Promises (22 page)

“Gay
, love, you’re obviously giving her one,” he laughed with a snide dig in her ribs.

Rolling her eyes
, Alex didn’t bother to respond. It wasn’t worth the hassle. “Yeah, whatever.” Let the idiot think what the hell he liked. If he thought she was a lesbian then great, at least it would save her from telling him to get lost.

“W
hat made you want to work here?” Tom asked, walking alongside her back towards the hotel. Her apartment was only a short two blocks away.

“A job,
money?” She glared at him, wondering where his brains were, then dropped her gaze in disgust to his crotch. “Why?”

“Just asking
.” Still studying her, he continued, “Do you know much about the hotel industry?”

“Nothing
at all.” She thought of Sol and his chain, wishing she’d never heard of him or his bloody hotels.

“This is an Avery hotel,
so it speaks for itself.” He didn’t notice her sudden pallor.

“What did you say?” she managed to mutter, her heart
slamming in her chest.
Please God, don’t be so cruel
. Then she thought again, knowing he could.

“Avery, why?” he paused
, wondering why she suddenly appeared so ashen.

“Solomon Avery owns this?” she whispered,
stating his name aloud.

“Y
es, why?” He tilted his head and frowned, looking through her.

“Nothing, nothing at all
!” She brushed the perspiration away from her forehead. “Er, does he come here at all?” Remembering Ruth’s words, she tried to stave off her panic.

“What
? The high and mighty Solomon, are you real?” Tom burst into laughter and shook his head. “What the hell for? We’re beneath him, trust me.”

Her
breath flew out with relief, thanking God that Solomon was so far up his own ass he didn’t bother visiting the hotels that put food on his table.

A
lex pushed her hair back, tying it firmly at the nape of her neck, before taking the tray and moving forward. She gave a brief glance down at the table number. She’d been working at the hotel for over a month now.

A
nd for over a month she’d been waiting for her period, which still hadn’t arrived. Convinced the delay was due to stress and worry, she continued to wait, ignoring the possibility she could be pregnant. Her stomach felt no different, no swelling.

She swung
the door open and moved forward, at last managing to get a grip on it. The first time she’d tried to carry a tray through the door she’d knocked the entire contents onto the floor. Now she was cannier. With a dip and sway, she slipped through it and headed for her table. Her short black skirt clung to her hips, the pristine white shirt loose above.

“Soup
, sir?” she asked the blond man, then did a double take. It was Callum. She prayed he wouldn’t recognize her, but no such luck.

“Alex?” he
stared in disbelief, taking in her waitress outfit. “What the hell are you doing here? And more important, what the heck are you doing?”

She glanced around, making sure Sol wasn’t there before giving him a searching look
. “I could ask you the same thing. Why are you here?” She turned to face the other tables, trying to give herself time to think.

“Er, I was hungry, which
is usually why one orders food?” He cricked one blond brow. “You do know that Sol is looking everywhere for you?”

“
Really?” She placed his meal in front of him, trying to contain the tremble in her hand. She equated him to Sol and her mind was running riots. It was impossible to dampen down the squiggle of excitement that his name evoked.

“You haven’t answered my question
,” he pushed.

She
tried to organize her thoughts. “Which one?”

“What happened between the two of you
? The last time I saw you, you were both so much in love, and then you walked. Why?” His blue eyes clouded with concern. “Why believe that bitch?”

“Let
’s just say it could never work out.” She lowered her head and eyes, unwilling to show him the sheen there. “I want a man I can trust, who doesn’t lie. I don’t need to say any more.” Unwilling to continue, she felt the tears well up in her eyes yet again.

Callum
studied her with care, noting the hurt and pain evident in her pale face, and nodded when she turned away.

* * *

Solomon glanced at the name on his mobile and lethargically answered it. “Yeah.” He wasn’t in the mood to talk, his gaze fixed on the photo that had become a shrine. Even though he was currently in America on business, the photo travelled with him.

“Sol, I hope you’re sitting down, because I’ve just seen Alex
.”

Solomon’s heart
slid to a halt then restarted, hammering in his chest. “You’ve what?” He sat up and held the mobile close. “Where?”

“She’s working as a waitress at the Ocean
.” Sitting back in the booth, Callum heard Sol’s deep sigh of relief.

“I don’t bloody believe it
,” he swore. “Are you sure?”

“Of course I am
. I was just speaking to her.” He grinned. “And Sol, trust me, she’s really got it in for you. If you want forgiveness, by Christ, you’re going to have to work for it.”

“Great, I’ll do whatever she says!” H
e smiled, convinced he’d get her to see sense. Relief surged over him. Already making his plans, he booked a flight back to the UK.

* * *

Alex waited patiently in the kitchen and swallowed a deep breath as the heat from the oven blasted over her. At last taking her tray, she turned to walk through the door, which instead swung open.

S
he found herself gazing into the vibrant eyes of Solomon. The dishes she held crashed to the floor and she stared at him. Swallowing wordlessly, she was unable to move until the chef’s harsh words galvanised her into action.

“W
hat the hell are you doing, Alex? For goodness sake, clear the mess up and just hope I don’t deduct the cost from your wages!”

Sol glared at the man
chopping up a large cut of meat. “Shut your Goddamn mouth if you value your job,” he snarled, livid at the way the chef spoke to her. Then he glanced back, noticing how pale Alex was and the weight she’d lost. “And you, come with me. We’ve got some unfinished business.” He turned, automatically expecting her to follow, and she did.

Once outside
, he led her to an office around the corner from the restaurant and gestured to the door. “In there. We’ve got a lot to talk about.”

She glare
d but did as he asked. Pushing a strand of her hair back beneath the net she wore, she fidgeted with her silver ring. Then, finally, she spared him a glance.

Solomon closed the door and stared at her,
the harsh planes on his face belying the inner turmoil he felt. He wanted to pull her close, kiss her senseless, love her until she cried his name. But he knew damn well he had a lot of grovelling to do before he moved onto any of it.

“Callum told you
,” she stated, taking the initiative. A not so nice smile tugged at her lips and she gave a slight nod of her head while muttering, “Maybe he’ll be wearing the soup next time.”

Solomon
was leaning against the door with his arms folded in front of him. He looked cool and confident, yet inside he was a mass of shaking nerves. A tiny part of him was terrified that she wouldn’t give him another chance. “You’ve lost weight,” he commented, unsure where to start.

“You
saying I was fat before?”

“Christ
, no!” he swore. This was going to be more difficult than he originally thought. He ran a quivering hand through his hair. “I can’t believe you’ve been working here. Why?”

“Trust me, if I’d know
n you owned it before I applied, I wouldn’t have bothered turning up for the interview.” Alex sat down. Her face paled and she swallowed, trying to take slow deep breaths so calm the panic fluttering in her stomach. She didn’t look at him, instead keeping her head bent.

“I mean
, why as a waitress?” His voice hardened.

“It’s a job, and I needed one
.” She gave him a defiant look. “Some of us mere mortals need to work. We aren’t all millionaires.”

“Look
, Alex, I’ve told you I’m sorry, it’s just ….” He took a step towards her.

“It
’s just that you’re nothing but a liar, Solomon Avery. You had your fun,” she gave him a look of pure loathing, “and at my expense, but never again!”

“Alex,
it’s not like that.” He touched her shoulder, but when he saw the extent of her resentment, he removed it and recoiled. Her ice cold eyes burned through him.

“Isn’t it
? Then tell me what it’s like,” she hissed. Standing, she advanced on him and prodded him in the chest. “Your
girlfriend
explained exactly what it was. She gave me the truth, and you, all you could manage was empty, broken promises!” Her voice dropped to a choked whisper. She turned her back from him. “I really loved you, Sol, but you put paid to that, didn’t you?” Her voice was so soft and sad he had to struggle to listen to what she said.

Solomon
stared at her back, realizing that it was truly over.

S
he was burning her bridges.

H
is own temper exploded with the frustration and hurt that stung through him. “You’re nothing but a Goddamn hypocrite, you know that?” he yelled, clasping her shoulders and roughly spinning her around. He blazed angrily down at her pale face. “You’re so full of what
I’m
supposed to have done. And what about you? At the first chance you believed some bitch of a woman and ran.” His eyes sparked with fury. “You couldn’t give me a chance to explain, could you? You were too afraid and wrapped up in your sorry pathetic world. Our entire relationship, you were looking for a way out, and Sue gave you one. An easy cop-out!” He released her as if she were poison. “What about your promise to trust me? That didn’t last, did it? Convenient lapse of memory?” He threw his arms up in the air. “You’ve got your way. Trust me, I won’t bother you again. I just hope that for once in your life, you’ll learn to live, because if not, you’ll end up a lonely, embittered woman.”

Alex raised her eyes to him.

Only the slam of the door sounded in her face. The room was empty. She stared down at her feet as tears trickled down her cheeks. Their relationship was now well and truly over.

She shivered at the
anger and disgust she’d read in his face. Clutching her stomach protectively, she hoped at least that she’d always carry one part of him with her. But he must never know.

Callum sat in the lounge
, watching Sol stride towards him, his face a mask of fury. He signalled to the waiter. “Make that
two
whiskeys!”

“W
hat happened?” Callum asked. Misery and anger were etched on Sol’s face.

“
It’s over!” he snapped as he sat down and stared at the floor, intently studying the pattern of the carpet while endeavouring to calm his breathing. The emptiness that was invading his body and soul ate into him.

“But why?”
Callum shook his head in confusion. “I thought you two were the real thing, the type of relationship I would be jealous of. So how wrong has it gone?”

Solomon shrugged.
“You tell me! She won’t back down. I’m to blame full stop. For Christ’s sake, if I’d murdered somebody I could understand, but no, I broke a bloody promise and it’s the end of it!” He slammed his fist against his leg in frustration.

“You know she’s staying
down the street?”

Solomon raised his head
with a frown. “And?”

“Well,
I’m not sure if I should tell you this.” Callum paused and sipped at his whiskey before dropping his bombshell. “Apparently Natalie has arranged a room for her, and as you know, Natalie is a lesbian.” He looked at him, gauging his reaction. “And the rumour is, Alex is her kissing buddy.”

“Sod off!”
exploded Solomon in disbelief. Alex was highly sexed but he couldn’t believe she played with women. Still, a small part of him wondered if he really knew her. With her sex drive, could she be? The question lingered in his head. It was a distinct possibility, although he tried to deny it. He decided he wasn’t going anywhere till he found out the truth. Maybe that was why she didn’t want him.

“Hey
.” Callum held his hands up. “Just telling you what the gossip is. As it’s about your girl, thought you’d like to know.”

“She’s not my girl, not now or ever!” he spat, knocking the whisky back
. He savoured the intense burn, the only feeling that registered, given the numbness spreading through his heart.

Callum looked on
in silence, afraid to speak. Anything he said at this point would be wrong. He wished he could turn back the clock for them, because as far as he could tell, they’d both seriously overslept and lost their bearings.