In the Boss's Bed (Harlequin Blaze) (16 page)

30

W
HEN
M
AYA
HEARD
the announcement for the arrival of Abby’s flight, she couldn’t contain her excitement. It had been so long since she’d seen her best friend, and she had worked hard to make the next five days spectacular. She looked around at all of the other people waiting quietly for their loved ones. Maya, however, was bouncing on the balls of her feet, trying to expend some energy while she waited for Abby.

Sure, she missed Jamie, as she hadn’t seen him since the weekend that they reconciled, but she missed Abby in a way she couldn’t imagine. In missing Jamie, she missed their intimacy, his loving words, his touches, his body. But with Abby, it was completely different. Abby was her best friend in the whole world. She missed having a girlfriend around to share late-night chats, chick flicks and the occasional bottle (or two) of wine. Sure they talked on the phone and with video chat, but it wasn’t the same.

She saw Abby’s blond pixie cut before she saw the woman herself. She squealed and jumped up and down, and she ran toward her friend, pushing through the throngs of people waiting for their own loved ones as they disembarked.

When she reached Abby, Maya pulled her into a fierce hug, which held all of her feelings and the way she’d missed her friend. “Oh, my God,” she cried as she grasped Abby. “I can’t believe you’re here.”

“Oh, I missed you so much,” Abby told her, returning her hug with the same fierceness. “Canada—like, the whole country—is not the same without you, Maya. Thank you for inviting me.”

“I’m sorry it took this long.” Maya held her at arm’s length, studying her friend as if, if she didn’t look closely, she might find it wasn’t actually her, but some stranger. “How was your flight?”

Abby grimaced. “Ugh, next time you score me free tickets to fly here, it’d better be first class. The smelliest man sat next to me. And he had the aisle seat, so I couldn’t even get up to go to the washroom. At least the male flight attendant was cute. He kept bringing me free champagne. So I’ll admit, I might have already gotten my Vegas vacay started on an appropriate foot, because I might actually be a little bit tipsy,” she giggled.

“Good girl,” Maya laughed. “Cute flight attendant, huh?”

“I guess he just fell in love with me in my yoga pants and flip-flops combo,” she gestured to her traveling outfit.

Maya raised a skeptical eyebrow at Abby. “Girl, you actually look flawless, as usual.” She wasn’t lying, Abby had an amazing flair for making the most casual and ragtag of outfits look cute and fashionable. If she didn’t love Abby so much, Maya would hate her for it.

“Well, why don’t we head back to my place and I’ll let you freshen up, as if you need it, and then we can hit your choice of restaurant for lunch. You hungry?”

“Starving,” Abby told her as they linked arms and walked toward the baggage claim. “And I can’t wait for you to tell me all about your awesome, glamorous new life.”

* * *

“S
O
HOW
’
S
THE
job hunt going?” Maya asked Abby as they were seated at a tropical-themed restaurant. They ordered margaritas and shared a plate of nachos and salsa.

“Well, it sucks,” Abby replied, dunking a chip. “Everyone from our class is competing for the same positions, and there’s not a lot of hiring going on. I tell you, you’re pretty lucky, getting that job with Jamie and then getting one out here. It’s dog-eat-dog right now.”

Maya frowned, she felt bad Abby wasn’t having any luck, but a small wave of relief rolled over her that she had made the right decision by taking the job that she was offered. “I’m sorry, Abby.”

“Oh, don’t be. I’ll find something. In the meantime, though, Trevor, from Swerve, has hired me to be a bartender at the club on weekends. I’m not exactly using my MBA, but hey, the money’s really, really good, and he’s pretty fun to hang out with.”

“I hope he isn’t replacing me as your new bestie.”

“He could never do that,” Abby assured her. “But he is quite nice to look at.”

“That’s good. Trevor is a great guy. He and Jamie are really close.”

“They are and, speaking of Jamie, how are things with you two?”

Maya shrugged. “Things are good. Long distance is really hard, though. The time zone is tricky and it feels like we never talk. But he’ll be here next week.” She sighed. “But, you know, it’s like maybe too much distance. I don’t know. Some days are really hard, and I don’t always think that it’s worth it.”

“Don’t do that,” Abby warned, pointing a finger at Maya. “Haven’t we had this conversation before? You do this every time. It’s like you push away any shot at happiness that you have. You’re sabotaging yourself. Unless you honestly don’t want to be with Jamie, you have to work for it.” Abby took a sip of her margarita. “Love is scary and hard and it’s a lot of work, but isn’t it worth it?”

“Love?”

“You love Jamie, don’t you?”

“I—I don’t know. I— Some days I think so, but others... It’s just so hard not seeing him every day. He’s in Montreal and I’m here.”

“Maya, you’re too stubborn for your own good. You need to trust your heart. If you love Jamie, it’ll be worth it. All this distance won’t always be an issue.”

Maya remained silent and sipped her margarita.
Do I love Jamie?
After this conversation with Abby, she was even more confused.
Do I sabotage my own happiness? No. I don’t, do I?

* * *

I
T
WAS
LUNCHTIME
when Maya saw her.

Maya and Abby had spent the previous night at a swanky club, and Maya hadn’t fared much better than she had the previous time she’d gone to a club with Abby—the night they’d gone to Swerve. She awoke with a hangover, and she was late for work, and she barely had enough time to pull her hair into a ponytail and apply only a minimal amount of makeup.

In the hallway on the way to her office, Maya popped a couple of ibuprofen and downed them with her coffee, when she saw a flash of red hair approach her. It took her only a moment to place the woman’s striking face. It was Gwen Seaver.

“Hi, Gwen,” Maya muttered as she walked by her.

Gwen stopped. Her face twisted into confusion. “I’m sorry, have we met?”

Yes, we’ve met.
Maya’s eyes narrowed.
And you remember me.
Maya identified this as a game that manipulative people played, belittling the importance of others. “Yes, we have. I’m Maya, the assistant manager of Blue Hotel. You’re also working for my friend Jamie Sellers on his hotel.”

“Ah, yes, hello, Maya.” Gwen shot out her hand. “Nice to see you again.”

“Nice to see you, as well,” Maya lied.

“So, you and Jamie are friends,” Gwen said, with a raised eyebrow.

“Yup, me and Jamie are friends.” Maya didn’t see the need to explain her relationship with Jamie to this snotty woman.

“He is a great guy.” Gwen pursed her lips. “He and I have been working
very closely
as of late.”

Maya cocked her head to the side. “What?”

“Yeah, it’s a big project, we’ve worked quite a few late nights together.” She leaned in closely and whispered,
“If you know what I mean.”

Maya knew exactly what she meant. “You and Jamie?”

“Yeah. You could say that he’s not interested in just my interior designs.” She laughed sexily. “He told me he needed a real woman that knew how to handle him and his lifestyle. Too bad he had to find me in Las Vegas. So far from his home.” She looked Maya up and down.

“How long have you and Jamie been seeing each other?”

Gwen shrugged, and waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, I don’t know, for weeks now, I guess. You know, between us girls, it’s really just a casual fling.” Gwen looked up with a phony smile. “Anyway, I must be going. See you later, Maya. And I guess I’ll be seeing Jamie when he gets here on Wednesday. We’ve got quite a few meetings scheduled to go over the finer details.”

Maya watched Gwen saunter down the hallway until she rounded the corner. She was finally able to breathe.
Jamie is sleeping with Gwen?
Not insecure by nature, Maya felt herself shrink in the hallway, as she pressed back against a wall. She caught her breath and stood straight.

While the rational part of her mind was saying,
Pull it together
.
Talk to Jamie. I’m sure he’ll clear all of this up
, the nonrational, but way louder part of her brain was equal parts livid and devastated.
That jerk. I can’t believe he is also seeing that awful woman. Why would he do that to me?
Then Maya was hit with a crushing thought.
Am I also a casual fling to him?

Of course you aren’t. He wants to be with you, and you know it!
she scolded herself.
Don’t be insane.
Gwen was obviously lying. Jamie just wouldn’t have had time to be also fooling around with that snake. Maya knew that the little free time that Jamie had, he spent with her. He wouldn’t do that to her, anyway. Gwen was jealous. She couldn’t have Jamie, so she lied. And that was the most confusing part, she knew Gwen had lied, without a doubt, but she was shocked at how much she felt for Jamie, the power that he held in his hands to crush her so easily.

Maya somehow made her way to her office, walked inside and slumped against the closed door. She closed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath. Then another.
In. And out. In. And out...

31

J
AMIE
LET
HIMSELF
into Maya’s apartment with the key she had given him. He was already booked in a suite on the Strip, for convenience of his scheduled meetings, but he knew that he would be spending every night in Maya’s bed. Speaking to her on the phone the past few days was strange. She was distant. When he asked her if anything was wrong she gave him an “everything’s just fine” that he didn’t quite trust. He shook it off, telling himself that the awkwardness came from the distance, and that things would be fine when they were actually together in the same city.

Shutting the door behind him, he inhaled. He could smell her everywhere, and he smiled. Now that he was back with Maya, every day was a relief. He felt lighter and he stayed positive, even when work became too much, he knew that he had Maya. And she was only ever just a phone call away.

He brought his bag to her bedroom and he smiled at the bed, recalling the nights they had spent making love on his last trip. He remembered taking her in the middle of the night, rousing her from her sleep. He couldn’t get enough of her. The sound of the door opening interrupted his thoughts. Maya was home.

With a quick stride, he made it to the door to greet her. Upon seeing him, her smile was small. He frowned. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything is fine.” She avoided his eyes, and he was unconvinced.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” she snapped. “I’m fine. How was your flight?”

“Good.”

She brushed past him. “Should we go out somewhere for dinner? I’m starved.”

He put a hand on the fridge, blocking her from moving any farther away from him. “We aren’t going anywhere. Not until you tell me what’s going on with you.”

She sighed. “Okay. Last week, when Abby was here, I saw Gwen, your interior designer.”

“Okay...” He didn’t know where she could possibly be going with this. But he knew from the look in her eyes that it certainly wasn’t going to be good.

“She told me...”

He was still confused. He narrowed his eyes at her. A look that he knew made most male executives cower. Maya only crossed her arms across her chest in response. “What in the hell did she tell you?”

“That you guys are sleeping together.”

Jamie was stunned. “What?”

“Don’t be obtuse, Jamie. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“There was nothing to tell you. Nothing happened.”

“Jamie, she told me—”

“She’s lying!”

“Why would she lie about that?”

“Why are we fighting about this? I don’t know why she would lie.” He brought his hands to his hair. “I will admit to you that, yeah, there was some flirtation going on. Only over email. And on my last trip here, before we made up, Gwen and I had sort of made plans to hook up. But then I saw you, and I knew that I wouldn’t touch her. She came on to me, but I pushed her away. When would I have even had a chance to hook up with her? I haven’t been to Vegas since we got back together. What, do you think I’ve been coming back to Vegas every other day to have sex with her?” He exhaled loudly, frustrated, angry. But when he saw the hurt in her eyes, he forced himself to calm down. He softened. “I don’t know why she would tell you that. Maybe to hurt you, to hurt me, but it’s not true.”

When Maya said nothing, Jamie cupped her face in his large hands.

She looked him in the eyes. “Maybe you should go.”

“Maya, don’t do this to me again. You have to trust me. If you don’t trust me, we won’t be able to do this.” She still said nothing. “Do you believe me?”

She lowered her head, saying nothing.

He nodded, gathered his bag and quietly left.

32

J
AMIE
SAT
IN
his suite, waiting for his next appointment. He didn’t like what he was about to do. Gwen was a talented designer, and he loved what she had conceived of for his hotel. But he knew what he had to do. He was livid that she had come between him and Maya, and he hated her for it. He knew that he couldn’t stand to be around her just to complete this project, and he would have to find another interior designer. Their contract be damned. Any fee or penalty he incurred, he was prepared to pay it to remove Gwen from the project. His relationship with Maya was worth more than money, or even the shot to his reputation.

When her knock sounded at the door, he stood. He opened it, and Gwen brushed past him, coming close enough that he could feel her heat through his clothing.

“Hello, Jamie, how are you?” She sat at the table and looked up through sultry eyelashes. She opened the folder she held. “You should see what I came up with for the pool area.”

“I’m fine, Gwen.” He cleared his throat. “And there’s no need to take that out.”

She looked at him, puzzled.

“I know that you spoke to Maya.”

Her face went pale.

“I know that you told her that we slept together. Why did you tell her that?”

“Jamie, I know that it’s only a matter of time until we get together.” She stood and put her hands on his chest. “I know that you want to be with me. Nobody rejects me.”

Jamie clasped her wrists in his hands. “Gwen, don’t embarrass yourself. You found out that Maya and I were together and you lashed out because I wasn’t interested in you. So really, Gwen, all that’s left to say is that I called you here to tell you that I will no longer be needing your services for Swerve.”

“Jamie, don’t be ridiculous.”

“I’m being serious. We’re done.”

“Don’t think you’ll be able to use my designs—”

“I don’t want them. I don’t want anything having to do with you. You cost me the woman I love and I don’t want you anywhere near me, her or my hotel.”

Gwen straightened, hurt pride and fire in her eyes. “Fine, Jamie, have it your way. I’m leaving. But don’t forget, I know a lot of influential people in this city, and don’t think I will speak kindly of you.”

“I don’t need anything from you, Gwen, especially your recommendation. I’ll do just fine on my own.”

Gwen huffed, stalked to the door and slammed it on her way out.

* * *

S
O
,
THAT
LEFT
Jamie back where he started—handling all of the building details of his hotel, and he still had no assistant. He sighed as he walked into Garrett Collins’s office. He was ready to admit that he needed the man’s help. He was in over his head, and the most immediate of problems was that he needed to find a new interior designer. He had lucked out when Garrett had introduced him to Gwen, but he obviously couldn’t keep working with her.

Some days later, Maya still wouldn’t talk to him. He hadn’t told her that he fired Gwen. He wondered if the Gwen situation was the only reason she had forced him away. But he didn’t have time to worry about it at the moment.

“What can I do for you, Jamie?” Garrett smiled at the younger man, brushing aside the papers he had in front of him.

“Well, this is kind of embarrassing, Garrett. But I’m afraid I need a little help. And it pains me to have to come to you, but I’m a desperate man,” he said humbly.

“Jamie, asking for help should never be an embarrassment,” the older man chided him. “But to come to me like this, you must really need some assistance. What’s on your mind?”

Jamie looked at his hands. “Well, I need to find another interior designer. Gwen didn’t quite work out.”

Garrett furrowed his brow in confusion. “Huh. That’s surprising. Gwen is one of my most trusted advisors. Dare I ask what happened?”

“She did a great job, Garrett. But she can’t continue to work for me. It’s personal, I’m afraid.”

“Ah, I see. Does this have anything to do with Maya?”

“Maya?” Jamie was startled. He didn’t think that Garrett knew anything about their relationship or their problems.

“I’m not stupid, son. I see the way you look at each other. I’m in the business of people, Jamie. I have been for a long time. Want to tell me what’s troubling you?”

“This is awkward to talk about, sir, but Gwen insinuated herself into our relationship, she lied to Maya about the status of what had been a strictly professional relationship.” Jamie put a hand on the other man’s desk. “I don’t want to disparage her work. She did an excellent job for me, but I can’t use her now.”

“I understand.”

“So I was wondering if you knew anyone who could come aboard for my hotel this late in the game?”

“You’re asking for my connections?”

Jamie bowed his head. He hated having to come to anyone for help. “Sir, I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t need help.”

“I know that must have been hard for you to admit. But I’ll gladly help you, Jamie. You’re a good man. And you’re a fantastic businessman. I see a lot of myself in you. I can’t wait to see the finished result of all your hard work, and I actually look forward to you being one of my most formidable competitors here on the Strip.” He rolled up his sleeves. “I like a good challenge, and I think you’ll provide me with one.”

Jamie blushed and lowered his head again. No one in his life, besides Dr. C., had ever spoken to him with such pride and doled out such praise. “Thank you, sir. I look forward to it, as well.”

Garrett pulled out a drawer and rifled through a box of business cards. He pulled out one and scrawled a phone number on the back. “Kurt Stanfield. He is great at what he does and I guarantee he won’t try to get in your pants,” he chuckled. “Call his personal number on the back and tell him I gave it to you. He owes me a favor.”

Jamie stood. “Thank you so much, Garrett. I really owe you one.”

Garrett waved a hand. “You owe me nothing, kid. But I expect you to keep our girl happy. She’s been pining around here for the past couple of days. I don’t like to see that.”

He grimaced that Maya was hurt. “I’m working on it. I’m going to make it right.”

“I hope so, for both of your sakes.”