Mary glanced to her right. Lex was leaning back in her chair with her legs folded and her hand wrapped around one knee. She had her eyes fixed on the stage.
Mary couldn’t imagine Lex suddenly being super interested in the latest eco-friendly packaging. She thought Lex was probably only pretending to be paying attention.
So was Mary. It was the last day of the conference and the lineup of speakers was impressive. But not impressive enough to keep Mary from staring at Lex way too often.
Every time she stole a peek, she discovered something new she liked about Lex. The subtle birthmark right under her earlobe, for example. What an excellent spot to place a soft kiss.
And the delicate veins on Lex’s hand were an invitation to follow their path up to her slender shoulders. Mary wondered what Lex’s skin would taste like.
But Mary knew she would probably never find out. Lex had made it clear she didn’t want that to happen. She didn’t want anything to happen between them.
What had Lex said again? That they shouldn’t act on their mutual attraction? Well, Mary didn’t know how that would work. Not now that she knew that Lex liked her too.
Yesterday, after Lex’s text from the bathroom, Mary had been ready to talk. And frankly, for a few minutes, she had believed a lot more than talking could happen.
But Lex had taken things in a completely different direction. Rationally, Mary knew Lex had been right to do so. There were plenty of reasons to take a step back.
They were co-workers. They hardly knew each other. And they lived in different worlds. What exactly had Mary hoped would happen?
Really, she had had no other choice than to agree with Lex’s suggestion. It was the only thing that made sense. But that didn’t make it easy.
Last night, Mary had kept telling herself this plan would work. She was mature enough to put her feelings aside, wasn’t she? It was just a silly crush after all.
She just had to get through two more days of being around Lex. The weekend would bring a welcome break. Mary was sure some time alone would help.
But getting through this first day had quickly proved to be more challenging than expected. Her resolve had evaporated as soon as she had seen Lex this morning.
The dark grey blouse Lex was wearing had instantly stirred the butterflies in her stomach. It fell open just enough for Mary to get a glimpse of what was underneath.
Mary wasn’t the only one struggling, though. She knew that now. Lex’s smooth mask of indifference had cracked on their way back to the auditorium after lunch.
While waiting in line to get back to their seats, the lady walking in front of Lex had suddenly stopped. Lex had barely been able to avoid bumping into her.
Mary, however, had then bumped into Lex. For one delicious second, she had felt Lex’s strong back against her own chest. Mary had wanted to wrap her arms around Lex and pull her closer.
She hadn’t, of course. But Lex had pressed her hips back into Mary. It had sent the heat in the pit of Mary’s stomach flaring. Mary doubted Lex had been aware of what she was doing until it was too late.
They had both gasped and stepped away. Lex’s expression had revealed everything Mary needed to know. There had been no mistaking the intensity of Lex’s gaze for anything other than raw desire.
The man who stood in line behind Mary had cleared his throat and ended the moment. Lex and Mary had gone back to pretending nothing had happened. But Mary could easily see through Lex’s calm composure now.
She carefully looked to her right and was captivated again by Lex’s jawline. She followed it down to a proud chin and back up to full lips. She could only imagine what those lips were capable of.
She quickly looked away before she would start to do just that and counted the hours until they would get back to New York City instead. Twenty-six. Twenty-six more hours of furtive glances and feverish daydreams.
She had no idea how she was going to make it through. Maybe she should leave early. She might be able to come up with a reason to catch a train tonight. Or she could say she was ill, go back to the hotel and lock herself up in her room.
Lex’s sudden movement pulled Mary from her scheming. She glanced down and saw that Lex had pulled her phone from her pocket. Lex was frowning at the screen and Mary recognized the missed call notification on it.
Five missed calls? Without thinking, she nudged Lex’s elbow.
“Hey, everything okay?” she asked quietly.
Lex frowned and opened her messages. “I don’t know, “she whispered back.
Mary leaned closer. “Something happened back home?”
“I don’t think so,” Lex said, shaking her head. “It’s the hotel. I got a message asking me to call back as soon as I can.”
*** *
It took the last keynote speaker forever to wrap things up, and by the time Mary and Lex made it out of the conference hall, another 30 minutes had passed. Lex hadn’t been able to contact the hotel yet.
They were standing on a street corner that was less crowded and noisy than the square in front of the conference center. Lex tapped her screen and raised the phone to her ear. Mary rubbed her hands together and blew out a breath.
She was worried about what might be going on. She didn’t have any missed calls on her phone, so she assumed everything was okay with her own family. She just hoped it wasn’t about Lucile.
“Hi, this is Lex Emsworth, someone on your staff tried to get in touch with me this afternoon?” Lex said into her phone.
Mary tugged at the zipper of her winter coat. It was getting colder again. Lex was wearing her leather jacket but seemed okay for now.
“Yes, I’ll hold,” Lex replied after listening to the person on the other end of the line.
She gave Mary a comforting smile. Mary’s heart skipped a beat. The muscles in her shoulders relaxed a little.
“Yes, I’m still here,” Lex said. Her expression changed in the seconds that followed. First, she looked confused. Then, she looked downright annoyed.
“What do you mean?” she snapped.
Mary tried to catch her gaze, but Lex was pinching the bridge of her nose while she listened.
“How the fuck did that happen?” Lex said.
Mary waved shyly, hoping Lex would tell her what was up. But Lex just gave her another smile. This one was a lot less comforting.
“This guy better be held responsible,” Lex barked. Her cheeks were red. Whether it was from cold or anger, Mary couldn’t tell.
“Okay,” Lex continued, after a few seconds. “What about tonight? We’re not checking out until morning. ”
Mary frowned. “What happened?!” she whispered.
Lex covered the lower half of her phone. “Don’t worry, everyone back home is fine.”
Mary nodded and reluctantly gave Lex some space.
“What?!” Lex snorted.
A few seconds passed.
“Oh no, that is not going to happen,” Lex said. “We’ll just check out if that’s the best you can do.”
Mary raised her hands in question. What the hell? Lex pointed in the direction of the hotel. “Let’s start walking,” she mouthed.
They fell into step together.
“Excuse me? She didn’t give you permission to do that!” Lex’s voice was icy now.
“Fine, but they better be ready by 6 AM tomorrow,” Lex grumbled.
She shook her head as she listened to the reply. “I told you. That’s not going to happen. You better come up with a solution, or I’ll go find a room in another hotel and charge you for it.”
None of what Lex was saying made sense to Mary. She was starting to get impatient. Surely, Lex could tell the hotel staffer to wait for a minute and tell her what was going on.
“Is there a second bed?” Lex asked in a low voice, scratching the back of her neck. Her leather jacket was open. She had to be freezing.
“Fine, we’ll be there in 5. I’ll grab my stuff and we’ll move up there,” Lex sighed.
Mary stepped in front of her, fed up with being left in the dark. Lex avoided crashing into her but only just. Her eyes widened as she looked down at Mary.
“Yes, see you in a few minutes. Bye,” Lex stammered into the phone, holding Mary’s gaze. She finished the call and lowered her arm.
“What is going on?!” Mary asked.
Lex flinched. “I’m sorry. I wanted to make sure I took care of it before telling you.”
“What is it?” Mary repeated. Her nose was only inches away from Lex’s, but she was too annoyed to step back.
“The sprinklers went off in your room,” Lex said.
Mary’s mouth opened in confusion.
“Some idiot lit up a cigar in the room next to yours and the sprinklers responded automatically in the adjoining rooms,” Lex explained. Her eyebrows dropped. “All your stuff is soaked and you can’t sleep there tonight.”
“That’s crazy,” Mary stammered.
Lex rested a hand on Mary’s arm. “Yeah, they already sent your things to the dry cleaner, so we can’t leave. Everything should be back by 6 in the morning. They promised to replace whatever’s ruined.”
Mary looked down at Lex’s hand. She couldn’t feel it through her winter coat.
“I have to move to another room?” she asked.
“Yes,” Lex sighed. “Except they’re fully booked. There are no other rooms available.”
Mary’s chest filled with panic. “What? Then where do I sleep?”
Lex pulled her hand back and shrugged. “With me.”
“In your room?!” Mary squeaked. There was only one bed in Mary’s room and she suspected Lex’s looked the same.
Lex shook her head. “No, they suggested that, but I got us an upgrade instead.”
“I thought everything is booked?” Mary asked.
Lex averted her gaze. “Yeah. Except for the wedding suite.”