Page 12 of Mr. Almost

Mason has his hands in his pockets and is walking right toward me. A smile takes over his face. “Olivia.”

My stomach flutters at the sight of him and the sound of his voice. God, he’s gorgeous. His dark hair is pushed back out of his face and is a little longer on top than it was before. His shoulders are filled out more, too.

I hate to admit it, but time has unfortunately been kind to Mason.

No, lock that shit down,I chastise myself.

“Mr. Williamson.” I nod.

A look of confusion crosses his face, and for a split second, I feel guilty.

No. He doesn’t deserve my attention.

“My brother Max said you’re from the temp agency.”

“I am.”

“How do you like the hotel so far?”

“It’s nice.”

“You know, I’ve thought a lot about you over the years.”

I force a smile. “I’m sure you did. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to work.”

Mason reaches out and places his hand on my arm when I go to move past him. I jerk out of his reach.

“Whoa.” He holds up his hands. “Sorry, I just wanted to talk to you for a moment and catch up. You look as beautiful as I remember.”

Mixed emotions fill me. Pleasure runs through my veins over the fact he still thinks I’m attractive after having his child, but contempt quickly follows. How fucking dare he after ignoring us all this time?

“Thanks,” I say sarcastically.

“Do you want to get together sometime and catch up?”

I feel my nose crinkle and sneer. “The last thing I would ever want to do is go on another date with you.”

Mason jerks back as if I hit him.

Good.

He frowns. “I’m sorry. Did I miss something?”

I look him up and down and scoff.

This man is unreal, acting as if he has no idea why I hate him.

“If you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to work.”

I force myself to keep my head high and my back straight as I pass by him, being careful not to touch him.

As soon as I round the corner and I’m out of sight, a wave of exhaustion hits me.

I’d pictured running into Mason a thousand times over the years, but I didn’t realize how hard it would actually be.

I don’t know if I can do this every day. Co-existing with him and acting like everything is okay when it’s not. Not when he abandoned Ari.

I need to find a different job quickly.

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