“Sir?” I heard the question as she knocked on my door. She didn’t wait for me to reply as I sighed and looked up.

“Yes?”

The secretary walked in, a folder held in her arm, and I knew it was just one more thing for me to do. I’d migrated recently from working with hard copy documents, thanks in large part to my brothers, who were now off somewhere supposedly attending to their ‘duties.’ I was still waiting for news that Mason had thrown a party somewhere. Kevin would be more circumspect, but I’d probably hear something about him too.

Occasionally there’d be something for me to look into, which meant I had to stop whatever else I was doing to get to it because all the late arrivals were super fucking important, and I couldn’t put them off.

“I have some new documents for you to look over… but if you don’t have time, sir…?” she started slowly, and I could have pushed her away but I knew that it had to be done.

“It’s fine,” I said, cutting her off. “Please set it down. How soon do you need it back?”

“An hour. It needs at least three signatures.”

I sighed. So, it was probably a contract or something. Were Dad’s business partners changing the rules of the game now that the old man was out of commission for the time being? I needed to find the original if there was one, then read through the whole document and decide whether to sign or not, or send it back and wait for it to be returned…

I’d be happier if it were just something to do from within the hotel, but I’d taken care of all of those already. My secretary made sure.

“You’ll have it. Come back for it in exactly one hour.” I waved my hand from side-to-side trying to gauge how long it would take me to sort it out.

“Yes, sir,” she said with a nod, then turned and walked out the office.

As soon as she was gone, I dropped my head into my arms. What I wanted to do was knock my head on the desk, but the last thing I needed was to give myself a headache anyway.

“Where did my free time go, exactly?” I muttered to myself, starting to feel resentment at my lack of spare time.

Sure, I was used to working for days on end with no breaks, it wasn’t exactly a new thing to me. The problem was it had been a fucking week already, and because I was so bogged down with work, I hadn't had the time to properly track Jessi down for that talk. I was taking too damn long to find her, and I was worried how her thoughts would have changed over the course of that time.

On the other hand, I’d had a lot of time to think about her. Even when I was working, thoughts of Jessi tended to intrude on my mind to the point that I was growing used to it. Besides thinking about her, I also had a lot of time to examine my own life.

I’d managed to come to the conclusion I lacked something in my life. And what could it possibly be, besides that one thing that had settled in my head and refused to leave for the past week?

My life had been lacking Jessi. It wasn’t an easy conclusion to make, but it was one that made sense to me after the week I’d had of dreaming and daydreaming about her.

Focus, I thought to myself. The day isn’t over yet.

I got started reading the new document. As if to mock me, my phone rang. I winced when I saw it was a call from my PA back in Asheville. It had been easy before, to help out with Dad’s empire when I was still working on my own company, but now that I was fully focused on both, I was starting to feel the strain.

I managed to do a quick read of the document as I listened to my PA, and by the end of the hour when the secretary came for it, I handed the signed document over. I was getting back to what I’d been doing before, only for my phone to ring again. I had to pick it up, and it was nearly a whole hour of chatting over the phone so I could help fix a situation on the other end.

After a few more minutes of working, my phone rang again. Only, it wasn’t my PA this time. I vaguely remembered it as some woman’s number. I’d probably given her my number at some party, and she was calling because I hadn't made the first move.

Dammit. Can't you people just leave me alone? I’m busy!

I was almost to the point of tearing my hair out. I rejected the call, but she called back a minute later. I let out a low growl, then sighed.

“I’m taking a break,” I declared to my empty office, glaring at my phone as I picked it up and turned it off. Then I turned to the computer and logged out of the hotel’s database before turning it off. I got up, pulled on my jacket, and left.

The secretary looked up as I walked out of the office, surprised. I didn’t blame her. I might have only been at my dad’s office for a week, but this was the earliest I’d ever come out of it.

“Sir?” she said, a slight frown of confusion on her brow.

“I’m taking a break,” I told her. “If anything comes up, please take care of it for me. I’ll be completely out of communication for the rest of today, but I’ll be back tomorrow. I have something important to take care of.”

“Yes, sir.”

Good.

I all but strutted down the hall to the elevator, feeling total relief to be free of obligation for a few hours. Jessi’s shift should have ended already, so it should be easy to track her down. Hopefully.

Once the elevator doors closed between me and the hallway, I pulled out a piece of paper I’d been keeping with me since I’d had the secretary look into Jessi for me. It was her complete schedule and the number of the room where she was staying.

I went to her quarters first, deciding I’d go looking for her down in the staff room or the kitchens if I didn’t find her there today. I wondered idly where she’d been staying when she wasn’t at home, and if I should be worried she was finally looking for some new guy.

The thought didn’t sit well with me.

At her door, I paused before knocking. I’d come here over the past week, only to go back when there was no reply to my knocking. I didn’t want the same to happen today, even though I had more determination, and more time, to properly track her down this time.

I’d never been on the inside of her room, but being the owner had a few perks. I knew her place was little more than a living room, bathroom, and bedroom. There was a tiny area to cook in, but it wasn’t really impressive. Her place was about half the size of mine at the hotel. My kitchen area was bigger, not that I used it to cook much.

After some minutes to muster up some courage, I knocked on the door, then held my breath as I waited. To my complete surprise, the door opened, and Jessi stood on the other side of it. She was just as surprised to see me, and we stood there for a minute, staring at each other.

“Um, hi,” I said after a minute, my eyes drifting away from hers. I noticed she had a lot of boxes in the apartment, and my eyebrows shot up. “Are you moving or something?” I asked, joking. “Or is the room so small it’s the only way you can store your things?”

Either she wasn’t into humor, or my brand of humor was terrible because her expression didn’t change at all. It was probably the latter, but I clued in that she was acting particularly serious. There was a slight frown on her face as she looked up at me, and I couldn’t help but mirror it.

“What?” I said defensively. Was she mad at me after all?

“It’s true,” she said.

It took me a minute to understand what she meant. And then I was shocked again.

“You’re leaving?” I blurted out. “Why?”

She arched an eyebrow, giving me a strange look.

That was a stupid question, I thought to myself. Fuck. Could there be any other reason? Jessi wants to leave because of me.

“Stay.” I winced, wondering where I was getting this urge to start blurting shit out. I didn’t take it back. “You don’t have to go anywhere,” I continued. “Just stay at the hotel. If the place is too small, I can find someplace bigger for you to stay, something with a better kitchen. You’ve been working here long enough that you deserve it, anyway.”

Words were falling out of my mouth, words I didn’t have the time to think on before blurting them out. Jessi’s expression had fallen blank in shock, but I couldn’t stop. I needed to stop her from leaving, whatever the means, even if it meant making a fool of myself. I didn’t understand the sudden panic, or where it came from. I couldn’t let Jessi leave.

“About what you said before, you being a good chef? I agree. The hotel needs you here, so there’s no need for you to go anywhere. Would you like a raise? I can approve it if you go through the proper channels, trust me when I say you’d deserve it. I’ve had some of your creations over the past several days. They’re some of the best I’ve tasted, Jessi, and I get around.”

I knew I was going to regret this at some point. After the way I’d been treating her over the years, I was suddenly singing her praises. Shit, I hadn't even apologized for how I talked to her the last time yet! I had a lot to be sorry for where she was concerned. At the very least, I should have snuck in a sorry in there.

“Trent.”

All she did was say my name, but it was enough to get me to stop, just short of blurting out that apology. I sucked in a sharp breath, surprised that I hadn't been taking breaths in between all that talking. The expression on Jessi’s face had changed, though I couldn’t understand what she was thinking.

Then, Jessi took a step closer to me. And then another, followed by another, closing the space between us. I watched her, suddenly fascinated with what she planned on doing.

When she stopped right in front of me and rose up on her tiptoe, it was like instinct for me to duck my head lower, so she could press her lips to mine. The kiss started out soft, chaste, just a press of lips. It was reminiscent of our first kiss from back in our teen years.

I let out a low groan, my arms slipping around her waist to hold her body to mine. I nipped, then licked her lips until she parted them for me, and I deepened the kiss. She gave a breathy moan that had shivers running up and down my spine, and my cock growing hard in my slacks.

“Jessi,” I gasped her name when I pulled back after a minute.

She was looking up at me; eyes still closed, lips flushed a dark pink from the kiss, a light blush on her cheeks. She opened her eyes slowly to meet mine, and the heat in them made my body light up.

Fuck.

I realized, belatedly, that we were still in the hallway. I didn’t care if someone saw us kiss, but I wouldn’t let them see more. I walked Jessi backward into her apartment, and she went with it, her arms sliding up over my arms, my shoulders, then circling my neck as she clung to me. Once inside, I closed the door behind us, turned us around, and pushed her against the door.

“I want you, Jessi,” I admitted, my voice coming out low and husky. She should know just how badly I wanted her, so much more than I’d ever wanted anyone. I found I had a problem then, I couldn’t find the words to explain it.

“I want you, too, Trent,” Jessi said in a whisper.

The admission was enough to get me to forget everything else. I ducked my head down to ravage her mouth in a kiss, reaching for her clothes to pull them off.

Right then, I wanted her in bed, under me, and I wanted it as fast as possible. Jessi didn’t seem to mind, moaning into the kiss as her own hands pushed my coat off my shoulders, then fumbled for the buttons of my shirt.

I chuckled into the kiss, keeping one arm tight around her waist as I kissed her hard.

You’re mine, Jessi. For tonight, and hopefully, for many more nights to come.