Chapter 38

It was an hour before nightfall, and I was alone in the elevator, going down. Already, I'd been in New York for three jam-packed days of accompanying Zane to countless interviews.

Just this morning, he'd appeared on two morning shows and a popular business channel. On air, he'd been surprisingly professional and yes, maybe even charming, at least by Zane's standards.

It made me wonder all over again, who was this guy, anyway?

We were staying, of course, at the Bennington Hotel in New York, which also housed the regional corporate offices, where Teddy would be working whenever he got settled in.

As far as anything we'd discussed on the plane, none of it was ever mentioned again – not by me, not by Teddy, and certainly not by Zane, who'd been even more unsociable than normal.

That was fine by me. Ever since that awkward flight, I'd been feeling nervous and unsettled for reasons that I couldn’t quite decipher. Something between us had shifted, but I had no idea what.

I was still trying to figure it out when a sudden ding jolted me back to reality. In front of me, the elevator doors slid open, and I came face-to-face with someone I was surprised to see so far from home.

It was Tiffany, and she was toting a bunch of shopping bags. At the sight of me, she stopped and squinted across the short distance. "Jane? Is that you?"

I had to laugh. "As far as I know."

She bustled forward. "What are you doing here?"

"Working."

"Oh, like a catering thing?" She gave me an encouraging smile. "Good for you."

Obviously, she had no idea what I'd been doing, which was pretty surprising, considering how obsessed she'd been with Zane. Then again, she'd never been one to follow the news.

I was just about to explain when she said, "I'm going to the lobby. Could you please hit the button?"

I glanced at the panel. "It's already hit."

"Oh." She frowned. "You're not going there, too, are you?"

I gave her a confused look. "Why? Is that a problem?"

"No." She bit her lip. "Well, maybe. It's just that I'm meeting the senator."

"That's nice." I hesitated. "Right?"

"Sure, but…" She let her words trail off into silence.

"But what?" I asked.

She sighed. "Listen, I hope you don't take this personally, but could you scoot away a little?"

Scoot away? "Why?"

The doors had already shut, and the elevator was once again heading downward.

Tiffany replied, "Because he might recognize you from the catering stuff."

"And…?"

"And, well, I don't want him to think we're together."

I stared at her. "Together how?"

"Well, not together-together. I just mean, I don't want him to think we're, um…"

My jaw tightened. "Friends?"

She smiled in obvious relief. "Right."

I was so stunned that I didn't know what to say.

At something in my expression, Tiffany winced. "You're not insulted, are you?"

"Me?" My tone grew sarcastic. "No. Not at all."

"Oh come on, don't take it so personally," she said, glancing down at my clothes. "Honestly, you're dressed so nice now that he might not make the connection, but really, it would be so much better if I didn't have to risk it."

I looked down. Thanks to the busy interview schedule, this was my first stretch of real freedom, and I was on my way out to do some sight-seeing.

Not knowing where I'd end up, I'd skipped the more casual clothes in favor of a long black skirt and high leather boots, along with my favorite white cotton blouse.

This way, I figured, I was prepared for anything – except, of course, to be insulted yet again by Tiffany.

She gave another sigh. "Look, I'm not trying to be mean, honest. It's just that I need to consider my social standing. You know how it is."

I did now. Looking to make a point, I made a show of backing up until my butt hit the back wall. "Is this far enough for you?"

"I guess," she said. "I mean, not like you could go much further." She gave me a nervous smile. "But can you do me another tiny little favor?

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, suuuuure. Anything for a friend."

"See, that's just the thing," she said. "If he's waiting, can you pretend we're just strangers?"

Un-freaking-believable.

At this point, I didn't have to pretend. It's not like Tiffany and I had ever been best-buddies anyway. Obviously, she was no friend of mine. "Don't worry," I told her, "That won't be a problem."

The words had barely left my mouth when the elevator dinged again, and there we were, at lobby level. The elevator doors slid open, and right there, facing us, was a familiar male figure, dressed in dark tailored slacks and a cream-colored shirt, open at the collar.

But it wasn't the senator. It was Zane.

When he saw me, mashed up against the elevator's back wall, his brow wrinkled. "Jane? You okay?"

Probably, it was the nicest thing he'd ever said to me.

Before I could even think to answer, Tiffany squealed out, "Oh, my God! Zane!" She dropped her bags and lunged forward to claim his arm. "Imagine seeing you here."

As if his last name wasn't on the building.

She looked back to me and said in an off-handed way, "Hey, can you grab those?"

I blinked. "Excuse me?"

"The shopping bags," she said, "would you mind grabbing them and taking them to the front desk? I think they've got a giant safe or something." She gave a breezy wave of her hands. "If they ask, just tell them I'll pick them up later."

Well, that was rich.

I put on my clueless face. "I'm sorry, but who are you?"

She gave a nervous laugh. "Oh, stop." She looked back to Zane and then froze, as if finally putting two and two together. "Wait, so you two know each other?"

Wow. What a guess.

Zane had, after all, just called me by name.

Tiffany looked thunderstruck by the connection. As for Zane, his gaze returned to mine, but he said nothing.

Zane was a lot of things, but he wasn't stupid. He obviously realized there was a lot more to this story.

By now, the elevator doors surely would've slid shut again, if it weren't for a huge shopping bag blocking their path. Tiffany had dropped it during her mad lunge for Zane, and the bag was now lying on its side, smack-dab in the elevator's doorway.

The way it looked, it was triggering the sensors that were designed to keep the doors open until everyone was in or out.

Unable to resist, I edged forward and gave the bag a little nudge with my foot. The bag slid forward, and a moment later, the elevator doors began to slide shut.

Tiffany called out, "Wait!" Releasing Zane's arm, she lunged back into the elevator. Frantically, she gathered up her bags, glowering at me the whole time. Under her breath, she hissed, "Thanks a lot."

I gave her a cheery smile. "You're welcome."

With the bags in tow, she once again, exited the elevator.

Feeling surprisingly cheerful now, I followed after her. As for Zane, his gaze kept shifting from me to Tiffany and back again.

The way it looked, he wasn't nearly as happy to see Tiffany as she was to see him.

Utterly oblivious, Tiffany turned to Zane and said, "So, do you have any plans for dinner?" She leaned closer and practically purred, "Because I haven't eaten all day."

Oh, for God's sake. Hadn't she just told me that she was meeting her fiancé? What was she planning to do? Ditch the guy last-minute? Or make it dinner for three?

Zane gave her a cold look. "Yes."

Tiffany beamed up at him. "Great! We could eat right here in the hotel. I haven't been to the Skyroom, but I hear it's fabulous."

Obviously, she meant the restaurant on the rooftop. Supposedly, it was fabulous, but it took forever to get a table.

Then again, the hotel's owner would surely be able to snag a seat any time. Who knows? Maybe Tiffany wasn't as clueless as I thought.

Zane's gaze shifted to me. In a tight voice, he said, "I meant yes, I have plans."

Tiffany's smile faded. "Oh. With who?"

His gaze locked on mine. "With Jane."

I froze. Me?

Tiffany blinked a few times and said, "What?"

He said, "And we're late." He flicked his head toward the front desk. "So shove off. The senator's waiting."

I turned to look. Sure enough, the senator was waiting. Worse, he was watching us with an expression that told me he wasn't stupid either.

He knew exactly what had just happened, and he wasn't happy. In spite of everything, I actually felt bad for the guy.

But I had no time to dwell on it, because, to my infinite surprise, Zane hadn't been bluffing about dinner.

Unfortunately, I never did get to eat it.

Because of her.

And him.

The prick.