Eyes Wide Open (7 page)

Tapping in a few more notes, she saved her progress, then stopped to take a drink of the delicious fruit juice. It was then that she noticed that she wasn’t quite as secluded in her corner as she had been before. Two businessmen had settled down two tables away. Nothing unusual in that, except that as she allowed her gaze to linger on them, she quickly realized that they were, in fact, a little out of the ordinary. The majority of the businessmen and women she saw here were middle-aged or older, which made sense. They’d had longer to climb the career ladder, achieve higher positions, earn more money and therefore attend meetings or stay over in places such as the Totally Five Star.

These two, however, looked like they had less than a decade on her—late twenties, possibly early thirties. And the thing that made them the most unusual was the fact that they were
hot.
A subtle glance around the room showed her that she wasn’t the only woman who’d noticed them, either.

Chapter Eight

Continuing to surreptitiously peer at the men over the rim of her glass, it hit her that this was the first time in months that she’d looked at a man with interest, much less two men—and at the same time! But, ready to snatch her gaze away if one of them happened to glance at her, she realized that it wasn’t surprising that the pair had attracted her attention.

The tailored business suits would draw the eye even on an ugly guy. But on these two, the fine clothing was practically an orgasm for the gaze. They sat opposite each other, and their angle to her meant that she had a view of both their profiles—lucky her.

The one to her right had very dark, almost black hair, with a bit of a curl to it, a long straight nose, a trimmed goatee and, if she wasn’t mistaken, deep blue eyes. It was hard to tell for sure from this distance and perspective.

The one on her left had lighter, shorter hair, stubble that by some magical feat still looked smart, and the most sinful lips she’d ever set eyes on. And speaking of eyes, she thought perhaps his were green. What she wouldn’t give to go and check both of them out close up, preferably naked.

Shocked at her own sudden lustful thoughts, she inhaled more than drank another sip of the juice. Unfortunately, it hit her throat all wrong and she almost slammed the glass down as she started to cough. She tried so hard to suppress the cough, eager not to draw attention to herself, that she made it worse. Snatching up the thick linen serviette from the table, she held it to her mouth as she spluttered in a most embarrassing manner, and tears began to roll down her cheeks. By now, she was sure that the whole damn restaurant was staring at her, and she wished the tablecloths reached the floor, like the ones in the restaurant upstairs, so she could hide under the table until she regained her composure.

Swallowing repeatedly to try to soothe her irritated throat, she gasped as a gentle hand was laid on her shoulder, which set her off all over again.

“Oh God,” came a voice. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to make you jump. I just wanted to make sure you were all right. See if I could help.”

Unable to speak, Fiona waved a hand to try to signal that she’d be okay, but unless the guy was a mind reader, he’d have no luck figuring that out. Blinking through the tears that marred her vision, her urge to hide underneath the table grew stronger. Christ, it was only the hottie with the blue eyes. And, if she wasn’t mistaken, his sexy friend with the green eyes was also hovering close by, concern etched into his handsome features.

Managing to drag in a breath, she huffed out, “Thank you.”

Just then, Jeremy arrived with a carafe of water, complete with ice, and poured her a glassful. “Here you go, Fiona. Drink this. Are you all right? Anything else I can get you?”

Reaching for the glass and taking it up in a tentative grip, she took a tiny sip of the freezing cold liquid, hoping it wouldn’t make her cough again. She seemed to have gotten a handle on it, though her now-sore throat wasn’t at all happy with her. Taking several more tiny sips, she let out a sigh of relief, as it seemed that her mortifying bout was over. Then she moved on to bigger gulps, buying herself some time to think of something witty to say, anything to convince the three men looking at her that she wasn’t some kind of imbecile who couldn’t even manage a glass of juice without choking.

Unfortunately, her creative brain, which had been on fire up until she’d started lusting over the hotties, had taken its leave. So she decided to opt for the truth. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb you. My juice just went down the wrong way, that’s all. I’m fine, really. I’ll just finish my drink and be on my way. Thank you for the water, Jeremy.” She aimed a weak smile in his direction.

Blue Eyes turned to Jeremy. “Yeah, thanks, buddy. If you need to get on, we’ll keep an eye on her for a bit, make sure she’s okay. Don’t worry.”

A little warily, Jeremy looked at the two men, then at Fiona. “Are you going to be all right, Fiona? Do you need me to call someone and let them know you’ll be late or anything?”

She shook her head. “Honestly, Jeremy, I’ll be fine. It was just a coughing fit, that’s all. No lasting damage, except maybe to my makeup. And no, nobody will be missing me yet. It’s fine. Thank you so much, though.”

“Just give me a wave if you need me,” he said, backing away.

“Will do.”

With that, he morphed from concerned acquaintance back into efficient waiter in an instant and went back to looking after his tables and the patrons frequenting them.

Knowing that she’d now have to address the two men who’d caused her blush-worthy incident in the first place, she took yet another huge gulp of the icy water, then dabbed at her face with the napkin. Putting it down, she then turned to Blue Eyes, who still stood by her side, but had removed his hand from her shoulder, with a wide smile.

“I’m so sorry,” she said again. “Please excuse the state of me, I’m sure I must look terrible. Thank you so much, both of you, for coming to check on me, but I’m really fine. No Heimlich maneuver required. I’ll just finish my drink…drinks…and be on my way. Please feel free to go back to your meeting.”

Green Eyes stepped a little closer. “You look just fine, sweetheart, except for being a little flushed, but that’s no bad thing.” He shot an almost imperceptible glance at Blue Eyes, and Fiona had to wonder if she’d imagined it. And if not, what on earth did he mean by that, anyway?

“Yes,” his friend chipped in, moving around so that he, too, could look at her face. “You look great. We’ll be just over there if you need us, all right? Don’t you hesitate to call out or wave, okay?”

Fiona began to wish they’d stop making such a fuss. But they were just being polite, she supposed. So, fixing the smile back on her face, she said, “Thank you. And I will. I promise.”

She waited until they’d retaken their seats before she started to make preparations for leaving hers. She didn’t want to dash off straight away as that might concern them further and send Jeremy into a tizzy, so she acted as coolly and calmly as possible, finishing the water, then the juice, as she continued making notes on her tablet. Finally, feeling able to leave without raising any eyebrows, she got up and collected her things.

Her movement attracted the attention of Blue Eyes and Green Eyes, and she gave them both a smile and a nod before moving off. She didn’t see Jeremy, who must have been in the kitchen collecting something, so she made a mental note to thank him when she next saw him. That was the downside to posh material napkins and electronic devices—it meant there was no paper or pen handy to scrawl him a little note with.

She wasn’t quite ready to head back to the PR & Marketing Suite yet, at least not until she’d fixed her no doubt ruined makeup—which would raise a few eyebrows and spawn some questions—so she decided she’d dash up to her room for a few minutes and sort herself out.

Pressing the button for the elevator, she then swiped through some of the photos she’d taken on the tablet as she waited for it to arrive. A couple of minutes later, the car arrived with a ping and a swish of doors. Stepping in, she pressed the number for her floor and moved back. Just as the doors began closing, she realized that the table the two men had been sitting at was visible from her position.

They were still there, and she was glad no one could see or hear her reaction as she looked at them, only to find two pairs of very arresting eyes looking right back at her—with interest.

And, if she wasn’t mistaken, as her view of them grew narrower and narrower until only a sliver was left, Blue Eyes flashed her a positively wicked grin just before he disappeared altogether.

Clinging onto the brass handrail behind her to steady herself, Fiona willed herself to get a grip. She’d been having a really good day, right up until those two had somehow awakened her hormones and made her bloody fruit juice go down wrong. And the way they’d clearly been watching her…and that
smile!
Shaking her head, she wanted desperately to believe that they were some kind of dodgy perverts who frequented hotel restaurants to prey on lone young women, but common sense and cold hard facts told her that wasn’t the case.

For one, what had they done? Offered help, and concern. That was all. What had they gained? Nothing, except maybe peace of mind in knowing that she was okay. Her tablet and phone were still in her possession, so they weren’t thieves. Dodgy folk didn’t spend time in the Totally Five Star. It just didn’t happen.

So if they weren’t dodgy perverts and were just two relatively young businessmen, why had they been watching her like that? Their expressions, the looks in their eyes indicated something altogether different from innocent concern for her wellbeing. The smile Blue Eyes had thrown her had been nothing short of sinful. Lustful, even. One Lucifer himself would have been proud of.

God, was it possible that they…found her attractive? She wasn’t the sort of girl who had no self-confidence and thought nobody would ever like her in that way—though, admittedly, Gary’s admission had pulled the proverbial rug out from under her—but guys like those two were way out of her league. Yes, she’d gone up in the world from a horrid flat and a crap job, but she wasn’t rich, famous, royal, or cultured. She didn’t have friends in high places or rare skills that were sought after.

She was just an ordinary girl from Birmingham, a PR assistant in a world-famous luxury hotel. They were clearly very successful businessmen with their whole lives ahead of them to become even more successful. They could date princesses, models, actresses… In fact, looking like they did, they could date anyone they damn well pleased.

So why the hell had they been looking at her like that? There had to be something she was missing. There just had to be. One of them looking at her would have been weird enough. But both of them? That was just plain freakish and confusing.

The lift opened at her floor and she scurried out, heading for her room. She’d get her face and hair sorted out, then head back to the office and get stuck back into her work. Wondering about motives for other people’s behavior was a waste of time—especially, she realized, as a virtual light bulb popped up over her head, since the answer was so bloody obvious.

Of course!
Blue Eyes and Green Eyes had been drunk. It was the only feasible explanation. They’d indulged in a liquid lunch.
Over
indulged.

Heaving a sigh of relief, she let herself into her room and dove for her makeup box. Time to get freshened up, face the world again and forget about the unfortunate incident in the restaurant once and for all.

Chapter Nine

Entering the upstairs bar of the Totally Five Star, Fiona looked around for the work colleagues—whom she was gradually starting to think of as friends—who’d invited her to join them for a few Friday night drinks, which generally started in the bar as people gathered, then moved out into the city.

Soho was popular, with its variety of pubs and clubs, not to mention its laid-back vibe and gay-friendly establishments, which were exactly where several of Fiona’s new work buddies wanted to be, in order to find like-minded people, and potential dates. Fiona generally just went along with whatever everyone else fancied doing and had always enjoyed herself, so she figured tonight would be no different.

That was, until she turned from the bar, holding her gin and tonic, and saw Blue Eyes and Green Eyes seated on the other side of the room, by the windows. They didn’t seem to have noticed her, so she forced herself to walk casually over to the table her workmates had commandeered and take a seat where she’d be hidden from view of the men by the windows.

She was greeted with enthusiasm, then everyone soon fell back into the conversation they’d been having before she arrived. Fiona sipped at her drink as she listened and caught up on the chatter, which seemed to indicate that, once again, Soho was the destination of choice. Happy to go along with the majority, Fiona let her attention drift, and she found herself leaning slightly to the right to get a view over to where the two hotties sat.

Or
had
sat, anyway. They’d gone, and by the looks of their empty glasses, which were just about to be cleared away by Carlos, one of the barmen on duty, they weren’t coming back.
Oh well, at least I don’t have to worry about them seeing me.

Shrugging, Fiona returned her attention to what was happening around her, only to discover that she’d obviously missed something, because everyone was downing their drinks. Figuring that the group was assembled, she hurried along with her gin, managing to catch up and place her empty glass onto the table within milliseconds of the others.

“Okay, everyone,” said Wyatt, the flamboyant, bossy gay guy from the admin department who generally took charge on nights out and was the main reason they frequented so many gay bars. “Let’s go have some fun!”

En masse, they headed for the elevators. There was no one else waiting—decorum and training dictated that they’d let paying guests go in ahead of them—so they piled into two cars and zoomed down to the ground floor before scurrying out into the Mayfair streets and heading east.