The Rivals - Vi Keeland Page 0,50

a drink in a hotel she owns, huh?”

I smiled, and the four of us fell into easy conversation. Eventually, the seat to my left opened up, so Bryce sat down next to me. It allowed the conversation for four to turn into two more intimate conversations of two.

“So, I take it you live here in the City?” he asked.

“Right now, I live here in this hotel. My family just recently became partial owners of The Countess. I’d been living in London the last few years and moved back to help transition things here.”

“Does that mean you’ll go back to London after things are settled?”

I shook my head. “No, I don’t think so.”

Bryce smiled. “I’m happy to hear that. New York is my home base, too.”

His flirting was innocent, yet it made me feel guilty to participate. Obviously, Weston and I hadn’t talked about seeing other people. Not that he and I were actually seeing each other. I wasn’t naïve enough to think there was anything other than a physical relationship going on, and even that seemed to have fizzled as of late. So, I forced myself to stay open-minded, even though all I really wanted to do was go back to my suite with Scarlett and tell her all about me and Weston.

I sipped my drink. “So your office is here in the City, then?”

“Only a few blocks away. I’ve never been inside this hotel though.” He looked around the bar and out the tall wall of windows nearby. “The view is amazing. I have to admit, Ethan wanted to come here for drinks to celebrate a new contract we just signed, and I didn’t feel like it. Now I’m glad I did.”

Bryce and I sat together for a half hour, our conversation flowing pretty easily. I learned that six months ago he came out of a two-year relationship, and I shared that my long-term relationship had also recently ended.

“We got a dog together,” Bryce said. “Or rather, she picked out a dog, and I got to feed it and walk it.”

“What kind of a dog was it?”

“Is, not was. I got the dog in the breakup. Sprinkles is a shih tzu. She was the one who wanted the dog, yet she showed up at my apartment with some clothes I’d had at her place and the dog. Said if I didn’t take it, she was going to the vet to get him put down. What kind of a person does that? Anyway, now I have a girly-looking dog named Sprinkles.”

I laughed. “Did you not want the dog to begin with?”

“I wanted a dog, but I’d been thinking more along the lines of a black lab named Fred.” He shrugged. “The little guy is a damn yapper, but he’s grown on me. He sleeps on my pillow right next to my head and likes to lick my ear at five o’clock in the morning. If I’m being honest, it’s pretty much the only action I’ve seen in a while.” Bryce laughed.

I had a smile on my face until I saw the man walking toward me. Weston did not look happy. His long strides ate up the distance between us.

“The front desk said you would be here. I didn’t realize you were on a date.” He didn’t say the word date so much as spit it at me.

“I’m not—I mean, I wasn’t… We aren’t…” I shook my head. Motioning to Scarlett, who’d turned around, I said, “Scarlett and I came for happy hour.”

Weston glanced over at Scarlett, gave her a curt nod, and returned his angry glare to me. “You were dealing with a busted pipe in the laundry room?”

“Yes, why? Once the plumber arrived, I came back to finish my drinks with Scarlett. Is everything okay?”

Weston’s eyes slanted to Bryce and back to me. “The plumber wants you to sign off on the repair estimate since you hired him. I told him I could take care of it, but apparently you’re the only one capable of making such a decision in his eyes.”

I stood. “Oh. Okay. I’m coming.”

Weston did another sweep of our group, and his jaw flexed. “Scarlett.” He nodded, turned around, and marched back out of the bar.

“Umm…” I stood. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Bryce stood also. “Was that your manager? He was a little gruff the way he spoke to you. Do you want me to walk with you to meet the plumber?”

I held up my hands. “No, I’m good. It shouldn’t take too