I rush after Celeste when she leaves the conference room, a hint of worry tugging at me. She seemed discouraged, and the way she looked at me reminded me of all the times I inadvertently hurt her in my quest to gain her attention in high school.
I can pretty much guess what she’s thinking — that I’m targeting her all over again by choosing to acquire this specific project. If I told her I was just as surprised to learn of her involvement, would she believe me? I’m not sure, but I’ll be damned if I let this drive a wedge between us.
“Celeste!” I call, but she doesn’t stop walking, doesn’t even look back. If anything, she just increases her pace and slips between the closing elevator doors before I can stop her. Damn it.
I glance at the door that leads to the stairs. My decision is made in a split second, and before I’m even consciously thinking about what I’m doing, I’m already halfway down the stairs. I’ve waited years for a shot with her — I won’t wait another second, won’t let my own dumb behavior come between us the way it used to.
I reach the ground floor moments before the elevator does, my breathing ragged. The doors open, and Celeste freezes mid-step, her eyes wide with shock. She’s so fucking pretty in that black dress, her wild hair framing her face, tempting me to reach for it, grab hold and never let go.
Her expression shutters closed, and she ignores me as she turns to walk out of the building. I grin and fall into step with her. “What do you think you’re doing?” she asks, her tone annoyed.
“Walking to my car,” I answer cheerily. “I’m parked right next to you.”
She glances up at me, pure exasperation in her gaze, and I chuckle, my heart warming. I prefer this over the listlessness she portrayed when she left the meeting room.
“I loved your presentation,” I tell her, my words genuine. “Your attention to detail is unparalleled.”
Something shifts in her expression, and seeing that defeat written all over her pretty face just tears me apart. She looks away and increases her pace, clearly eager to get away from me.
“Hey,” I murmur, my hand wrapping around her wrist as I pull her to a stop a few steps from her car. “What’s wrong?”
She lifts her face, but she doesn’t look me in the eye. Instead, she looks over my shoulder, a soft sigh on her lips. “Nothing is wrong,” she denies, like I wouldn’t notice the way she holds her shoulders, the way she seemed to lose faith in her own proposal halfway through, her normally fiery eyes turning blank.
I pull her closer and bring her wrist to my chest. “Is this about the acquisition? This hotel will be yours, Celeste. Your vision for it is close to mine, but your marketing plan was stronger.”
She narrows her eyes and pulls her arm away. “We’ll find out on Monday,” she says, sounding far more discouraged than I’d like her to. I watch as she tries to paste on a polite smile, and all it does is make me feel unsettled.
I should be happy that she’s making an effort to act professional around me, but it just makes me feel like the distance between us is greater than it’s ever been before. I want the girl I had in my arms on prom night, the one she showed me a glimpse of at the gala last month.
“It’s not just the proposal, is it?” I ask, my voice soft. I step toward her, but she takes a step back, surprise crossing her face. “Something else is bothering you. I can tell by the way you raise your left brow, and the way your pupils dilate just a little. It somehow turns your beautiful eyes a shade darker. You only ever look like this when you’re deeply upset, and something as simple as this proposal couldn’t have been the reason. What happened?”
She stares at me wide-eyed, caught off guard. “I don’t understand,” she says, her voice faltering. “Why do you care?”
I sigh and run a hand through my hair to keep from touching her. “I’ve always cared.”
“You’ve always had a funny way of showing it,” she retorts, pain bleeding into her voice.
I can’t help but recoil, a hint of shame washing over me. “I’m sorry, Celeste. Truly. Being young is no excuse — I often took our rivalry too far, but that doesn’t mean I never appreciated your intellect. No one has ever been able to challenge me the way you do, and being able to compete with you again is something I’ve been looking forward to since you left. I just thought you’d feel the same way. After that night, I thought…”
Her lips part, and her face flushes beautifully. She’s so fucking stunning, it’s insane. “I thought we agreed we’d forget it happened,” she murmurs, her gaze darting around us like she’s scared to be seen with me.
“I don’t recall agreeing to that particular demand of yours, my sweet Celestial. How could I possibly forget my first time—”
I cup the back of my neck and look away as heat rushes to my face. I hadn’t meant to let that slip, but as always, she makes me feel fucking unhinged, out of control.
“You… you were a virgin too?” she whispers, pure shock transforming her face.
“Wasn’t that obvious? You were my first, and you ruined me for everyone else.”
She sucks in a breath, her expression disarmed. “But all the rumors in school… and I saw you.”
“Yeah? What did you see, Celeste? You saw some girls trying to get my attention, but did you ever see me hold someone’s hand? Have you ever seen me kiss someone that wasn’t you?”
She stares at me, and I can’t help but smile. I reach for her, and this time, she lets me. I wrap one of her curls around my index finger and cup her face with my other hand, my touch reverent. “I truly am sorry, Celeste. I was a shitty little kid, and at the time, I didn’t realize how hurtful some of my actions were. If I asked for a ceasefire, would you grant me one? I won’t ask for your forgiveness, Celestial. I’m only asking for one single chance to earn it.”
She raises a brow, her chest rising and falling faster than before. Does she feel this thing between us too? “A chance?” she repeats, seemingly unconvinced.
I nod, my expression solemn. “A chance to be friends, to leave the past behind us. I won’t lie to you and say I won’t enjoy competing with you at work, but it won’t be the way it used to be. We’ve both grownup in the last couple of years. Won’t you give me a chance to show you who I’ve become? Who knows… you might just like what you find.”
“I… I don’t know what to say. It’s true we’ve both grown up since high school, but that doesn’t mean all my wounds healed. Some of the things you did and said when we were kids really hurt me.”
“Say yes,” I whisper. “Please.”
She studies my face, as though she doubts my sincerity. I can’t even fault her for the suspicion she treats me with — I earned that behavior all by myself. “One chance,” she murmurs, inclining her head ever so slightly, barely a nod.
“Thank you.” I brush the back of my fingers over her cheek, my heart hammering in my chest. “Then… will you tell me what’s bothering you so? Is it something I did? Don’t tell me it’s the proposal. I’ve known you since we were three. I know it isn’t that.”
She parts her lips like she wants to deny my claim, but then she seems to think better of it. “You won’t make fun of me?” Her voice trembles, and it hurts to know that I’ve mistreated her so often that she genuinely believes I would.
I take a step closer and cup her face with both hands, my eyes on hers. “Never again, Celestial.”
Her gaze heats, and I just know she’s reminded of the first time I called her that. My goddess, my Celestial. She claims she wants to forget it ever happened, but the way she’s looking at me makes me think she’s lying to herself as much as she’s lying to me.
“I’ve… I’ve been meaning to ask you for a favor. I know it’ll cost me, and that’s okay — you’ll probably want a favor in return, if you hear me out at all…”
“Yes,” I say, interrupting her rambling.
She raises her brows, the edges of her lips turning into a tiny smile. “You have no idea what I’m trying to say.”
I shrug. “You’d never ask me for something unreasonable, so whatever it is you want, consider it done.”
She looks down and grabs the lapel of my suit, gripping it tightly. Does she realize how intimately we’re touching each other? The way I’m holding her face, and the way her fingers are wrapped around the fabric of my suit… I can’t be the only one who feels this, can I? She claims to hate me, but she fails to realize that in doing so, her attention has always been on me as much as mine has been on her.
Celeste takes a deep breath, almost like she’s trying to steel herself, and I stare at her, eager to find out what makes her set aside her pride to ask me for a favor.
“Do you… do you remember Lily?”
I stare at her blankly, the name sounding somewhat familiar.
She sighs and releases my suit to wrap her fingers around my wrists, almost as though she intended to pull my hands away, but instead she just holds on to me. “She’s my best friend. Lily went to high school with us, but she wasn’t in many of our classes.”
I frown as I try to think back. I’ve always had tunnel vision when it comes to Celeste — when she’s in the room, I can’t see anyone else. That’s been the case since we were ten. It just took me six years to understand why.
“Right. She’s about your height, with brown hair, right?”
She stares at me in disbelief. “Um… no. She’s blonde, and she’s much taller than me.” There’s something in her eyes that makes me unable to focus on her words, because all I want to do is find out what suddenly made her look at me that way — like she’s pleased with me, like she’s letting me in.
“I’m sorry. I’ve only ever had eyes for you. I do remember a girl always hanging around you at lunch though. Is that the girl you’re referring to?”
Her eyes widen a fraction, and her gaze drops to my lips. Fuck. Does she have any idea what she does to me? If she takes one step closer, I won’t be able to hide it.
“You can’t mean that,” she says, her voice faltering. “What game are you playing, Zane? If you hurt me the way you used to in high school, I’ll never forgive you.”
I draw a shaky breath and look into her beautiful eyes. “I’d never forgive myself if I hurt you again, Celeste. You promised me one chance just moments ago, didn’t you? So give me one chance to prove to you I’ve changed. Ask for your favor, and whatever it is, I’ll grant it.”
She hesitates, as though she isn’t sure she can put her faith in me. Whatever she wants is clearly important to her.
“My grandfather rejected Lily’s job application because he thinks I’m too soft and won’t be able to keep my work and private life separate enough.” She looks at me pleadingly, and all it does is make my heart race faster. “Lily applied for a job at Windsor Hotels, and, well… I just wanted to ask if you’d consider hiring her.”
“That’s it?” I ask, surprised.
“I know it’s a lot to ask for, but I’d be grateful if you’d consider it. And yes, it did cross my mind, and Lily and I did joke about it, but this isn’t a ploy to gain inside knowledge about Windsor Hotels.”
I chuckle and gently brush her hair out of her face. “If you want inside knowledge, just ask me directly. Odds are I’ll tell you.”
Celeste stares at me like she can’t quite figure me out, and I can hardly blame her. All I’ve ever shown her is the shitty teenager I used to be — she isn’t used to the man I’ve become. Not yet.
“I’ll grant you a favor in return,” she tells me, her words escaping her lips in a rush. It’s clear that in the brief few seconds it took me to agree to her request, she’s somehow convinced herself that I’ll say no.
“I’ll hire your friend, Celeste. I’m not normally involved with the hiring process, but I’ll see that she’s hired. Email me her CV later today, and I’ll forward it to HR.”
I step back reluctantly to reach for one of my business cards, and she stares at it for a moment before looking back up at me. “I was prepared to keep hating you,” she whispers. “But you’re making it so hard.”
“Good,” I tell her. “Because hatred is the last thing I want you to feel when you think of me.”
She parts her lips to say something, only to change her mind and shake her head slightly. “If you do hire her, you won’t treat her unfairly, right? If even a small part of you does still resent me, may I please ask you not to take it out on Lily?”
It’s tough to see that distrust in her eyes when I know I’m the one who put it there. “I promise, Celeste. Not only will I hire her, I’ll ensure she’s treated fairly.”
“I need more than just a promise,” she says, her tone sharp, as though she isn’t willing to take any risks with her friend’s fate. It’s odd how jealous I am of this girl I can’t even remember. What does it take to inspire such loyalty in Celeste?
I grab her hand and lift it slowly, my eyes never leaving hers as I turn her palm toward me and gently kiss the inside of her wrist, my eyes falling closed for a moment. “A vow, then,” I whisper. “I vow to you that I’ll take good care of your friend. How about that?”
Her face flushes beautifully, and she snatches her arm back, flustered. Fucking gorgeous. “Th-thank you, Zane.”
“Anything for you,” I tell her, wearing my heart on my sleeve. She thinks I’m messing with her, that I’m merely being flirtatious as part of our new game. What would she say if she found out she’s the only one I’ve ever treated this way?
