Page 120 of Burn

He let’s go of me but runs his hand down my leg as I’m getting out of the bed and watches me with a smirk. “Stop that,” I say, swatting at his hands.

I scramble across the suite for my phone near the bed and breathlessly answer.

“Mila, I need you now!” It’s Heather and her “need you now” is pretty low on my list of priorities right now. I have no idea how this woman is a manager because it seems to me she can’t handle an emergency situation to save her ass.

“What do you need?”

“You double booked the Evergreen Room, and now we have two parties here for the same room.”

Oh. Mother. Fuck.

I remember booking it for the Port of Seattle last week, but I could have sworn I checked the computer before I made it.

“The Port of Seattle should have the room,” I tell her, reaching for my dress on the floor. “I made the reservation for them, and Reynolds has the Kennydale Room.”

Heather sighs, the raised voices of angry port members surrounding her. “No, you didn’t. Shaw Investments had the room, and you double booked it. You need to get here now and fix this mess. Mr. Wellington is upset.”

A lump the size of a bolder lodges in my throat. “I’m in my office,” I lie, warmth heating my face, and I glance over my shoulder at Caleb. He’s off the bed now, getting dressed. “I’ll be right there.”

Tossing my phone aside, I reach down and grab my heels and bag, kicking away the whip cream bottle as I do so.

Caleb clears his throat. “In trouble?”

“Yeah, I fucked up I think.”

His jaw tightens and he nods. “Because of me?”

He knows I’m lying to him when I say, “No.” It’s not because of him. But my brain is constantly on him, causing me one hell of a distraction. If I’m being honest with myself and everyone else, this has everything to do with Caleb, but I’m not going to make him feel guilty over that. It’s not his fault I attach myself to people like a fucking tick.

Moments later I’m in the lobby, Caleb behind me, and I’m met with Heather, my dad, and Nixon staring at the two of us as we exit the elevator.

I glare at Nixon, wanting to claw his eyes out for even being in this hotel and thinking he can be anywhere near me again after the shit he pulled at the bar.

But it’s not him I’m focused on. It’s my father’s expression tightening the moment he spots me that locks me in place. “Mila,wherehave you been?”

At first, I don’t say anything. What am I going to do, lie to my father’s face in front of Caleb? No. I won’t. It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell him otherwise, but I refrain.

When I don’t say anything, my father’s shoulders stiffen, his stern gaze intent on mine. “Milena. . . I asked you a question and I expect an answer. Where have you been?”

Swallowing back the burn in my throat, my words shake. “I was in the penthouse suite with Caleb.”

My father’s silent. His gray eyes snap to Caleb beside me, pinning him. Then it hits him like a slap to his face. Hisonlydaughter in the penthouse suite of his hotel with a guy doing God knows what—as far as he’s concerned—though I’m sure a man like him knows.

I hate the disappointment in his eyes. Almost as much as Caleb witnessing this.

It’s certainly not the first time I’ve let him down by my decisions. I was a teenager once.

And then he clears his throat. “Let me get this straight . . .youwere in the penthouse suite with this boy and not doing your job?”

“No, it wasn’t like that,” I say to save face, in hope that my father won’t see how affected I am in the presence of Caleb. “I made a mistake, but it’s not like I’m neglecting my job. This can be fixed. This can’t be the first time we’ve double booked the convention center. Maybe they can set in one of the meeting rooms?”

“You’re right. This isn’t the first time we’ve double booked the convention center, but the reason you have the job you have is because the last time someone doubled booked a VIP client of ours, they found themselves looking for new employment.” His eyes of stone clinch mine. “Are you going to step up and fix this incompetent mistake and reassure me this will never happen again or are you going to stand there next to this boy and prove to everyone you really were too inexperienced to handle this job?”

Caleb steps forward, his broad shoulders filling the space beside me, speaking to my father for the first time. “You don’t need to talk to her like she’s a child. I’m sure this can be fixed.”

Caleb’s protectiveness to defend me has my heart swelling in my chest, but I focus on Nixon who makes eye contact with Caleb.

Nixon nods to him, a haughty sharpness to the action. “Don’t you think you should mind your own business?”

---