Maid for the Billionaire(32)

Which was probably his way of saying she shouldn‘t read too much importance into what he said in the heat of passion. She wasn‘t ready to have that talk again yet. She ran a finger lightly over his bottom lip and answered simply, ―Then don‘t.‖

He opened his mouth to say something she was certain she didn‘t want to hear and she reacted instinctively. With a hand on his chest, she rolled him playfully onto his back and began to kiss him. There would be plenty of time to talk tomorrow. Plenty of time tomorrow for the fairytale to come to an end as they each said the words that were better withheld tonight.

Unlike Cinderella, Abby had till dawn to enjoy the rest of her fantasy. Whatever Dominic was going to say was quickly forgotten as her kisses trailed down his chest and continued lower.



Chapter Fourteen

Dominic was gone by the time Abby woke up in the morning.

Crap.

She rushed to shower and change. She picked up the phone several times to call Dominic, only to replace it without dialing his number. There was no way to know which stage of the negotiations he was in or if he could even take a call and she wasn‘t willing to risk being the reason he lost this contract.

I should have told him last night.

If not before the great sex that she would tuck away in her memories as the best of her lifetime, at least she should have told him before they‘d fallen asleep in each other‘s arms. By not doing so, she‘d put herself in an overwhelming situation of having to decide for herself how to handle Zhang.

Dave, one of Scott‘s security team, asked her if she was ok.

OK? No, not ok. But I can’t turn to you, either.

Abby said, ―Just hungry.‖

Zhang had said that whatever she was going to show Abby would help Dominic, but there was no way to know if her claim was true. What if it was all simply a ploy to manipulate the negotiations as Dominic had warned that someone might try?

Abby chewed her lower lip while her inner debate raged on. Normally she trusted her instincts about people and her gut told her that she could trust Zhang. Coming to a final decision, Abby swung her small purse onto her shoulder and told Dave that she wanted to have breakfast in the main dining area for a change. She didn‘t wait for him to finish radioing the rest of his team with the news; she opened the suite‘s outer door and took advantage of her head start.

She made it to the lobby before Scott and his men became suspicious, rushing toward her when Zhang‘s driver approached and introduced himself. He escorted her through the hotel lobby and out the front door even as Scott and his men closed in around them. Scott grabbed her by her arm outside of the limo, his agitation evident in his uneven breathing. "This is a bad idea.‖

"You're the one who said that Zhang was well known and not dangerous." Abby reminded him. No matter what he said she was now determined to see for herself how she might help Dominic.

He motioned for his men to surround her. "Yes, to have tea with at our hotel. Not this. I don't feel good about this."

What a change one day could make. Yesterday, before she‘d heard these men discuss their deception, she would have heeded his advice without question. Now he was nothing more than an obstacle between her and the truth. She tugged at her imprisoned arm. "I'm going. Call Dominic if you want, but unless you're prepared to participate in a very public international brawl, I'd suggest you let me go."

"I thought you were more sensible than this, Abby." He said in reproach, not yet releasing her.

―First impressions are often wrong,‖ she said, wishing she could toss back at him that she knew all about his questionable loyalty, but she was smart enough to keep that bit of information to herself. Instead, she yanked her arm out of his grasp and slid into the open door of Zhang‘s limo, leaving him to scramble to gather his team to accompany them.

After a short scuffle between the two separate security entourages, some sort of temporary truce was called and the billionaire's limo pulled into traffic, safely sandwiched between several SUVs of mixed loyalty.

Zhang looked every bit a business woman in her crisp, dark pants suit. Her shiny black hair swung down to partially cover her face as she placed some papers into a soft sided briefcase near her feet. Unceremoniously, she removed her glasses and tucked them neatly into the side pocket of her bag, never taking her eyes off Abby as she scooted onto the seat across from her.

The click of the limo door shutting hung heavy in the quiet interior. The vehicle pulled smoothly away from the entrance of the Aman Hotel with no destination announced. Abby had worn tan slacks and a conservative light blue blouse in an effort to be comfortable yet appropriately dressed for wherever they were headed.

"Where are you taking me?" Abby asked and cringed at the fear evident in her voice.

"Consider it a field trip," Zhang said, amused by her own joke, but Abby didn't join in her humor. Zhang regarded her with some impatience. "Stop looking so terrified. You're in no danger. You'll be back at your hotel long before Dominic finishes up his meetings for the day."

Abby took a calming breath. Panicking now wasn‘t going to help anyone. This wasn‘t about her; it was about Dominic. If Zhang had wanted to hurt her, she wouldn‘t have allowed Scott and his men to tag along. Even under Jake‘s questionable instructions, Abby doubted they‘d let anything happen to her on this outing. They‘d still have to answer to Dominic if she failed to return. Somehow that thought didn‘t bring Abby much comfort. "You can't blame me for being scared."