12. Declan

12

DECLAN

The SUV pulled to a stop in front of the Wolfe Hotel. It felt strange not going home. It was also strange to be a guest in the hotel that I’d grown up in but never actually spent the night at. I hadn’t come here last night after I left Serena at our condo. I’d gone to the office and worked instead. I knew that I wasn’t going to get any sleep, so I really saw no point.

“Same pickup time tomorrow?” Lester asked as he opened the door.

“Yes,” I confirmed as I got out. “Thank you.”

“No problem.” Lester tipped his chin in a nod.

I walked in through the sliding doors of the hotel, where I would be staying for two nights until I left for Japan. I called earlier to reserve the executive suite, which was the room we typically comped for people, but I was told it was occupied, so I was going to be staying in the penthouse. I would have gladly spent the night in one of the standard rooms, but considering those are more likely to be booked, it was actually more advantageous for me to reside in the presidential suite.

My phone buzzed, and I pulled it out and saw a message from my grandmother asking me to call her. I wondered if Serena had reached out to her. It wouldn’t surprise me if she had. She’d contacted me several times today, but I’d ignored her messages. There was no reason to speak to her. I wasn’t going to marry someone I didn’t trust.

Serena was used to getting her way. She was an only child whose parents overindulged her. She worked as a model, but not because she needed the money. She had a trust fund that she could easily live off of. She modeled because it fed her ego. That wasn’t a judgment; it was a fact. She loved attention. I never had an issue with that. But between the job and her family feeding her sense of entitlement, she had no respect for boundaries. Originally, it had been a concern of mine, but after the first few years of it never being a problem, I’d proceeded with the relationship. I should have trusted my gut in the first place.

“Mr. Wolfe.”

I turned. “Fatima, it’s good to see you.”

Fatima Patel was the general manager of our flagship Central Park New York City location. She was in Atlanta doing executive management training this week. I’d hired her four years ago, and she’d fast-tracked through the ranks. She was ambitious and smart, and after being trapped in an elevator with her for fourteen hours during a winter storm and blackout two years ago in New York, we’d gotten to know one another much better than I knew any other employee that I had working for me.

I knew that her parents were both immigrants. She was the eldest of seven children. She had a younger brother with cerebral palsy who she cared for because her parents both passed away, one from cancer and one from alcoholism.

The familiarity had not been a one-way street. I’d spoken to her about my parents dying, my own issues with mysophobia, and my OCPD. That piece of information slipped out when I had a panic attack around hour ten. She knew more about me than anyone else in this world besides my therapist and Hannah, although I’d never told Hannah directly; I knew that she knew. She was too bright and knew me too well not to. Fatima knew more about me than I’d ever shared with Serena, which said more about my relationship with Serena than I cared to admit right about now.

“Good to see you, too, Mr. Wolfe.”

“Declan.” After being in a confined space and sharing intimate details of my life, formalities sort of go out the window.

She nodded as a sad smile tugged at the corners of her lips. “I’m so sorry about your grandfather. He was an inspiration. I truly respected him.”

I saw her eyes glossing over with emotion. One of the reasons she’d wanted to work for Wolfe Enterprises was because of my grandfather. She’d read an article about him in Time magazine when she was in middle school, how he was an immigrant who came here when he was eight and didn’t even speak the language. He built an empire from nothing, and it inspired her.

“He thought the world of you.” I’d barely gotten a chance to speak to her at his memorial service. Over fifteen hundred people were in attendance. It was a testament to how respected he was in this industry. “How is the training going?”

“Good. I really like DeShawn. I feel like he is going to breathe new life into this place.”

“Great.” DeShawn Walters was the last person my grandfather hired. It would make him happy to know that Fatima saw the same potential in him that he had. “Keep me updated.”

“I will.” She nodded. “Oh, how’s Serena doing?”

“We’re not together.” Fatima was only the second person I’d told. Hannah was the first, although Lester might have a clue since my pickups and drop-offs had changed.

“Oh.” Her eyes widened. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”

“It’s okay. It’s recent. Very recent.”

“Oh. Okay.” She nodded. “Well, I better get back to it. Good seeing you.”

“You too.” I started walking toward the elevator bay, but something stopped me. The last thing I wanted to do was walk upstairs and sit in my room alone.

One drink. I’d go to the bar and have one drink.

Or should I go down the street to have a drink? Drinking in my own hotel was probably not a good look. I’d never done it before.

Fuck it .

I didn’t want to go down the street. For one thing, I never knew the sanitary conditions when I went to eat or drink at other establishments. That was a problem for me. Here, I had control of that. Control of my environment.

With the decision made, I removed my coat and walked over to the front desk. “Can you have this brought up to the penthouse?” I asked Regina.

“Of course, Mr. Wolfe.”

I rolled up the sleeves of my button-down as I walked into the bar. There were twelve patrons. Four women were seated in a booth along the wall. Three businessmen in suits were tying one on at a four-top. A young couple was practically on top of one another at a high-top. An elderly couple cozying up, sharing an appetizer platter at the far end of the bar. And there was a single woman who caught my eye at the corner of the bar. Thick, long, red hair hung down her back. From my vantage point, all I could see was a hint of her profile, the slender curve of her shoulder, her arm, her elbow, and her wrist. The hourglass shape of her waist as it sinched in and flared out at her hips.

Despite her face being partially obstructed, I was experiencing a strong physical reaction to her. My entire body was aware of her presence. The hairs on the back of my neck were standing on end. My chest tightened like it was in a vice. My palms were damp. My heart was racing.

Before I could process the effect that she was having on me, one of the suits got up from his seat and stumbled over to her. I watched as he tapped her on her shoulder. She turned around to face him. When she did, it was as if a spotlight shone on her. Or the heavens opened. Nothing else existed but huge, sparkling blue eyes surrounded by dark, thick lashes, and full ruby red lips sat below a cute, turned-up nose framed by high cheekbones with a delicate bone structure. Her skin had a luminous effect that gave her an ethereal glow.

I was momentarily paralyzed. Time stood still. I’d always heard that expression and thought it was just a turn of phrase. It was not. She captivated me, holding me hostage by her angelic beauty. Everything around me ceased to exist; it was only her frozen in time.

Then she smiled, and I blinked. I took a breath again. Once I did, the spell was broken, and everything started to move again. I couldn’t hear what the man said, but her smile dropped, and she shook her head, clearly giving him the brush-off. He was not deterred. He placed his hand on her arm, and she jerked it away from him. The man grabbed her arm again.

Every protective cell in my body roared to life. I started to cross the room and made it two strides before Lucas, the bartender, intervened. I stopped in place and watched as he quickly persuaded the man to return to his seat, promising the next round of drinks would be on him. It was exactly what he was trained to do. He de-escalated the situation, and I knew he would serve the men watered-down drinks before closing out their tab. It was exactly what we trained our employees to do. As a boss, I was happy with his performance. As a man, I wanted to drag that customer out by his neck and throw his ass out in traffic.

Lucas was busy making those drinks when I approached the bar and sat down in the seat next to the redheaded angel. As soon as I did, I felt her tense beside me. She hadn’t looked in my direction, but I assumed she must have thought I was going to be another man giving her a hard time. That wasn’t the plan, but damn, I did just want to be near her.

When Lucas returned, he set another drink down in front of her.

“Sorry about that. It’s on the house.”

“No, it’s fine. You don’t have to do that. But thank you.”

The sweet, melodic tone of her voice flowed through my body like a cold stream of water on a hot summer day. It was refreshing and soothing. It instantly caused my body to relax. It soothed me and also enticed me. I wanted to hear more of it.

I was dumbstruck by the effect it had on me when Lucas noticed I was seated beside her, and his energy changed.

“Oh.” He stood taller. “Mr. Wo?—”

“Jack and coke, please,” I cut him off before he could say my name. It was a reflex. I hadn’t planned it. In that split second, I didn’t want her to hear my name. If she did, there was a good chance she’d put two and two together that I owned the hotel. People acted differently when they found out who I was. My brother had always used our last name to his advantage. He dropped it any chance he got. I was never comfortable with that.

Lucas dipped his chin in a nod and walked to the other end of the bar.

Beside me, I heard her sniff, and when I glanced to my left, I noticed that she was crying.

“What the fuck did he say to you?” I demanded, as I stood to go kick him out or kick his ass; it really depended on what he had said to her. It could be both.

“No!” She grabbed my forearm and looked at me for the first time as her fingers tightened around me.

I felt all the oxygen escape, and my heart jumped into my throat. Her eyes had been striking from across the room, but up close, they were so much more. They were crystal clear in the center, with a dark outline around the edges. The contrast was mesmerizing. Like one of those pictures that you looked at, and suddenly an image appeared.

The feel of her skin on mine was something indescribable. There was an energy exchange between us. A jolt. A surge. Something that was both pleasurable and also shocking.

“Sorry.” She gasped as she quickly removed her hand from my arm.

Since my sleeves were rolled up, and we’d been skin-to-skin, something I was never comfortable with, especially when it came to strangers. But the moment she dropped her hand, I missed her touch.

“I just didn’t want you to...It wasn’t him.” She brushed a piece of hair behind her ear, revealing the gentle curve of her neck. My mouth watered at the sight. I had the strongest urge to lean forward and press my lips to the skin just below her ear. “I’ve just…I had a bad day.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” I cleared my throat as I lowered back down as my pants began to get snug in the groin area.

She licked her lips, and I watched her tongue slide across her mouth. My cock swelled, and my balls tingled.

“No, I don’t want to talk about it.”

My phone rang, and I took it out. It was Serena calling again. I sent her to voicemail again and put my phone back in my pocket. When I did, I sensed her staring my direction.

“It looks like you haven’t had the best day either.”

I turned to her. “Why do you say that?”

“Your face.”

Most people said I was difficult to read. Impossible. It surprised me that she could. I grinned.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked.

“Not really.”

Lucas returned with my drink. “Here you go, Mr.—”

“Thank you, Lucas,” I cut him off.

He glanced between the woman beside me and myself. “Of course.”

I could feel her gaze on me and sense that she thought my abrupt interruption was strange and decided introductions were in order.

“Xavier, nice to meet you.”

I wasn’t sure why I didn’t give her my real name. There was just a part of me that didn’t want to be Declan Wolfe right now. I didn’t want to be the heir to Wolfe Enterprises. Maybe if my name was Matt, or Joe, or Steve, I would have given her my first name, but Declan was a unique name, and hardly anyone knew my middle name. So even if she heard that Declan Wolfe was the heir to Wolfe Enterprises, she wouldn’t put two and two together.

She hesitated, and I wondered if she knew who I was already and knew that I was using my middle name. Or maybe she didn’t know my middle name, and she just thought I was lying about who I was. After what felt like an eternity, she smiled, and for the first time in maybe ever, everything in my world felt right.

“Carrie, nice to meet you.”

“So, Carrie, are you here for business?” I asked as I ran my finger along the edge of my glass.

“Um, sort of. I had an interview, but it didn’t go well.”

“I’m sorry.” I wondered if that’s what the tears were about.

She took a shaky, deep breath, and I couldn’t help but notice when she did her cleavage pressed against the confines of her scoop neckline. The sight caused arousal to surge through me.

“How long are you here for?” I asked.

“Just until tomorrow.” She took a sip of her drink. “What about you? Are you here for business?”

“Yes.”

“And how long are you in town?”

“I’m leaving in two days.” I hadn’t lied to her. My name was technically Xavier. I was in town for business. And I was leaving in two days.

Her eyes remained locked with mine until she took another deep breath and then another drink, in what I could only assume was to break the sexual tension in the air, which was so thick I could barely breathe. The energy between us was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before.

I’d never had a one-night stand. Never even considered it. The thought of being intimate with a stranger was never appealing. Exchanging bodily fluids with someone I didn’t know was pretty much my worst nightmare. But sitting next to Carrie, I was more than tempted. In fact, there was nothing I wanted more in the world than to spend the night with her.

“Do you have plans tonight?” I asked.

“Um, I was maybe going to meet a friend for drinks, but I think she would understand if my plans changed.”

“Would she?”

“For the right reason, yes, she would.”

“And what’s the right reason?”

“Meeting a sexy stranger in the bar.” Her cheeks flushed with color, betraying her bold words.

It wasn’t that I’d never encountered forward women before. I had. Plenty of times. Women had made it very clear to me what they wanted from me and what they would do to get it. But Carrie didn’t strike me as that type. I liked the fact that she surprised me in the best way.

She lifted her drink and took another sip, as if she needed liquid courage to be as forward as she was being. Everything about her was endearing and adorable.

I was going to tell her that when my phone rang. I pulled it out, expecting it to be Serena. It was my grandmother. Since she’d already texted me, I didn’t feel like I could ignore the call. “I’m sorry, I need to take this. Can you excuse me for a minute?”

“Yeah, yep. Of course.”

I stood and walked out of the bar. Since I wasn’t sure where this conversation was going to go and I didn’t want any employees overhearing it, I decided to go to the employee conference room for privacy. The call had gone to voicemail by the time I got there, but I called her right back.

“Hello,” she answered on the first ring.

“Hi, Gran.”

“Declan, I called your office. You weren’t there.”

“No. I’m not.”

“I’d like you to go to the hotel.”

I was already there, but I wasn’t going to tell her until I found out what she wanted. “Why?”

“Ashley is in Atlanta for the night. She has an interview for the reality show. She’s staying at the hotel in the executive suite.”

Ah, that was why the room wasn’t available.

“I want you to go and introduce yourself and check in on her. Make sure she has everything she needs.”

I was actually curious to meet Ashley Thompson, and, under normal circumstances, I would do what my grandmother asked me to. But right now, the only thing that mattered to me was getting back to the woman at the bar. I wasn’t going to make any promises that I wasn’t prepared to keep.

“I will try and stop by.”

“See that you do.”

There was a pause, and I was just about to end the call when she said, “Serena called earlier.”

“Did she?”

“She said you two got in a fight.”

“We broke up.”

“What happened?”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s over.”

“Declan, what happened?”

“I walked in on her sleeping with someone else.”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“It’s okay if you’re not okay.”

“No, I really am okay.”

“Well, if you are, then it’s probably a good thing you’re not getting married. I would say she did you a favor.”

Gran had a point. One that I didn’t really feel like conceding to just now. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

I disconnected the call and wondered if I should go and check in with Ashley Thompson before heading back to the bar. If I did, there was a chance Carrie wouldn’t be there when I got back. If I tried to explain why I needed to go and check in on a woman in the executive suite, I would have to reveal who I was and tell her why I’d used my middle name.

I’d spent my entire life trying to live up to the expectations of my family. Tonight, I was going to be selfish. Tonight, I was going to do what I wanted, and what I wanted was to go back to the bar and, for one night, forget who I was and what was expected of me. What I wanted was to spend as much time as I could with the sexy redhead who surprised me and had the face of an angel and a body built for sin.