CHAPTER TWO
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GIA
I didn’t even wait for the cab to stop at the curb before I hopped out. Damn it. I’d overslept. After a terrible night of sleep, I’d finally dozed off at 4 am and didn’t realize until after I’d woken late that my alarm had broken.
“Shit,” I hissed, hustling toward the hotel entrance as fast as I could on heels. I smiled at the bellhop as I passed, but didn’t slow down.
I stopped just before running into a woman. I was about to apologize when the woman’s purse slid off her shoulder and to the ground, dumping its contents all over the floor.
“Oh, no…” The woman’s eyes went wide.
I gave her a sympathetic smile, but tried to maneuver around her. Then I stopped, grumbled a few curses and turned back. I couldn’t leave the woman to clean it up on her own.
I knelt next to the woman. “Let me help.”
She gave a grateful smile as I started scooping up handfuls of junk to return to her purse. Now I was definitely going to be late.
Once the purse was filled again, I stood. “Have a good day.”
“Wait—sweetheart—what’s your name?”
“Gia. Have a—”
“Do you work here?”
I nodded, my fingers squeezing tight on the strap of my purse. “In the store. I should—”
“Please, let me thank you for this.” The woman dug into her purse again, searching for what I assumed was her wallet.
“No. Please—” I started, checking my watch.
Damn it. I should have just run past the woman. I was already a few minutes late, and I couldn’t afford to get fired. Not right now. Mr. Crane was no doubt looking for an excuse to get rid of me, too.
The woman shoved a bill at me. “Thank you so much for your help.”
“Oh, no, please. It was my pleasure.”
“Take it,” the woman insisted. “You deserve it.”
“I—” My mouth dropped open when I saw it was a hundred.
She physically wrapped my fingers around the bill and nodded, her eyes glinting with a smile. “Buy yourself something nice.”
I almost choked. Yes, I’d pay rent with this. That was always nice—having a roof over my head. But I couldn’t—
The woman gave another nod and walked away while I stared, dumbfounded and one hundred dollars richer. Then I shoved the money in my own purse and rushed to the gallery. Just my luck, Mr. Crane would somehow find out I’d taken money from a guest and use that excuse to fire me. No matter what, I’d be screwed.
When I rounded the corner, breathless, I almost broke my heels skidding to a stop. And then my heart clutched.
The man from yesterday, the security guard—or at least I’d assumed he was—stood just inside the entrance to the store with another woman who looked close to my age, but far more professional. Her pinstriped suit screamed rich! and made the Benjamin I’d just shoved into my purse look like pocket change.
Shit. This was it. I was being fired and she was my replacement.
“Ms. Tanner,” the man said.
My throat dried. I cleared it. “Yes.”
“Elise is going to be working here you from now on. She already has experience so the transition should be smooth.”
I didn’t know what to say. Who cared if the transition was smooth if I was fired? “Oh. I mean, good. Yes. I’m glad you were able to find someone so quickly.”
He gave a small smile, looking far less intimidating today than he had yesterday. “She’ll also be covering for you this morning.”
“Covering for me?”
He nodded. “Mr. Crane would like to see you.”
Fuck! I knew something was wrong. They’d found someone so quickly because I was out. I didn’t have a job anymore.
“I…” I squeezed the strap on my purse. “I know I was late, but it wasn’t my fault. There was this lady and—”
“Mr. Crane’s expecting us,” the security guard said, reaching out for me. “We don’t want to be late.”
I glanced at the woman, my eyes wide. I probably looked like an animal caught in the headlights. She only gave me a gentle smile and turned to the counter.
No, no, no…I know I’d said I’d quit work yesterday, but it had been a whim. A stupid whim at that. I needed this job.
“This way,” the guard said.
Heart racing, I followed him out of the gallery and across the wide lobby, my heels clicking on the tiled floor. One mistake—one, and I was out. Then it occurred to me I hadn’t just made one mistake.
“Did you give Mr. Crane my message yesterday?” I asked.
He nodded as we reached the elevators. “I did.”
“Shit,” I said under my breath.
The guard’s lips quirked, but I didn’t find it funny. So I’d insulted him, and I was late. Insubordination and tardiness. So maybe I did have a reason to be fired. But just a small one. And today wasn’t my fault.
We stepped inside and the guard slid a card into the panel before pressing the button on top. The penthouse suite.
My mouth dropped open. What the hell was this? Why were we meeting him up there? As far as I knew it was just one large suite. Maybe there was a meeting room instead. Maybe—
I stopped my train of thought. Who cared? After this, I’d probably never be in this hotel again. Mr. Crane might have a repetition for being the surliest, most egotistical businessman in the whole city, but his hotels were divine.
So divine, that was part of their slogan. You’ll never want to leave…
It sounded just like Mr. Crane. Supposedly he’d gone through some major tragedy and hadn’t left his home in years. But rumors were a dime a dozen, and she’d heard most of them from Monica when she’d been drunk.
The elevator dinged softly and my stomach jumped. When the doors opened and revealed a large foyer, white tiles that surrounded a dominating table topped with a gigantic vase of lilies under a crystal chandelier, I blinked. It still looked like a suite, not a meeting room.
The guard gestured. “This way.”
I followed him inside, feeling like I was intruding on someone’s home, until we reached the living room. I scanned the entire area, awe overcoming me. So this was how the other half lived.
The other half. Mr. Crane.
I turned to ask the guard if Mr. Crane was staying here, but he was gone. He’d vanished swiftly and silently.
Damn. Now what?
I ventured further into the room, drawn by the view. The glass was clear and showed me the entire city of Seattle. Damn. I needed my camera. I needed—
“Like the view?”
I whipped around, nearly slipping on the tiles, trying to find the source of the voice.
He stood halfway across the living room, arms folded across a charcoal suit that fit his body like another skin.
Isaac Crane.
<<<>>>
ISAAC
I had to remind myself to breathe. To remember that I’d invited Gia up here, and I certainly had nothing to fear from her. I’d seen her day in and day out for months on those cameras set up all over the hotel. If there was anyone less harmless in this world, I’d have to search far and wide to find her.
But the cameras didn’t do her justice. In person, she was petite. Ravishing. Her skirt suit was not doing her any favors either, because I could see just a hint of her curves beneath the stiff material and my mind short-circuited with the thought of her naked. Of her hair spread on my silk sheets, legs opening for me…
All the blood in my body traveled to my dick, making it throb.
“Mr. Crane,” Gia said.
I gritted my teeth. “I expected you fifteen minutes ago.”
“I—it’s—” Her cheeks flushed. I couldn’t tell whether she was embarrassed or just trying to hold back from calling me an asshole. “I know I was late, but my alarm clock broke and then—”
“That’s not why you’re here.”
“Wait, what? I thought…”
I gestured to one of the white leather couches. “Have a seat.” I spoke while she moved, keeping my eyes locked on her the entire time. “I’m aware of the incident in the lobby. Helping an old lady isn’t grounds for being fired—even if you should pencil more time into your morning to account for instances that might arise—including the alarm clock.”
Her eyes flashed first with shock, then anger. She stopped next to the couch. “How do you know I was helping an old lady?”
“Have a seat,” I insisted.
It wasn’t for her. It was for me. I felt more in control when she was seated, and not wandering around my home. That’s one thing I desperately needed in my home. Control.
She sank to the cushions, eyes locked on mine. Waiting.
“There are cameras all over the hotel, which I’m sure you’re aware. I saw you helping that old lady.”
She licked her lips, preparing to say something else. My gaze dropped and for a moment, all I could think of was how badly I wanted that tongue on me. Those lips against mine, wrapped around my dick…
Focus. “It also captured your old boss in a compromising position.”
Gia’s eyes widened. “What?”
“I got your message yesterday, and it seemed you needed an explanation.”
Of course that wasn’t the only reason why I’d wanted her up here. I needed to see her up close. I’d forced myself to grasp at that one last hope that humanity wasn’t completely worthless.
And now she was sitting here looking completely lost and completely vulnerable. And a little pissed off, too.
I walked to the coffee table and picked up the laptop I’d set there earlier. I gestured to the space on the couch next to Gia. “May I?”
I swore her gaze dropped to my mouth this time. Maybe lower. “Of course.”
Her perfume hit me hard, something subtle, something soft. Like she’d just rolled in a garden. My gut clenched, my dick going hard before I could help it. I opened the laptop, pulled up the video, and turned the screen to face her.
“What’s this?” she asked.
“Just watch.”
Gia was on the screen first, walking a guest through the store. Then Monica appeared. She glanced around, turned her back to the camera—at least, one of the cameras, and the only visible one from inside the store—and reached into the cash register.
Truly, she wasn’t even being that discreet when she pulled out the cash and folded several bills before placing them in her purse.
Gia’s mouth dropped open, a sound of surprise escaping.
I snapped the laptop shut and returned it to the table. “I hope this explains yesterday’s situation.”
“Oh my God…” Her eyes flashed to mine. “I didn’t know. I—”
“I trust you don’t have any more messages for me regarding this matter.”
Her cheeks flushed and she shook her head. “No.”
“Good.”
I stood, because I couldn’t take it anymore. Being so close to her, being this far out of my comfort zone. My heart started beating faster. Anxiety maybe?
When she stood as well, I walked her to the elevator and pushed the button. “I handpicked your new boss myself. There shouldn’t be any more problems.”
Her wide doe eyes locked on mine, nearly bringing me to my knees. She was so innocent. Too innocent. The world would chew her up and spit her out before she even had a chance to live. Part of me said that wasn’t my problem, but the other part—the part that remembered what it was like to be young, naïve, and full of hope—wanted to shelter her from all of it.
The door opened and she stepped inside. Logan appeared out of nowhere to join her.
“Ms. Tanner.” I set my hand on the door, stopping it from closing. She met my eyes again, blue pools of confusion. “This is the real world,” I told her. “People lie, people cheat. They steal from each other and murder each other. You’d do well to remember that.”
She didn’t answer, only kept her eyes trained on mine until the doors shut.
Once she was gone, I released a tense breath, and then yanked off my jacket because I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
I’d done it. I’d put my toe in the real world, the one I’d just warned Gia against. That still didn’t mean I wanted anything to do with the rest of those fuckers out there. The ones who walked the streets. Cocky, abusive, vile people. That’s all most of them were.
I ran a hand through my hair and realized it was shaking. “Fuck.”
Tossing my jacket aside, I walked to the kitchen, yanked out a bottle of water, and downed the entire thing. Once my hand stopped shaking, I stared at the elevator.
I’d faced part of the real world, and I had no doubt it’d stick with me. Forever.
I’d seen Gia up close and that wasn’t enough.
Somehow, I had to figure out how to get her into my life. Permanently.