“I’m nervous.”

Allegra hugged her arms around herself, chewing on her bottom lip.

I grinned at her. “Don’t worry. It’ll be fine. They only want us in there so we can keep up to date on the hotel. Also, they think it’s helpful for us to watch and listen to all this stuff.”

We were about to head into a meeting for all of the hotel department heads. Mom and Dad had been allowing me to sit in on these meetings since I was a kid, because they wanted me to learn everything about the hotel business, seeing as I was going to inherit most of it one day.

Now that Allegra was back, they wanted her to learn too.

“I don’t know anything about business,” she said.

I grabbed her arm. “It’s fine. You’ll understand most of what they say, trust me.”

We filed into the conference room with Mom, Dad, and all the department heads. Mom and Dad sat at the head of the long table, and Allegra and I sat near them. On the table, there was a tiny digital projector attached to a laptop, and Dad’s assistant began to fiddle with it until it displayed some figures on the white wall on the other end of the table.

“Thanks for coming, everyone,” Dad said, once everyone had taken their seat. “I’d like to begin with a discussion about the recent development plans. The architecture firm we’ve hired has sent over sketches of what it’s going to look like, along with a possible floorplan. Let’s take a few minutes to review them.”

His assistant passed out papers to everyone at the table, and I flicked through them with interest.

Allegra nudged me. “What is this?” she asked in a hushed voice.

“Plans for a casino,” I whispered back to her. “Mom and Dad have been thinking about doing it for ages, and it’s finally happening.”

“A casino? Like right here in the hotel?”

“Yes,” I replied. “The north wing of the first floor would be converted and extended. It’ll take a while, but having a casino on the premises will increase hotel revenue by a massive margin.”

“Oh. Wow. So this is really big.”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

The department heads began their discussion over various casino-related issues—the projected completion date, how many new staff members would have to be hired, how much profit should be expected.

Allegra listened closely, taking in everything that was said. As for myself, I would usually listen in a meeting like this, but my eyes glazed over instead as thoughts of Cade crept in, banishing everything else.

All I could think about was his hands on my body, stroking and grabbing me wildly as if every touch was the last one, and his mouth on mine, kissing me like he needed my lips to live. Being with him the other night felt so raw, so primal. I’d never experienced anything like it.

I couldn’t wait to do it again….

Allegra must’ve noticed me drifting off in my imagination, because she smiled and nudged me again a few moments later. “Earth to Peyton,” she whispered. “What are you thinking about?”

I straightened up in my seat. “Just the casino,” I lied. “I was picturing how amazing it will look when it’s done.”

“Yeah. It’s such a cool idea.”

Mom shot us a look from the head of the table which clearly conveyed the message ‘stop talking’, and we fell silent.

A man named Robert Silver began to speak up when the discussion turned to new staff again. He was the head of the accounting department—a skinny man in his early forties. He, like most of the accounting team, was rarely seen by me or anyone else in the hotel, because the accountants liked to stay in their offices and keep to themselves.

As such, I hadn’t run into him in ages. I was pretty sure the last time I saw him was several weeks ago in Dad’s office when I barged in with the two detectives to tell them about Allegra’s possible return.

“Right now there’s fifteen accountants on my team, not counting me,” he said, pushing his glasses up his nose. “That’s fine for now. But with the massively increased cash-flow from the casino—when it’s finally completed and open—I’ll need to hire more.”

“How many more?” Mom asked.

“I’d say around twenty more to handle the new revenue streams.”

Mom looked at Dad, who nodded. “That’s fine. To be expected,” he said. “Now, does anyone else have anything to add on this topic?”

Everyone shook their heads, presumably having asked every question and addressed every issue they could think of by now.

“All right, let’s get into our usual business, then,” Dad said with a smile. “Nadia, let’s hear from you first. What’s been happening in HR?”

Robert smiled and winked at me from across the table as our head of HR got up to speak. I pretended I didn’t see and focused intently on what Nadia was saying.

Robert was nice and polite enough on the rare occasions I saw him in the hotel, but he was an annoying prick when he was drunk. I’d attended a staff Christmas party in one of the hotel’s ballrooms last year, and he and one of the other accountants—a blond guy named Callum Houston—had circled me like sexually-frustrated vultures all evening, begging for me to let them get me drinks and hang out with them when I clearly wasn’t into either of them. They just wouldn’t take the damn hint, and they were being way too sleazy. Especially Callum, with the way he kept trying to get my number after I’d already said no five times.

Guys like that pissed me off to no end, so I didn’t want to fake smiles and friendship with Robert right now. After all, this was a business meeting. As long as I was civil and didn’t throw balled-up bits of paper at him, it would be fine. And thank god Callum wasn’t here too…

When Nadia was done talking, Dad asked Robert to discuss the quarterly financial reports. He stood up and pointed toward the figures displayed on the wall via the digital projector.

“My team put the final reports together a few weeks ago, and I’ve triple-checked everything as usual. All looks fine,” he said. “As you can see, we’re within range of the initial projections for this quarter. Unfortunately, we did fall slightly short of the numbers we hoped to see with the recent addition of the chocolate salon next to the Glass Lounge.”

He paused to clear his throat for a second, and someone else spoke up—a woman named Amanda, who headed up the food and beverage department.

“It seems like the last few quarterlies were the same: revenue a couple of million below the numbers we hoped to see. But that’s normal, right? Nothing that should concern us?” she asked.

I looked over at my parents, and I noticed that Dad shifted in his seat and flared his nostrils as Amanda spoke. He always did that when he was nervous about something. I frowned, wondering what he was worried about. It wasn’t like he was responsible for the lower-than-expected revenue… right?

Robert nodded at Amanda. “Yes, it’s normal. It’s still within range of the initial projections for the quarter. Just the ebb and flow of business, I suppose. So while it’s disappointing, I wouldn’t be too concerned.”

Mom nodded in agreement. “It’s fine. Years ago, we had the worst season ever. We made seven million less than projected. So falling short by a couple of million is nothing to worry about, really. Things will pick up in the spring.”

Dad nodded too, giving everyone an encouraging smile, but I could tell it was halfhearted. He was obviously still nervous or unhappy about something.

Perhaps he didn’t like the way one of the younger male department heads was looking at Mom. After all, she was a very attractive woman, and the guy hadn’t kept his damn eyes off her for the whole meeting.

An hour later, the meeting finally ended, and Mom gestured for me and Allegra to stay. Once all the department heads had exited the room, she frowned and let out a heavy sigh. “We need to talk,” she said.

Dad nodded in agreement, his jaw sternly set.

I shook my head slowly. “Why? I’ve done as you asked and stayed out of trouble,” I said, hoping they hadn’t heard any rumors about Cade and me. “I haven’t been going out anywhere near as much as I used to, and I’m working on a new business idea that I think you’d both approve of. I actually wanted to tell you about it today.”

Mom shook her head. “It’s not about you, Peyton.”

My brows shot up, and I looked at Allegra. Her eyes were wide. “It’s about me?” she asked.

Mom nodded and pushed a piece of paper toward her. “This is your credit card statement for the last few weeks. Since we gave the card to you, you’ve already spent over thirty-five thousand dollars on designer clothes, a personal trainer, salon appointments, bottle service at nightclubs… you even spent nine thousand on just one vintage Birkin handbag. I could go on, but you get the point.”

Allegra’s face turned pink. “I didn’t realize I spent that much.”

“Well, you did. What in the hell were you thinking?”

“I… I’m sorry. I’m not used to any of this. I guess I got a bit too excited about finally having money,” she mumbled, looking down at the table.

“This is too much, Ally. Just because we’re wealthy doesn’t mean this amount of reckless spending is okay. At this rate, you’ll burn through everything we have in just a few years!” Mom said.

My sister’s eyes were brimming with tears, and she didn’t seem to be able to formulate another response. I frowned and spoke up in her defense. “I think you’re being kind of unfair, Mom.”

“How so?”

“She just said she didn’t realize how much she was spending, and honestly, I get it. If you go from having hardly anything to suddenly getting an unlimited credit card, of course you’re going to spoil yourself for the first time in your life! And you might not realize just how much you’re spending, because you’ve never had an opportunity like that before,” I said.

Mom pursed her lips. “I suppose so.”

I went on. “And think how much you’ve spent on me—and yourself, too—over the years when she was gone. We’re making up for that lost time now. If she wants to go on a few shopping sprees, so what? She deserves it! She was out there without us for fifteen freaking years while we lived in luxury and had everything handed to us on silver platters! And now it seems like you’re attacking her for trying to fit in.”

Dad nodded. “I see your point, but this spending still needs to change.”

“I know,” I said. “I get that. But maybe you could be less harsh in the way you bring it up?”

Mom and Dad exchanged glances. I could tell they were surprised—at first I hadn’t accepted Allegra at all, and now I was staunchly defending her.

Allegra finally spoke up again. “I’m really sorry,” she said softly. Her hands were trembling like mad. “I’ll keep track of everything from now on. I honestly didn’t realize I spent that much on stuff.”

Mom’s face finally softened. “I understand, sweetie. You just need to be careful, that’s all. We didn’t mean to sound like we were attacking you or punishing you. We just wanted to talk.”

“Okay. I’ll try to be better,” Allegra said, her voice barely above a murmur.

An uncomfortable silence filled the room for a moment. It was so awkward that I didn’t even know who to look at, and I could’ve practically cut the tension with a blunt butter knife.

Dad finally cleared his throat and broke the uneasy silence. “What’s this new business idea of yours, Peyton?” he asked.

I shook my head. “Let’s talk about it later. I don’t think now is the right time. It’s long and complicated.”

It wasn’t, but I was too annoyed to talk about anything else with my parents right now. How could they not understand what Allegra had been going through these last few weeks? If I’d grown up with hardly anything and then suddenly been handed the world, I’d probably have done exactly what she had. Hell, I might’ve even spent more than her.

Yes, she’d been reckless, but she’d get it out of her system soon, and she’d learn from the experience. We just needed to be patient, instead of blindsiding her with a tense confrontation like this.

We all got up to leave. The room was still thick with tension, and Allegra fled down the hall as soon as Dad opened the door. She was still on the verge of tears, so it didn’t surprise me one bit that she wanted to go and hide in her suite.

I thought about following her so I could go and comfort her, but a quick glance at my watch told me I didn’t have time. I had a meeting with a website developer and graphic designer in half an hour, and I needed to grab some things from my suite, then get to the meeting location downtown.

I sent Allegra a quick text instead. Hey. Really sorry about what went down in the conference room. Hope you’re okay. I’ve got a meeting soon, but when I’m done, I’ll come and hang out for a while. We can order hot chocolate from room service? That always cheers me up.

She texted back seconds later. I’m okay. I was just a bit shocked and disappointed in myself. Honestly didn’t realize how dumb I’d been with the credit card. But thanks anyway :) I’ll see you soon. Xx

I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that she was okay for now, and I went back to my suite to grab the file I needed to take to the meeting. Since Cade gave me that amazing idea for me to launch my own lifestyle and wellness website the other night, my mind had been teeming with ideas for the site, and I’d been jotting it all down in the file over the last couple of days. I’d also called to organize a meet and greet with a web developer right away, and the earliest available appointment they had was today.

It was fast, but that was fine. I loved the idea, and I wanted to start getting it off the ground as soon as possible.

The elevator seemed to take forever to get to my floor, and I tapped my right foot impatiently on the marble tiles as I waited. Finally, the doors dinged, and when they opened, I was surprised to see Cade step out, looking as sexy as ever with his tanned skin and tousled hair.

“Hey! I didn’t think you were working today,” I said, my mood immediately brightening at the sight of him.

“I’m not. I actually came to look for you. Is there somewhere we can go to talk in private?” he asked.

I raised an eyebrow, wondering what he wanted to chat about. “I would suggest we sneak you into my suite, but I actually have to run. I have a meeting with a web developer in…” I glanced at my watch again. “Twenty minutes. And the place is a fifteen minute drive away, so I really better head off. Sorry.”

Cade nodded and ran a hand through his hair. He looked tense, nervous. “Okay. I guess it can wait a few more hours.”

I furrowed my brows curiously. “Is everything okay? I mean… with us? After the other night…” I let my sentence trail off. He knew what I was talking about.

He nodded. “Yeah. There’s just a few things I need to talk to you about,” he said. He took a deep breath and continued. “And I just really need to tell you something. It’s pretty big.”

“Oh,” I replied. I didn’t really know what else to say in response to that, but my heart was suddenly pumping rapidly and a little mental version of me was doing cartwheels of excitement in my brain.

Was he going to tell me he was falling in love with me?

Sure, it was quick—we only met a few weeks ago, and we’d only slept together once. But still, there was something between us; something incredible. Magical. So if he told me he was falling for me already, then I wouldn’t have a problem with it at all.

I’d probably even return the favor, because deep down, I knew I’d already fallen for Cade hook, line, and sinker…

“There’s a party tonight. At one of the hotel bars. It’s just a little staff thing that Andreas organized, but I’m sure you’d be welcome,” Cade said. “Why don’t you come along, and we can talk afterwards? I would skip it altogether, but I promised him I’d go, so I’d feel bad if I didn’t.”

“Of course,” I said. Then I winked. “Besides, I already promised Bianca I’d go too.”

He nodded. “Right. I keep forgetting that you two are friends.”

“Yes. We bonded over our mutual love of shoes a few weeks ago,” I said with a cheeky grin. “Anyway, I really better go, but I’ll see you tonight. I can’t wait.”

Cade nodded, an unreadable expression lingering on his handsome face. “Yeah,” he said softly. “I can’t wait either.”