Page 93 of Breaking News

“My fuckin’ charger stopped working,” he said, shifting forward like he wanted me to open the door wider and let him in. When I didn’t budge, it caused him to pause. Confusion flickered across his face and his eyes dropped to the floor behind me.

And he stared. A second later, his lips began to part, but no words came out. I glanced over my shoulder at what he might have seen, knowing Jill was safely obscured around the corner.

But there were her black Chuck Taylors next to my gray sneakers. And Xander was looking right in them.

A half dozen excuses ran through my mind, but they all sounded worse than the actual truth. Jill was in my room, and she’d been there since last night. The evidence was staring us both in the face.

“Those are… those are Jill’s shoes,” Xander said, taking a step back. His words were calm, but his jaw clenched as he looked up from the shoes to my face. “Tell me I’m wrong about that.”

I opened my mouth to explain myself, but no words came out—just a strangled, squeaky sound. Xander huffed out a breath, shook his head, and turned around.

“Xander,” I said, stepping into the hallway with my hand on the door. I didn’t even know what I would say, but it didn’t matter, because he didn’t turn around. He didn’t even stop walking. When he disappeared from sight around the corner tothe elevators, I let the door close behind me and leaned against it.

“Graham?” Jill called from the bed. “Did he say something about me?”

My eyes closed for a few seconds. I walked the few steps forward, past the bathroom and the luggage rack, until she came into view, sitting up with the sheet around her body.

“He knows,” I said, swallowing.

“About… us?”

I just nodded, but that was all it took. I watched all the color drain from her face, and just like that, the blissful feeling from the night before vanished.

Reality began to sink in, and it made my chest feel tight. I had one of my employees in my bed at a professional conference, and I’d almost ordered her room service on the company card, for fuck’s sake. Somewhere between my loneliness and wanting to take care of her, I’d crossed a line I couldn't step back from.

What the fuck had I been thinking this whole time?

chapter thirty-five

Jillian

Iscrambled to pull last night’s clothes on, ignoring the stiffness in my neck and the dull ache in my hips as I moved around the room.

Graham was silent as I shakily got dressed, his forehead pressed against the window as he stared out at the city. The sun wasn’t quite up yet, but the sky had turned a pale, bluish gray. I watched him for a moment, then dug through my handbag for my phone. His breathing was loud enough for me to hear from across the room.

“I’m going to call him,” I said.

He pulled his head from the window. “Xander?”

I nodded, putting my phone to my ear after I tapped on Xander’s name. But the call went straight to voicemail. “Damn it.”

“His phone’s dead. He wanted to use my charger.”

“Did you let him?”

“He changed his mind,” Graham said, his voice completely flat. Almost monotone.

Something in him had shifted. Of course he was reeling from being discovered by Xander, but this felt heavier than that. He always had a knack for calming me with his words when I unraveled. But now, he was quiet. His demeanor was… off.

“What are you thinking right now?” I asked, hugging my arms against myself in the center of the room.

Graham angled his body toward mine, his bare chest rising as he inhaled. He slid his hands in the pockets of last night’s jeans. “He could take us both down.”

“He won’t,” I said without hesitation.

Graham didn’t respond right away. I could see his jaw clenching, his eyes fixated on the floor. He turned and looked at the skyline before glancing up at me again. “What did he want to talk to you about last night in the lobby?”

I wondered when he was going to ask about that. “He wanted to hook up,” I said, wanting to be honest. “Just while we’re here in the city. Something about leaving New York in New York.”

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