Rina was certain Kayla was going to do everything within her power to stall Scottsdale’s announcement. She would be on her knees now, searching for something to get Rina back into the dirt she was rising from, but Rina was going to fight as hard as she could. The battle was unequal for the longest time since Kayla had her family backing her up with their wealth, but now that the plains were leveled, Rina considered that an equal fight. And she was going to emerge victorious.
Alighting from the limousine, Rina told Michael not to bother walking her inside, even though he insisted because of the article in circulation. Telling him it was no bother since the hotel’s security was tight, she walked into the lobby barely paying attention to the stares since she knew what they were about already. The whispers were hushed, still, tongues wagged and eyes roamed. Rina would have taken the time to smile at a few people to show that she wasn’t in the slightest affected by it, but her mind was somewhere else.
The minute she got out of the elevator on the last floor, she walked straight to Zayn’s door. One of the hotel employees working under room service pushed the door open just as Rina stopped in front of it. She didn’t appear shocked in the slightest, bringing her head low politely to Rina.
“Mr. Graham said you were going to stop by and asked me to hand you his key card.” Zayn was being more careless since they’d decided not to do anything about the article, but Rina didn’t expect this. It was so thoughtful that for a second, she forgot why she was angry in the first place. “He said I should inform you that he has some last-minute details to take care of at the office but that he would be back to see you.”
The employee didn’t want a response before pushing her cart up the hallway and disappearing into the elevator. Leaving Rina standing in the empty space, she swiped the key card and walked into the room. It was exactly the same thing as hers, yet it looked different in every way. It was the Zayn Graham effect in every corner of the room, the air mixed with the scent of his cedar cologne, and the theme changed to suit his personality and preference. While hers was predominantly white, his curtains and chairs were black, like he’d personally asked for it.
Taking off her shoes just by the door, Rina dropped her bag on the sofa and walked further into the space, heading for the fridge. She took out the bottle of red wine there and grabbed a wine glass, making herself comfortable on the sofa. Just to see for herself, she tuned the television to a global entertainment news, where true to her suspicions, details about the article were being analyzed by so-called experts. They had tried getting their hands on first-hand information by calling the hotel, but because of their confidentiality clause and coupled with the kind of guests they housed, they barely paid the request any attention.
Rina’d heard that the security meant to be watching the floor had been reprimanded for allowing something like that go on during his watch and the CCTV cameras were being screened to check for the identity of the person. But Rina knew they would find nothing because whoever it was must have done it cleanly. It had to be someone of high status to have gained entrance into the hotel easily without being stopped, but they would have avoided the cameras while trying to find them.
The news moved on to something else, and Rina left it on, downing more of the wine. Her head felt heavy with exhaustion and she decided to stretch out on the sofa for a few minutes to rest her head. But by the time she woke up, it was almost 10 pm and the living area looked even darker than it had been when she first walked in.
The window blinds had been drawn over the windows to keep out the breathtaking view of the night, and the chandelier had been turned off, leaving the night lights on. The yellow glow settled dimly around the living room and Rina blinked rapidly, her eyes trying to get adjusted to the light. She was able to make out a covered dish on the table, beside the half bottle of wine she had consumed. Just as she sat up, Zayn walked out of the room in slacks and a compressor that hugged every muscle on his chest and arms.
Rina had to remind herself to breathe as he stepped in front of her. “You were asleep when I got in and I didn’t want to wake you up.”
“How long ago was that?”
“Two hours. Eat. You must be famished with all the alcohol you consumed.”
“It’s just wine.”
“Heard you didn’t have lunch.”
“I wasn’t hungry.”
“Bet you are now.”
Rina knew better than to argue with Zayn right then, so she obliged him, opening the dish. When the aroma hit, Rina saw that she was hungrier than she’d realized, delving into the food immediately. Zayn watched her as she ate, ensuring nothing was left in the bowl. He handed her a bottle of water when she was done, then sat on the sofa adjacent to her again.
“I know you have some questions.”
“A lot!” Rina snapped, hit with why she was angry again and wondering why she had bothered with obeying his instructions when he’d asked her to eat. “I am livid that you kept this away for so long, knowing how I feel about it.”
“Claire, right?” Zayn was so calm that it made Rina even angrier.
“You are friends with her! You know, I kept wondering why the biggest and most popular fashion brand would be interested in me working for them. I should have figured out that it had something to do with you. If Joel had paid her a visit to attend his fashion show, it had to have come from you. Why didn’t I put the pieces together?”
“Because you would have been wrong.”