His Eternal Flame

by Layla Valentine

  “What do you want?” I finally hissed, stopping and turning to face him.

  “Well, Samantha dear, we’re here representing Cyder together, remember? Perhaps it would be best if we stuck together when greeting everyone.”

  I tried to think of a plausible reason to refuse, but replying with ‘I just want to get away from you’ wasn’t going to work. Besides, he was right. We were the current faces of our company.

  As much as I craved some time alone, or at least away from Alistair’s infuriating gaze, I had a job to do. No matter how exhausted I was, I wouldn’t fail my company’s trust.

  “All right,” I sighed. “Let’s go say hello.”

  After that, we spent the next quarter-hour greeting various representatives of our host company and other interested businesses. In-between greeting other guests and conference attendees, a voice caught my attention.

  “Excuse me, Ms. Blissett, Mr. Maloney?”

  I turned to face an apologetic-looking manager.

  “Is something the matter?” Alistair asked.

  The poor man looked back and forth between us before flashing a bright, welcoming smile.

  “We at Hotel Mech are grateful that you’ve chosen us for your stay, and we want to assure you we will do everything possible to accommodate your needs.”

  “Get to the point, man,” Alistair barked.

  Embarrassed by Alistair’s behavior, I cut in.

  “What he means is, how can we help?”

  “Er, the thing is, we were in the process of placing your luggage, and it was only then that I was informed that you have both been assigned to the same room.”

  My jaw dropped.

  “What?”

  Next to me, Alistair broke into laughter.

  “Oh, that’s rich. Tell me, do we have a king or queen?”

  “No, sir, you’ve been assigned a double sleeper.”

  “That’s unacceptable,” I piped up, working to keep the panic from my face. The one part of this trip I’d been able to expect, the one fact that I’d clung to the preceding three weeks, was that I would be able get away from Alistair at night. But if we shared the same room, there wouldn’t be any break.

  “I’m so sorry, Ms. Blissett. I wish I could change it, truly.”

  “But…but how?”

  “Er, well, it was booked this way. I actually came to apologize because we don’t have a queen or king available, only two doubles.”

  “Booked that way? For one room?” I asked again, my voice unnaturally calm.

  “My secretary, probably,” Alistair said. “She knew I was coming weeks ago, and that you were likely coming with me.”

  Weeks ago, before we broke up, he meant. Now, the booking made a little more sense. And I couldn’t fault his secretary. She’d had to book the room in advance, and all signs had pointed to me going with him, not me breaking up with Alistair.

  I took a deep breath.

  “Can I please have my own room, then, as there’s been this misunderstanding?”

  At this, the manager actually wrung his hands.

  “I’m so sorry, but we are fully booked for the entirety of your stay. With the Innovations Conference this weekend and Central Mobile just across the street, we don’t have anything available.”

  “Right, of course. I understand. Thank you for letting us know.”

  He ducked his head, nearly bowing, and practically ran out. I felt bad for him, but I was also trying to figure out a way to go get some fresh air. I needed a minute to myself.

  “Well, how about that?” Alistair murmured in my ear.

  I almost jerked my head away, but I remembered where we were and that people were watching us, so I merely took a step away.

  “I’m going to go freshen up,” I said, still unnaturally calm, the lid closed on my panic.

  “Oh, let me join you.”

  I knew exactly what he wanted to do, and it took everything inside me not to start screaming at him to stay away from me.

  Remember your job, Samantha. You’ll sort out the rest later.

  “Alistair, you’re needed here. You know that. After all, you already have your suit on, but as a woman, I’m expected to look a little dressier than this, right?”

  I pointed to my jumpsuit. He opened his mouth to argue, when a Central Mobile shareholder approached.

  “So lovely to meet you,” the woman said.

  “And you as well,” I interjected. “I’ll leave you with Alistair here while I go change. With the traffic delay, I haven’t had time to get ready for the unveiling.”

  The woman nodded in complete understanding. I directed a triumphant smile at Alistair and departed. For at least an hour, I would have the hotel room to myself. Time enough to decompress and change, I hoped.

  When I reached the room—which was lovely aside from the company I was soon to endure—I quickly unpacked and hung up my clothes in the closet provided. I then pulled out my dress for the evening. It was simple, a long black silk gown with an empire waist and beading around the neck and cuffs. It didn’t look super exciting on the hanger, but it hugged my curves perfectly.

  Sure, Alistair would be present and possibly ogling me, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t look good. Knowing him, he’d probably have his eyes on any pretty girl present. Then again, given that we were sharing a room, he’d probably remain a pain in my butt the entire time.

  So, despite how much I knew they would probably hurt, I pulled out my dressy gold stilettos from my suitcase. I’d only worn them once, but I knew that Alistair hated them, as they made me slightly taller than him. That thought cheered me up a little. Considering how I felt, I needed any advantage I could get.

  I took a long, hot shower, trying to cleanse myself of the smell of airplane and Alistair’s cologne. While I was applying makeup, Alistair came into the room.

  “Samantha, it’s me. I’m just here to change.”

  Fortunately, I was done with my prep, so I breezed out of the bathroom and grabbed my handbag.

  “Great. I’ll see you downstairs.”

  Without waiting for him to respond, I walked out. I’d only had some water at the reception, so I helped myself to a glass of wine while I waited for him to come down. With dinner just about to start, Alistair finally appeared.

  To my surprise, he was wearing a tuxedo. I’d thought I’d been a tad overdressed, but now I was starting to wonder if I should’ve brought a nicer dress.

  “I didn’t get a chance to tell you earlier, but you look hot,” Alistair greeted.

  And just like that, any goodwill I’d managed to recover vanished.

  “Let’s just get this done.”

  He smirked and gestured me forward. I took a deep breath and strode ahead, trying my best to pretend my feet were actually comfortable and I was as confident as I hoped I looked. Fortunately, the unveiling was taking place just across the street.

  “Are we taking the sky bridge that connects to Central Mobile?” I asked.

  “Are you kidding? We’re the guests of honor. We get to make an entrance.”

  “Oh.”

  Instead of walking across the street, a hotel shuttle picked us up and dropped us off right at the main entrance of the complex that made up Central Mobile. At least I was able to rest my feet for a bit longer. When the shuttle stopped at the entrance, I was surprised to discover that there was a red carpet waiting.

  “I didn’t realize it would be so glitzy,” I told Alistair.

  He grinned. “Little bigger than you’re used to, huh?”

  “I guess.”

  An attendant opened the door to an array of blinding, flashing lights.

  “Did I tell you the press would be here?” he added as he offered me his hand to help me down from the shuttle.

  As much as I wanted to refuse, I knew all eyes were on us, so I accepted, reaching out to place my hand in his. We then strode leisurely down the red carpet, stopping to pose for photos along the way.

  For some strange reas
on, Alistair decided to place his arm around me. And not just my shoulders, no. He felt the need to sling his arm around my hip and pull me closely against him. Any sign of resistance would’ve been immediately noticed by the press, particularly the cameras, so I merely plastered on my professional smile and endured.

  It was then, standing in front of the cameras, that I realized I was more than worried. I was exhausted and my emotions were a mess. I was suppressing them now, but I knew they were likely to come boiling out some time soon if I didn’t get away from Alistair for a little while this weekend.

  Desperation filled me. It was only the first day of a long weekend and I already felt like I was at the end of my tether with Alistair. And yet, he was already taking liberties with me. With us sharing the same room, I wouldn’t be able to let down my guard anytime soon.

  I literally had no idea how I was going to make it through the next three days.

  But I had to. For the company, if for no other reason. For my own integrity. Somehow, I would find a way. I always did.

  Chapter 3

  Dustin

  Work was surprisingly pretty slow. Not a bad thing, really, but I couldn’t help feeling bored. I was between stunt gigs, so I’d agreed to an extra shift at the station. Nothing had happened as of yet, sort of the opposite of what I’d been hoping when I’d signed up for extra work.

  Which is why, after my second workout of the day, I found myself sitting down to watch TV. I was flipping through the channels when I landed on the news, and with no better options, I sat back to watch. I never knew when a report about a new studio project was coming out.

  After two commercial breaks, I was ready to take a nap when I snapped to attention.

  “And now we come to you live from the unveiling of mobile giant Cyder Cellular’s new smartphone.”

  I recognized the building—the corporate headquarters for Central Mobile, a tech giant in the area. But that wasn’t what caught my attention. The woman standing next to the podium…something about her shape was familiar. I knew those curves. I recognized them just as the picture switched over.

  Samantha?

  No way. It couldn’t be her, here in LA? But she had been in tech all those years before, determined to stay in a comfortable career. And that glimpse of her face matched the one burned into my memory.

  It had been five years, but I hadn’t forgotten. In fact, the more time that passed, the more I regretted how things had ended with her. I’d been on multiple dates, met all kinds of beautiful women aspiring to be models or actresses. But none of them had compared to her, to our single night together.

  Samantha’s honesty, the blush that spread across her cheeks, her openness with me, our intense physical connection—it had all stuck with me throughout the years, and I’d never really stopped thinking of her.

  I’d wondered over and over if I’d only told her that I was moving away before going to bed with her, that maybe she and I might’ve had a real chance of being together. Because I knew, without a doubt, that we’d have been great for each other.

  It wasn’t that I hadn’t tried to forget her. I had. But in the many one-night stands I’d had since that night in Philly, I’d never felt the same spark as I did that night with Samantha. Everyone else had just been…meaningless.

  Not on purpose—I never wanted to hurt anyone—but I just hadn’t been able to build the same connection.

  There were many times I’d wished I could apologize to Samantha and ask her to give me a second chance for us to start over. But I’d left that morning without getting her number or email, and it wasn’t until after I moved that I realized I could’ve tried to go back to her apartment. But when I’d tried tracking her down there two years ago when I’d gone back to Philly for a visit, I found that, to my disappointment, she’d moved.

  Now, though, I knew exactly where she was. But I couldn’t just go charging into the event and snatch her away. I’d left on less-than-good terms; she’d seemed pretty unhappy with me in our last moments together.

  I was pretty sure that she wouldn’t just fall back into my arms or even let me talk to her if I were to just walk up and say hi. And, by the time I got off, she’d probably be back at her hotel—probably the one connected by a tunnel from across the street.

  “Hey, Dustin. Whatchya watching?” my co-worker, John, called from the door.

  His voice broke me out of my thoughts on how to get to Samantha.

  “Uh, the news.”

  “Cool. You’re off shift in what—an hour?”

  And that’s when I had my next idea…

  Chapter 4

  Samantha

  Dinner turned out to be easy after all, as Alistair and I sat away from each other, allowing me a little time to relax. Afterwards, the two of us climbed onto the podium and successfully unveiled the new phone to raucous applause and lots more photos.

  I knew there would be many questions for me over the weekend about the new phone, details I’d discuss at length in different meetings while Alistair would focus on promotion. But, for now, the unveiling was complete and I was free to mingle.

  After only an hour, however, I was beyond exhausted. Networking had never been my strong suit, and my feet were killing me. Worse, the free alcohol was making Alistair act a bit too forward.

  I’d awkwardly avoided him at first, sure he understood my unequivocal insistence that we would no longer be a couple after I’d found out he’d cheated. But he was becoming increasingly more demanding, grabbing my hand and pulling me along with him. Again, not wanting to attract any attention, I went along with it, hoping he didn’t think he was succeeding at worming his way to forgiveness.

  In one corner of the room, I found myself pressed against Alistair as he kept his arm around my shoulders.

  “I must say, the new model is quite the accomplishment. And for such a young team,” Mr. Jerol told us. He was one of Cyder’s biggest investors, so instead of bristling at the reminder of my age and relative lack of experience, I smiled demurely, more concerned that Alistair was touching me so familiarly.

  “Oh, she’s one of a kind, Samantha is. I’m real lucky to have this beautiful lady as my girl.”

  He pressed a kiss to my jaw, and before I could help myself, I recoiled, just barely managing to keep from slapping him. At that moment, I didn’t care who we were talking with or how much it mattered—it could have been the vice-president of the country, not just our company—I’d had it with Alistair.

  “If you’ll both excuse me,” I said through clenched teeth.

  I turned and stormed off, only kept from stomping through the crowd by the pain in my feet. Alistair’s behavior was beyond unacceptable, and I was done putting up with it.

  Instead of waiting for a shuttle, I hobbled across the tunnel connecting the complex to the hotel, hoping Alistair had gotten the hint and was not following me. However, I only just made it across and to the elevators before I heard my name called.

  “Samantha? Samantha! Wait!”

  It was Alistair, and he either hadn’t gotten the hint, was too drunk to care, or possibly wanted to apologize. But I found I was no longer in the mood to deal with him in any capacity.

  Beyond annoyed, I rotated and hit the “Door Close” button. It was quite gratifying to have the elevator doors close on his face just as he reached them.

  Relief spread through me as I found myself thankful to be alone. I sighed at the reprieve, hoping Alistair wouldn’t follow me up.

  Then again, considering how the day had gone so far, I wouldn’t hold my breath.

  A metallic screech sounded as the elevator slowed to a grinding halt. Hoping there was nothing major going on, I hit the “Help” button. When nothing happened, I hit it again. Another minute passed with no response. Panic coursed through me. I’d been slightly claustrophobic since I was a teenager, but I could usually handle elevator rides.

  But this was going on for too long, I thought, well above the usual amount of time I spent in one with t
he doors closed. I hit the button again, and then again, urgency creeping through me and mounting with every passing moment.

  Maybe something was wrong. Maybe there’d been an electrical malfunction, or maybe a circuit overload. I refused to consider anything else.

  Just as it occurred to me that I might need to call for help on my cell, I heard a commotion outside the doors, and slumped back in relief. Help was on its way. There were several more metallic clangs, but these came from outside the doors. Whoever was there was working on opening them.

  After another minute, the doors began to inch apart. Concrete faced me and I looked up to see that only about two feet of the elevator cab was level with the next floor. A pair of feet appeared, encased by thick black boots. The boots moved away, then were replaced by a face.

  “Are you okay?”

  My mouth dropped open in astonishment. Despite five years having gone by, I knew that face instantly.

  “Dustin?”

  Chapter 5

  Samantha

  He smiled at me, and my memories flew back, comparing the face before me to the one I’d locked away in the recesses of my mind. Dustin was breathtaking. I thought he’d been gorgeous before, but somehow, he’d gotten even better looking over the years.

  It took all my self-control, but I forced down my reaction. I wouldn’t let him have the satisfaction of seeing how sexy I still found him. No, I refused to let on that he’d gotten to me with a single sentence. In fact, given my mood, I didn’t want to talk to anyone, much less him.

  “Why hello there, Samantha.”

  It was slightly gratifying to know he remembered my name, but I frowned anyway. Dustin’s smile faded.

  “Hang on.”

  “What—”

  He twisted his body and swung himself inside the elevator, squeezing through the opening without much effort and dropping to the floor next to me. He wore a fireman’s outfit, without the thick jacket. It outlined every muscle in his upper body and I fought not to drool.