“I was watching your press conference on YouTube when you messaged,” I said, drawing the attention away from me. “I have no idea who William Hunt is, but I hate him.”
Henry grinned. “Why do you hate him?”
There was a clap of thunder.
“He’s a prick.”
“What makes you say that? Not that I disagree.”
“The way he interrupted when you were talking about Hope Harbour to ask about your dad was just disrespectful. And he didn’t let up when you said that you didn’t want to comment. It made me really mad. I wouldn’t have stayed so calm if I’d been you.”
He snorted. “I was furious, believe me.”
“You hid it well.”
“I had to, to avoid sparking another scandal.”
“You did a pretty good job.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Do you think so?” He sounded surprised, as if mine were the first positive words he’d heard about the press conference.
“Yes, you were really professional and confident and...” I stopped, not sure if it was a good idea to voice what I was thinking as we lay in bed together. But Henry was looking at me so expectantly that I couldn’t leave him hanging. “And sexy.”
“Sexy,” he echoed, but I didn’t buy his innocent tone. He knew exactly how good he looked, as proved by the knowing smileplaying on his lips. He was fishing for compliments, and I was ready to give them to him. Especially as he didn’t seem to be getting them from anyone else.
“Yes. You looked really hot in your suit. It’s not just me saying that; people are talking about it online. I upvoted all theHenry is sexycomments so they’d rank higher than the mean ones.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.” There was a sparkle of amusement in his eyes. “Vivian and my dad were pretty pissed after the conference, because I didn’t stick to the speech they’d prepared for me. They wanted me to sing my dad’s praises and pretend that he was the brains behind the Pearl Gala.”
I frowned. “But that’s not true.”
“Which is why I didn’t stick to the script.”
“Shouldn’t your dad be happy if you get recognition for organising the gala? Isn’t that what parents do? Praise their kids?” I asked carefully. My mum hadn’t been perfect. We’d had our issues, and the last years with Randell had been particularly challenging, but she’d always stood by me and supported me as best she could. She’d often told me how proud she was of me and had waited at the finish line at all my athletics competitions, cheering me on. She had also tried to stop me from dropping out of school. Deep down, she only ever wanted the best for me.
Henry shrugged. “That’s not how my dad works.”
“Has he always been like this?”
“I looked up to him when I was a kid, before I realised how cold, distant, and calculating he is. No idea if he’s always been like that. If so, I had to grow up to realise it. Now I see it all the more clearly. All that matters to him is his own success.”
I hadn’t encountered Richard Darlington yet, but no one at the hotel seemed to have anything positive to say about him. Thatmade it hard for me to associate him with Henry. “But you’re his son.”
“First and foremost, I’m a means to an end. I’m there to save the hotel.”
“Doesn’t that bother you?”
The mattress moved under me as he shifted his weight. “It mainly bothers me that it looks from the outside like I’m supporting my dad. I’m not. Everything I’m doing is for the hotel, not for him.”
“One day, it’ll be all yours.”
Or not.
Henry didn’t say the words out loud, but I could read them in his eyes. He seemed genuinely afraid that the hotel would go down with his dad. He couldn’t see how brilliant he was or how much his staff appreciated him, unlike his father. But then again, how could he see all that when Richard, Vivian, and the press constantly made him feel like he wasn’t good enough, that he was doing something wrong? Who wouldn’t doubt themselves under those circumstances, under this amount of pressure?
“What’s that?” Henry asked suddenly.
Surprised by the sudden change of topic, it took me a moment to realise he was referring to the notepad on my bedside table. Shit. I had started making a list of other jobs I was qualified for, and it definitely wasn’t intended for Henry’s eyes.
