‘I’m sorry Monique. I really am. But I can’t see what you want me to do.’
‘Please Nicholas! There must be something you can do,’ she pleaded. He was of half a mind to turn her away. She was too good at getting herself into these messes, and by now she was damn well old enough to get herself out of them. But something stayed his hand. The look of need in her eyes was genuine, and although their relationship hadn’t worked out, part of Nicholas still cared for her. A very small part, but a part of him nonetheless.
‘Look. Let me sleep on it and I’ll see what I can come up with in this morning. I’ll need to speak to your lawyer as well…but right now I’m dead beat. Do you have a room in the hotel?’
‘My room’s in the Hilton across town.’ Nicholas scratched his head. He was tempted to call a taxi for her and send her on her way, but it seemed slightly heartless at this late hour. He had to admit that she looked almost as tired as he felt.
‘I suppose you can stay tonight,’ he said reluctantly, and before he could help himself continued with, ‘you can take the bed and I’ll sleep on the sofa. It looks comfortable enough.’ If not a little small for his six foot two inch frame, he amended silently.
‘Thank you Nicholas! You’re a life saver!’ All smiles again, Monique kissed him soundly on the cheek and made her way over to the bed. Nicholas sighed, found a spare blanket and lay down on the sofa, wishing only that he’d had the sense to turn his darn phone off.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! The annoying sound gradually penetrated Emily’s consciousness, and she buried her head beneath both pillow and blankets in a futile attempt to block it out. Time passed and the sound did not abate. She groaned out loud and dragged her weary body into a sitting position, looking first to one side of the bed and then to the other vainly trying to locate the offending article. There! On the far side of the bed. Unfortunately the alarm clock was of an unfamiliar variety and it took several attempts before the alarm ceased. Finally blissful peace reigned, but just for a moment, before a conscious recollection of the previous night’s events filtered its way into her mind. She groaned again and flopped back down upon the bed. Nicholas! Here! How could she have forgotten? And, more to the point, how could he have left her the way he had?
All thoughts of sleep vanished from her mind. She sat up again and despite her body’s protests, flung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. First a shower and then some strong coffee. Very strong coffee. She’d tossed and turned until the wee hours of the morning and it was only now just gone half past six. She’d have slept in, except that they had to be at the conference centre by eight thirty, and she needed to speak to Nicholas before she could function in any other capacity for the day.
A quick, cool shower and three cups of coffee later, she headed out the door after one final inspection of her appearance. She was aiming for a combination of business-like and sophisticated. A look that spoke of an intelligent business woman, not the boss’s secretary. Satisfied, she picked up the room’s phone and dialled reception.
‘Hello. I’d like the room number for Mr Nicholas Cavanaugh,’ she said pleasantly.
‘I’m sorry, but it’s hotel policy not to give out room numbers.’ Emily frowned in annoyance.
‘How about his phone number, then?’ she inquired, slightly more snappish in tone.
‘Again…I’m sorry.’
‘Thanks anyway.’ She hung up the receiver with a grimace, before realising he’d undoubtedly have his mobile on him. She knew his number off by heart, although she’d never had a reason to dial it before.
‘Hi, it’s Emily,’ she said as he answered, sounding as tired and grumpy as she herself had been on waking.
‘Oh Emily, hi. I’m sorry about last night, but…’ His voice trailed away. ‘Want to meet up for breakfast?’
‘Yeah, great. Oh, what’s your room number? Reception wouldn’t tell me.’
‘Two zero four. But don’t come here! I’ll meet you in the lobby,’ he said, sounding slightly panicked. Emily frowned, staring at the receiver for a moment before continuing.
‘Sure.’
‘I’ll be down in fifteen. Catch you then.’
He’d seemed in an awful hurry to disconnect, she thought, disconcerted, and more than that, he’d also seemed rather anxious for her not to meet him in his room. Curiouser and curiouser. What was Nicholas hiding?
A slightly mischievous thought entered her head and she grinned, before grabbing her bag and briefcase. She made a quick call to Mark, telling him she’d be meeting Nicholas for breakfast – leaving him to make what he would of the situation – before departing the suite and ensuring the door was locked behind her.
Room 204 was just along the corridor from her own room. Surely it wouldn’t hurt to surprise him?
She knocked on the door. ‘Room service!’ she called.
‘Coming.’ Emily’s heart almost skipped a beat. The voice that had answered her was unmistakably female. Wendy? Perhaps his secretary was there. But when the door opened and a gorgeous blonde was standing before her, Emily felt her heart sink into the pit of her stomach.
‘Is Nicholas there?’ she asked, her voice coming out a squeak.
‘Didn’t you say you were room service?’ The blonde raised an eyebrow. Emily shrugged, embarrassed.
‘It was supposed to be a joke. I’m a friend of Nicholas’s.’
‘I see.’ The woman frowned quizzically. And Emily shrugged again, suddenly feeling incredibly gauche and immature.
‘Guess I’ll catch him later,’ she muttered and turned to escape, but before she’d had the chance to walk away she heard Nicholas’s voice in the background.
‘Who’s that?’
‘A friend of yours.’ Emily turned back to see Nicholas in the doorway, and the blonde giving him a dark look.
‘I was just leaving,’ Emily said, trying to maintain as much dignity as she could under the humiliating circumstances. She suddenly felt very weak legged, and it was an effort of will to remain standing. The ramifications of what she could see before her were all too obvious.
‘Wait!’ Nicholas pushed past the blonde and grabbed Emily’s arm. ‘We need to talk.’
‘I can see that,’ she snapped. ‘But you’ve obviously got far more important things to do.’
‘What about breakfast?’
‘Forget it. Goodbye Nicholas. I’ll see you at a less inconvenient time.’ And with that she strode away. She expected Nicholas to follow her, and was unaccountably disappointed and disheartened when he didn’t.
It was then that the full impact of what she’d seen hit her. There had been a woman – an incredibly gorgeous blonde woman – in Nicholas’s suite. Nicholas – the man who had run out of her room the night before in a desperate hurry to see someone, someone he hadn’t named.
She stifled a sob, and spun around, hurrying in the direction of her room. She couldn’t see anyone now! The first tears came as she struggled to open her door. ‘Open damn you!’ she cried aloud, biting her lip hard. Suddenly the door opened and she was home free. For a moment she stood still, her heart feeling like it had been crushed in her chest, and then she dropped the briefcase she was carrying and crumpled to the floor after it, finally giving vent to her emotions.
She loved him! How could he do this to her? Her mind whirled while grief gripped her heart like a fist and threatened to overwhelm her. Had there been signs? No! She’d made a dreadful mistake before, imagining Wendy to be something she wasn’t, so maybe…just maybe…
Emily took a deep breath and forced her mind back on an even keel, desperately trying to suppress the emotions that threatened to overwhelm her. Finally she stood up. There had to be a rational explanation for what she’d seen. Remembering how Nicholas had pushed the other woman aside to speak to her, she suddenly knew that she’d been all wrong. She stood up and smoothed her skirt and straightened her jacket. Then, with another deep breath, she headed for the bathroom, where she performed some quick repairs to her hair and m
akeup. There. Able to face the world again she sheepishly walked out of the room, and strode calmly back to Nicholas’s.
But he was no longer there.
‘Damn!’ she swore under her breath. Feeling more foolish than ever, she headed down to the lobby, hoping against hope that he’d decided to wait for her, but the lobby was empty when she entered. ‘Double damn!’ Especially since she’d told Mark to get to the convention centre without her as she’d planned on getting a lift with Nicholas.
Clearly Nicholas was upset with her, and she didn’t blame him. No, wait a minute! She did. The very least he could have done was explain where and who he was going to see last night! How had he expected she’d react when confronted with a gorgeous woman in his suite? Well, she knew the answer to that! He’d known she’d be upset, and for that reason he’d deliberately tried to keep her away from his room.
She bit her lip in agitation as she walked out of the lobby and hailed a taxi. ‘Rowvale Convention Centre, please,’ she said.
‘No problem,’ replied the driver. ‘Lovely day, isn’t it?’
‘Yes, lovely.’ She truly hoped this wasn’t the sort of driver who’d want to engage her in pleasant conversation. Right now she wanted to think – to consider what she’d seen and heard – she didn’t want to engage in inane conversation with a complete stranger.
‘You here for the business seminar?’ Emily repressed the urge to sigh.
‘Yes.’ She knew her answer was blunt and monosyllabic, but couldn’t the guy get the hint?
‘You’re rather young for it, don’t you reckon?’ Emily clenched her teeth together and forced a smile. Clearly he couldn’t.
‘Not really. I look young for my age.’ In desperation she pulled her briefcase onto her lap and opened it, pretending to rummage around for some important document.
‘Yeah,’ the man continued, ‘my wife’s like that. Doesn’t look a day over thirty, although she’s already forty-five.’
‘That’s nice.’
‘Yes, she’s as beautiful today as she was the day I met her.’ Instead of replying, Emily busied herself by pulling out a large sheaf of papers, and began flicking through them loudly. The man continued talking, but was apparently happy with a monologue, as he didn’t seem to notice or care that Emily was neither replying nor listening.
The morning’s events kept recycling themselves through her mind, and she shook her head, trying to rid herself of the annoying images. Intellectually she could tell herself that there was nothing between Nicholas and that woman, but emotionally she couldn’t believe it. For starters, he’d rushed off to see her while in the middle of an intimate embrace with Emily. Moments earlier he’d wanted nothing more than to make wild and passionate love to her – or so she’d thought! – he’d been insistent enough about getting into her suite, anyway, and hadn’t seemed keen to take no for an answer. Not that Emily had protested over much, she had to admit. She didn’t think anything at all could have pulled her away from Nicholas at that instant, at least anything but the direst emergency, but the fact that Nicholas had only appeared somewhat agitated when he’d seen her that morning told her that nothing terrible could possibly have happened. So what did this mean? That his feelings for her weren’t as strong as hers for him?
No. It could mean anything. But why was that woman in his suite this morning? ARGH! She forced herself to take a deep breath, and wished the taxi driver would cease rabbiting on. Didn’t the man realise that the last thing she wanted to hear were stories about his children and how wonderful they were, or what a beautiful place the Gold Coast was or?… It was all getting a bit much!
Fortunately, the taxi soon slowed and Emily realised with a sigh of relief that they were parked outside the convention centre.
‘That’ll be forty-four sixty,’ the man announced cheerfully. Was he kidding? Emily wasn’t sure she had that much money in her wallet. She took a deep breath and opened her purse, thankfully finding two twenties and enough coins to make up the rest. Just as long as he didn’t expect a tip!
‘Here. And thanks for the drive,’ she said, before stepping out of the cab, taking a deep breath, and striding forward as if she knew what she was doing.
Once inside she spotted Mark almost immediately.
‘Where’s Nicholas?’ he asked.
‘I have no idea,’ she snapped. Mark raised his eyebrows. ‘I’m sorry,’ she amended, ‘we had a little falling out. At least, I think we did. I’m not really sure what went on.’ She sighed again.
‘Want to tell me about it?’
‘Not really, but thanks anyway. I need to see Nicholas first. Now,’ she said, slapping on a smile and changing the topic, ‘what’s on the agenda for this morning?’
Mark handed her a copy of the itinerary. ‘Looks interesting,’ she muttered, thinking in reality it looked anything but. Mark laughed.
‘Most of it’s not! Don’t worry about it. We business people have to deal with this stuff all the time. Oh look! There’s Nicholas. You might want to grab him before the first session starts.’ Emily turned in Nicholas’s direction and felt her heart sink. The blonde was still with him and they appeared to be engaged in a rather intimate conversation.
‘Maybe later,’ she muttered under her breath.
‘Emily?’
‘He’s obviously busy, Mark. Anyway, I want to stop in the ladies’ before we go in. I’ll see you in there, Mark. Save me a seat if I’m late.’
Unfortunately, the journey to the ladies’ room took her right past Nicholas and his companion. She hoped he wouldn’t look in her direction, but he turned at just the wrong time.
‘Emily! I’m glad you’re here,’ he said, smiling jovially as he approached her.
‘Nicholas. Hi. Look, I’m sorry about before…’
‘No. Me first. I owe you an explanation.’ She shrugged, the gesture belying the sudden pounding of her heart and shortness of her breath.
‘Go on then.’
‘The woman you saw me with is Monique. My ex-fiancée.’ Fiancée? Nicholas had been engaged? A surge of jealousy swept over her like a tidal wave. But why? Surely the prefix ‘ex’ was the most important thing.
‘I see,’ she replied, her voice coming out a whisper. She found that she couldn’t meet his gaze.
‘No, you don’t see,’ he replied, equally softly. ‘It was a long, long time ago and lots of things have changed since then. The one thing that hasn’t is Monique’s tendency to come to me whenever she’s in some sort of trouble.’
‘Oh.’
‘Is that it? Oh?’
‘What do you want me to say? Even if she is your ex, that doesn’t explain the way you rushed out of my suite last night. I would think…I don’t know…but I guess that if I had an ex-fiancé I wouldn’t run off to him every time he called me. Or messaged me even! Especially not…you know…if I was with someone else.’ Nicholas winced slightly.
‘I know, and I’m sorry, but she said it was urgent. All right. I don’t know why I responded to her summons the way I did. She’s a rather…um…dramatic personality when she needs to be, and I’ve found in the past that it’s best to respond immediately, sort out the problem to the best of my abilities and then bid her a fond farewell for another few months, or years…or however long it takes for her to come up with another problem.’
‘I see. I guess. Well, not really. But why is she still here? Don’t tell me she’s at this conference too?’
‘I’m afraid so. But I’ve no intention of spending any more time with her than I have to. I hope to have her little issue sorted out – or at least, put on hold – at the soonest possible convenience. And then, my dear, I will be spending every possible minute with you.’
‘Oh?’ she raised her eyebrows and this time looked him hard in the eye. ‘And will Monique be moving out of your room during this time?’ Nicholas had the decency to flush slightly, a sight that somehow endeared him to Emily even more; although it could well have been misconstrued.
�
��She was not supposed to be spending the night in my suite last night, but her hotel’s across town, and it was late. I didn’t have the heart to send her away. So, I had a very uncomfortable night on the sofa, while she got to indulge herself in the luxury of a King sized bed.’ He grinned wryly. ‘Now, my dear, are you ready to forgive me? Or should a I bend over and kiss your feet?’
‘That would be nice, but I have no desire to humiliate you Nicholas. Looks like everyone’s heading in. I told Mark I’d meet him inside.’
‘I have to confess that I’ve asked Monique to accompany me.’ He shrugged and grinned. ‘Probably a foolish move, but I’d like to believe it’s a kind one.’
‘Fine, then grab Monique and we’ll find Mark.’
As Emily watched Nicholas walk away she felt her heart swell again. Again he demonstrated that kindness within, that was rarely apparent, at least not when Emily saw him in a professional sense. The way he looked out for Monique was another example of his soft side. Emily knew by now that Monique was definitely a part of Nicholas’s past, and she also realised that their relationship had not ended entirely well, but still Nicholas was there to help her.
Nicholas returned, the gorgeous Monique in tow. ‘Hello again. Emily, was it?’ Monique said, looking at Emily with an inscrutable expression on her beautiful face. Emily could guess what Monique was thinking, and wondered if Nicholas had told her anything about their relationship. Probably not, she thought, unreasonably jealous again.
She naturally accepted that Nicholas had had a past. How could he not? He was an incredibly attractive man in his thirties. Emily couldn’t imagine any woman not attracted to him. As for Emily, he drove her emotions and hormones into overdrive and left her in turmoil more often than not. And just when she thought she had a peg on him, another spanner was thrown into the works.
The morning’s session was ultimately useful but quite boring, nonetheless. Or, it would have been boring if Emily hadn’t been trying so hard to surreptitiously study Monique and her interaction with Nicholas. It was easy to see why Nicholas had been attracted to her on the outside, but what about the inside? What about the essential person Monique was? Emily couldn’t imagine Nicholas wanting a woman who he had no intellectual connection to. At least, not to marry. But so far, all Emily had seen was a beautiful woman who seemed hardly able to understand what was going on. Although, if she was in business in her own right, she should have had a good deal more understanding of the topic than Emily. But every few moments she’d ask Nicholas to explain something. Whether this was to get Nicholas’s attention or not, Emily couldn’t know, but what was obvious was that Nicholas was becoming increasingly irritated by Monique’s behaviour. Somewhat immaturely, Emily discovered that she was quite gratified indeed.
Lessons in Love Page 10
