Page 437 of His Virgin Romance Series

SETH

Ihad slept fitfully the whole night, contributing to my already dark mood. I had hoped I would cool down overnight, but somehow, I felt as annoyed and angry as I had the previous night. I kept seeing Brie in her stunning silver dress, with her golden hair flung over one shoulder like some angel out of my dreams. Then I kept remembering Gregory’s smug smile as he told me that Brie just wanted to have dinner with him.

The worst thing about all of it was that Gregory was right. Brie was right. They were adults who were on a date. I had no right to impose on their dinner, and I had stepped way out of line by demanding that Brie speak to me in private right in the middle of her date with Gregory.

Unfortunately, even though I could see reason, I couldn’t seem to be calmed by it. My mind was a live wire, and I couldn’t concentrate on anything other than Brie and Gregory.

When my phone rang, I answered without checking who it was. “Gregory?” I said aggressively.

“Um no,” Ben’s voice was slightly curious. “It’s Ben.”

“Oh,” I said. “What do you want?”

“What happened?” he asked. “Woke up on the wrong side of the bed today?”

“You could say that,” I muttered darkly.

“Does this have anything to do with what happened last night?”

I stopped short. Was it possible that the staff had been paying attention to the little drama I had enacted last night? I knew it was a stupid question—of course the whole restaurant would have been watching the whole thing unfold.

“Who told you?”

“Does it matter?” Ben asked wryly. “The point is the whole hotel is buzzing… Apparently, they’ve never seen the boss so angry before.”

“I was not angry,” I lied. “I was…annoyed.”

“Okay,” he replied with obvious disdain.

“Why are you calling?” I asked again, without much effort to be polite.

“I’m calling to ask if you plan to make it to your seven o’clock meeting or not?”

I glanced at the clock and cursed furiously. “Fuck, it’s seven-ten.”

“I’m aware.”

“Fuck,” I said again. “Can you push the appointment to eight?”

“I’ll see what I can do,” he replied.

“Oh, and one more thing before you leave…”

“Yes?”

“What room is Gregory staying in?”

“He has a superior suite,” Ben replied after a short, meaningful pause. “The number is one thousand.”

I knew I shouldn’t be doing this; there was more at stake than a simple friendship. Gregory was an investor—a significant investor at that—and I couldn’t afford to alienate him. And yet, despite the unending refrain in my head, I couldn’t seem to slow my pace or turn back.

It took me seven minutes to get to Gregory’s suite. I noticed that all my employees seemed to turn the other way when they saw me approach. Most averted their gaze or looked down at their shoes. Apparently, I had left quite the impression.

I didn’t allow myself to think about it. I just kept walking until I got to the suite. It was situated in an alcove meant to offer added privacy. I paced for a minute, before finally knocking on the door.

I stood there for exactly five seconds before another horrifying realization dawned on me. What if Gregory wasn’t in his suite tonight? What if he was with Brie in her suite? Or what if the door opened and it was Brie staring me in the face? What if she had spent the night with Gregory? I was contemplating breaking down the door and seeing what the situation was when the door swung open.

Gregory was standing there in one of the fluffy white robes that the resort provided for guests. He had obviously been sleeping. I felt a twinge of sadistic pleasure at having woken him up. It was childish and completely unreasonable, but I was powerless to stop myself. I walked into the suite without an invitation, and Gregory was forced to close the door and follow me into his room.

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