“Did you just come out of Mr. Hayes' suite?” She looked pointedly at my wet dress and I blushed hot enough steam should have come off the fabric.
“Mr. Hayes? No, no.” I shook my head. At least I wasn't sleeping with the billionaire. I'm sure that was a conflict of interest somewhere. “That's where his assistant, Aiden, is staying today.”
Kathryn frowned. “Mr. Hayes doesn't have an assistant. He has a bodyguard named Ben, but no assistant. Especially not one with the same name.”
“You must be mistaken,” I stammered. “Mr. Hayes is in his sixties and the man in there is barely thirty. There's no way that's Mr. Hayes.”
She chuckled and shook her head. “You're thinking of Gerald Hayes. He founded the company, but his sons, Aiden and Logan run the company. Aiden Hayes is the Travel, Inc. representative that is scheduled to be here.”
“Oh...” I swallowed hard and felt like my knees were going to give out. “Oh, boy.”
Kathryn cocked her head to the side, apparently amused at my surprise. To be honest, thinking a billionaire was an assistant would be hilarious. I would be amused too if it hadn't been me. “Did you really think Aiden Hayes was an assistant?”
I nodded. “I did. The file you gave me was on Gerald Hayes and barely mentioned his sons. I should have put the names together, but...” I put my hands over my face as I realized just who I had been sleeping with. A billionaire. An honest to God billionaire. “I am such an idiot.”
Kathryn pulled my hands from my face. “Not an idiot. Just blind is all.”
A billionaire. Aiden was a freaking billionaire. And I had just spent the past few days treating him like a colleague instead of a boss. Teasing him. His pinky toe was worth more than my annual salary. My new really good salary. No wonder he hadn't worried about how much the dinner had cost last night. It could have cost a small house and he wouldn't have even seen a dip in his bank account.
She must have seen the horror swirling around in my eyes as I realized that I was way out of my depth. I was meant to date men who worked as copy-editors or were in school for something, not billionaires. Billionaires were supposed to date actresses or models. Not me.
“Lena.” Kathryn used her lawyer voice to focus me. “Lena, you're okay. It doesn't matter that he's a billionaire. He's just a person and you haven't done anything wrong.”
“What am I doing?” I whispered, more for me than for her. I knew I was in shock and this wouldn't matter near as much in a few minutes, but I let myself have a freak-out moment. I had just found out he wasn't at all what I thought. “How did I fall for a billionaire?”
“You fell for a billionaire? For Aiden Hayes?” Kathryn repeated it like I had just admitted I was guilty of murder. She tightened her grip on my hands to get my attention. “You need to be careful not to get attached to him, Lena. He isn't exactly known for his loyalty to his girlfriends. You're too good for the likes of him.”
“What?” I tried to shake my hands free, but Kathryn held tight. Her lips pressed to a thin line. “He wouldn't do that...”
Kathryn evaluated my face and sighed at what she found there. “Just, take your time with him. I suppose it's good that you thought he was an assistant. At least you know your feelings for him are genuine and not bought. Just be careful. The last girl in your position with Aiden didn't fare well when he left her.”
“What do you mean?”
“He dated a secretary a while back. Not his own- not even in the same company, but still a secretary. When his father found out it was getting serious, he had her fired. She had to move to a new state because no one would hire her after that.” Kathryn glanced from side to side, making sure we were alone. “Gerald Hayes wants the best for his eldest. Flings he will tolerate, but the woman who will bear his grandchild... it's incredibly hypocritical given his own past, but that's what it is.”
I tried my best to absorb that blow without it knocking me off my feet. “So, it's not Aiden, so much as his father that I should be afraid of?”
Kathryn sighed. “Yes and no. Aiden didn't stand up for the girl. He let her go. I heard he got her a better job elsewhere, but my point is that he didn't fight for her.”
Would he fight for me? When he found out I wasn't what I had claimed to be, I knew he wouldn't. Yet, that didn't diminish what I felt for him. How much I ached for his body and just wanted to talk to him for hours.
My hands fell to my sides when Kathryn released them. Without Kathryn as my anchor, my world was spinning out of control with new information. I just wanted to go take a shower and sit by myself to think things out for a bit. I just needed to think.
“Make sure if you pursue him when we are no longer in the safety of the Caribbean that he will fight for you.” Kathryn stepped back, opening up the path for me. “I can only protect you so much. Gerald Hayes has more influence than I do.”
I nodded slowly. “I understand. Thank you, Kathryn.”
Kathryn leaned forward as if she were going to hug me, but stopped short. She was a lawyer and being touchy wasn't her strong suit. I had never seen her give anyone more than a polite handshake. She skipped the hug and just patted my shoulder instead. “Of course,” she said and then quickly turned and headed for the gym.
I walked to my room in a daze. The door beeped open and cold air rushed out into the tropical morning as I arrived. I stood in the doorway, letting the air escape. I didn't move until the air conditioner kicked on and surprised me with the new noise. Stepping inside, I closed the door and leaned against it, listening to the electrical whine of the motor cool the room. My mind bounced from thought to thought, but kept coming to settle back on one.
Aiden was a billionaire.
Chapter 18
I sat outside on the resort's restaurant patio, staring at the melting ice at the bottom of my cup. Lunch had been hours ago, but I hadn't moved yet and had no intention of doing so. My plate was only half eaten, but as long as I pretended to keep munching, the busboy left me alone. It was quiet here with the other diners all off exploring the resort. I needed to think.
Kathryn's big meeting had gone well, and despite my brain being elsewhere I had managed to take decent notes for her. I couldn't say exactly what the meeting had even been about, but I had three typed pages of information. I'd figure it out when I typed up the minutes later.