Billionaire's Love Suite (14 page)

“I wonder if I could talk Justin into letting me fly to North Carolina for
the furniture selections. That would get me out of town completely. I could
go on to Atlanta for the tile, marble and granite selections,” Shana thought
to herself as she rounded the corner and walked up to the café where she
was meeting Cate for lunch.

Cate was wearing a pretty lime green strapless sundress and espadrilles.
Her hair was pulled back in a clip at her nape, which allowed the enormous
diamond and gold loop earrings she wore to swing freely as she twisted her
head around to greet Shana.

“Hey, stranger,” Cate said standing to quick hug Shana.

“How was Cabo?”

“His name was Miguel and he was fabulous,” Cate said rolling her eyes
and fanning herself with her hand. “How’s your summer going?”

“I’m very pleased. I ordered several Chelsea Additions fabrics. But the
Cowton and Tout checks and florals for Toronto are out of this world. They
were featured in Architectural Digest…”

“That’s not what I meant,” Cate blurted. “I’ve been gone two weeks and
you look different.”

Shana would have cratered under Cate’s blistering gaze, but she’d
learned a great deal about acting in the past few weeks. She’d learned to
hold her cool in the face of discovery. “How so?”

“Don’t evade. What’s up with Justin?”

Shana shrugged her shoulders. “Nothing. And frankly, I have you to
thank for it. I’m following your advice about how to get him out of my
system. I have now sexually binged on him. Now I’m purging.”

Cate eyed her friend suspiciously. “Really?”

Shana’s Blackberry vibrated in her slack’s pocket. She ignored it. “I’ve
successfully avoided Justin for over two weeks.”

“I thought you were in love with him.”

Shana’s exhale was filled with defeat. “I was. Am. But I have to get over
him.”

Cate leaned closer and placed her hand over Shana’s. “Is there someone
else?”

“I’m sure of it. She called his suite right after…” Shana stopped herself
knowing she’d said too much.

Cate’s eyes flew wide open. “You were in his suite? In bed? Hmm.
Impatient. I like that in a guy.”

“I wanted it as much as he did,” Shana admitted. “I’m shameless when
it comes to Justin.”

Cate’s smile was empathetic. “I don’t think so. Believe me, I wrote
the book on shameless with men. But you’re a strong woman, Shana. Two
weeks can seem like a lifetime when you’re in love. I don’t know if I could
have done as well as you.”

Shana’s cell phone vibrated again.

Cate looked down at Shana’s waist. “Is that him?”

“Yes.”

“You can do that? Just put him off? I mean, he being your boss and
all.”

Shana retrieved the Blackberry from her pocket and checked the text
message. She frowned when she read the demand. “He’s pissed.”

Cate threw Shana a sarcastic look. “Imagine.”

“You’re going to have to see him sooner or later. You can’t hide
forever.”

“I know,” Shana nodded. “I have that all figured out. I’ve been doing
visualizations and mantras to fortify myself against him when I see him,”
Shana replied confidently. “You’re right. I’m a strong woman. I can stand
up to anything. Even Justin.”

Cate sat back giving Shana a reassured gaze. “My hero.”

*********

Justin was pacing and he never paced. Raking his fingers through his
hair should have dispelled some of his frustration at not being able to get in
touch with Shana, but these days, nothing seemed to work. Seventeen days
of text messages, broken promises to meet with him and Shana’s messengers
delivering fabric samples and tile chips for his approval told him all he
wanted to know.

Shana was doing more than avoiding him. She had written him off.

She was telling him loud and clear that she didn’t want a personal relationship
with him. Right now, Justin knew only one thing. He needed her.
It was bad enough that Trent reminded him constantly about the Will, but
what really bothered Justin was that after having sex with Shana in his own
bed, strangely, he couldn’t look at his bed without thinking of her. Clearly,
there was something haywire in his libido. One woman wasn’t that much
different from the next or the last. He’d lived life long enough and full
enough to know that there wasn’t a woman on earth who wasn’t thinking of
his fat bank account when she smiled at him.

He sensed, though he didn’t know, that Shana was different. For some
inexplicable reason, he’d revealed more of himself and his past to Shana than
any one ever. At first he thought this was because she was his employee. She
was paid to be a sounding board of a type, wasn’t she? Maybe she kissed
him back like she did, because she didn’t want to lose her job.

The thing that puzzled him the most was that he and she sincerely loved
the hotels. He was born to them. She adopted them like children. Even in
her supposed absence, her text messages and her attention to detail about the
fabrics and furnishings she chose were underscored with meticulous attention and, dare he think it, caring. As much as she confounded him, he found
that he admired her tenacious and obviously, energetic sense of duty.

Shana had put the hotels first. Even more than he had.

Today’s planning meeting with the head of the construction company,
the architect for the speakeasy, the accountants and the publicist Justin had
hired, was a perfect excuse for Justin and Shana to come face to face. In
anticipation of seeing her, he’d worn his black Ermenegildo Zegna single-breasted
suit with a spread collar white Oxford cloth shirt and a Zegna black
and gray paisley silk tie. He told himself that if he looked good, maybe it
would influence Shana in some way to take him up on a dinner invitation.

Justin honestly hadn’t the slightest idea why he was acting like an insecure
high schooler when it came to Shana. The only cause for his nervousness
had to be due to the fact that he needed to propose marriage to her and
soon.

“But how can I pop the question if I never see her?” he grumbled to
himself.

Just then one of the kitchen staff entered the conference room with a
tea cart filled with delicate pastries and tea sandwiches displayed on a three
tiered gold server, a silver coffee urn, bottles of cold water and a pitcher of
mint iced tea.

“Looks terrific. Just put it over there near the window,” Justin said
checking his Audemars Piquet Royal Oak watch.

He no more than looked up when the accountant, Bill Sanders, and
Harry Ingleston, the construction general entered the room. Justin shook
their hands and suggested they grab a cup of coffee or a glass of iced tea.
Within minutes everyone attending the meeting had arrived. Shana walked
in behind Sue Eggleston, the new publicist.

Justin greeted Sue politely but from the instant he saw Shana dressed
in a white summer suit with black trim, belt and shoes, he felt his knees
turn to liquid. He didn’t know how it was possible, but she had grown even
more beautiful in the weeks they’d been apart. She had a light suntan, which
was accentuated by the white suit fabric. She’d worn her shining blonde
hair loose around her shoulders. Her makeup was minimal with only a bit
of mascara, eyeliner and lip gloss but she glowed as if she’d been lit from
within.

She looked at him with a confident smile and shook his hand. “Hello,
Mr. Yates.”

She stunned him. He thought he’d answered her but suddenly his tongue
had gone thick in his mouth and his brain somehow had shut down its neurotransmitters.
As he gazed at her, all he could think about was their first
meeting in the steam room and the Shana he saw before him now was naked.
He’d call off the meeting. He’d order everyone to leave. Then he’d be alone
with her where he’d make love to her right on the conference table.

Or maybe he’d remember that he was Justin Yates and the CEO of the
Lux Hotel Chain.

He cleared his throat. “Shana. Good to see you,” he said calmly and
succinctly as if the formation of the words had been effortless and not the
gargantuan feat he’d just performed.

He motioned for Shana to sit next to him at the table. She smiled sweetly,
tipped her head and walked to the opposite end of the table. “I’ll need some
room to spread out my design boards and photos,” she said.

Justin refused to admit that she was still trying to avoid him. He chose,
for the sake of his own sanity, to believe her. She just needed some room.

The meeting lasted over two hours, but as everyone departed from the
conference room, they all agreed they were on the same page.

Shana was talking with Sue Eggleston about the media blitz they wanted
to conduct to promote the opening of the speakeasy when Justin walked up
and took Shana’s elbow. “Can I speak with you after you and Sue finish?”

Shana had hoped to use Sue to deflect just this kind of request from
Justin. “Actually, we were going to my office to continue our discussion,”
Shana said.

In a bubbly voice, Sue offered, “It can wait, Shana. I’ll give you a call
tomorrow after I talk to Fox television. I’ll let you know what they say
about coverage.” Sue shook Shana’s hand and then Justin’s. “Nice to see
you again, Justin. I can’t tell you how impressed I am with all the changes.
It’s like magic.”

“It’s all due to Shana,” Justin said proudly. “I can assure you of that.”

“Thank you,” Shana said feeling a blush of humility rise to her cheeks.

Sue left the conference room and Shana was alone with Justin. They
faced each other awkwardly, neither of them speaking, their eyes locked on
each other searching for answers to unposed, unconsidered questions.

Justin barreled forward. “I believe in cutting to the chase. You’ve been
avoiding me.”

Shana opened her mouth to allow her lie to escape and then snapped it
shut. “Actually, I was doing what I was hired to do.”

He peered at her with eyes so blue they could cut glass. She felt his gaze
to the tailbone of her soul. She hadn’t wanted to attend this meeting. She’d
thought of a dozen ways to get out of it, but when the final moment came,
she had to admit that she wanted to see him. She’d been without a Justin fix
for nearly three weeks and despite the drying out, she was still addicted.

She wished to heaven that something would have changed to make her
immune, but instead, he looked a thousand times more handsome than she
remembered. All through the meeting, she listened to his mesmerizing voice
and the way he joked with everyone and graciously allowed them all to have
equal time to present their ideas. He did not chastise anyone for some of the
shortfalls they were seeing. He diplomatically pointed out the necessity for
more stringent adherence to construction deadlines and suggested that they
all stay in closer contact with him or Shana so that problems could be solved
expeditiously.

Though the hotel business and construction was new to him, his manner
was that of a seasoned veteran. In her years of experience, she’d never
worked for a more knowledgeable boss.

He folded his arms in front of him. “Well, then, I want to thank you for
doing a commendable job. I don’t think anyone could do what you’ve done
any better.”

“Thank you,” she replied. “I was just thinking the same of you. You
were hurled into this brave new world with no guidance whatsoever and so
far, we are basically moving forward according to plan. Each time there has
been a problem or setback, you’ve handled it.”

He flashed her a blazing smile that nearly knocked her over. “Coming
from you, that’s high praise.”

“You’ve earned all the accolades you’re receiving, Mr. Yates.”

The scowl that filled Justin’s face looked like raging storm clouds. “So,
it’s not Justin, anymore?”

“We’re talking business here,” she said taking a step back from him as
if the tempest of his anger could reach out and strike her.

Justin grabbed her arm. “I don’t want it to be like this,” he growled.

Shana recoiled. “It has to be.”

“Why?”

“Because it does,” she shot, but for the life of her she couldn’t formulate
a concrete argument. The thought crossed her mind that the reason further
protests did not come to mind, might just be the fact that she would give
her eye teeth to be held in his arms and feel his lips on hers just one more
time.

Justin shoved his face close to hers until they were nearly nose to nose.
“Let me get this straight. I make love to you and I’m thinking that we have
something pretty darn good going on and you go off to a meeting and I don’t
see you in the office or out of it for nearly three weeks? You don’t see something
a bit…odd about that? Then you tell me that you’re doing your job.
As if you were doing my bidding or something like that. And I’m supposed
to accept this explanation?”

“Uh,” Shana licked her lips. She didn’t have a comeback. God help her
she didn’t want to talk to him. She didn’t want to argue with him. She just
wanted to kiss him…for about a week and a half. She didn’t care if she died
of suffocation. It would be a wondrous way to die.

His eyes bored into her, demanding a reply. Insisting on the truth.

She couldn’t tell him the truth. She had hoped that with the distance
she’d put between them, she would have discovered that she was only infatuated
with Justin. But as he stood looming over her, steam rising from the
top of his head and looking as if he would bite her head off, she only wanted
to hug him. She was overcome with the idea that if Justin ever received the
kind of love she had to give, he would be changed man. But that was idiotic.
That was the kind of thinking that was the bane of most women. It was the
Beauty and the Beast syndrome. My love will change him. No one could
change anyone else. People changed themselves for themselves. Shana’s
overly romantic heart and the fact that she was in love with Justin was most
assuredly going to be her downfall.