Those pale gray eyes had haunted her since the last time she’d seen them.Trip Henderson was distressingly more intimidating without his cowboy hat.What the hell were the chances?“You need to watch where you’re going, Miss.”
Her heart beat fiercely, waiting for the moment of recognition.
“Of course, I’m sorry,” she said.Jackass.It’s not like she’d meant to hit him.
He glared at her for a moment, then turned and headed for the elevator.
“Bring the car around now, please.I have reservations at Nobu for ten.”His voice drifted away from her.
With a loud ping, the elevator doors opened and she watched him step inside.The doors closed and the floor number decreased until it hit “L.”
She looked at the key card that granted her access to all the penthouse suites.It burned in her hand.Quickly, Drea jammed it into her pocket before she got any stupid ideas.There was no way she was going to be the girl who picked the dead end instead of the shopping mall in the horror movie.
But… If Cujo wouldn’t let her help at the hospital, maybe she could be useful this way.
The hallway was empty, the door to Henderson’s room footsteps away.No.This was the dumbest idea.Yet, the plan formed quickly.Seeing him was a sign.She could be in and out of his room before anybody knew.There’d never be another chance like this.
What to do about the hotel cameras?They’d see her.Drea worried her lip.Screw it.What could they do?Fire her?It wasn’t like she was planning on sticking the job out too much longer.
She moved the cart around the corner, grabbing two bottles of water.Worst case, if someone did question why she went in his room, she could pretend she wanted to do something nice for having rammed him with her cart.
“Room service.”Drea held her breath, counted to ten, and knocked again.“Room service.”
She slid the card through the slot and the lock clicked.What in heaven’s name was she doing?She considered calling Cujo, but that would look worse on the security footage.Plus she wasn’t even supposed to have her phone.She stepped inside—no turning back now.
She hurried through the opulent hallway into the plush living area.Usually she took the time to admire the beautiful rooms that were bigger than her house, but today she had one purpose.
The complimentary fruit basket sat on the glass table, so Drea placed the water bottles next to it.
A computer sat open on a small table by the window, its desktop on display.Photographs of a ranch, racehorses, and young children playing on a beach shuffled randomly across the screen.She squiggled the mouse, and a password box appeared.
A man like Henderson wasn’t going to have a stupid password, likepasswordor the numbers one through eight.And she was no hacker.
Disappointment wrapped itself around her like a wet towel.Honestly, it was stupid to believe it was going to be so easy.She stretched, catching the lamp with her arm.It fell toward the curtains.Drea grabbed at it frantically, stopping it from hitting the floor.Damn.She’d have a heart attack before the night was through.
On the floor, almost hidden by the long drapes, was a large black briefcase.The lines of right and wrong started to blur.Being in this room was wrong.Contemplating going through the briefcase was wrong.She should leave before she got herself in even deeper.
But if there was any chance she could help Evelyn, she had to look.She unsnapped the top and flicked through the contents.A few financial documents, some structural drawings, and an envelope of receipts.Nothing remotely like the files she’d seen on the drive,
Click.The rattle of the hotel room door made her jump.Maybe it was housekeeping.But they’d call out first.She shoved the briefcase under the curtain with her foot, and looked around quickly.Where could she hide?There was only one door to the suite, and she was too far from the living room to make it through the balcony doors.She looked toward the bathroom.Maybe there would be a spot she could crouch out of sight.The closet.She could hide in the bottom of one of those for sure.
Footsteps tapped on the tiled hallway hastening her dash to the closet, diving behind the door.Thankfully, Henderson wasn’t a lover of the hotel robes, both of them still on their hangers.Wishing she’d done more yoga, she curled up into the tiniest ball she could in the bottom of the closet.
What if Henderson cancelled his dinner plans?How long could she get away with hiding?What if she was stuck overnight?The robes swung gently around her as she grabbed the hem to try to stop it.
She listened carefully, struggling to hear anything over the rush of her blood pumping in her ears.
The door next to the one she was hiding behind opened.Drea held her breath.As a kid, closing her eyes to make herself invisible always worked.Drea shut them tightly.
“No, sorry, honey, was about to get in the car when some idiot opened a can of soda next to me.It sprayed all over my shirt.… Yeah… will do.The kids home?”
A shirt was yanked from the closet.Drea pressed the back of her hand against her lips to stop any noise from escaping.
“I will, honey.I gotta go.Car’s waiting.Bye.”
When the door to the hotel room slammed shut, Drea gasped for air.What the fuck was she doing?This wasn’t her.She wasn’t an undercover journalist.Or a cop.She was a waitress with money problems.As soon as she got out, she needed to quit this job.Get the heck out of the hotel, away from Henderson.Once she extricated herself from the closet, her first call was to the supervisor’s desk.
With no second job, no Lynn to find, and quite possibly no Cujo, she was back to the empty feeling in the pit of her stomach.
