Rise - Part One (Rise #1)(2)

"I'm sorry," I say as I level my eyes back on Landon's face. "I'm working."

"I know." He dips his chin towards me as he adjusts his navy blue tie.

My eyes dart from Gabriel's waving hand to the smug grin on Landon's face. He knows? I shouldn't be surprised by that fact. People have been approaching me all evening. Some have been looking for answers to the most mundane questions about seating, where the washroom facilities are and whether there's going to be a media area for the models to be interviewed. Others, including many of the wait staff, are in search of who to talk to regarding their stipend for the night. It's been a whirlwind few hours, but judging by the grin on Gabriel's face, I've done my job.

"I need to go." I move to brush past him. "It was nice to meet you."

The words carry the same hollow meaning as my expression. At any other moment in time, I'd likely stay to talk. I'd ask him the expected questions about how he knows my name and where he gained the knowledge that I'm working at the event, but at best, he'd captivate me long enough to take me to bed for a night or two. I know all about the unspoken expectations in this city. Sex is great. Great sex is even better but it's not going to pay my bills.

"You're not even curious about how I know your name?"

There it is. That's the bait that he hopes will lure me back. My racing mind has quieted enough to find its logical balance again. When he arrived at the fashion show tonight he recognized me from the flight. It's not surprising given the fact that I let out a shrill scream and fisted the front of his shirt with both hands as I exited the lavatory right when the plane tipped to the left because of turbulence. In my focused fear I had one thing on my mind. That was survival, so the fact that I don't recognize his face shouldn't surprise me as much as it does.

If I was the type of woman to place a wager, I'd bet that the handsome man standing in front of me asked someone in this room for my name before he approached me. It was the right thing to say to get me to stop dead in my tracks. He can't know that tonight is the single most important evening in my career. If I stumble off that course, I'll lose the advantage that I've worked so hard to gain.

"Someone is waiting to speak to me." I absentmindedly gesture in Gabriel's vicinity. "Please enjoy yourself. Again, it was nice to meet you."

"Wait." His hand leaps back to mine and I'm suddenly aware of how strongly his touch impacts me. I stare at our hands. Mine is hidden within the palm of his. I'm struck by how soft his skin is. The contrast between that and the firmness etched into his one word command stops me again.

I open my mouth to protest but any words that may have jumped from my lips are forced back into the pit of my stomach when the gravity of what he says next hits me. "You forgot an envelope on the airplane. Someone from the airline should have called you about it by now."

"No." I pull free from his grasp. "That's not mine. I didn't forget it."

"It's not yours?" He pauses as his eyes study my face. "The letter inside the envelope was addressed to you."

I blush when I realize that he most likely read the letter in its entirety. It was meant for my eyes only. I had reread it for a fifth time before I had deliberately tucked it into the pocket on the back of the seat in front of me as the airplane began its descent into New York. I hadn't questioned my decision to leave it there knowing that it saved me the pain of having to toss it directly into the trash myself. "It was mine. I just meant that I don't want it anymore."

"You don't want it?" His jaw tightens with the words.

"It can be thrown away." I nod towards Gabriel as I take a step away from Landon. "I left it on the plane because it's garbage."

"Garbage?" A disarming smile pulls at the corner of his mouth. "You consider it to be garbage?"

"Yes." I exhale as the word floats quietly from me. "I have to go."

His tongue darts over his bottom lip before his eyes fall to the floor. "It's a marriage proposal. The guy who wrote it clearly is crazy about you."

He has no idea what he's talking about. A few hastily-jotted-down romantic words don't negate all the pain that preceded them. A big diamond ring and a lavish wedding won't cure what plagued my last relationship. "I'll call the lost and found department of the airline tomorrow to take care of it myself. You didn't have to come all the way down here to tell me about it."

The bereft look on his face almost seems genuine but the glint in his eye quells any question about the amusement he's finding in my obvious discomfort. "I didn't come all the way down here to tell you about it. I was invited here. I happened to recognize you when I walked in."

"You were invited here?" Any attempt I may have made to hide the surprise in my voice hasn't worked. I highly doubt this man's interest in tonight's fashion show has anything to do with the business side of the Liore brand. He must be dating one of the models. I can't stifle my curiosity so I blurt out one last question just as I catch sight, out of the corner of my eye, of someone quickly approaching us. "Who invited you?"

"It was at my request. We're old friends." Gabriel steps into my view just as he rests his hand on Landon's shoulder. "How do you two know each other?"