I raised my eyebrows. “That’s interesting,” I said, wondering where she was going with this while Carolyn placed her cup of water on the counter.
Ellie stared at me. “The design studio declined to work with us because of a news article about Luxe Hotels that’s making the rounds today.”
At the end of that sentence, she glared at me and then brought her phone back up. She flicked her forefinger over it a couple of times before showing something else to me.
“A reporter discovered details about an embezzlement that involvesyouremployee andyourrestaurant,” she said, visibly angry, but I didn’t focus on her tone. She’d said the words that I’d been dreading for a while now.
I glanced at her phone and caught sight of an email with the subject line that said,Questions about Luxe Hotels and their investment in The Galley.
The guilt must have been pretty apparent on my face because Ellie’s voice picked up steam. “You didn’t think itwas worth it to bring this detail up before we invested in you? You’ve made Luxe look bad, and you haven’t even been here for three weeks.”
Shit.
She grabbed her cup of water and shot her parting words at me. “You need to fix this before it blows up in our face and causes trouble.” With that, she spun on her heel and walked away, her heels clicking loudly on the floor.
I leaned back against the wall behind me and let out a big breath. I’d predicted this happening. Heck, I’d lived in some fear of this happening, but now that it was out there, the answer was plenty obvious to me.
I couldn’t hide anymore.
21
AVA
Two hours later, after I finished delivering coffee and snacks to the third-floor conference room—which was reserved, rather surprisingly, for the biannual mandatory CPR training—I took my lunch break.
I took the elevator to the fifth floor. I walked down the gray corridor, which housed the investments team, to the office at the end. The door was a lighter shade of gray, and Thomas’s name was on it.
I raised my hand and knocked.
“Come in,” called a voice from inside.
When I entered the room, I saw Thomas seated on a rolling desk chair. He looked up to see me while I registered the photos on the desk of him biking with his friends and a large potted peace lily at the front.
“Oh, it’s you, Ava.” He gestured to the chair in front of him. “This is a surprise.”
“I’m sorry for walking up, unannounced,” I said, seeing that he was poring over some reports and getting ready for a meeting.
He waved a hand aside. “I have a few minutes to spare. Tell me, what’s troubling you?”
I decided to get to the heart of it.
“A reporter familiar with Luxe Hotels—someone called Bianca Rutherford, apparently—has uncovered details of the accounting fraud at The Galley,” I began just as someone knocked on the door behind me and walked in.
Thomas’s eyes went to the person behind me, and he stood up immediately. “Mr. McKinley,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting you. I thought you’d be at your biannual meeting on the third floor.”
I tried not to look surprised at the news that Desmond was attending a biannual CPR training. Why was it so important to him?
Another thing I didn’t know about the man or how he’d changed in the past ten years.
I took a deep breath before I glanced at Desmond. I was scared that my face would give away a hint of how vulnerable I felt around him.
Desmond was wearing a navy-blue suit, his hair gelled, and he had that fresh, clean look about him, like he was just back from a workout. My lips tingled with the memory of that kiss.
“Ellie Hunt notified me about a rising level-three PR crisis concerning Ms. Hale. That was more important than my meeting.” His eyes flickered over to me for a second before he turned back to Thomas. “Do you mind if I stay for this?”
He knows about the article.
Thomas nodded, walking to the back of his office and pulling out another chair. He placed the chair between me and him, and Desmond took a seat, setting his hands on the table. I tried to ignore the thundering of my heart as Iacknowledged his presence, so very close to me. We’d kissed, but it was forgettable, apparently.
