He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her. And that was also strange. Weeks had passed since the two of them had shared that night together in Rome. He should have put her out of his mind by now. And yet, still, he checked his phone for missed calls every day, hoping that she might finally decide to contact him.
She never did.
It was obvious that she wasn’t going to by now, and Lucas felt ridiculous for continuing to watch his phone. But he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t let go of the hope that maybe she would reach out to him after all.
He couldn’t stop thinking that maybe if she had known the truth about him—that he wasn’t a mere salesperson—perhaps she would have made a different decision.
But it’s good I didn’t tell her. He definitely didn’t want to be with any woman who would want him only because of the fact that he was a CEO.
Elise hadn’t seemed like a gold digger to him. She had been so awkward about allowing him to pay for dinner, as if she wasn’t used to being provided for.
But maybe I was wrong about her.
It didn’t matter now. He had to force himself to set thoughts of her aside. Whatever he had hoped for with her, it wasn’t going to happen. And that was probably for the best.
Tonight, he had other concerns.
He was going to have to cope with his father.
He hadn’t seen anyone in his family since returning from the Rome trip. Generally, he avoided them as much as possible. He did love them, but Lucas knew all too well that it was possible to love someone and still not want to spend any time around them.
He had spent all day today in meetings with his board of directors and the managers of his company, and more than anything he wanted to change out of his suit and kick back with a beer. But his father would expect him to be dressed nicely for tonight’s dinner. They would be eating at one of his father’s five-star hotels.
It’s not like they’d kick us out if we dressed for comfort, he thought wryly. Dad does own the place. But his father was determined that no one should ever see any member of the family dressed in less than their best. Everything he did was about making an impression.
A car had been sent to Lucas’s penthouse to collect him. The driver nodded but did not respond when Lucas tried to greet him. This was standard practice for his father’s drivers—they had been firmly instructed never to make conversation. But Lucas kept hoping that one day he would find one who was willing to make an exception.
So far, it hadn’t happened.
The car dropped him off outside the hotel. Lucas thanked the driver and hurried in to find his father already there, sitting at a table and waiting for him.
Lucas joined him. “Good evening, Father.”
“Save the chitchat until after we’ve ordered,” his father said. “The waiter will be back with our wine in just a moment. You should take this time to look at the menu.”
Nice to see you, too.
Lucas picked up the menu and pretended to study it, even though he had no need to. He had been eating at the hotel all his life, and the menu rarely changed. He knew what was available.
The server came to the table with a bottle of white wine—though Lucas would have preferred red—and two glasses. He poured out a little for Lucas’s father to taste. His father nodded, and the server filled both glasses. They gave their orders, and the man walked away.
“So,” his father said, “tell me all about your trip to Rome.”
Lucas raised his eyebrows. “You want to hear about my trip?”
“I want to hear about the conference, yes,” his father said. “The contacts you made. The networking you did.”
Of course. Lucas had learned to network at his father’s knee. It was the first thing he could remember his father drilling into him—the importance of being able to charm people. The importance of making a great first impression. Whatever else Lucas had achieved in Rome, he knew his father would judge him primarily on how many contacts he had made.
“It went well,” he said. “It was a two-day conference, so there weren’t that many opportunities to talk to people—”
“You know there are always extra opportunities, if you keep your eyes open for them,” his father lectured. “Did you go out for drinks with your fellow conference attendees after the seminars? Did you socialize with them outside the structure of the conference?”
“Of course, Father.” Lucas was nettled. This wasn’t his first rodeo. He had been to plenty of conferences. He knew what needed to be done.
“Good,” his father said, sipping his wine. “Because you were in Rome for four days, not just two, and I’d hate to think you spent your extra time sightseeing.”
Lucas said nothing. The idea that he could go to Rome and not take in the sights was ridiculous. He might have inherited his father’s work ethic and business sense, but he would never have the man’s single-mindedness.
He wondered what his father would say if he knew that Lucas had met a woman on his trip.
Stop it. Stop thinking about her. Enough.
He didn’t want to talk about business anymore. All it did was remind him of his time in Rome, and unfortunately, all that did was remind him of Elise.
How could she have captured my mind so completely? We only spent one night together!
Frustrated, he took a long drink of his wine and returned his attention to his father. “How’s Mom?” he asked. “I haven’t seen her since I got back home.”
“Fine, fine.” His father waved a hand. “She’s traveling herself, actually.”
“She is?” Lucas hadn’t known. “Where?”
“She’s in Las Vegas, visiting the hotels there,” his father said.
Lucas closed his eyes. His mother was a partner in his father’s business, and he often sent her across the country to meet with potential business investors.
“Didn’t she just get back from Vancouver a couple weeks back?” he asked.
“Business never sleeps, Lucas,” his father said. “Ah, the food is here.”
The conversation was interrupted for a moment as the waiter set their plates down in front of them. Lucas looked down at his lamb. The food was wonderful at his father’s hotel, and he usually looked forward to eating there even if it did mean an uncomfortable meal with his family. But right now, he couldn’t seem to summon an appetite.
“You should let Mom stay home longer between business trips,” he said.
His father glanced up at him. “I hardly had to send her anywhere, Lucas. She’s committed to our business. She wants to go.”
“But don’t you think she’d like to spend time with you too?” Lucas asked. “The two of you are like ships in the night. As soon as she got back from Vancouver, you were off to New Orleans. And now you’re home and she’s in Vegas. When do you see each other?”
“I don’t understand,” his father said. “We communicate by email. We’re constantly in touch with each other. What is it that you think we need to meet about?”
Lucas shook his head. He didn’t know how to explain his thoughts to his father, and if he tried, he would probably just offend the man. But it seemed ridiculous to him, and sad, that his parents could treat their marriage like a business arrangement. That they could act as if it only mattered how often they saw each other so that they could exchange information about their hotels.