Ava’s voice.
Out the clear windows, I could see a beautiful winter morning. The early morning fog had cleared up, giving me a view of the brilliant sky. A lone airplane was making a graceful turn high above us, and a tendril of hope leaped up in my heart. Just like it had back when I saw Ava outside the restaurant four nights ago.
Freedom. That was what I saw before I stepped forward and knocked on the door.
“Thomas, do you mind if I pop in for this meeting?”
6
AVA
Thomas Stein, the director of investments at Luxe Hotels, was in the middle of a speech of about the value he could see in The Galley, his voice calm and quiet. He was a short man with thin lips, a forced smile, and quick, darting eyes, who had done his best to assure us that the restaurant was in good hands. Unlike Ray Murphy, who had been a passive investor, Luxe Hotels was going to be very involved.
I tore my gaze away from the man to look at the sky through the window. I was signing away Mom’s restaurant to this company with no guarantee of what they’d do with it. I was exhausted—that was what it was. That was the only reason I was doing such a thing.
Gabriela nudged me gently, and I turned back to her and then Thomas.
On the way here, we’d passed rows upon rows of desks and employees sitting at computers in an open-floor plan. The halls were deathly silent, and the only thing I’d heard was the robotictap, tapon keyboards.
“Mr. Stein, what’s your vision for us, the restaurant, andits staff in the coming years?” I asked when he stopped his speech to take a breath.
Gabriela turned to me, her eyebrows slightly raised.Go easy on him,she seemed to warn me.
“Well, unfortunately, every business faces some hard times. Your restaurant is having a difficult time staying afloat, and we plan to infuse money into the operations and turn things around. Our CEO’s first recommendation is to upgrade the equipment and remodel the restaurant as a part of our investment.”
I bristled. Remodeling the restaurant would take months.
“What is your CEO’s plan for our employment while the restaurant is being remodeled? And for the eleven other people that we employ?” I asked while Gabriela stiffened.
Before he could respond, we heard a knock on the door.
“Thomas, do you mind if I pop in for this meeting?” asked an eerily familiar voice. It was deep, smooth, and very confident. It was a voice that had most recently given an egotistical man a public dressing-down in a restaurant. It was not a voice I’d expected to hear in an austere meeting room on the fifth floor of a steely skyscraper.
The hairs on the back of my neck pricked as I turned, my mouth dropping open when I saw Desmond McKinley by the door. He kept his gaze on Thomas, but I could very keenly feel his awareness of me. I could see it in his smile. My eyes traveled from his lips to his straight nose, over that angular jaw, until I met his intense, dark eyes. The look he gave me almost took my breath away.
He knew I’d be here.
Desmond McKinley took a step into the room. His dark hair was cut short in a crew cut, and with his gray suit and white linen shirt, he radiated power. He was so tall that heblocked all the light from streaming in through the door behind him. I felt small in his presence in a way no other man could make me feel.
There was a moment of silence as Desmond and I locked eyes. I stared at him, shocked, while he returned my gaze with calm, triumphant eyes.
After what seemed like a long moment, where Desmond held my gaze, Thomas coughed and stepped forward. “Ah, Mr. McKinley,” he said. “We were just talking about you.”
I blinked.
Desmond McKinley is the CEO of Luxe Hotels?
Until we moved to New York three years ago, I used to google him obsessively.Shoot. I’d made a mistake by not keeping up. If I had, I wouldn’t have been blindsided like this. I wouldn’t be looking like a fool right now. I’d be meeting with a completely different investor.
I locked eyes with him and quickly looked away. I thought he’d looked powerful and alluring four nights ago. But Desmond McKinley during the day was an entirely different feast for the eyes. He had steely brown eyes, broad shoulders, and a clipped smile that could bring any woman to her knees.
After running into him four nights before, I hadn’t expected this.
I’d been so caught up with the terms of the investment and rereading the fine print that I hadn’t bothered to look into who the CEO was.
What does it matter?I’d thought when I heard of Luxe Hotels.
I rested my hands on the sides of my black chair, my mouth dry. What in the world was happening?
