“Oh.” Emily cleared her throat. “This is my manager …”
“Ewan Dougal,” he said, stepping forward with his hand extended. “How do you do, sir?”
“Fine.” Sabato’s tone was curt, his manner obviously dismissive.
“That’s my cue,” Ewan winked at Emily. “You’re rostered back on tomorrow afternoon. Will you be okay …?”
“Of course,” she nodded. No way could she afford to miss any more shifts. “I’ll see you then. Thanks for being so understanding about this weekend.”
“No problems.” He walked with his usual efficient gait to the door of the suite. “Pleasure to see you again, sir,” he said with a nod, before pulling the door behind him.
“How did your meeting go?” Emily asked innocently, closing the distance between them.
Sabato stared down at her. Every single nerve ending in his body was going haywire.
A million tiny little explosions kept ripping through his conscience. She had been so comfortable with her friend. She would undoubtedly replace Sabato when he went. And fast. He would be gone, and Emily would not be alone for long. Not now that she’d awakened a side of herself she hadn’t even realised she possessed.
Bitterness crept into his gut. Had it been Ewan on the phone, that first night? Ewan who she’d joked with and spoken to privately? And what did she mean she’d be working the following afternoon? Yes, he was leaving, but he didn’t want Emily to be working as a low
ly housekeeper in one of his hotels.
“It was fine,” he responded robotically, his eyes scanning her face, taking in every single detail.
“Did you buy them?”
He reached into his pocket, confusion rendering him inert. How did she know what he’d bought?
“The apartments? Did you buy them?”
The apartments! And not the earrings at all.
“Sabato? Are you okay?”
He shook his head to clear the wave of strange thoughts. “Of course. Have you eaten?” Business like, efficient. Emily frowned.
“I waited for you.”
“Let us go out.”
“Out?”
“Yes. Though I suspect it will make it difficult for me to ravage you while you eat, I would like to take you on a date.”
“No,” she shook her head slowly. She might have been young and inexperienced but everything she was railed against the idea. “No, thank you,” she amended softly.
“No thank you?” He repeated, his mood darkening by the minute.
She stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his. Just briefly, it was a quick, searing contact. “It’s not who we are,” she said firmly. Her smile was resolute.
She was right. So why did it bother him so much? Her out of hand rejection of the idea rankled. He smothered the feelings with effort. “Very well, we shall share dinner here.”
Whilst speaking to Ewan, a few things had crystallised for Emily. The first of which was that she needed to keep things on her terms. The second of which was that she ought to leave before he could leave her. Somehow, the mental imagery of watching him walk away was becoming quicksand from which she couldn’t escape. She nodded now, forcing herself to be brave. “Let’s have dinner here.” She bit down on her lip, unable to meet his eyes. “And then I’m going to go home.”
Sabato’s gut was twisting painfully. “I don’t fly out until mid-morning.”
“Yes,” she nodded slowly. “You said. But you’ll have commitments, surely? And I also have stuff to do.”
His expression hardened. “I see.”