I squirm in my chair. “Is that a problem? I mean I don’t discuss work with him, and I would never—”
“It’s not a problem for me.” He shrugs. “I don’t care who you date. Plus, I’m well aware that you could’ve asked your new boyfriend to make me put you in the magazine, but you didn’t. I respect that.”
He respects me. I smile so widely my cheeks hurt. “I’d never ask for a favor like that. I want my writing to speak for itself.”
“And it does. I just want you to know what people are saying before you head back into that viper’s nest out there. And if you do start working here permanently, you’ll need a thick skin if you’re dating the boss.”
The prospect of working at this magazine fills me with excitement. “I wouldn’t be dating the boss though, would I? More like my boss’s boss’s boss?”
He laughs loudly. “Remember that humor when I’m making you stick to insane deadlines.”
“It would be an honor to stick your insane deadlines, Julian. I really appreciate the opportunity you’re giving me.”
“You have talent, Lily. The honor will be all mine. Now get the hell out of here.” He nods toward the door.
I scurry out of his office, unable to keep the mile-wide smile from my face, but it falters when I run into Handsy Andy, Genevieve’s PR man, in the hallway.
His upper lip curls into a sneer. “Hey, Lily.”
“Hey,” I reply breezily as I press the call button for the elevator.
Standing too close for comfort, he leans down, and a shudder runs down my spine. “You know, we never did get that drink you promised me.”
I take a deep breath and remind myself that there are plenty of people milling around. I’m perfectly safe. “I never promised you a drink, Andy.” I told him I’d think about it when he had me cornered at an office party last Christmas.
Fury radiates from him. “You too good for me now that you’re fucking West Archer?”
“Fuck you.” I step into the elevator that arrived right on time and leave Andy seething. Just before the doors close all the way, I flip him the bird and promptly forget all about him.
I’m going to be in the August edition of Genevieve magazine, I have three insanely hot boyfriends that I get to go home to tonight, and most exciting of all, I’m about to see Nico.
My knees tremble when I step inside the lobby of Excelsior, and I pull my beanie hat down further and glance around. The lobby is empty except for an elderly couple drinking coffee and a young woman feeding a baby.
Pressing a hand on my stomach to quell my nerves, I raise my hand to knock on the door of room 925. Nico would never betray me, but what if he found out about us?
Willing him to hurry up and open the goddamn door, I glance down the corridor. Finally the door opens, and his familiar face creases with a huge smile. Pulling me into the room, he wraps me in a giant bear hug, nearly squeezing the life from me in the process, but I hug him back just as fiercely. All the memories we’ve shared flood to the surface, and I cling to him, tears streaming down my face. I convinced myself I could hold it together, but it’s been over two years since we last saw each other, and seeing him now only makes his absence in my life all that much more acute.
“Hey, Lily Pad,” he says, his tone gentle as he brushes the moisture from my cheeks with his thumbs. “Don’t cry.”
“I-I miss you so much.”
“I know.” He hugs me again, this time even tighter. “I miss you too. It’s fucking awful back home without you.”
“I’m s-so s-sorry I left you.”
He pulls back and looks down at me, his dark brown eyes full of sorrow. “Don’t be sorry, Lily Pad. I’m glad you got out. I’m glad …” His Adam’s apple bobs harshly.
I wipe my cheeks and focus on the fact that he’s here right now. “Why are you even in New York?”
“Pop has asked me to oversee some business. I’ll be here once a month, which means I get to see you.”
“You will?” Equal parts of joy and anxiety wrestle in my stomach, and I swallow down a wave of nausea. “Do you think he knows?”
“He has no idea, I swear. If he did, he’d have a fucking army scouring this country looking for you.”
He’s got a point. “I wish I was strong like you.”
“Hey,” he admonishes me. “It’s different for me, and we both know it. That was no life for you. What he was expecting you to do.” His hands clench into fists. “I would never have fucking allowed it, sis. Never.”