❦ Kate❦

The Crown Bar was located on the top deck of the ship, which was strictly accessible to only first class passengers. And after Nathan had my suite upgraded, I was instantly raised from regular to VIP guest status, thus giving me access to all areas of the cruise ship.

Walking inside, I immediately looked around trying to spot Jason, hoping he was still there. He had asked me to meet him there after dinner, but now it was an hour after dinner ended so there was a chance he might have left.

The sound of conversation, laughter, and soft sultry jazz music floated around and I walked further into the lounge. It looked as if a party was in progress. Uniformed servers were carrying trays of champagne and hors d'oeuvres, offering them to guests.

The women were clad in glamorous gowns and dripping with diamonds and pearls while the men sported suits and dinner jackets. It suddenly registered on me that I was horribly underdressed in my yellow off shoulder summer dress and flat strappy white sandals.

I stood there awkwardly wondering where Jason was when I spotted glass sliding doors that were opened to reveal a balcony. Declining a glass of champagne from a server, I hurriedly made my way out to the balcony, hoping I could find Jason there.

As I stepped out, a cool salty breeze hit my face and I welcomed it gratefully. There weren't many people on the balcony and it didn't take long for me to spot Jason.

He was sitting on a velveteen sofa in a corner and he wasn't alone. A scantily dressed blonde sat on his lap while a brunette sat glued to his side. The blonde had one arm around his neck and the brunette was playing with his hair.

I stood rooted to the spot, so stunned by what I was seeing. The magazines portrayed Jason as one of the world's most notorious playboys but I had never actually considered everything they published about him to be true. But seeing him with two women at once, I suddenly realized the media hadn't been exaggerating about him.

I shouldn't be shocked. I told myself quickly. Jason had been a playboy even in school, using me for his own amusement so it shouldn't surprise me that he had grown up to be such a womanizer.

It took a moment for me to realize Nathan was also sitting across from him. He had two identical twins draped over him. Another playboy, just like Jason, I thought sighing. The two men didn't seem to be paying much attention to the women almost mauling them, but appeared to be deep in conversation with each other.

Suddenly, Nathan looked up and spotted me. He said something and Jason turned his head around towards me. He lifted the blonde off his lap, placed her back on her feet and got up before making his way towards me.

"I expected you to come an hour ago." He said stopping in front of me and thrusting his hands in the back pockets of his faded jeans. "When you didn't, I thought you weren't going to show up."

"Dinner took a little bit longer than usual." I shifted uncomfortably on my feet. "I can come back later. You're obviously busy."

A hint of a smirk played on his lips. "Now that you're here, I'm all yours."

I could feel my face heating up at his words. So to hide how flustered I was, I nodded towards the women who were watching us like hawks. No doubt, they were pissed off at me for the interruption. "Are you sure they won't mind?"

"Don't worry about them. They are not important."

His words and attitude were further proof that he treated women like toys, discarding them when he was bored. I despised men like that but as I stared at Jason, all I could think of was how utterly gorgeous he was, too sexy to be put into words even. Even knowing that he used women, as I had experienced firsthand, I couldn't hate him. Maybe something was not right in my head.

Nathan walked up to us at that moment. "Kate, how lovely to see you again." He smiled warmly, pressing a quick kiss to my cheek. "I trust you're enjoying your stay?"

"More than I can say. All thanks to you." I returned his smile. We continued to talk for a while and all along I was very aware of four sets of eyes shooting daggers at me. Looking over Jason's shoulder, I realized I was right. The four women looked as if they wouldn't hesitate in tearing me into pieces. I almost felt sorry for ruining their night by snatching Jason and Nathan's attention away from them.

After Nathan excused himself, Jason suggested that we head to his suite.

I stared at him with wide eyes and he chuckled. "Don't look so stricken. It's the only place where we won't be interrupted while we discuss the hotel project. I have no ulterior motive." He added the last part with a smirk.

"Okay." I was slightly embarrassed for having thought the worst of his suggestion. He took my elbow as he guided me towards the door. Ben seemed to materialize out of nowhere and fell into step in front of us, making a path for us through the crowd of people.

"Does he accompany you wherever you go?" I asked curiously.

"He's my bodyguard so yeah."

I wondered how it would feel to have a security detail following me wherever I went, watching my every move. Just then the blonde from earlier, who was sitting on Jason's lap, appeared at our side.

She reached out to grab his arm but Ben intercepted quickly, stepping between Jason and her. I couldn't hear what Ben said to her because Jason quickened his pace, pulling me along with him.

"So Ben's main role is to protect you from female advances." I commented dryly as we stepped out of the lounge.

He flashed a full grin and the sexy dimples appeared beneath the light stubble. "A jealous woman is more dangerous than an armed man."

It occurred to me that the woman was jealous of me. She probably thought Jason was interested in me. Which couldn't be far from the truth. Sure, he was flirtatious at times but I knew he was that way with all the women. A certified playboy like him had a never-ending line of women waiting on him. And I had witnessed him in action just ten minutes ago.

I wondered if I hadn't arrived whether his evening would have ended with those women in his bed. That thought brought a flush to my face and I quickly shook my head to clear the unwelcome thoughts.

"You're blushing." He sounded amused. "What's going on in that pretty head of yours?"

Ignoring the pretty part, I shrugged. "I'm just thinking if I ruined your plans for the night." When he raised an eyebrow, I felt my face redden again and hastily clarified. "With those women, I mean."

"I'm not into threesomes, Kate." Amusement flashed in his eyes. He clearly read my mind. "I wasn't planning on taking anyone of them to bed. Besides, they are not my type anyway."

"Oh, what's your type then?" The words slipped out before I could stop myself.

A wicked smirk touched the corner of his lips and his gaze slowly moved over me from head to toe. I swallowed hard, my entire body tingling from that heated look.

"You." He finally raised his eyes to meet mine, and my breath caught at the dark intensity in them. A current of awareness crackled between us, sending my pulse galloping.

"Me?" My mouth was so dry it came out sounding like a croak.

He was silent for a few seconds, studying me with that intense gaze, but then he flashed a lazy grin. "I mean I prefer redheads."

Of course. Redheads as in general. I felt foolish for thinking he actually meant me specifically. My face burnt with embarrassment. He chuckled softly, obviously enjoying my mortification.

We walked to his suite in silence. He seemed to be deep in thought while I was a nervous wreck. I was suddenly having second thoughts about being alone with him in his suite. But as soon as he ushered me into the presidential suite he occupied, my nervousness was replaced by awe.

It was tastefully decorated in shades of gold, cream and soft russet. Black Victorian furniture embroidered with gold designs were arranged artfully across the room and a crystal chandelier hung from the high ceiling.

"Drink?" Jason asked shrugging off his jacket and throwing it carelessly on a chair.

I struggled not to stare at the way the black shirt hugged his torso. "Just water, please."

We sat at the sitting area in the suite with Jason's laptop on the coffee table. While I sipped on my Evian, he started telling me about the Perez Hotel and Resort chain. He was so serious and I could see the business man in him as he talked.

The Perez chain had 5200 hotels and resorts scattered across the globe. They were categorized into sub-brands ranging from luxury, upscale, upper upscale, mid-scale to budget. The Bali resort was going to be midscale since it would be catering mostly to middle class travelers.

"The interior of almost all of the resorts and hotels are done by Moretti Interiors." Jason explained as he showed me several pictures. "They are the best in the industry but I feel it's time we go with something different rather their signature style."

"Different how?"

He told me what he had in mind for the hotel and I threw in my ideas, which he seemed to like very much. We were so wrapped up in our discussion that we didn't even realize almost two hours had passed since we sat down.

"So what do you say? You up for this?" Jason asked with a smile.

It was on the tip of my tongue to say yes. He was offering me my dream and I was brimming with excitement. But there was a part of me that wondered whether I could take on such a huge project. The Perez brand was one of the most luxurious brands in the whole world and I felt it was way out of my league.

"Are you sure about this?" I asked. "I mean, I have never done anything so huge before."

"I'm sure. If I didn't think you could do this, I wouldn't have offered."

The conviction in his voice instantly wiped away any doubt I had in myself. I couldn't hold back my excited smile as I nodded. "I'll make sure I don't let you down then."

An answering smile tugged on his lips. "You won't. I'm leaving to LA tomorrow morning but I'll have my assistant call you in two weeks' time to set up a meeting. We can go over the rest of the details then."

After my meeting with Jason concluded, I immediately went to find Hal. He was in our suite.

"I said yes." I flung myself into his arms excitedly. "I can't believe this. To be honest, I still feel as if I'm dreaming."

"Congratulations, hon. You definitely deserve this chance." He was equally excited. "What's next?"

"He said he'll be in touch within two weeks." I was literally jumping with exhilaration. But then suddenly Peter's face flashed in my head and the wide smile on my face disappeared. I had completely forgotten about him.

Hal noticed. "What's wrong?"

"Peter knows about my past with Jason. He knows who he is. He wouldn't be okay with me working for Jason."

He sighed. "You don't need Peter's approval for everything, Kate."

"I know that."

"Do you really?"

"Hal..." I started knowing where it was going but he cut me off.

"You let him dictate your life. He tells you what to wear and what to do."

"He doesn't..."

"There you go defending him again." He shook his head. "If Peter was here, you wouldn't be wearing that dress." He said gesturing to my dress which reached midthigh. "He doesn't approve of you wearing anything short." He continued. "You stopped going clubbing because he told you not to. And you hate cooking but you're trying to learn how to cook all these fancy dishes just to fit into his idea of how a perfect wife should be."

I scowled at him. "I don't like you at the moment, you know."

"That's because you know it's the truth." He shrugged. "Anyway, what I'm saying is, you don't need to ask Peter's permission to work for Jason."

"Do I need to remind you that Jason's my ex-boyfriend?"

"So what? That's in the past."

"What about the fact that I kissed him twice this week? That's not the past. I can't even imagine how Peter's going to react when I tell him that." I said guiltily.

"I honestly don't understand why you're thinking of telling him. I mean, it's not like you slept with Jason. No need to make such a huge deal over a few kisses. On the other hand, if you tell him, there's a chance he'll break off the engagement."

The hopeful look on his face made me punch his arm. "You're a terrible friend."

He grinned but then turned serious. "I just want you to be happy."

"I am happy with Peter. He loves me."

"If he truly loved you, he wouldn't force you to live life the way he wants. I swear he is more in love with his work than you considering he always puts work first. This trip was supposed to be your anniversary celebration trip but he chose work over you again. And today is your anniversary but he hasn't even bothered to call you or even send a text."

I sighed knowing there was nothing I could say to defend Peter. Hal was right. Peter was a workaholic and even I felt as if I came second in his life. The fact that he hadn't called me on our anniversary hurt more than I cared to admit. I had called him several times in the morning but it had gone straight to voicemail.

"You have the biggest opportunity of your career here." Hal continued. "Don't let it slip through your hands."

I knew he was right. A chance to work for a luxury brand like Perez was something I had never dreamt I could get and I knew all the top interior designers in the world would jump at a chance like that.

I looked at Hal, torn. "So what should I do?"

He looked thoughtful. "You're obviously attracted to Jason." When I glared at him, he ignored me and continued. "It's completely natural. I doubt any woman with a pulse would be immune to his sexy looks."

"Are you going somewhere with this?"

"Let me finish." He sighed. "I'm just saying, it's just natural to react to an attractive person. And let's be honest here, Jason Perez is the stuff wet dreams are made of." He paused, as if he expected me to deny it. When I didn't he gave a satisfied grin, and continued. "But feeling attracted to someone, and acting on it, are completely different things."

"I don't have any intention of acting on it." I said quickly. "I can't change what happened between us this past week but it's not going to happen again. And I think he feels the same way too. We were in his suite, alone, for over two hours and he was nothing but professional."

"Exactly. You know that nothing is going to happen again. So why don't you just forget about those two kisses with him and just move on? There's no need to tell Peter about it and create problems."

I stared at him dumbfounded. "You're telling me I should lie to Peter?"

"It's not lying, precisely. What he doesn't know won't hurt him. And besides, if you tell him, he will definitely tell you not to take on the hotel project and the biggest opportunity of your career will slip through your fingers."

"Oh, God, you're terrible."

"You know I'm right." He just grinned. "Just think about it."