaze departed, then decided to head to the comfort of her penthouse.

  She climbed in bed and stayed there for the rest of the day. Sage had never felt so alone in her life. She knew that her family was only a phone call away, but she could not face them right now. She was too humiliated.

  * * *

  Two days later, Sage emerged from her penthouse looking like a new woman. She knew that everyone would be watching her to make sure she was okay. Sage did not want to dwell any longer on what had happened between her and Ryan. She just wanted to move forward with her life.

  It was not going to be easy, however.

  Ryan kept popping back into her mind. He had even appeared in her dreams, pleading and asking for another chance. He kept trying to convince her that his motives were pure. Sage did not really care what his motives were now. She just wanted to forget all about Ryan.

  Sage prayed she did not run into him. She was not ready to see Ryan and could not handle it right now.

  Just as she neared her office, Sage caught sight of Ryan talking with someone from the personnel department. Sage remained rooted in place for nearly ten minutes to avoid him seeing her. She glanced down at her body, struggling to feel something other than despair.

  As soon as Ryan walked away, Sage rushed to her office.

  She told her assistant that she did not want to be disturbed. Sage sat at her desk behind closed doors, contemplating her future.

  Chapter 19

  Ryan had not seen Sage in a couple of days, and he was worried about her. He called her but she did not answer her phone. He finally reached out to her mother, who told him that Sage was doing fine but that she wanted some time alone.

  He was not ready to give up on Sage. Ryan loved her, and he knew without a doubt that she loved him in return. However, he was not sure they could ever get past his betrayal—Sage had said as much.

  He ran into Paige while he was taking a break. “How’s the little lady?” he asked.

  “Getting bigger every day,” she responded. “Cassie’s trying to crawl.”

  “Really?”

  Paige nodded with a smile. “My little girl is trying to grow up on me. I’m not sure I’m ready for that. I’m loving this stage of her life so much.”

  Ryan thought of Sage and his mood changed.

  “What’s wrong?” Paige inquired. “Did something happen between you and Sage?”

  “Things are a little crazy right now, but I’m hoping we will be able to work through it.”

  “You will,” she told him. “You and Sage love each other. It’s going to all work itself out.”

  “I have something I need to tell you,” Ryan stated. “I was never really homeless. I only pretended to be so that I could gather material for my article. I’m an investigative reporter.”

  “I’m not surprised,” Paige responded. “I knew there was more to your story than you were telling me. You were too different.”

  Ryan made a mental note to avoid any personal relationships when working undercover in the future. The mistake could be costly.

  “Why all of the secrecy?”

  “I write under a pseudonym, and until now it’s been kept under wraps.”

  “You don’t have to tell me—”

  “I trust you’ll keep my secret, Paige,” Ryan interjected. “I write as R. G. McCall. Sage found out before I had a chance to tell her myself. She feels betrayed, and she’s very upset with me.”

  “I guess I can see her point,” Paige acknowledged.

  “I was wrong,” Ryan stated. “I know that, but I don’t want to lose the one woman I love more than my own life. Paige, I can’t lose her. I can’t lose Sage.”

  “I don’t think that you will. She loves you just as much as you love her.”

  Ryan had thought so, too. Now he was not so sure.

  * * *

  Sage was surprised to see Zaire waiting in her office when she returned from her meeting.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I came to check on my big sister,” Zaire responded.

  “I’m fine,” Sage assured her. “It’s been hard, but I try to stay busy so that I don’t think about him so much.”

  “Sis, I think you’re making a huge mistake.”

 
; Sage eyed her sister. “You’re supposed to be on my side, Zaire. I was the one betrayed and lied to by Ryan. It was not the other way around.”

  “I’m on your side, but right is right. Ryan messed up, but this is not something that should keep you two apart like this. He told you that he was going to tell you everything that night. Harold just got the jump on him. Can’t you see that you’re giving Harold exactly what he wants?”

  “I don’t care about Harold. Ryan had months to tell me the truth. I’m sorry, but I’m not going to let him off the hook like that. He had multiple opportunities. It only took Harold that one time. Yeah, I know that he set out to cause problems between me and Ryan. He wouldn’t have been able to do that if Ryan had just been honest.”

  “I agree with you to a point,” Zaire stated. “Ryan did what he thought was best at the time. However, his intention was to tell you the truth that night.”

  Sage looked at her sister. “You think I should give him brownie points for that?”

  “I think you should consider that you love this man beyond reason. Are you sure that you want to walk away from him?”

  “I believed in Ryan,” Sage said in a low voice. “I trusted him. I kept telling Ari and Blaze to give him a chance. I told them how honest and trustworthy he was. All the while, Ryan was plotting behind our backs. He was gathering material to write about our family. He could have asked our permission.”

  Zaire nodded in understanding. “What is your gut telling you to do?”

  Sage was not about to tell her sister how much she wanted to see Ryan or how much she missed him. Her gut kept telling her to go to him, but Sage refused to listen this time around.

  “Sis,” Zaire prompted.

  “I won’t ever be able to trust Ryan,” she said. “There will always be a question in the back of my mind where he is concerned. I don’t want to live that way, and he doesn’t deserve to live that way either. It’s best that we just go our separate paths.”

  Zaire rose to her feet. “I guess I would believe it more if you weren’t such a bad liar, Sage. I know you, and while you may not want to admit it, you and Ryan belong together and you would be a fool to push him out of your life. He is your soul mate, sis. You won’t be whole without him.”

  Sage opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out.

  Zaire gave her a hug. “Just think about what I’ve said. Don’t make this about your ego, Sage. Finding true love is rare. You found it with Ryan, so don’t just throw it away. If you’re not busy, come out to the house. We can just hang out and watch movies.”

  Sage smiled. “I’ll do that. I’ll see you later tonight.”

  When her sister left, Sage silently considered everything Zaire had said. It was true that she was still madly in love with Ryan, but it bothered her that he had failed to mention he was married before and that he was a reporter. She had let a member of the media into her inner circle. This was something that could lead to disastrous results.

  What if he had been some sleazy tabloid reporter?

  Sage cringed at the thought. She had not only brought him around her family, but she had shared the most intimate parts of her being.

  She left her office a few minutes later.

  Meredith was in the hallway. She walked up to Sage and whispered, “I was just coming to see you. I made a reservation at the spa for us. Today is a good day for some pampering.”

  Sage agreed.

  She needed a distraction to take her mind off her heartache.

  * * *

  Ryan packed up the last of his stuff.

  A new manager had been hired for Le Magnifique. Sage was still avoiding him, so there really wasn’t any reason for him to stay in California any longer. His home was in New York, and he had been gone long enough.

  His heart was heavy at the thought of leaving Sage behind.

  Ryan glanced around the room, making sure he had everything. He sat down at the desk long enough to write out a check. He had saved all of the money earned from working at the restaurant and planned to donate it to a homeless shelter.

  When he finished, Ryan went down to see Paige.

  “I just wanted to let you know that I’m going back to New York. I will be on a flight leaving this evening.”

  “Ryan, can’t you work from here?” Paige asked with her eyes full of water. “Do you really have to move back to New York?”

  “There’s no reason for me to stay here any longer.”

  “You’re wrong,” Paige told him. “I’m here and so is Cassie. Sage is here, and if you love her as much as you say that you do, then you’ll stay here and fight for her. Ryan, I looked you up on the internet and I’ve read some of your work. Fight for the woman you love just like you fight for the rights of people in general.”

  “I have always chosen my battles wisely,” he responded. “Sage doesn’t trust me anymore, and she doesn’t want the relationship.”

  “She may say that now, but it’s going to change.”

  “I don’t think so, Paige. I can’t blame her, though. I messed up.”

  “You shouldn’t have to pay for a mistake for the rest of your life.”

  “Try not to be too hard on Sage. She is in a lot of pain right now. I was the one who messed things up between us.”

  “I think she’s wrong for the way that she’s treating you,” Paige stated.

  “I need you to do me a favor.”

  “Sure,” she responded. “What do you need?”

  “I know that you’re volunteering at the shelter this weekend. Can you give them this check for me, please? I’m donating all of my earnings from the restaurant to them.”

  “Oh, my goodness,” she murmured. “Sage is crazy if she doesn’t realize that you’re the real deal.”

  * * *

  Sage felt so much better after spending a couple of hours at the spa. She was now ready to go into the office.

  “Meredith, thanks so much for scheduling our spa date,” Sage said as they stepped off the elevator. “I really needed this.”

  “Sage, can we talk for a minute?” Meredith inquired as she followed Sage into her office.

  “Sure.” Sage knew that they were about to discuss Harold’s part in her breakup with Ryan.

  “I know that Harold had something to do with what happened between you and Ryan. I’m so sorry.”

  Sage reached over and gave Meredith’s hand a squeeze. “It’s certainly not anything you have to apologize for. This is all your brother’s fault. He will get his—I promise you. Harold will definitely get what is coming to him.”

  “He wasn’t always like this,” Meredith said. “He used to be a good brother, friend and confidant.”

  “For whatever reason, he hates us. Harold is not going to stop messing with us until we stop him. Meredith, we are going to put an end to his antics.”

  “Let me know what I can do to help,” Meredith said with a smile.

  Meredith left a few minutes later to show one of the units to a prospective buyer.

  Sage was stunned when Paige burst into her office saying, “I need to talk to you.”

  “Paige, is something wrong?” she asked. “Has something happened to Cassie?”

  “This has nothing to do with Cassie,” she responded. “I just left Ryan.”

  Sage folded her arms across her chest. “Then I’m sure he must have told you what happened between us.”

  Paige nodded. “I hope you won’t take this the wrong way, but I think you made a huge mistake when you let him leave town.”

  Sage gasped in surprise. “Ryan’s leaving Los Angeles?”

  It was Paige’s turn to be surprised. “I thought you knew.”

  “I didn’t. Is he moving back to New York?” Sage asked.

  “Yes,” Paige
answered. “He would have stayed here, but Ryan felt that he didn’t have a reason to stay. All he needed was one word from you.”

  “I had no idea that he was leaving,” Sage responded. “Ryan and I haven’t really talked in the past couple of weeks.”

  “I know that it’s not really my business, but there’s something I have to say,” Paige began. “Ryan knows that he let things go too far when he kept his identity a secret. He—”

  Sage cut her off by asking, “Did you know about this?”

  Paige shook her head no. “I just found out this morning when I met with him.”

  “I know how much Ryan means to you, Paige. I’m not really sure you can be unbiased in this situation. Besides, it really isn’t any of your business.”

  “You’re right. It isn’t my business, but Ryan confided in me because he’s hurting. Sage, you only had to look at the expression on his face. He is heartbroken.”

  “I don’t think you know him as well as you think you do,” Sage pointed out. “After all, you didn’t know the truth either, and he considered you a friend.”

  “I knew from the very first moment I met him that Ryan was a good man. My feelings haven’t changed, especially after what happened this morning.”

  Sage frowned. “What are you talking about?”

  “The day you gave Ryan the hundred-dollar bill. That’s the day I met him. Cassie was crying, and I didn’t have any more diapers, my breast milk was drying up and I had no money. Ryan gave that money to me.”

  Sage’s eyes widened in surprise, but she remained quiet.

  “He then bought me lunch and got me a motel room for a month. When I questioned him about the money he was spending, he led me to believe that you had given him a bundle of money. Ryan hadn’t known me more than an hour when he did this.”

  “Okay, so we know that he was a very generous man who cared enough to help out a young mother and her child.”

  “This morning he gave me this,” Paige said, placing the check on Sage’s desk. “It’s all of the money he earned working here in the restaurant. As you can see, he’s donating it to a homeless shelter. So we know something else about Ryan. He puts his money where his mouth is. Wouldn’t you agree?”