Bye-Bye Jerk, Hello Mr. Right

Hayden walked up, looking cool and collected. “Let’s go.”

“Huh? Is he not going to explain why he wanted to stay so close to us? I wondered but felt too awkward

to ask.

“Mr. Hart, why do you want to stay so close to us?” Demi, always quick to speak, asked for me. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Hayden pressed the elevator button. I caught a glimpse of his room key card: 308, right next to mine.

“For convenience,” he said, just two words.

‘Convenience for what? I thought, my mind racing with possibilities.

Demi looked just as confused. She turned to Hayden. “What do you mean by convenience?”

I wanted to shake some sense into her. “Is she really that curious? Does she have to dig into everything?”

The elevator walls were polished, reflecting our images, I watched Hayden in the mirror, and he looked up, meeting my gaze.

Our eyes locked for a moment before he quickly looked away and answered Demi, ‘Convenience for everything.”

Both Demi and I were at a loss for words.

Finally, Demi stopped talking and just tugged on my sleeve.

She looked like a little fox caught by an experienced hunter.

The elevator reached the third floor quickly. We stepped out and headed to our rooms. As we went in, Demi cheerfully called out to Hayden, “Mr. Hart, if you need anything, just let me know.”

“Mm,” Hayden replied, opening his door and going in.

Once we got inside our room, Demi slid up next to me. “Keira, what’s Mr. Hart’s deal with being so close? Does he have some ulterior motive? Could he be pretending to be a gentleman but actually be a creep?”

It was unusual for her to have a cautious thought like that, usually being so easily smitten.

While it might keep her from falling head over heels, I worried it could mess with her work. I–tried to calm her down. “He’s not like that!”

Demi blinked. “How do you know?”

Realizing I spoke too fast, I decided to keep my mouth shut around Demi to avoid any more drama. “Just a hunch. I could be wrong. Why don’t you test him yourself?”

Demi’s eyes lit up. “Really? I’d love to-”

I had just reached the couch and grabbed a pillow, which I promptly threw at her.

Demi yelped, and I headed to my room. After putting down my luggage, I went straight to the bathroom.

I undressed and stepped into the shower. After a few moments, I remembered something and glanced down at my waist. Sure enough, there was a bruise, standing out against my fair skin.

I gently touched it, and a quick image of Hayden holding me flashed through my mind.

I quickly shook off the thought and closed my eyes, trying not to think about it.

While I was still showering, Demi called out, “Keira, your phone is ringing.”

I turned off the water. “Who is it?”

“I don’t know. It’s an unlisted number.”

I frowned. “Ignore it. It could be a wrong number.”

Any important contacts, whether clients, friends, or even the Johnstons–including Jace–would be saved in my phone.

“Oh,” Demi responded, then asked, “Keira, how sweet do you want your lemon water?”

“Just a little,” I said, turning the water back on.

By the time I finished showering and came out, twenty minutes had passed, and Demi was now in the bathroom.

Drying my hair, I glanced at my phone and saw the number was from Chiverton. My first thought was Macy.

‘Could she be calling because she missed me or had some news?

I called back, and after a few rings, it connected. ‘Hello, who’s this? I asked.

“It’s me. Come over,” Hayden’s voice replied, surprising me. I realized I should have thought it might be

him.

“Something happened?” I asked.