He looks at me carefully before he decides to throw me a bone and accept the subject change. “I just got back from a fitting with Hayden Christie, and I found some inspiration while we were talking. Have you met her before?” he asks as I look over his new sketch.
“Yes, one or two times. She’s really lovely, which can be rare amongst the elite models.”
“Her son Spencer was there, and he is freaking adorable. I had to take in the dress in a few places, and he wanted to be my assistant, so I let him hold my pin cushion. He told me all about his goldfish and that his daddy is Batman.”
“His daddy is our new PR guru Cole Chambers,” I tell him as I run my finger over the gorgeous lines of the dress, not meeting his eyes, before picking up the piece of fabric.
“Oh really? What’s he like? Shane was saying he’s pretty cool, but I want to reserve judgment until I’ve met him.”
“Yup, he referred to Hayden as his ex-wife, but they sure seemed cozy when they had lunch today.” When I look up, Jace is staring at me, his mismatched eyes feeling like he can see all the dirty things that Cole did to me on Halloween.
“Hm, well, that’s interesting,” he muses.
“This is really gorgeous, Jace.” I quickly go on before he can probe any more. “I can’t wait to see it made up. Listen, I need to run. I have somewhere to be, but I will see you later. Five o’clock, right? That’s when Shane said he’d be here?”
I back out of his room, not waiting for an answer. The downside of spending so much time with Jace on our trip to Prague is that I feel like he can see inside me. That he instinctively understands what I’m feeling, which I know is just plain ridiculous. But I might avoid that stare just in case because I’m not ready to share anything with him about Halloween. I don’t want him to be disappointed in me.
I stride across the foyer, calling to Riku, who is exactly where he said he would be, sitting on the reception sofa. “Come on, I need to get out of here.”
“Jacinta!” I hit the button on the elevator just as I hear Cole call my name. When I spin around, he’s leaving the conference room with Nana and his little family. Nana is holding Spencer, tickling him. “Do you have time now to go over those appearances?” he asks, but I wave my hand.
“Sorry, Cole, I’ve got another appointment. Just schedule something with Susie, and she’ll let me know.” Riku joins me as the elevator opens, and we both step in. When I turn to face the front, I see Nana frowning at me, but the doors close before she can say anything. I let out a sigh of relief and slouch against the elevator wall.
“Everything okay?” Riku asks, his quiet voice super loud in the silence of the elevator.
“No, Riku, I’m afraid it’s really not, but I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Okay then. Want to fill me in on where we’re going?” he asks, no judgment in his tone, just mild curiosity.
“I need to do some mindless shopping, so would you mind calling your sister and asking her if she would close her shop down for an hour or two? I’ll make it worth her while.” I’m practically begging him. I cringe at the sound of desperation in my voice, but his eyes soften, and he pulls out his phone, making the requested call. He has a quick conversation in what I’m assuming is Japanese before he hangs up.
“They’re looking forward to your arrival,” he tells me, and I can’t stop myself from reaching out and grabbing his arm.
“Thank you.”
He looks down at my hand on his arm and shakes his head. “It’s no problem. I can’t imagine it’s easy to be you, especially in light of recent events. If you don’t mind, I’d like to send out the limo in the hope that the press will follow it. You and I can take one of the other cars.”
“Good thinking. In fact, how about I message Hope? She has a friend who owns a club. Maybe she can tweet something about me being there. An heiress’s day drinking is bound to catch their attention and throw them off our trail.” I pull out my phone and shoot Hope a message. She assures me she’s on it and will get it sorted.
Thankfully, when we arrive in the parking garage, it’s clear. Security must have thrown out the press Jace had mentioned, so it’s an easy walk to a nearby sedan with tinted windows. Riku opens the backseat for me, and I climb in before he gets into the driver’s side.
“It takes about half an hour to get there from here. Why don’t you rest your eyes for a moment or two?” he suggests, looking at me in the rearview mirror.
“Could you put on some music, please? Something soothing?” I ask him. The car is filled with the sounds of something classical, and I feel the tension drain out of my body.
“Jacinta, if you don’t mind me asking, are you going to be coming into the office tomorrow? It’s Simon’s day, and I need to tell him where to meet you.”
“No, we will be heading back home in the morning. Why do you ask?” I feel my brow wrinkle, a little confused by his questions.
“Oh, you said for Cole to set something up with you tomorrow.” I snort, more at my intended surprise for Cole than Riku’s confusion.
“Yeah, I was blowing him off. If he can’t give me the details of the appearances I need to make, I have an excuse not to go to them.” I close my eyes and lean my head back as he smoothly maneuvers the car out of the building and into traffic.
“Okay, we’re happy to run interference if you want,” he offers, and I crack an eye open.
“Thank you for the offer. I may just take you up on it.”
ChapterFifteen
