I’d been heading out to grab a coffee before my meeting, but looks like I’ll be wearing it instead.
I glance at my watch and sigh. Five minutes until the meeting.
I wonder if she’ll be there.
I pivot, catching the receptionist’s gaze again. Tab, I think her name was. She blushes.
Her cherry-red lips curl into a shy smile, and when I return it, her cheeks flush an even deeper hue.
I straighten my posture and head toward the elevator, passing inquisitive eyes.
I press the button for the top floor marked PRESTIGEPARTNERS—EXECUTIVESUITES.
A chime sounds as the elevator doors slide open to reveal a bright, airy space with a modern layout.
A secretary’s desk sits front and center in a spacious foyer, flanked by corridors leading to several offices. Right there, leaning casually over the desk with arms crossed, is Grayson Livingstone—CEO of Livingstone Hotels. He’s doing what he does best, if his easy smirk and the secretary’s insufferable giggles are any indication.
Classic Grayson.
He runs the prestigious New York luxury hotel empire passed down by his late grandparents, shared with his two brothers, Cole and Noah.
We met back when I decided to complete my MBA in New York. What started as after-class drinks and attending lectures together quickly evolved into a close friendship I’m extremely grateful for.
I roll my eyes as I watch Grayson work his usual charm. Women turn their heads—and drop their knickers—wherever Grayson Livingstone goes, the lucky bastard. Not that I can talk. I don’t exactly have trouble in that department either, especially following my divorce four years ago.
Like Grayson, I’ve got zero interest in entertaining anything more than a quick fuck. Four years of freedom since my divorce have taught me exactly how I prefer to keep things: uncomplicated.
Stepping forward, I clap Grayson on the shoulder. He jolts, standing upright as he tugs at the lapels of his jacket.
“Sorry, ma’am. Is my boss here keeping you from getting anything done?” I ask the secretary.
She spins a biro between her pink-tipped fingers, biting down on her lower lip.
“Not at all, sir,” she says, fluttering her lashes. She pauses when her eyes zero in on the stain marring my shirt.
“Just call me Max, please,” I insist.
“I’m Molly,” she says.
“Molly,” Grayson repeats with a sly smile, like he’s testing her name on his tongue.
Grayson raps his knuckles against the smooth mahogany desk. “Right, better let you get back to it, then. Do feel free to call me.” He grins, sliding a sleek matte-black business card out from his jacket—the one with his direct number printed on it.
His fingers brush hers as she takes it, and sure enough, it earns him another giggle.
He turns to me, scrunching his nose as his gaze trails down my wet shirt. “Jesus, you smell like sour milk. What happened to you?”
“Some bird spilled her coffee all over me.”
“Obviously,” he says, chuckling, checking his watch. “Shit. We don’t have time to get you a new shirt.” He looks up. “Can you throw your jacket over the top?”
I nod.
Working closely with Grayson these past few years has changed my life in ways I never could’ve imagined. I had spent years in investment banking at a property firm in Canary Wharf, where my focus had been on hotel acquisitions and developments. I oversaw the details that determined whether a luxury property would thrive or fail. I structured deals for renovations and new builds, worked on expansion strategies, and analyzed high-profile portfolios—learning the business side of an industry I’d grown up loving.
I received a desperate call from Grayson two years ago. His grandfather had just passed away, leaving him and his brothers an empire they weren’t quite ready to inherit, regardless of how hard they all worked. He needed someone beside him who he could trust implicitly and understood business the way he did. His call couldn’t have come at a better time. The divorce from Casey had been final for a year by then, and I was itching for a fresh start, away from her and the constant phone calls.
Seventy-two hours after Grayson’s cry for help, I was on a plane to New York, stepping into a new chapter as chief development officer for Livingstone Hotels.
