Rebekah ran into the restaurant just in time; breakfast was almost over. There was still half an hour before the opening conference session, though, and she hurriedly plonked her bag down next to Akari, who had already finished her whole meal.

She scanned the room as she came in to find her friend, but also subconsciously looking for Emile. He was hard to miss, even if she wasn’t intentionally looking, as he sat at the table adjacent to theirs, his back turned to Akari. There was only a cup of coffee in front of him and a mass of papers. He must have eaten earlier, she figured.

“Is this the best time to get here? What happened to us meeting at eight?” Akari said, curiously eyeing her friend. “You look like death. What time did you get to bed?”

“Jeez, Akari, can you at least let me get some coffee first? It wasn’t too late. I think I just drank a bit too much, that’s all.”

What’s the definition of “not too late,” again? Rebekah thought.

Rebekah paused for a moment, deciding on the best way to spin last night’s events.

“I left right after you,” Rebekah lied. “I’ll be back, I just want to get something to eat, I’m ravenous.”

She was overly aware of Emile right behind her and the fact that he could hear her every word, but mostly she was aware of the smell, that scent that drove her mad without him even having to say or do anything.

Before Akari could question her any further, she headed off to the large buffet tables lined with breakfast delicacies from around the world. Not that she had any illusions that she’d have to answer to her friend sooner or later. She regretted having told her this much already. Last night had to be a secret. There was too much at risk. There was a reason people told her not to mix business with pleasure. Not even Akari could be let in on their secret. Including anyone else would allow for the potential to make things awkward. Well, more awkward.

Rebekah grabbed a plate and circled the first table, filling her plate with bacon, eggs, and all those other things her hungover body craved, steering clear of the healthy fruit ensemble not too far away. She hadn’t lied about being ravenous. She never did end up eating at the meet-and-greet last night as she had gotten too caught up in the cat-and-mouse game with the beautiful man from the twenty-first floor.

“Good morning,” he smiled, casually joining the queue behind her, his hand gently brushing up against hers as he reached for the cutlery.

“Hey,” Rebekah simply said, not looking around and pretending to decide between the pork sausages and beef. Despite being so late, the room was still milling with delegates, and they were far from alone in the buffet line.

All she wanted to do was turn around, grab him, and kiss him passionately, but instead, she just stared ahead with a blank expression on her face, dishing up some more mushrooms on top of her already piled plate.

The line shuffled forward and he pressed up against her gently, unnoticeable to anyone else.

“You left something,” he whispered, his breath warm on her neck, sending shivers down her spine.

She didn’t answer and continued moving forward, smiling at one of the ladies on the other side of the table.

He spoke softly, hardly moving his lips, but she could hear every syllable that was meant for her ears and hers alone.

“I found your earrings on the bed stand this morning…I wished they were you, instead.”

She didn’t say anything. Her heart was racing, but she was trying desperately to hide it. Just hearing his voice brought back a flood of memories from the night before. She didn’t trust herself to speak, she could hardly breathe.

She switched her plate to her other hand and let the empty one drop to her side. Emile placed the two small pearls in her palm, closing his hand warmly over hers, his touch lingering just a moment before she pulled her hand away and quickly dropped the jewelry in her pocket.

To everyone else, they were merely strangers, just getting some breakfast. Everyone was caught up in their own meals and realities of unanswered emails and time zone disparities causing work drama.

She knew Akari would notice him standing behind her, but even her inquisitive friend wouldn’t be able to ascertain any suspicious behavior or anything more than formal courtesy at best. At least that’s what she hoped.

Rebekah rounded the corner of the table, momentarily catching his eye as he was still on the other side. He smiled warmly and she couldn’t stop her face from responding in kind, but only for an instant, before walking away without so much as a word. The unbearable game seemed exciting in its own way. Her heart raced the same as it had the night before; the fear, the lust, the passion.

She sat by Akari again, stuffing her face instantly, hoping not to have to deal with the questions. Emile didn’t return to the spot behind her. He must have found another acquaintance somewhere else in the room.

“So, what happened with Emile? Was that him just standing behind you now? You didn’t even talk to him?”

“I’m trying to eat, Akari. Stop asking so many questions,” she mumbled through a mouthful of scrambled eggs, hoping to shut up her friend.

“Well, I’m not going anywhere. So eat all you want, I’ll wait.” Akari got up to get another coffee refill and Rebekah sighed, wolfing down more bacon in the hopes of it soaking up some of the alcohol undoubtedly still reeling in her system. She shouldn’t have drunk so much, but she had been too nervous. And even without the alcohol, she still would’ve fallen for those beautiful green eyes. She was just as drawn to him as everyone else. She was defenseless against his charm.

“So what went wrong?” Akari returned, picking up the topic again.

“Nothing went wrong. I went back to the party but he’d already left. And that was that. So I went back to my room and tried to sleep off this hangover. It’s that simple,” she said, not looking up from her plate and trying to keep her voice stable. She’d never been good at lying but she hoped Akari didn’t know her well enough to pick up on that.

“And now? What did he say to you by the breakfast line?” Akari wasn’t ready to let the topic drop.

“Nothing. He said good morning.”

“That seems strange. What about all the chemistry last night between the two of you?”

“It’s called alcohol, Akari. Come on, we’re going to be late.” She shoved one last mouthful of eggs into her mouth before jumping up and grabbing her bag. “We’re here to work after all.”

She had yet to do any work on this trip, though, and she had a feeling she wouldn’t have much luck with the morning sessions either.

But the game was on and the conference their playground. The aim of the game? The perfect secret of course, and nothing about sustainable building solutions.