“Holy shit,” I say, already pulling out the Lawson Hotels file. “Can you make sure no one disturbs me today? I just want to make sure I’ve got everything I need.”
“Of course…” she says with a polite smile before stepping out of my office and closing the door behind her.
I dive in, pulling up mood boards, color palettes, and typography samples because, holy hell, it’s Lawson Hotels. Three hundred properties across every major city, airport, and resort destination, yet somehow, they’ve built an empire that’s forgotten how to look like one, and I can’t wait to remind them.
After what feels like hours of expanding on my already half-formed pitch, my phone buzzes across the desk.
“Everything okay, Betty?”
“Yeah… I know you said no interruptions, but your boyfriend’s here to see you.”
“My what?” I blink.
“He says he’s your boyfriend?”
I close my eyes.
Inhale through my nose.
Exhale through my mouth.
Count to absolutelyfuck this.
“Let me guess, he’s tall, tattooed, and looks like he could ruin your life?”
“Mm-hmm. That’s the one.”
“Buzz him through. I’ll deal with him.”
“Are you sure? I can?—”
“Trust me,” I mutter, already minimizing windows and killing the mood board I was mid-flow on. “He won’t leave until I do.”
Seconds later, the door opens. I keep my eyes locked on my phone, the screen suddenly the most fascinating thing in the universe.
Cut him off.
Cut him out.
“I’m invisible now?”
Motherfucker.
“It’s what I was for years,” I answer, still not looking up, pulling us both back into that art room—the day that triggered a chain of events that led us to whatever toxic mess this is.
“Never invisible, baby,” he says, and I can hear him moving closer. “Not to me. Not for a fucking second, no matter how I behaved.”
I say nothing. I’m still scrolling through absolutely nothing on my phone when I hear the chair creak across from me as he sits down. I still haven’t looked at him, but I can smell him. It’s that same earthy, spiced scent that wraps around me like a drug, making it impossible to think straight.
“Great place.”
Silence.
“I’ve never been inside here, you know. But it’s nice.”
More silence.
“I’ve been on the receiving end of your silence for years now, Shannen. Trust me when I say you’re going to get bored with this a hell of a lot quicker than I am.”
