Page 52 of The CEO Enemy
“Seriously?”
“You bet.”
He chuckles. “Believe me, no Spidey-skills here. Heights aren’t my thing. You’re looking at a guy who wouldn’t even climb a ladder.”
That explains why he was so concerned on the balcony the first time we met and didn’t politely suggest ‘handling’ things. I flash a grin and reply, “Well, I guess we won’t be plotting any daring rooftop getaways together, then. But hey, at least we can enjoy…well…” My eyes fall to my lap and slide back to him. “…ground-level adventures?”
“Who needs heights when there’s so much to explore down here.”
“Exactly.”
“Got any more burning questions?” he asks.
“I sure do,” I say brightly. “Do you have siblings?”
“I’m an only child. I was raised by both my parents. I told you about my mother passing away. I was thirteen when it happened. After that, my dad was pretty busy, so it was one nanny after another until I was old enough to work, and then I started working at my father’s properties, learning the ins and outs of hospitality. It was one of my mother’s final wishes. She told me that she knew how important it was to him—to stay.”
“Oh…so did you like it?”
“Thankfully, I did. I wanted to make it a career. That was the last time my father and I ever agreed on anything.”
“So, you really were born and bred in this business, huh?”
There’s a smile on his face, and when he speaks, it’s full of sarcasm. “I think if I had wanted to go into any other profession, my dad might have had a heart attack.”
“It sounds like he cares for you.”
The waiter pops by to drop off our drinks, which we thank him for. I pick up my margarita and take a healthy swig. It’s really good, and I take another right away. Sean asked for a black coffee and a soda with lime which he sips thoughtfully as he watches me enjoying my cocktail from across the table. It’s dangerously good. I feel so comfortable I almost forget I’m not wearing any underwear. I don’t think I’ve ever been on such a deliciously hot first date.
“What about you?” he asks. “I know you’ve told me a little bit of how you got into this business, but I feel like there’s more to the story.”
“There’s not much to tell. I had your standard childhood: raised by two parents, and luckily, they’re both alive and well. I’ve worked in hospitality since I was a kid. My parents own a successful small hotel on the West Coast, in Cedar Cove, and I knew from a young age that I wanted to do what they did. So, I got a job at a hotel and loved it so much that I decided that’s my calling.”
Sean raises his eyebrow as he stirs his coffee. When I don’t immediately continue, he asks, “That’s it?”
“Why? What were you expecting?”
“There’s gotta be something else. A few interesting tidbits that you’re not mentioning.”
“Of course there’s more, but I really wouldn’t call the tidbits interesting. More like…” I pause, trying to find the right word. “Sad. Devastating. A hard lesson I had to learn.” I take another sip of my margarita.
His expression turns hard and serious, reminding me of our first encounter in our apartment’s hallway. “What happened?”
Normally, thinking about what happened stings even after all this time. I regard him for a moment, my fingers tracing the rim of my glass. “To be honest, I haven’t talked about it with anyone else besides Pauline, my neighbor Lottie, and Norman. It’s not something I typically dive into on the first date.”
Shit.
First date.
I wish I could take back those words the moment they leave my lips.
Or at least said “fake date.”
Sean arches an eyebrow, just as I expected. “Given everything that we’ve done up until this point, I don’t think we can label this a ‘typical’ first date.”
“Fair point,” I say casually, pondering what exactly he means.
Is it atypical because it’s not a date, or is it atypical because, in his mind, it is a first date but not in the conventional romantic sense—you know, not your run-of-the-mill dinner-and-a-movie date?