I kept my face turned firmly away from the staircase while Rishi gazed at the couple walking down.
He stopped and whirled around slowly at the look on my face. “They’ve gone on to the next room,” he said while I relaxed and turned around. He observed me for a second. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”
“He’s here with a coworker. I think she’s the head of PR!” I whispered to avoid the actual answer.
He rolled his eyes. “Ellie Hunt? Yeah, word on the street is that she’s had a thing for him forever. Their families go way back. I think their dads knew each other in New Jersey when Desmond’s uncle owned a small mom-and-pop business and Luxe Hotels was just a dream.”
“Uh-huh,” I said, trying to find the nearest exit. “So, how soon can we leave this party?”
“Leave?” Rishi scoffed. “I don’t leave. I’m usually the last one standing,” he said as he checked his newly buffed Italian shoes in the mirror and fixed his tie. “So, Ava, either you’ve got a crush on our CEO or you had an extremely embarrassing event happen that included him. In either case, I need to know all the details. Do you know him?”
I turned to comment on this when I saw his gaze fixed on a man in a navy-blue suit, standing by the bar, his back to us.
A frown crossed Rishi’s face. “Can you believe I once spent an entire afternoon helping my ex fit into a suit exactly like that?”
The blue-suited guy had his arm around a beautiful blonde’s waist. As we watched, the blue-suited guy leaned over, his face coming into view just before he kissed her on the lips.
Next to me, Rishi froze. In a second, he strode over, and just as the kiss ended, he put his hand on the blue-suited guy’s shoulder.
The blue-suited guy turned around. I caught sight of clear amber eyes, a fine jaw, and well-groomed hair before a change came over his face. He looked guilty as hell.
“Oliver Mitchell, were you cheating on me?” Rishi demanded.
Oliver looked affronted and angry while Rishi had a pained expression on his face, a sharp contrast to the cheerful guy he’d been in the car with me. He looked more distraught than when he had been assaulted by three homophobic men out on the street.
“Were you cheating on me with her all this time?” he asked again. “For the three months we were together?”
I felt my heart tug at the ache in his voice. For all his flashy exterior, Rishi had a very sensitive, soft heart if he could be so hurt by the loss of a three-month-long relationship.
I walked up just as people around us stopped talking to look at the scene. Oliver tried to get Rishi to step back when Rishi pushed him away, and in an instant, I couldn’t tell how, but a fight had broken out.
“Rishi!” I hissed just as Oliver landed a punch on Rishi’s face and Rishi fell back three steps. I caught hold of his arm just before he hit the floor, and I stumbled to my knees with him.
I tried to get back up when I stopped.
I met a pair of fine light-brown eyes that were intenselyfocused on me as Desmond walked diagonally across the room to reach us. Eyes that sucked all the breath out of me.
Before I could react, the crowd parted, and Desmond stepped forward, a tall, impressive figure in his deep black suit jacket, his hands clenched into fists. Stern and powerful, Desmond blocked Oliver’s path as he helped me up.
“Get away from her,” Desmond said while Oliver looked like he was going to barrel right through me and Rishi again. “I mean it,” Desmond insisted as Oliver looked between the two of us while Rishi stood up.
“Is she with you?” Oliver asked, his voice going from belligerent to meek when he spoke to Desmond.
“She is,” Desmond said and clasped my hand firmly.
Rishi turned his head sideways to give me an impressed look while Oliver took a step back.
“I’m sorry,” he said, raising his hands up in a small admittance of defeat.
Rishi cleared his throat and forced himself to stand taller. He came up to Oliver’s chest.
“You almost ruined my Michael Kors jacket,” Rishi began.
Oliver seemed to take offense at his tone and took a step forward.
Rishi hastily changed his tone. “But that’s okay. It wasn’t Chanel, so we’re good,” he said in a more amicable voice.
Oliver stepped back, and after a quick apology to Desmond, he disappeared.
