Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 86335 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86335 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
And then it hits me…the hotel in London. Him being able to get me a room.
He wasn’t just there on business. His family owns the damn hotel!
chapter fifteen
NATE
“I’m so sorry,” Cathy, the woman I’ve been speaking to on the phone to coordinate this meeting, says. “Morning sickness can be rough.”
She continues to speak, but everything she says comes out sounding like the adults in Charlie Brown episodes because the only thing I can hear is, “Morning sickness can be rough.” It repeats over and over while I try to compute what she just said. What this means.
I know what morning sickness is. My brother and sister-in-law have two kids. I run a company filled with women who get pregnant all the time. But what I can’t seem to wrap my head around is why Paige Abrams would have morning sickness.
Is there another type of morning sickness that I’m unaware of? Because unless there is, that means that Paige—my fucking Paige—is pregnant, which means I’m too late.
I started planning this partnership two months ago with Evan, Kingston’s COO. I was hoping it would happen sooner, but there’s a lot involved when dealing with multimillion-dollar contracts.
It’s been four months since I saw her, and the entire time, while I’ve been thinking about her, she was moving on.
“Sorry about that,” Paige says, walking back through the door. “It must’ve been something I ate.”
It’s a lie I don’t call her out on because this isn’t the time or the place, and if she’s moved on, there’s nothing I can say or do. Hell, for her to be pregnant, it must be serious. I waited four damn months, and I was too late.
“Paige Abrams.” She extends her hand and smiles, but it’s not the smile I love. It’s the fake, forced one she gives when she’s upset, but doesn’t want anyone to know. “Thank you for coming all this way.”
“Nathan Bradford,” I say, taking her hand in mine. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
She flinches at my greeting, confirming that she remembers me.
“We’re looking forward to doing business with you, Mr. Bradford.”
“Please,” I say, releasing her hand even though I don’t want to lose the connection, “my dad is Mr. Bradford. Call me Nate.”
She nods and walks past me, her floral scent hitting my senses—the one I tried to memorize, but my memories didn’t do it justice.
“Our team has put together some marketing ideas we think will work wonderfully with the collection we’d like to pair with your hotel.”
Everyone has a seat, and Paige takes charge, going through their marketing pitch. The idea is genius. Kingston Limited will be creating an exclusive Hotel Collection for Bradford Hotels, where guests who wish to purchase the package will experience different cocktails throughout their stay at our hotel.
I already looked over the marketing plan on the plane ride over and know they came up with damn good ideas, so I don’t feel too bad when I tune out what she’s talking about and spend the next half hour focusing on her.
Her hair has grown out a bit, and she’s lightened it with more blonde. It’s up in a tight ponytail, reminding me of when I took her from behind and she moaned when I tugged on her hair, begging me for more.
Her makeup is professional, and her lips are plump and glossy. I’d bet if I kissed her, she’d taste as sweet as I remember. She’s wearing a simple white button-down blouse and a black pencil skirt, and aside from it being a bit snug on her, she doesn’t look pregnant. Which has me wondering if maybe her assistant was wrong. Maybe it was something Paige ate, and she hasn’t moved on and gotten pregnant.
“Mr. Bradford,” Paige says, snapping me from my thoughts.
With the way her brow is raised, I have a feeling this isn’t the first time she’s called my name to get my attention.
“Nate,” I remind her. “And everything sounds great. If you can send over the numbers, we can go over them and get back to you later this week with any questions.”
“Speaking of which,” Paige says, “out of curiosity, is there a reason why you came instead of…”
She glances down to find his name, but I answer before she has a chance.
“Carmine Bradford.” I grin when her brows furrow. “He’s the head of marketing. And my brother Dustin handles the finances. Our dad is the CEO, and I’m second in charge. I know it gets a little confusing since all four of us share the same last name.”
“Right,” Paige says. “So, will we be working with you or with Carmine?”
“You’ll be working with both of us,” I tell her, knowing this isn’t standard procedure. “Carmine wasn’t available to come, so I came in his place. I’ll be in town until we finalize the deal and get it all worked out. And then he’ll take over from there.”