Couldn't Cheat Death by A.P. Eisen

Author:A.P. Eisen [Eisen, A.P.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance, Mystery, Fiction, M/M
Publisher: A.P. Eisen
Published: 2019-06-29T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TEN

Cliff arrived at the hotel on autopilot, and for the first time, didn’t bother to stop and chat with the front-desk staff. He closed the door to his office, took the seat behind his desk and sat, letting his coffee go cold.

I don’t date employees.

Technically, Roland hadn’t been an employee—he’d owned the hotel Cliff worked for at the time. And he’d relentlessly pursued Cliff, getting tickets to the hottest concerts and taking him out to dinner where he’d have a special menu made up for the two of them. Cliff, who’d been young and vulnerable after losing Harley, allowed himself to be seduced.

Their affair lasted for three years, until Roland grew tired of him and moved on to another employee, and Cliff, torn apart by Roland’s indifference and infidelity, resigned. He licked his wounds and moved on to the Starrywood Corporation, where he held himself back from forming personal relationships with the staff. It was one reason he’d moved around so much until he met Lincoln, an architect hired by the corporation to renovate their hotels. He’d swept Cliff off his feet, dazzling him with his bright light so Cliff fell hard, blinding him to the reality that Lincoln was never going to acknowledge Cliff as his lover.

The knock on his door brought him out of his unwelcome trip down memory lane.

“Yes?”

Jade poked her head around the door. “Hi. Can we talk?”

“Sure. Come on in.” He took a sip of his now cold coffee and shuddered. “I’m going to make a fresh cup. Do you want?”

“Uh, sure. Thanks.” Her perfume arrived before she did, its scent tickling Cliff’s nose. He couldn’t stand heavy scents and remembered Paul’s light aftershave from last night and how his mouth tasted. Desire jolted through him, but he squeezed his eyes shut for a moment to regain his equilibrium. He popped a pod into the machine and waited for it to brew.

“What’s up? Is there a problem with the restaurant?”

The coffee cup filled, and he held it up. “Creamer, sugar?”

“No, black is fine.”

His brows rose, but he said nothing and handed it to her. He made himself one, dosing it heavily with cream so it looked more like caramel-colored milk.

“Now tell me,” he said after settling himself behind his desk. “What’s going on?”

She took a perfunctory sip and set the cup on the desk. “What do you think of those cops sniffing around?”

Obviously you have some thoughts, he wanted to say, but remained neutral. “I don’t think anything of it. They’re investigating a murder. What do you expect them to do?”

Her bright-red nails tapped on his desk. “I knew Jerry cheated on me.”

Cliff sat very still, his heart racing. “Wh-what? You knew? How?”

Her eyes narrowed, the lashes so thickly coated with mascara, they resembled black slits in her pale face. “You think I’m stupid? The man was a slut. Everyone wanted him, but I got him.”

“But why be with someone like that? You’re a beautiful young woman. Why would you want someone who treated you so poorly?”

Two spots of red stood out on her pale cheeks.

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