spoke about that night. It had been her seventeenth birthday, and because she was Piper, she’d had too much to drink. The party had been at the Orpheus, and she’d asked him to come upstairs to her private suite. It had been late, he’d had a bit too much champagne himself. He’d been totally unprepared for what happened.
She’d offered herself to him. Told him in no uncertain terms that she loved him, wanted him. It had taken every bit of willpower he had to walk away.
She’d never forgiven him.
But they still had to work together. It was ten years now, and still, the repercussions just kept on unfolding. Every meeting, every phone call, every social engagement where he watched the flash of her eyes, heard the silk of her laugh, he paid again.
He closed the drapes and headed for the bathroom. He needed to sleep.
PIPER FINALLY CRAWLED into bed at three-thirty. Bone tired, she figured she’d fall asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
She was wrong. At four, she was still thinking. Not about her father, not about losing all that money, but about Trace. About his being here for a week. A whole week. How in hell was she going to get through this?
3
MORNING HIT with a vengeance. Trace cursed the lack of room service, but blessed the coffeepot in the suite. He waited until seven to call Piper. He’d forgotten to get her room number, so he dialed her cell. She sounded more hungover than he felt.
“What do you want, Trace?”
“Breakfast would be good.”
“Fine. When?”
“Half an hour?”
“Meet me in the employee cafeteria. It’s on basement two.”
“Fine.” He hung up, then went to the desk and plugged in his laptop. He checked his e-mail, and answered most of it. His secretary, Terry, knew he’d be at the hotel for the week, and she’d cancelled or postponed his meetings. Because he worked exclusively for the Devon corporation as one of their attorneys, Nicholas had had no qualms about sending him down here, even though he had an apartment on the Upper East Side. While Trace felt a week was excessive, Devon disagreed, and since he signed the checks…
A week with Piper. Shit. It was going to be hard enough getting her to go along with her father’s plans, but to have to eat with her, be near her. He should call Ellen. She was great. Smart. Pretty. A real-estate attorney he’d met six months ago. They’d gone out two, no, three times. He liked her. She had a great laugh.
He went to his briefcase to pull out his PalmPilot, but then it was time to go for breakfast. He ran his hand through his hair, and headed out.
Breakfast with Piper. Gee, how’d he get so lucky?
MEMORANDUM
To: Room Service and Housekeeping
From: Janice Foster, General Manager, HUSH Hotel
Date: Saturday
Re: Trace Winslow, suite 9006
Extra coffee!!! Check at noon and 3:00 to make sure he has enough.
Half and half in the fridge, replace daily!
New bottle of Stoli daily!!! Keep it in the fridge.
Fresh fruit and sparkling water at turndown!
VVVVVIP!!!!!!!!
PIPER SIPPED her coffee as she checked her watch. Trace was late.
There were only a few people in the cafeteria, but the number of employees was growing daily. Now that they were so close to the soft opening, they had to fill the ranks, finish training everyone from bellmen to housekeepers to dog sitters.
God, how many soft openings had she lived through in her life? It was the hardest time for a hotel. All the final bugs had to be ironed out, all the little things that only popped up after guests had checked in. Thankfully, the reviews wouldn’t start for another month, after the official grand opening, but still. She wanted everything to be perfect.
Janice had been fabulous putting it all together, but most of the credit for staffing went to Lisa Scott, the head of human resources and Piper’s oldest friend.
Lisa was the daughter of Jess Scott, who’d worked at the Orpheus for almost twenty years. Since they were the same age, Piper and Lisa had started hanging out when they were ten, and the friendship had continued. Deepened. Lisa and Piper’s ex-nanny, Bridget Pollard, knew everything about Piper. They’d stuck with her during the good times and the bad, and Piper had no idea what she would have done without them.
Trace walked in, and Piper had to put down her cup. God, he was a good-looking man. It wasn’t fair. He had a wicked body. Wide shoulders, slim hips, unbelievable abs. His hair was dark and thick, although it could have been longer. But it was his face that did the damage.
Perfect from his forehead to his chin. Expressive brown eyes that could communicate his every emotion or be a cold mirror. His nose was straight and fine, and his lips… He didn’t have much of an upper lip, but what was there, worked. His lower lip was delectable, and when the man smiled, there wasn’t a woman within shouting distance who didn’t get wet.
Too bad he was such a prick.
“What do we do here?” he asked, standing in his dark gray suit, his pale blue tie, his body oozing sex appeal as if he expected her to drool or something.
“We eat.”
He looked down at her cup of coffee. Her lack of food.
She sighed as she stood. “This way.”
He followed her to the breakfast bar. There was everything from fresh bagels to omelets and waffles. The employees could come in here to eat, to relax on their breaks, to take staff meetings. At night, when the restaurant, Amuse Bouche, was open, the chef made sure the buffet was stocked with excellent fare.
She grabbed a tray and picked up some yogurt, fresh fruit salad and grapefruit juice. Trace got a waffle, scrambled eggs and melon.
They went back to her table, and for a few minutes, they concentrated on eating. Her gaze kept going to Trace’s mouth, the way he chewed, his throat as he swallowed. But then he’d look at her, and she’d stare at her plate until she figured he wasn’t looking. Then it would begin again, until she couldn’t take it anymore. “So what’s the deal? Why is Nicholas being such a jerk?”
“Nice way to talk about your father.”
“I was being kind.”
Trace frowned. “He’s upset. You won’t listen to him. What recourse does he have?”
“Disinheriting me seems like a radical choice.”
“Oh? And what would you have him do?”
“Give me a chance. Give Hush a chance.”
“Piper,” he said, putting
