After her hurried summary of the situation, her mother tutted.
“Jules-y,” she started, disappointment already straining her voice. “I thought I told you those rich men are never good news.”
“I know, I know.”
“You’re only gonna get hurt. You already are hurt,” she added.
“I have no idea what I’m doing. I’ve just been going along with what I feel is best, but…” Jules’s gaze drifted to the couch. But the truth was, Mitch was a free agent, and who knew where that “business meeting” in the bar would progress? Finding him there, being caressed by that gorgeous woman while they raised shot glasses, told her everything she needed to know.
She just hadn’t expected it to hurt so much. A lightning bolt of feeling crushed, followed by a disappointment that made her limbs heavy. Still, an hour later.
And the worst part was that Jules wasn’t sure who she was more disappointed in: him, for stringing her along in this fantasy, or herself, for believing it in the first place.
“I just thought we sort of had something going,” Jules went on. “We have a connection.”
“You thought,” her mom interjected.
“He’s a great guy,” Jules said.
“Mm-hmm. Sure.”
Jules sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. This was what she needed. Perspective. A hard kick to the ass to remind her that she was being foolish. And there was no one better than Mom for that.
“You know my own track record with those wealthy types,” her mom said, and through the phone Jules could hear the flick flick flick of the lighter. Her mom didn’t smoke much anymore, unless she was stressed. And clearly, this conversation was as stressful for her as it was for Jules. “They’re all the same. He might seem nice, but do you know how easy it is to seem nice when you’ve got thirty-five million dollars in the bank? That’s just his chump change. This guy can buy anything for you. Make it up any way. He can make you believe any reality he wants. Don’t forget that.”
Jules ground her teeth. Her mom was right. It was easy to forget everything she’d always warned her against while bathing in luxury itself. But now she needed to figure out her next steps. Because she couldn’t stay here. She’d do the holiday stint and that was it. Afterward, she needed to get back to her own apartment. Her own life. The big Christmas event was just two days away, which meant she didn’t need to hold out for much longer. They’d agreed on the New Year, but plans were about to change.
“You’re right, Mom.” Jules sighed, picking at the stitching on the leather couch.
It might hurt to leave behind such opulence and comfort.
But it would hurt even worse to get sucked into a lie and lose years of her life, in love with someone who couldn’t return the feeling.
* * *
Mitch paced the foyer of the penthouse in his formal suit, checking and re-checking his watch even though he knew what time it was.
They were on time. Hell, they were early.
But still, anxiety had him wound tight.
This was the big night. The gala, complete with the Christmas display, the events, and the announcement. Jules was still getting ready, which meant Mitch had ample time to fester in his own thoughts.
Jules had been off ever since that night he left her upstairs with Noelle. He’d apologized plenty, but she never snapped out of it. He figured it was stress from the upcoming event. After all, they’d been working on it for the past two weeks. The reason for the season, in both of their worlds.
Noelle had gotten better, at least, which allayed some of the household stress. But he couldn’t deny that Jules just felt distant. Unwilling to spare much conversation, or even a kiss.
And the lack of her warmth disturbed him in a major way. Mostly because he felt like he was missing something that he needed.
Which meant that he needed Jules.
Jules finally breezed down the hallway, dressed to kill in a long, shimmery black evening gown with teardrop pearls in her ears. Her hair was swept back in a fancy updo, prepared by a stylist Mitch had brought to the penthouse exclusively for her hair and makeup.
“Wow,” Mitch said, his heart thumping in his chest. He couldn’t pry his gaze off her if he wanted to.
She glanced at him through the mirror as she inspected her lipstick. “What?”
“You look…stunning.”
She pursed her lips into a little smile. “Thanks. You don’t look so bad yourself.”
Jules headed for the door, but he caught her by the waist. She stiffened at his touch—yet another new development of the past couple days.
“The dress looks better than I could even imagine,” Mitch murmured, bringing her closer. She avoided his gaze. “But I’m really curious to see how good it’s going to look on the floor.”
Jules snorted. “Come on. We need to go.”
“One kiss.” He brushed his lips over the shell of her ear, and she melted a little against him.
“I can’t,” she protested weakly. But she tipped her head back to look at him finally, and confusion shone in her gaze.
“Why?”
She swallowed, searching his face. “Because it’ll mess up my lipstick.”
He heaved a sigh. “Fine. Later then, when we can mess it up all we want.”
She didn’t say reply, just continued her walk toward the door. Mitch followed her, a frightening cocktail of emotions boiling inside him. Things were fine with Jules—or were they? Tonight would be amazing—or a dismal failure. He’d either be named the new head of Denton Hotels—or be presented with some dismal, embarrassing award for service.
There was so much buildup toward tonight that he could hardly put one foot in front of the other.
“Everything is going to be fine,” Jules said once they were in the elevator heading downstairs.
“I know.”
“You’re white as a ghost and grinding your teeth.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Yeah. Okay. So I’m a little nervous.”
“Same here. But one of us has to keep it together,” she mused, crossing her arms. “I guess it’ll be me.”
He cracked a grin, fake knocking her chin. “That’s why we work so well together.”
She stared at him for a moment, the smile slowly draining from her face. Finally she jerked her gaze away from him as the elevator hit the lobby, which only confirmed Mitch’s suspicions. Jules was unhappy about something, but he couldn’t figure out what.
Except now was not the time. Not with the doors sliding open and the immense sweep of lobby greeting them, filled with people dressed to the nines. Before they even stepped out, a few people called his name, waving over at him.
Whatever was bothering her would have to keep bothering her until after the gala.
As soon as they stepped out of the elevator, everything else melted away. The anxiety, the stressing, the horrible sense of not knowing and wondering. He was in business mode, which meant he compartmentalized all the negative emotions until later.
Everyone who was anyone was here. Everyone in the Denton empire and their families, which was normal, but this year they’d opened up the guest list to include the media and industry bigwigs. His dad had wanted to go big, so Mitch went huge.
“Wow,” he breathed, squeezing Jules’s hand. “This looks better than I could have imagined.”
All her hard work was obvious, from the neatly arranged Christmas displays to the trendy Santa posing for pictures with his white man bun and aviator sunglasses. Surprise and excitement shone on the eyes of the guests. A banner hung above the Santa display, encouraging attendees to use the #MerryDentmas hashtag. When he glanced over at Jules, she was watching everything with bright eyes and a small smile on her face.
“You should be proud,” he whispered to her, wrapping his arm around her waist.
“I am,” she said, looking up at him. For a moment, whatever barrier she’d erected between them had dissolved. He dug his fingertips into the softness
of her waist, suddenly desperate for a kiss.
“I want to ruin your lipstick right now,” he confessed.
“Mitch—”
Her response was interrupted by the booming voice of his father, strolling toward them with his hands outstretched.
“Son!” His laughter almost hurt the ears if you stood too close. Because his father, as a veteran hotelier, knew exactly how to turn on the charm and gregariousness for public events. He pulled Mitch into a quick hug. “Look at this damn thing. I told you to do it big, and you did it big.”
“Of course, Dad.” He laughed, clapping his father on the shoulder. “We owe it all to this lady.” He stepped back, gesturing toward Jules. “Jules, meet my father, Norm. He’s clearly impressed with your work.”
“Impressed? I’m bowled over.” He surged forward to offer his hand, which Jules shook firmly. “Mitch, you found the best damn event planner on the planet. Now, let’s go mingle. I saw Sara over there. You never told me how that meeting with her the other night went. I hope you secured the deal.”
His father stopped when he realized Mitch wasn’t following him. Panic streaked through Mitch’s limbs. He felt torn between two worlds. The sweet, tender world that he’d been creating with Jules…and now the harsh reality of being his father’s son.
It was easy to forget it, up there in the penthouse. Their lofty dreamworld, safe from judgment or prying eyes or his father’s narrow-eyed inquisition.
“Mitch?”
“Hang on, Dad.” He turned to Jules, looking for some sort of answer there. His mouth parted, but no words came out.
“What’s the matter?” Jules asked.
It felt like cement had filled his throat. He couldn’t find words, much less force them out.
“Mitch, let’s go,” his dad barked, looking at his watch.
“I’m here with Jules,” Mitch finally said, turning toward his dad. That was simple. That was enough. Even though saying the words made him feel like he might puke a little.
His father’s brows formed a dark line. “What do you mean?”
“She’s my date.” Mitch forced a bright smile, slipping his hand over the small of Jules’s back.
His father blinked. “The event planner.” It wasn’t a statement as much as a veiled question. Only Mitch could hear the are you fucking serious? buried beneath his words.
“Yes.” Now Mitch’s heart was pounding. He hadn’t planned on needing to out them like this, much less right off the bat. But he should have known that the party would have led to this moment. Somehow. Some way.
“It’s been a dream to work with your son,” Jules spoke up, her voice light and sonorous. Her smile strained at the edges. “And your hotel is just…marvelous. I’ve never held an event in such an elegant space before.”
Norm nodded slowly, still looking Jules up and down.
“And if it helps, I’m not just an event planner,” Jules went on, her words becoming rushed.
“Did you meet my boy at Boston University?” Norm asked.
“No, actually, I went to Barnard.”
“And what did you study?” his father asked.
“Business, with a minor in fashion design.”
Norm hefted slightly with a humorless laugh. He nodded, looking around. Mitch knew the sign well. He was done with this conversation.
“Anyway, spending the holidays with Mitch and Noelle has been a blessing,” Jules went on. Norm blinked dully at her, his hands propped on his hips.
“Sorry?”
“Noelle.” Jules cast Mitch an uncertain glance. “Didn’t Mitch tell you about—”
“Jules, that’s enough for now,” Mitch said in a low voice.
“So you two are together?” Norm asked, swinging his finger between the two of them.
Mitch’s eyes fluttered shut. He didn’t want to be dealing with this right now. Hell, he hadn’t even had the conversation with Jules yet. He didn’t know how to respond to that—because what if he said yes and she begged to differ?
“Dad, don’t worry about it,” Mitch said. “You don’t need to worry about a thing.”
“Worry? I should worry when the reputation of my business is at stake.”
His throat clamped. Dammit, this was getting tense. Jules took a few steps back, looking between Mitch and his dad.
“I’m going go powder my nose,” she said, her tone clipped, and then spun on her heels. Mitch watched her go, paralyzed with indecision.
“You can’t be serious,” his father said.
And for a moment, Mitch wasn’t sure of anything—what was going on between him and Jules, much less what his father might expect of him. But one thing was certain.
He couldn’t let Jules walk away from him after that exchange without at least trying to make things right.
He ran after her, as fast as he could.
18
Jules didn’t know where she was going. She couldn’t see a damn thing through the veil of tears blurring her vision, but it didn’t matter. She just needed to get away from that man and his horrible father.
If you weren’t sure before, now you know for certain.
The words ran through her head like a marquee. Confirming all her doubts, cancelling all her dreams. Mitch had seen her as a plaything. Not someone to be with. Not a partner. Just a pretty girl to tag along, someone to disown when his father came sniffing around.
She hated how much it hurt. She thought she’d started the painful dislodging process after discovering him at his “business meeting” with that beautiful woman two nights ago, but apparently she still had some dislodging to do.
This was what she got for playing house with a beautiful man who could get literally anything he wanted in the world. Hurt. Broken hearted. Cast aside.
Footsteps sounded behind her. “Jules! Wait!”
Mitch’s voice echoed down the hall. Relief sizzled through her, but she tried to ignore it. She shouldn’t be happy he was chasing after her. She needed to just cut it off and let this die.
“Jules! Where are you going?” His voice was closer now. She swiped at her cheek where a few tears had fallen.
“Away,” she said, her throat tight.
“Will you stop?” he barked, his voice coming out sharper than she’d ever heard.
She stopped walking, waiting for him to catch up. When he did, he gripped her arms, searching out her gaze.
“Don’t leave,” he said. “I wasn’t ready to have that conversation with my dad, I’ll admit. But please—”
“Mitch, let’s not fool ourselves,” she said, her voice wavering as she spoke. She looked anywhere but at him. They were alone in this long, forgotten hallway, but the sounds of the party reached them faintly—violins and conversation and the occasional champagne bottle being uncorked.
“About what?” he asked.
“About this. What we’ve been doing.” She sniffed, wiping at her cheek again. “And when I say this, I’m talking to myself. Because I was the one who fell for you, okay? I was the one who went headfirst and just…went crazy. So whatever. That’s my fault. But this is nothing. It can’t be anything.”
“We need to have this conversation,” Mitch said in a low voice. “But let’s wait until after the—”
“No! It’s happening now, whether or not it’s convenient.” Her chest hitched with a restrained sob. “And if you don’t want to, then I should just keep moving along. I knew better than to hook up with a guy like you. I’m smarter than this.”
“Smarter?” Mitch cocked a brow. “What’s so wrong with a guy like me?”
“You seem like a nice guy, but you’re really not. You won’t stick up for me in front of your dad. You act like I’m…nobody to you. Hell, you’ll even go out for drinks with a lady and tell me it’s a business meeting. I’m not stupid, Mitch.”
Confusion etched itself across his face. “What? Drinks with a—”
“Yeah, the other night, when I needed you. I came downstairs looking for you and saw exac
tly what your ‘meeting’ entailed. Bunch of bullshit. Whatever. I can see what a relationship with you would be like anyway.” The words were tumbling out of her now, fiercer and faster than ever. She couldn’t stop the avalanche. “So why would I want to get in deeper?”
Mitch’s jaw flexed. “Jules, that was a business meeting. That’s Sara, one of our investors. She—” he paused, a sigh escaping him. “She wants to be with me. That’s no secret. But nothing happened. Since it was a business meeting, I went along with the investor’s wishes. Which included having a couple shots and grabbing dinner. I behaved myself. Because of you. Because I want to be with you.”
“Maybe you do, but only in private. Only when you can keep it a dirty little secret.” She was sneering now, another wave of emotion welling up inside her.
Mitch worked his jaw back and forth, staring at the floor. He reached for his phone a moment later and swiped it on.
“I’ll be there in a second,” he hissed into the phone, and then swiped it off.
“Is that your charming father calling?” Jules asked.
“Yes. He’s getting ready to make the announcement.” He dragged his gaze up to meet hers, and his eyes were stormier than she’d ever seen. “Is there anything I can say right now that will help this?”
Jules scoffed. “You had nothing to say in there. Why would out here be any different?”
Mitch’s phone buzzed again, and he swore, swiping it to silent.
“I’m going to take Noelle to my house tonight,” Jules said, her throat tightening again. This was it. The moment when she freed herself from continuing her mother’s history of poor decisions. “You don’t have to concern yourself with us any longer. Go do your thing.”
She steeled herself to walk by him, but he grabbed her arm in a vice grip.
“Do not walk away from me like that.”
Christmas with the Denton Billionaires: The Complete Series Page 19