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“Yes, Mr. Evans,” Lyndon said flatly.
“Come on, Kai,” Mylee urged, ushering me toward the door.
Charlie waited by the tinted black SUV. This was Paxton’s favorite car, and at Mylee’s disposal over the next ninety days. I found the Escalade ostentatious and obnoxious, but I was more concerned with getting the event over and done with. The sooner we got through the lunch date, the sooner I’d be back home.
“The Serenity, Charlie,” I informed him, but like Mylee, the driver already had the day’s itinerary.
We settled into the leather, and Mylee turned to look out the window as I picked up the car tablet and checked the stock market. But even as I gauged our fluctuations, I found myself glancing at Mylee every so often, the wistful expression on her face making me curious.
“What’s wrong?” I finally asked.
Startled, she turned her head and looked at me. “What? Nothing. Why are you asking?”
“You look… sad.”
Her head drew back, lower lip jutting out slightly like she was stunned by my insight.
“I… I’m not sad,” she replied slowly. “I was just thinking.”
“It’s not that big a deal,” I sighed, unsure of how to comfort her for what was coming. “You just do a lot of smiling and nodding. Linc probably played it up too much, but you’ll be fine.”
“Oh, I’m not worried about the luncheon,” she answered honestly. “I was just thinking about work—I mean, my job at the café.”
Oh. My business partners had been right. She was upset about how she left things there.
It was my turn to be surprised. “Are you still working there? I mean… do you need to be?”
She shook her head, strands of dark hair swirling around her pretty, oval face and landing to frame it perfectly. “No… that’s just what I was thinking. I didn’t exactly give them notice. I think I left them short-staffed. My manager was disappointed, and one of my coworkers…”
She trailed off with a grimace.
“Oh…” I barely knew how to respond to that. “I’m sure they’ll be fine. Even when they’re properly staffed, they’re understaffed. Trust me. I’ve been in there enough times to say that honestly.”
Mylee appeared amused by my assessment. “I don’t remember seeing you in Teatotler’s before.”
“I’ve seen you,” I blurted out. Immediately, heat rushed up the back of my neck.
She blinked twice. “Really?”
I shrugged and returned to my tablet. “I keep to myself. I’m not surprised you never noticed.”
“I get really busy behind the machine,” she said weakly, but I turned to look out the window.
We rode the rest of the way in silence until the huge gray structure of the Serenity Hotel appeared in front of us.
“This is going to be very technical and boring,” I told her when Charlie opened the door. “I don’t expect you to contribute much.”
“Noted,” Mylee murmured. “I’ll try not to embarrass you.”
My head swiveled toward her in shock. “What?”
She met my gaze. “I said, I’ll try not to embarrass you. I don’t know anything about tech. I’ll keep my mouth shut and let you do all the talking.”
Does she really think she can embarrass me? Is she serious?
A fusion of emotions twisted through me, but I stuffed them down, allowing Mylee to take my arm as we entered the lobby and found the sixth floor, where the event was being held.
Almost immediately, we were accosted.
