Liz’s face colored as she remembered what exactly had gone on in the presidential suite. “What kind of room do we have?” she asked, not sure she could handle the answer.
It was Hayden’s turn to look a bit sheepish. “Well, I didn’t get us a suite, but I think it will be nice to have our own room with a king-size bed and everything. Don’t you think?”
Phew! That made sense if Hayden was covering the costs.
“Yes,” she admitted, pushing Brady to the back of her mind as best she could. “I think that sounds really nice.”
Hayden looked so happy to be doing this for her. There was absolutely no way she could ask him to move hotels. She didn’t have a good enough explanation as to why without spilling everything about Brady. Plus, he had clearly put in some time scouting out the right hotel. She couldn’t possibly take that away from him.
They parked the car and then walked into the very familiar hotel. Hayden got a key from the front desk and then took them up to their room. It was nothing fancy in comparison to the presidential suite; actually, it looked like every other hotel. A king-size bed took up the majority of the space, and there was a large armoire with a flat-screen TV inside. The bathroom was small, but had a decent size walk-in shower. It was a nice change of pace from Chapel Hill.
She should be happy that she was here with Hayden, that he had taken the time to be with her on her birthday, to plan something like this. It was clearly very thoughtful. Perfect. Classic Hayden.
No matter what had happened with Brady, that door was closed. It didn’t do anything for her to live in the past and dwell on what could have been when she had something incredible right in front of her.
They spent the night wrapped in each other’s arms and tangled in the hotel sheets. She fell asleep tucked into Hayden’s chest, lost in the steady rhythm of his breathing.
The next morning, Hayden fretted over the suit that he was wearing to the interview. He ironed the already flawless white button-down until it was crisp, and the lines down the front of his black pants were stark. He tied and retied his green tie a dozen times until the topknot was perfect. It made his hazel eyes stand out sharply, and when he smiled at her through the mirror as she was fixing her makeup, she remembered exactly why she had fallen for Hayden in the first place.
He was confident, but not arrogant. He was charming, but not conceited. He was intelligent, but not egotistical. He wanted to be there, to be with her, to take care of her, but he didn’t have to be overbearing to do it. He respected her decision to not be with him immediately, not to have sex with him immediately . . . to communicate and trust her and believe in her. It was almost too much to feel all at once.
Hayden slid into his black suit coat and buttoned the top button. “How do I look?” he asked, turning in a slow circle.
“Can you lift that jacket up in the back?” she asked with a giggle, tilting her head to the side to check out his ass.
“I doubt I’m going to get judged on that.”
“You never know.”
He shook his head, then grabbed her around the middle and pulled her against him. “I think you’ve been spending too much time with Victoria.”
“I’m going to tell her that you’re not calling her Vickie anymore.”
“Don’t you dare,” he murmured, before bringing his lips down to hers.
She laughed lightly as she moved her arms around his neck and intensified the kiss. He groaned into her mouth and it just made her smile more.
This. This was exactly what it was supposed to be like.
“You’re going to do great today,” she whispered, opening her eyes and staring up at him.
“I could conquer the world with you at my side.”
And in that moment, she believed him.
It was only a short drive to the Charlotte Times office from their hotel. The building itself was kind of stark, boxy and boring. It was a basic square warehouse-type building with the words Charlotte Times written in scrawling font that mirrored that of the New York Times. The parking lot was massive, and they managed to find an open spot at the back.
Liz didn’t have anywhere to be, so she figured that as long as they had somewhere for her to relax while Hayden was upstairs she could catch up on work or read a book. Otherwise, Hayden had given her the keys to his precious Audi and told her to be careful with his baby. She kind of wanted to take it out for a spin, because he got so flustered at the thought of her driving it.
The interior of the building was a thousand times better than the bland exterior. The lobby was a soft powder blue with white tile floors that clicked under her heels. A prominently featured staircase led all the way to the top. A large black desk took up space and three women sat behind it. Two of them were on the phones, answering, asking people to hold, and transferring them over to other lines. The other lady looked up when they entered.
She smiled brightly. “Welcome to the Charlotte Times. How can I help you?”
Liz held back as Hayden moved forward. “Hi. I’m Hayden Lane. I have an interview with Ted Moore at eleven.”
“Ah! Mr. Lane. Right on time. If you’ll take a seat, I’ll let Mr. Moore know that you are here.”
“Thank you,” Hayden said, before turning back to Liz and gesturing for her to follow.
They took seats in the waiting area across from the front desk. Liz tapped her feet anxiously. This wasn’t even her job interview, and she was so worried for him. She knew Hayden had an impeccable résumé, and that the Charlotte Times was a step down from where he wanted to work. But it was better to have a job and get some experience than to graduate without anything.
Hayden’s hand landed on her knee. “Hey. You’re going to start making me nervous.”
“Sorry,” she whispered, trying to keep from bouncing her leg.
A man appeared out of the back room. He was balding and it made his ears appear to stick out from his head. But he seemed jovial enough and even had a spring in his step. “Mr. Lane?”
Hayden smiled that heart-stopping smile and stood. “That’s me, sir.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Ted Moore.” He walked over and extended his hand to Hayden.
“Great to meet you too, sir.”
“Please call me Ted,” he said casually. “If you’ll follow me back, we’ll get started with your interview. I do have to say it’s good to have you here. Your file has come highly recommended.”
Hayden beamed. His recommendations were beyond solid after working four years on the paper, with a year and a half as editor. All of his professors liked him. Who was she kidding? Everyone liked Hayden Lane.