Page 47 of Mistletoe Mistake
She held up her tea cup as if making a toast, and I obligingly clinked mine against hers.
“Enough about me, though,” I said as I finally dug into my porridge. Since I'd done most of the talking so far, I hadn't had a chance to eat yet. “Have you heard anything from Jackson? What are the odds that we'll both have a handsome American man in our beds before they go back?”
“Oh, I'm more than open to it,” Holly assured me. “But despite his flirting, I think he's actually a bit of a romantic. I don't know if he's looking for something casual.”
“Well, I've got a couple of other events that the two of you could join me and Cole for,” I suggested. “If you want to spend more time with Jackson, that is. Including my father's Christmas party.”
I hadn't specifically told Cole about that one yet. Every year, my father hosted an extravagant Christmas party at his London mansion for the upper crust of London society. Full-on black tie, ballgowns, dancing, the works, it would be taking place next Thursday evening, the night before Cole and Jackson were leaving to go back to New York.
“I thought you weren't going to the Earl's party this year,” Holly reminded me, her eyes wide with surprise.
“I wasn't planning to, especially since Edwin and Annabel will be there, but I haven't officially declined yet either. I was going to make an excuse at the last minute, but now, if Cole's willing to come...”
Holly finished my sentence with glee.“It might be a chance to rub Cole in Annabel’s face. In that case, I am definitely in. I want a front row seat for that.”
We laughed and talked a while longer until the rest of the team started arriving at the office, at which point we had to get started on work ourselves. As I settled down at my desk to start the day properly, my eyes drifted over to the calendar on the wall. That night, there would be a carol concert at St James's Piccadilly, the church closest to our office. Representatives from many of the businesses in the neighbourhood would be there, and I always attended on behalf of Anchor.
With a smile, I pulled out my phone and sent Cole a quick text to let him know what our plans were, and to tease him in anticipation of the night ahead. As I got back to work, the smile remained at the thought of what his reaction might be when he read my message.
I'm taking you to church tonight. You can see how you like me on my knees. G
~Cole~
Normally, I wouldn’t check my phone during business meetings, but I couldn't help taking a look when Gemma's name popped up, and once I'd read her message, I had a hard time thinking of anything else. My imagination ran wild for the rest of the meeting as images flashed across my mind: Gemma on her knees, her hands tied behind her back. Being punished for something? There were so many delicious possibilities.
By the time the meeting ended, I'd decided what I wanted to do and I quickly found a store online that could get me the items I would need before the end of the day. Normally, my personal assistant would help with purchases, and she’d been the one who found dress options for Gemma the day before and made all the arrangements to have everything delivered to her. I only picked out the final dress from the options she provided me.
However, when it came to my sexual business, I always kept that separate. When I wanted an escort, I arranged it myself, and the things I wanted Gemma to wear that evening definitely fell into a different category from the dress my assistant had helped me with yesterday. Some things were better kept private.
My meetings were off-site in the morning, but in the afternoon, Jackson and I set up in my suite to go over the latest reports from our European hotels. The London hotel project had been placed on hold temporarily until Gemma and Holly signed the agreement, but I didn't really have any doubt that they would. In fact, I suspected that they were already working on some preliminary design ideas for us and I couldn't wait to see what they came up with.
The items I'd ordered for Gemma were delivered just before five and I stashed them in the closet next to her luggage, which I'd already had unpacked for her by the hotel staff. With everything put away, I hadn't been able to resist looking through the various items of clothing she had packed and imagining what she would look like in them. I may have lingered a little longer than necessary over some of the lingerie before shaking my head at myself. This woman had taken over my thoughts in a completely unexpected way.
Gemma herself arrived shortly before six. I had sent her a message to let her know I'd be working and that she could pick up a keycard at the reception desk, so she let herself into the suite when she arrived and gave Jackson and me a cheery wave. Comfortable and confident, she made it seem like joining me after a day’s work was something she’d done a million times before.
“Good evening, gentleman,” she greeted us as she removed her coat and scarf. “How’s the hotel mogul business today?”
Jackson immediately got to his feet, walking over to give her a kiss on the cheek in welcome. “You’re a sight for sore eyes, Gemma. Can you please tell Cole that the working day ended an hour ago?”
“It's only one o'clock in New York,” I reminded him, still staring at the numbers in the report I’d been reviewing for nearly an hour, trying to understand what I was missing. Our Milan hotel had fewer repeat customers than any of our other Italian locations and I couldn’t see an obvious explanation.
Gemma answered Jackson rather than me. “I don't need him until seven, so if he wants to work until then, I can't stop him.”
Jackson sighed dramatically. “In that case, will you at least have something to eat with me so I don't have to dine alone again?”
“You ate by yourself one night,” I pointed out, my eyes still on the computer screen. We'd eaten together every night since we arrived except for the previous night when I went out with Gemma.
“Are you actually listening to our conversation and reading at the same time?” Gemma asked curiously, coming to sit next to me on the couch. “I'm impressed. I always need complete silence to concentrate.”
“I’ve always been able to multitask.” I didn’t mean it as a boast, just a statement of fact. My brain had always been good at keeping things separate. “Jackson is right about one thing, though: we should eat. Order whatever you like from room service. I'll have the steak sandwich.”
After Gemma and Jackson conferred together over the menu and placed the order, she leaned over my shoulder, looking at the report I still had in front of me. “Where is that hotel?”
“Milan. It opened two years ago but it's not performing as well as we'd hoped. I'm trying to figure out why.”
She leaned in a bit closer to the screen, focusing on one of the photos in the report. “Are those LED lights in the guest rooms?”
For the first time since she'd entered, I turned to look at her fully, watching as her finger tapped against her lips. “The design firm recommended them because they're less expensive to run, I believe.”
