Chapter 28

Chapter 28

“Well, congratulations again, Sophia.” Elizabeth Barton extended her hand as we stood from the conference room table.

“Thank you.” I managed to force out an acceptable smile.

Seven days had passed since I’d received the call that I’d won the bid for my family, yet it still felt like I’d lost the war. My father had flown in to take me out to dinner to celebrate without Spencer, and my grandfather had offered me a position overseeing our family’s entire west coast hotel operation, the largest region we had. Everything was falling into place, yet I’d never felt so empty inside. The reason for that was obvious.

“Will you be staying on to manage The Countess?” Elizabeth asked.

“I’m not sure yet. There’s a position open on the west coast, but I haven’t made up my mind where I’ll land.”

She nodded. “Well, I’ll keep in touch until you tell me otherwise.”

“Thank you.”

Elizabeth extended a hand to Otto Potter. “It was nice meeting you, Otto. I wish you the best of luck with Easy Feet.”

“Considering the check you just handed me, I think Easy Feet will be walking on Easy Street for a while.”

She smiled. “Are you heading back uptown? Want to share a cab?”

Otto shook his head. “Actually, I’m going to hang around here for a bit.”

The two shook, and then it was just Otto and me left. He smiled warmly. “I was hoping I could talk to you for a moment, if you have time.”

I extended a hand back to our seats. “Sure. I have plenty of time.”

After we settled in, Otto took a piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it. He slid it across the table to my side. “The terms of the bidding were confidential. But I figured now that the papers are all signed, and you’re the majority shareholder of The Countess, there’s no harm in sharing the bid I received from the Lockwoods.”

I picked up the paper and skimmed it. It was the same offer form I’d signed to submit my family’s bid, only this one had $1.00 filled in the spot where the bid amount was to go. My eyes scanned down to the bottom to check the signature. Sure enough, none other than Weston Lockwood had signed it.

I shook my head and looked up at Otto. “I don’t understand.”

He shrugged. “Neither did I. So I called Weston to make sure there wasn’t a mistake. He confirmed that this was indeed his family’s bid.”

“But…that means he wanted to lose?”

Otto took the paper back and folded it up. Sticking it in his pocket, he said, “I think it’s more like he wanted to make sure someone else won.”

***

My heart raced as I stood in front of the door. The last few weeks had been hell. Every step I’d taken had felt like walking over a long bridge. Today was supposed to be the day I finally crossed to the other side. But instead, I stood right back at the place I’d started.

This morning, my plan had been to sign the legal paperwork for The Countess to make things official and then try to relax and figure out what was next for me. I’d told my grandfather I’d get back to him about the west coast job by tomorrow, so I had some big decisions to make. I’d assumed I’d be in a better mental place after today’s formalities. But I was more confused than ever now, and I needed to hear things straight from the horse’s mouth.

So I raised my hand and took a deep breath as I knocked on Weston’s hotel room door. It had been eight days since I saw him in that conference room. His office had been dark and shut, and he was nowhere to be found in the hotel. If I didn’t know better, I’d have thought he left. But I did know better, because I’d monitored the hotel’s reservation system to see if he’d checked out. As of last night, he hadn’t.

On a jagged exhale, I forced my knuckles to connect with his door. My heart pounded as I waited for it to open, and my head felt almost as if I had a cold—full of foggy thoughts I couldn’t clear. I had so many questions. After a minute or two and no response, I knocked again, this time louder. While I waited, the elevator down the hall dinged, and the doors slid open. A bellman pushed a full luggage cart out and walked in my direction. He tipped his hat.

“Afternoon, Ms. Sterling.”

“Call me, Sophia, please.”

“Alright.” He slid a key into a room two doors down and proceeded to take the bags inside. When he was done, he pointed at the door I stood in front of.

“Are you looking for Mr. Lockwood?”

“I am. Yes.”

He shook his head. “I think he might’ve checked out a little while ago. Saw him with his luggage at the front desk when I came in, about nine o’clock.”

It felt like my heart stopped. “Oh. Okay.”

Since there was no point in standing here, I debated going downstairs to the front desk and confirming what the bellman had said. But I wasn’t sure I could hold back the tears once I did. So instead, I walked to the elevator and hit the button for my own floor. At least it was afternoon, so technically I wouldn’t be drinking in the morning.

It took all of my effort to put one foot in front of the other and exit the car, but when I did, my sluggish steps faltered.

I blinked a few times. “Weston?”

He sat leaning against the wall next to my hotel room door with his eyes cast down, his luggage parked next to him. Seeing me, he stood.

My heart sped up. “What—what are you doing?”

Weston looked even more awful than the last time I’d seen him. Dark circles framed his glassy red eyes, and his naturally tanned skin had turned sallow. He’d grown what was almost a full beard, but it wasn’t groomed and neat. It just looked like he hadn’t bothered to shave. Even so, he was still stunningly handsome.

“Could we talk?”

I’d just gone looking for him, yet my self-protective mechanism had me hesitating.

He noticed and frowned. “Please…”

“Sure.” I nodded. The camera in the corner of the hallway caught my eye. “Let’s go inside.”

As I opened the door, my nerves grew frazzled. I needed a drink in the worst way, and that made me think of something. I turned back and looked into Weston’s bloodshot eyes.

“Have you been…drinking?”

He shook his head. “No. Just not sleeping well.”

Nodding, I set my laptop and purse on the coffee table and took a seat on one end of the couch, adjacent to the chair, where I assumed Weston would sit. But he didn’t take the hint. Instead, he sat down on the couch right next to me.

After a minute, he reached out and took my hand. “I miss you.” His voice broke. “I’ve missed you so fucking much.”

I tasted the familiar salt in my throat, but there were no more tears left.

Before I could figure out how to respond, he continued. “I’m so sorry I hurt you. I’m so sorry I made you doubt what you mean to me.”

I shook my head and stared down at our hands. “I’m afraid, Weston. I’m afraid to believe you.”

“I know. But please give me a second chance to show you I can be the man you deserve. I fucked up. It won’t happen again. I promise you, Soph.”

I stayed quiet for a long time, sorting through the mess of tangled feelings and doubts. When I was finally able to focus a bit, I looked up at him.

“Why did you bid one dollar?”

I could tell he hadn’t expected me to know what he’d done.

“My family didn’t deserve to take care of this hotel—not with what my grandfather did to yours all those years ago, and not with what he thought I should be doing to you. Things needed to be made right, once and for all.”

“That’s very noble of you. But what if your grandfather finds out what you did?”

Weston looked into my eyes. “He already knows. I flew to see him the day after I turned in our bid and they informed you that you’d won. I told him in person.”

My eyes widened. “How did that go?”

The corner of Weston’s lip twitched. “Not too well.”

“Did he fire you?”

He shook his head. “He didn’t have to. I’d already quit.”

“God, Weston. Why would you do that? To prove your loyalty to me?”

“It was more than that. I needed to do it for myself, Soph. It’s been a long time coming. This was just the last straw. I realized my family had a lot to do with my struggle with alcoholism. I drank because I didn’t like myself. And that started with how they made me feel. I spent most of my life trying to prove to my parents and grandfather that I’m more than just spare parts. I finally realized the only person I need to prove that to is myself.”

I didn’t know what to say. “It sounds like you’ve done a lot of soul searching over the last week.”

“I have.”

“What will you do now? I mean, now that you’re not employed by the Lockwoods anymore?”

He shrugged and gave a faint smirk. “I’m not sure. Got any positions open over at Sterling Hospitality?”

I looked him in the eyes. He’d hurt me badly, that was for sure. But it hurt way more being apart from him. Would I get burned if I gave him a second chance? Quite possibly. Nothing in life was certain. Well, except for the fact that I’d be miserable if I didn’t take the risk and give things another chance with this man. Weston had jumped off a cliff. Maybe if I did, too, together we could learn to fly.

“Actually…” I took a deep breath and stood at the imaginary edge. “There is a position at this hotel I think you’d be perfect for.”

Weston lifted a brow. “Oh yeah? What’s that?”

“Well, it’s a position underneath me.”

His eyes flickered with hope. “Underneath you? I could deal with that.”

“And it has long hours.”

His lip curled at one corner, just the slightest bit. “That’s not a problem. I have plenty of stamina.”

I raised a finger and tapped it to my bottom lip, as if contemplating. “Actually, I’m not sure you’re right for the position. There are a few other candidates I need to consider first. Can I get back to you?”

“A few other candidates…for underneath you?”

I lost the battle to contain my smirk. “That’s right.”

The spark in Weston’s eyes lit to a fire. Taking me completely by surprise, he leaned forward, pressed his shoulder into my chest, and lifted me up off the couch fireman style. In one stealth move I was in the air, flipped to my back, and suddenly landed on the couch with a thud.

Weston followed, hovering over me. “I think you’re right,” he said. “A position under you might not be the right spot for me. You got anything available on top? I like control too much and think I’d be a much better fit in that department.”

I laughed. “Nope. Sorry. All filled up.”

Weston growled. “I’ll fill you up.”

God, I missed him. I cupped his cheek. “You do seem like you’d do a good job. Let me give it some thought. Maybe I can figure out the right place for you after all.”

“I know the right place, sweetheart.” He brushed a lock of hair from my face. “Inside of you. That’s where I belong. How do I apply for that job?”

I smiled. “I’m pretty sure you already have that job, Mr. Lockwood. You’ve been inside of me for a long time. I was just too afraid to admit it.”

Weston looked deep into my eyes. “Yeah?”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

“I love you, Soph. I’ll never let you down again.”

I smiled. “I love you too, you pain in my ass.”

Weston brushed his lips with mine.

My heart felt full, yet there was still something I needed to know. “What would your real bid have been?”

“For The Countess?”

I nodded.

“I valued the hotel at just under a hundred million. So my bid would have been two million for the minority share. Why?”

I grinned. “My bid was two point one. I would’ve won anyway.”

Weston chuckled. “Is that important to you?”

“Hell, yeah. I would’ve beaten you fair and square. Now I can lord it over you, rather than have you think you let me win.”

He smiled. “You’re going to lord it over me?”

“Just every chance I get.”

“You know, I’m in grovel mode now. Eventually it’ll irritate me if you rub that in my face. I don’t like to lose. But it’s fine. There’s no one in this world I’d rather fight with or make up with. I see a lot of fighting and fucking in our future.”

I rolled my eyes. “How romantic.”

“That’s me. Mr. Romantic. You’re one lucky girl.”