Before Jake could see me, I stepped back behind the corner quickly. Now I didn’t know what to do. I felt sick to my stomach. I could hear the woman’s high heels clicking on the floor. She came around to the elevator, and her eyes met mine.
Had she seen me? If so, she gave no indication of it. Her eyes swept dismissively over me, and she walked right past me to the elevator to press the button. She leaned one slim manicured hand against the decorative vase in the hall while waiting for the elevator.
I wanted to slam her against the wall and ask her who she was. I wanted to curl up in the corner of the hotel hallway and scream with jealousy. I wanted to throw one of those lavish vases against the wall.
Instead, I stumbled awkwardly back towards our hotel room. The door was already closed, and I hesitated as I put my hand on the door knob. Should I knock? What if Jake had another woman—
“Stop it,” I whispered to myself. “Just stop it.”
I took a deep breath and opened the door.
Chapter Five
“Lacey!”
Jake came out of the kitchen, his tie loose around his collar. Had he loosened it just now, or had she loosened it? The image of the blonde woman undoing his tie flashed through my mind. I gritted my teeth.
“I’m so glad you’re back!” he cried, sweeping me up into a hug. Was it my imagination, or was that perfume I was smelling? I felt my stomach turn even as his arms wrapped around me. “I just got back.”
“Oh? How was your meeting?” I asked.
“Great! We worked through all of the legal contracts. There was an issue with one of the magazine bidders not wanting to work with international businesses…”
Jake went on and on, but I was barely listening.
“Lacey?”
“What? Huh?”
“Lacey, what’s wrong?”
I shook my head. Tears stung the back of my eyes. I willed them away.
“Nothing,” I said.
“You look so worried. What is it?”
“Really, nothing.” There was a woman outside of your room, I wanted to say. Who was she? But I didn’t. If he didn’t want to tell me about her, then I didn’t want to know.
“Alright. How was your day? Do any sightseeing?”
“I walked around outside. I went to meet that art collector—”
“Great! Hey, listen, wait one second. I just remembered an email I need to send off before dinner. For business. Do you mind?”
I seethed inside, but I tried to remain calm.
“Sure,” I said. “I have to take a shower anyway.”
“Mmm,”Jake said, stroking my arm with his hand. “I might have to finish my email early and join you.”
But he didn’t. I washed my hair and dried off, and when I had finished getting ready, he was still on his laptop. As I walked out of the bathroom, he closed his computer and grinned up at me.
“Ready to go?” he asked.
“Sure,” I said.
“So is this collector going to buy any of your paintings?” Jake asked.
“I don’t think so,” I mumbled. “It was nothing, really. Tell me more about your day.”
If Jake wasn’t going to talk to me about the women he was meeting for business, I decided, I didn’t have to mention my art collector. It made me feel strange to keep something from him, but he gushed all through dinner and never brought it up again. Instead, he talked about all of the potential business that the deal could bring, the different negotiating techniques the French used, and how interesting the world of advertising was becoming.
All the while, I couldn’t stop thinking about the woman Jake had kissed on the cheek. I wanted to bring it up, but there was never a good point. I smiled at his jokes and forced out a few laughs, and he didn’t mention anything at all.
By the time we got back to the hotel room, it was nearly midnight and I felt exhausted.
Jake slipped his hand and cupped my ass, but I slid away from him.
“I’m tired, Jake,” I said. I got undressed quickly and got into bed, pulling the covers up around me.
“Is there something wrong?” he asked. “Lacey, you know I’m busy with this negotiation. I can’t take you around Paris—”
“That’s fine!” I snapped. “I—I’m just tired, is all.”
“Alright,” Jake said. He slid into bed near me and put his arm over my body. I shivered even as he drew me close.
Ask him about the woman.
I knew that it was stupid to put it off. I should just ask him about her. She was probably one of the lawyers. Probably there was nothing at all going on, and I was worried over nothing. I twisted my neck.
“Jake?” I whispered. There was nothing but silence, the sound of his breath coming softly against my neck. I wiggled a bit in the bed.