After a few minutes, Claudia left when their Finance Manager came over. Skylar, too, involved herself in the discussion. The meeting went on for an hour almost.
“Do you want to accompany me on a tour of the place?” Christian’s eyes swept over her as he relaxed in his seat after the manager left. Skylar blushed at his scrutiny, remembering their heated kiss a while ago. Sitting alone with him within the close confines of the room, she felt her heart thump wildly inside her ribcage.
“Yes, I’d love to.”
“Good! Let’s go. Oh, one more thing. Stay away from Claudia!” He got up and walked towards the door while Skylar followed him with a confused look on her face. Why did he warn her against Claudia? Did he have a history with her? Maybe there is something he didn’t want her to know.
“Why? Isn’t she close to Lillian?” she asked, as he led her towards the elevator.
“She is close to every one of us. Yet I want you to avoid her.” He didn’t provide her with further explanation as they interacted with the other employees of the hotel. Although Skylar was bursting with curiosity, she curbed it and cooperated with him instead.
“Hi! I’m Cecelia! So nice to meet you, Skylar,” said a plump woman who seemed pregnant.
Skylar smiled at her warmly, remembering Christian mention of her. She was Lillian’s best friend and Claudia’s older sibling.
“Hi, Christian told me about you.”
“Yes, he’s a sweet boy. He helped me when I was down. So, when are you guys getting married?” Skylar glanced at Christian, busy at a cubicle with three men.
“We’ll announce it when the date is fixed,” she answered.
“All the best! I wish you both a lot of happiness in life. He deserves it.” Skylar chatted for a while about her pregnancy and then joined Christian. After some time, they moved on to the marketing department. After spending an hour there, they visited the administrative wing where Mr. McCarthy welcomed them to his office.
“I’ll freshen up and join you,” said Skylar, excusing herself. All the running around since morning had exhausted her, and she was bursting to pee. She rushed to the nearest washroom. As she emerged to wash her hands, she was in for a shock. Claudia stood waiting for her at the vanity. Skylar immediately remembered Christian’s warning and smiled at her, eager to escape.
“Hey! Good that I met you here. I wanted to talk to you in private.” Skylar was now on high alert. What could she have to say to her?
“Can we talk some other time, please? Christian and Mr. McCarthy are waiting for me.”
“Oh, come on. I’m sure they’re busy discussing boring stuff. They wouldn’t even miss you.” Claudia caught her hand to stop her from fleeing.
“So tell me how you two met. Last, when I met Christian, you weren’t even there in his life. I’ve known him since the day I was born. We used to live in the house next to his. Even when he left for his boarding school, I was there with him in the same school. It was only when he went to Harvard did we separate for a few years. I came over to Cleveland with my family and I lost touch with him. He must have met you then.”
Skylar gaped at the woman. Why was she telling her so much? If Claudia was so close to Christian, surely she would have known about his feelings for her?
Skylar remembered Christian’s admission clearly. He wanted to be with her and not anyone else.
“I’m sure Christian might have told you about me since you two were good friends,” said Skylar, not in the least perturbed by Claudia’s lengthy speech.
“No, we weren’t good friends. We are soul mates. We love one another. He was supposed to marry me. Why else did his parents pair you with Sebastian instead of him?” she accused, annoyed at being called Christian’s friend.
“I don’t think so. Did he explicitly tell you he wanted to marry you? Anyway, all that is history now. The reality is Christian, and I are engaged. We will be married soon.” Skylar extricated her hand, not at all jealous of her claims.
Claudia laughed and leaned in closer, as if she knew a secret. “I know you both are having a contract marriage. After two years, Christian will be free to be mine. He will be free from his parents’ last wish. I can afford to wait for two years!” With a taunting laugh, she walked away, leaving Skylar stunned.
How did Claudia know about her agreement with Christian? No one else in the family knew of it. So did Christian tell her about his plans? But things had changed between them now and she didn’t want a contract marriage any longer. Was Claudia speaking the truth?
Confused, she walked out of the washroom to see Christian leaning towards Claudia in her cubicle. A dull ache clutched at her chest. Maybe he had told Claudia about it. Then why did he kiss her so longingly? It wasn’t an act. It was heartfelt and genuine! She had felt the connection.
‘He desires you, Skylar. Maybe you’re just a childhood obsession for him. Once he gets into your pants, he will get over it. Did he ever confess his love for you?’ prompted her inner mind. Yes, that could be the only plausible reason. She was forbidden for him since childhood. Maybe it became an obsession with him to have her. After all, forbidden fruit always tasted sweeter! So, their parents’ last wish maybe was the perfect opportunity for him to have his way with her.
The realization hurt her. She walked away, out of the administrative office to breathe in some fresh air. She didn’t want to stay in the hotel with him any longer and watch him flirt with Claudia. He was welcome to enjoy the day with her.
Skylar went up to their suite and picked up her handbag to leave without informing him. She would never fulfill his wishes. She would never surrender her body to him. As fast as her legs could carry her, she rushed out of the place. Taking a cab, she went to her old workplace, Travel-O-Mania, to hand in her resignation and collect her dues. All the way, Claudia’s words rang inside her head. They made her even more furious.
Christian turned to glance at the washroom. It had been almost forty minutes since Skylar had vanished inside. What was taking her so long? He had been waiting for her here, having completed his work for the day. He wanted to treat her to their signature lunch here, but where was she?
“What happened, Christian? Is something wrong? You look worried,” said Claudia, staring back at him knowingly. She knew she had grabbed his attention with stories of her parents’ health issues. She had seen the devastated look on Skylar’s face as she watched them interact. With his back to her, Christian hadn’t seen her leave, but Claudia had.
“No, nothing. It’s just that Skylar is in the washroom for almost forty minutes. Can you check, please? I just hope she hasn’t fallen down or something.”
“She has left, sir,” said a woman from the cubicle next to Claudia’s. Christian gaped at her for a split second before realizing what she just said.
“Left? Where?”
“I saw her run into the elevator almost fifteen minutes ago.”
“Thanks for the information.” Christian turned to glare at Claudia, who looked a little uncomfortable. “You saw her leave, didn’t you?”
“Nope. I didn’t. Good luck in finding her,” said Claudia with a smug look on her face. Christian’s blood boiled with anger and he wanted to throttle Claudia, but right now he had the important task of finding Skylar.
He strode out of the office towards the reception. Did she collect the keys to their room? Maybe she went up to the room to rest.
He changed his mind and went to their room instead. However, Claudia’s parting shot played like a broken record in his mind. What did she mean by that? Had she brainwashed Skylar against him?
Claudia was capable of anything. Since childhood, she has been chasing him like a maniac, at home, at school, and at work. When her dad suffered an accident at work, he was left paralyzed from the waist. It was then that he employed the two siblings in his hotel. While Cecelia was a sweetheart, just like his own sister, Claudia was just the opposite. He had never encouraged her, yet the woman was obsessed with him. Christian sighed at the irony of the situation. Why was every woman he didn’t like after him while the woman he liked didn’t want him?
He had asked Skylar to stay away from Claudia, didn’t he? He unlocked the door of the suite with his spare set of keys and went inside. There was no one around! Where could Skylar go? He searched the washroom. She wasn’t there either. Strangely, her handbag was missing too. A sense of dread clutched at his heart.
Had she misunderstood him and left?