Page 34 of Heartless
We walked into the lobby in silence. Thankfully, Melany wasn’t on shift that night. I wondered if he was two-timing her and Jessica or if I misinterpreted something.
Parker followed me all the way to my room. When I unlocked the door and turned to face him, I caught him glancing inside. Then his gaze fell on mine.
“What will your mother do now?”
I shrugged as if I had no clue, but he raised a brow in disbelief. When I remained silent, he said, “Humor me.”
“She will pester me for a while and then she will find someone else to set me up with.”
“Hmm.”
“What?”
“I wonder how we could solve this problem.”
“We’re not solving anything.”
“You can’t present a problem in front of a man and expect him not to try to solve it.”
“I already have a meddling mom. I don’t need a meddling boss.”
He just grinned. “What you need is a boyfriend, Miss Hartley.”
“Yeah. I don’t want one. Good night,” I pushed the door open and when I turned to close it, he was walking backwards, still looking at me. “Why are you so weird?” I asked.
He grinned, turned his back to me, and walked away.
I kicked off my shoes, peeled off my dress and gathered my hair in a messy bun on top of my head, because I didn’t feel like washing it that night.
A knock on my door stopped my pre-shower routine. I didn’t have to look to know it was Parker on the other side. I put a robe on and opened the door.
“Can I come in?”
“Sure.” I let him in and closed the door behind him.
His gaze dropped to my chest for a moment and hoped I wasn’t going to blush again like I did in the restaurant. He kept one of his hands behind his back. “I have an idea of how to deal with your mother.”
“What are you hiding back there?”
“A prop.”
“Should I be scared?” I teased.
“Terrified,” he released a feral grin and finally showed me what he had been hiding. A white rose. He had probably taken it from one of the million vases that covered the lobby and the corridors. He twirled the stem between his fingers. “Remember that thing you told Roger? About the roses and the confidentiality. Sub rosa?”
“Yes?”
“We seem to always get tangled in a deal, you and I. Clementine’s wedding. The contract of employment. Our new game of questions. It seems to work for us. Having clear expectations of one another. Right?”
“I guess.”
“I want to offer you something. One more deal. A deal that will be our secret. And it will get your mother off your back.”
“My mother?” I asked, confused.
“We can make her stop asking you about marriage and kids.”
I placed my hands on my hips, heavily confused. “Look. My mother is not your problem. And there is nothing you can do to distract her from her goal. I inherited my go-getter drive from her.”
