“Ms. Clarkson, suite 1845 is where you will be staying,” the employee said before punching in the code for my door. He pushed the door open, and even more marble flooring welcomed us and an expansive walkway that led down into a massive living room space.
“We hope the suite is to your liking,” the employee said.
I glanced around the leather furniture, floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out over the Brooklyn Bridge, and the crystal chandelier overhead.
With a smile, I turned back to Gabriel and the employee. “It’ll do.”
Gabe chuckled.
“It’s great. Thank you.” I turned to Gabe. “You could’ve saved by getting one suite.”
He shrugged. “All you have to do is say those magical words, and we can cancel this room.”
I rolled my eyes and turned to face the open doorway at the same time Demetria appeared.
“Lena,” she said with a smile. “It’s so good to see you.”
I greeted Demetria with a wave.
“In person, that is.” She laughed.
“Demetria, this is Gabriel Townsend,” I introduced, gesturing with my free hand toward Gabe.
Demetria’s eyes widened in appreciation as she looked at Gabe. I had to stifle my laugh. To be fair, that was my reaction when I first laid eyes on him. Though, at the time, I was with my then-fiancé and couldn’t be so obvious about it.
My assistant’s gaze dropped between our bodies, and she zeroed in on our joined hands. He hadn’t released it since we boarded the elevator, and I hadn’t noticed.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Townsend.” She held out her hand for him to shake.
“Same. You can call me Gabe.” He released my hand to shake hers before taking a step back. He placed his hand at the small of my back, and I could tell by her raised brows that Demetria didn’t miss that move either.
“I need to go check out my room and then meet Eli and his team.”
I nodded, though my heart tugged, knowing that we had to separate for the next few hours. Gabe had his work to do, which also included a photo shoot. His shoot was for a well-known underwear company and would occur in the same hotel we were staying in.
He planted a kiss on my lips, and I let out a short moan before catching myself.
“Nice meeting you, Demetria. Take care of her today,” he said before looking back at me over his shoulder.
I was sure what he’d said was meant to be lighthearted, but there was a darkness in his voice that promised a negative outcome if something happened to me. When he made the travel arrangements, he asked if Rayven would meet me to do security while I was in the City.
I told him that Rayven had left New York and was off to God only knew where, and there wasn’t a real need for her to be with me on this trip. He’d frowned deeply and started to hire a private security firm he worked with or bring one of the employees from LS Investigations.
The two hours I spent telling him that all that wasn’t necessary were grueling. It took a miracle for him to back down on the security issue, but eventually, he did.
“Oh my goodness,” Demetria mouthed when the hotel employee shut the door behind Gabe’s exit.
I laughed and pulled her in for a hug. “How are you?”
“Oh no.” She wagged her finger. “Don’t you dare try to skate past that. Who is that?” Her eyes were wide.
“Gabriel.”
She gave me thatbitch pleaselook.
“We’re not going there,” I said. “I need to change so that we can get to this shoot on time.”
Demetria made a disgruntled moan but then helped bring my suitcase that’d been brought upstairs into my bedroom.
