Page 39 of Her Ruin

“Isla,” he greeted me with a smile. “The coffee’s fresh,” he said, gesturing to the opposite chair. “Sit, sit, we have lots to discuss.”

Didn’t we just.

“Any news on the suppliers?” I cut to the chase as I poured myself a coffee.

Gerard faltered. “Um…”

I stirred it idly, adding nothing to it, it was merely a delaying tactic. “Four weeks’ delay is not what I planned for,” I carried on smoothly. “Being hundreds of thousands over budget was not something I accounted for.” I placed the teaspoon to the side and lifted my coffee cup to my lips. “Canceling events is not what I do.Ever.”

He shifted in his seat as I watched him over the rim of my cup. “Your vision for The Grand is…” His hands spread out in front of him. “Visionary.”

“My vision is visionary.” My tone was as dry as my sense of humor in this situation.

Gerard was flustered, and I took perverse glee from that. He had fucked up. Not me. I knew it and he knew I did. This disaster was not one in which the client blamed the event planner.

Gerard dropped his act. He would forever be an eccentric, but right now, he knew the carefully worn facade of being aditzyeccentric was not going to get him out of this.

“What can I say, Isla?” he asked me, picking up his own coffee cup. “I loved your ideas, and I wanted more. I am prepared to wait for my hotel to reach perfection.”

“I had events planned here. I had one of the biggest events of the season planned for here.”

Gerard looked away, his gaze traveling over the carefully cared for manicured landscaped grounds.

And it hit me. The realization soobviousI couldn’t believe I’d missed it.

“You did this on purpose.” My cup rattled as I put it back down. “Yousabotagedyour own hotel?” I asked incredulously.

His attention was on me instantly, his face calm. “No.” He reached forward and plucked a croissant from the basket. “My hotel,thishotel, was not sharing itsgrandreopening with acharitygala forcats.”

Oh my god.

I felt my blood begin to boil. “You couldn’t tell me that when I suggested to you that the charity gala be part of the reopening of The Grand Gracemont?” I asked, my nails digging into my palms as they lay in fists on my lap.

Gerard waved his croissant between us. “Isla, I adore you. I do. You’re charming, hardworking, and incredibly efficient.” He looked at me with a condescending smile. “But this is my hotel. Your ideas are good, brilliant at times, but I do not share the publicity.” He dropped his pastry and wiped his impeccably manicured hands on his linen napkin. “My hotel will shine alone or not at all.”

Inside, I was seething. Furious. This was worse than being manipulated by Zayn. I refused to let another man show he had gotten the better of me. Carefully, I pushed my chair back and stood. “I wish you all the best, Mr. Fitzsimmons. It will really be beautiful when it is finished, whenever that is.”

I walked out of the conservatory, ignoring his confused shout ofIsla. My body was vibrating with rage. My heels clicked on the tiles as I made my way down the hall, and I was careful to keep my emotions in check so I could swear loudly and colorfully in the comfort of my car.

In the car, I put it in drive, and I drove cautiously down the long private entranceway. I didn’t speed. I didn’t do anything I wouldn’t normally do.

I wascontrolled.

Five minutes later, I was out of the car, pacing on the roadside, swearing into the early-morning sunlight about egotistical men with small pricks, big attitudes, and zero humility.

I wished I could say it made me feel better. It didn’t.

How could I have been so blind? I thought I had read the room right. I thought this was what Gerard wanted. Now he didn’t want to share the limelight.Since when?

The more I paced, the more I fumed. The more I went over every single conversation.

I hadn’t missed this. It had never been there. I knew people. I could read people. IknewGerard for God’s sake. Coming to a stop, I reached into the car and into my purse and picked up my phone.

He wouldn’t.

My finger hovered over Zayn’s name. The longer I lingered, the more certain I became.

I hit dial.

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