Читать книгу Five Star Romance - Jacquelin Thomas, Jacquelin Thomas - Страница 11

Chapter 3

Livi laid her newspaper down on her breakfast table. The Alexander family continued to make daily headlines with the new center they were building to assist the L.A. homeless population.

Right after college, Livi had worked as Robert DePaul’s assistant until he grew ill and stepped away from the business. Livi left the company shortly after his death, but returned a month ago, to take over as manager and buyer of the Parisian Maison Boutique located in the DePaul Hotel in Beverly Hills.

With Robert DePaul’s son now at the reins, many of the employees decided to stay with the company. Livi had worked closely with Robert and trusted him. He was strategic in all of his decisions, so when he chose to leave everything to a son no one knew existed—Livi was not at all surprised by his actions.

As it turns out, the Alexanders were wonderful employers and astute businesspeople. Livi was thrilled that Harold DePaul was no longer at the helm. Although she liked him as a person, he was too blinded by power to take notice of anything else.

Livi often wondered what would happen when she and Blaze finally came face-to-face with each other. Would he even remember her?

Livi was not interested in his wealth. The night she met Blaze was a special one for her. Back then, Livi felt that she had met her soul mate. Everything had happened so fast.

One day, she and Blaze would have to have a conversation concerning that night because neither of them could pursue a future as long as they were bound to one another. She remembered how they were together. Being in the same city with Blaze had stirred up many emotions.

* * *

Livi pretended that she was not listening to the conversation between two of her employees as they worked to set up the display for an upcoming sale. She found that the handsome Alexander men were a constant subject of many of the female employees. She endured endless conversations from her staff and other hotel employees about Ari, Drayden and especially Blaze. Livi had heard that Drayden owned an accounting firm near Wilshire Boulevard. Like Blaze, he was rarely seen at the hotel.

Livi chuckled softly every time one of the women voiced hope that she would catch Blaze’s eye. She could not be sure, but Livi did not believe that Blaze would be interested in any of them. However, she did not know that much about him. When they had met in Vegas, she had no idea that he was in any way connected to Robert DePaul. In all the years she worked with Robert, he had never shared that part of his life with her. She was stunned when she discovered that Blaze was Robert DePaul’s grandson. It was indeed a small world.

Livi noticed that Blaze avoided the media as much as possible. His father and eldest brother appeared in the news frequently, but they were the face of the Alexander-DePaul Hotel Group and now the soon-to-be Robert DePaul Center.

Livi was also private and could relate to how Blaze must be feeling. Her heart ached for him, knowing how he felt about this kind of attention.

Both Sage’s and Ari’s marriages were featured in grocery store tabloids, and in several of the major magazines geared to the African-American market. Livi cringed at the thought of her personal life being the subject of the world’s conversations and criticisms. It was another reason why she had not approached Blaze—she feared the media exposing their special connection to public scrutiny.

She and Blaze would have to be careful.

However, Livi was not sure she could wait much longer. She had to find the right time to reenter Blaze’s life.

But what if there was no right time?

The question gnawed at her.

Livi knew that she could not keep delaying the inevitable. It only made matters worse.

* * *

Ari was working from home because he was flying out later that evening on the company jet to visit the Alexander-DePaul Hotel & Spa Resorts in Arizona. Blaze returned to the hotel the next day to meet with him.

He left his car with the valet and strolled into the spacious lobby of the hotel in Beverly Hills where Ari and Sage both maintained residences. Blaze was awestruck by the beauty of the hotel, with its Spanish Revival architecture and Mediterranean styling.

The tiny hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Blaze knew the employees were watching him. He walked briskly across the floor toward the elevators.

Whistling softly, he went up to Ari’s penthouse.

The décor of his brother’s home featured dark wood crown molding and soft muted color schemes of sage, plum and ivory. The five-bedroom residence offered floor-to-ceiling windows that flooded the interior with natural light.

Natasha opened the door just as he was about to knock. She stepped aside to let him enter, then said, “Don’t work too hard.”

He embraced her. “I should be telling you that.”

She smiled. “Ari’s in his office. I’ve ordered lunch for the two of you. It’ll be delivered at noon.”

“Thanks!”

Blaze walked to his brother’s office.

Ari was at his desk typing something into the computer.

“I don’t know who’s glowing more—you or Natasha,” he said with a chuckle as he took a seat. “Marriage must certainly agree with you.”

Ari glanced at him and smiled. “Natasha is everything I want in a wife. Joshua is the perfect son and now we’re having another baby. I’m over the moon.”

“I’m thrilled for you, bro.”

“What about you, Blaze? Los Angeles is filled with beautiful women—I’m surprised one of them hasn’t caught your eye. You used to be quite the ladies’ man.”

“All my energies have been focused on work,” Blaze responded. His guilt weighed upon him, choking him. He did not know how much longer his family was going to buy this explanation.

“Does Joshua know about the baby yet?” he asked.

Ari settled back in his chair. “We told him last night.”

“How did he take the news?”

“I wish you could’ve seen him, Blaze. He walked over to Natasha and started rubbing her belly as he introduced himself to the baby. He’s a proud big brother.”

Two hours later, Blaze left the penthouse and took the elevator down to the lobby. His steps slowed as he neared the Parisian Maison Boutique.

Blaze stared at the woman inside talking to a couple of women carrying an armload of shopping bags. The shock of discovery hit him full force.

Her hair is much shorter now, but that woman is most definitely Livi.

Blaze hesitated, torn by conflicting emotions. What he felt for Livi cast aside any doubt as he burst through the double doors of the boutique, walking with purpose.

Livi halted, shocked, but seemed to recover quickly. “M-Mr. Alexander,” she murmured. “What can I do for you?”

“Is there somewhere we can talk?” he asked, aware that everyone in the shop was watching them intently.

She gestured toward the back of the store. “Yes. My office is in the back.”

Blaze gently took her arm and escorted her to the office so they could talk in private.

Once they were in the office, he closed the door behind him. “I can’t believe that you’ve been here under my nose all this time.” He came close, looking down at her intensely. “I was just about to hire a private detective to try to find you.”

Her eyebrows rose in surprise. “I’ve only been back in Los Angeles for about a month now. I was living in San Francisco.” Livi hesitated, blinking with bafflement. “Blaze, you’ve been looking for me?”

“I wanted to see you again.” He eyed the nameplate on her desk. “So, Carlyle is your last name.”

“Oh,” she murmured. “I thought you knew that.”

Blaze gave a short laugh. “I might have, but for some reason I didn’t remember.”

Livi smiled. “You were quite the party animal.”

“So were you. But I’m sure you must have figured out that you worked for my father.” Blaze paused, then added, “Livi, why didn’t you let me know that you were here?”

She was completely honest in her response. “Blaze, I’ve only been back in Los Angeles a month. As soon as I got back, I wanted to contact you, but I didn’t know what to say. I considered it many times. My friend Sybil kept telling me to call you or send an email.”

“I still can’t believe that you’ve been with the company all this time.” Blaze hoped his tone concealed the mixed emotions he felt.

“Why have you been looking for me?” Livi asked.

“We had a great time in Vegas and then you disappeared. I feel like we have some unfinished business.”

Livi met his gaze. “What kind of unfinished business?”

He shrugged. “That’s why I’ve wanted to find you. Few women have left an impression on me the way you have, Livi. We have a connection.”

She smiled. “Yes, we do share a connection.”

“So you feel it, too?” he asked.

Livi nodded. “Blaze...”

“I only have one regret,” he quickly interjected before Livi could finish what she was about to say. “I really wish I could remember our last night together.”

* * *

Livi kept her expression blank as she replayed Blaze’s words in her mind.

“What do you remember about that night, Blaze?” she asked, alarmed.

“We partied and I remember our friends teasing us about spending so much time together.”

Livi smiled and nodded. “They kept saying that they thought we were going to run off and elope.”

Blaze laughed. “Now that would have been something.”

Her eyes wandered restlessly around her office. Livi could not look him in the eye.

“Livi,” Blaze prompted. “What’s wrong? You’ve gotten quiet on me.”

“Do you remember being in the hospital?”

He met her gaze. “Some of it. They said that I fell off a stage. The doctors told me that I suffered a traumatic brain injury. They said that I suffered from retrograde amnesia. I don’t remember anything that happened before I fell.”

“But you remember me?” Livi asked. “How is that possible?”

“According to the doctors, people with retrograde amnesia do not lose all their memories. From everything that I’ve read about it, usually it’s the events that happened right before the injury that are lost.” A smile tugged at Blaze’s lips. “I could have fallen from the second floor of this hotel and I don’t think I could ever forget you, Livi.”

She looked up at him, meeting his warm gaze. “Every time I thought about seeing you face-to-face, I could never get past this moment. It always stopped here.”

“I’m still somewhat shocked at seeing you,” Blaze said. “In the back of my mind, I always felt that I would see you again, but I had no idea that it would be like this.”

“I’m sorry for not coming forward sooner.”

Blaze met her gaze. “That would have been nice. You owed me that much.”

Hearing a noise, Livi gestured toward the door. She did not want her employees listening in on their conversation. “Blaze, can we finish this discussion at another place and time? I really have to get back out there. Martha may need some help. An employee called in sick and another one is on vacation.”

“Can you meet me for lunch tomorrow?” Blaze asked.

“I’m actually hosting a baby shower for one of my employees. She’s going on maternity leave in a couple of weeks.”

“What about dinner?”

“I have to check my schedule, but right now I need to help Martha close up.” Livi quickly wrote down her home and cell numbers. “Give me a call tomorrow and I’ll let you know about dinner.”

She handed the paper to Blaze.

“I’ll talk to you soon,” he said, then strode quickly out of the office without a glance backward.

“It was nice seeing you, too,” she whispered softly. She shrugged off her disappointment, and then headed out to the sales floor.

“Are you okay?” Martha asked.

Livi nodded. “Yes, I’m fine.”

Disconcerted, she crossed her arms and pointedly looked away.

“What was that all about? I’ve never seen Blaze Alexander in here before.”

“I guess he decided to check out everything,” Livi responded. “Martha, let’s focus our attention on getting the shop in order. I don’t want to stay late tonight.”

She felt like kicking herself for not contacting Blaze. Although he had tried not to show it, Livi could tell that he was angry that she had chosen to keep her whereabouts a secret from him.

Livi had chosen to keep her heartbreak a secret from him, as well. However, that wasn’t the only secret she was keeping.