Chapter 79

Mia

We arrived at the Bosworth Hotel and Resort fifteen minutes later. The place wasn’t so different from The Maxwell after all. It was busy and lively with tourists and businessmen enjoying their time drinking, dining, and gambling.

Once we came to the penthouse, which took up the entire top floor of the building, I noticed James’ stance was rather tense. I couldn’t help myself and glanced over at him, more than a little worried. Personally, I hoped William wasn’t around. After all, the two, despite being friends, didn’t really get along well.

“James?” I asked, drawing his attention to me. “Are you sure you want to…um…?”

James snorted with amusement, as if he knew what my concern was and what I was about to ask.

“It’s fine,” he said bluntly. He stepped forward and knocked on the door loudly to inform Savanah of our arrival.

I truly hoped everything would go all right tonight. I knew Savanah personally hadn’t yet met James, and I wondered if she could handle being around him. He was rather intimidating after all. Although, come to think of it, William wasn’t much different in terms of personality. There was their arrogant, dark demeanor. Surely, if she could handle being around William, she’d be fine with James.

When I heard the sound of the door clicking open, I returned my attention there, expecting to see Savanah greeting us. But of course my anticipation was completely wrong, because standing there so imposingly and staring at James with a dark, handsome smile on his face was William.

My first thought was, He is going to be around for dinner? Savanah hadn’t told me he’d be joining us. I’d thought she had said he’d be out for the night.

I secretly glanced at James, wondering what his reaction would be. Would he be pissed to see William around? But then again, that couldn’t be helped. This was, after all, William’s penthouse. The man owned the place and, of course, the whole building.

To my utter relief and surprise, James didn’t seem to react one way or another toward William. He seemed calm and composed, as if this were just another meeting with a friend.

“Hello, James,” William said, a sarcastic grin playing about his face.

“Hello, William.” James returned the greeting.

As I stood there watching the two men staring at each other, the scene reminded me of that night when I’d first arrived in Los Angeles. It was the night James had taken me out for dinner and offered me a proposal I couldn’t refuse in order to annul my brother’s debt. When we’d come out of the restaurant, William had turned up to greet us in the parking lot, along with his men, armed and ready for a showdown.

Back then, I’d thought they were mortal enemies for sure. But of course, I had been wrong, and truth be told, I was glad. James and William as friends, despite not getting along as well as friends should, suited me better. First of all, there was Savanah. I honestly couldn’t imagine being friends with Savanah when our respective men were archenemies. More so, however, was the fact that I knew William had strong influences, and if anything dangerous were to happen to James, I knew William would step in and help out, which was most likely due to the nature of their business.

The two men were still staring at each other, and honestly, I could feel the tension in the air between them. Suddenly I dreaded dinner. Were they going to be like this the whole evening? And ruin my time with Savanah?

William turned his attention to me then and even gave me a bright smile. “Hello, Mia.”

I smiled uncomfortably and said, “Hi, William.” Then I couldn’t help myself and asked, “Are you staying for dinner?” In which case he laughed in amusement.

He opened the door wider. “Yes, I am,” he said, ushering us in. “I couldn’t leave Savanah alone to deal with guests, could I?”

I made a face and said, “Just as long as you don’t ruin it for us.” I stared meaningfully at him, and both men laughed.

William said, “Feisty, aren’t we? I’m still interested in you, Mia. Are you sure you want to be with James? He’s a bastard. You know that, right?”

I glared at him. “I like being with James, thank you very much.”

James said, “I thought you said you’d behave yourself too. I’m doing my best not to smash in your face and ruin tonight.”

William had the gall to laugh. “Sorry,” he said. “I can’t help it. I promise to be nice once we’re inside.”

James and I stepped over the threshold of the penthouse. Once we were in the living area, I scanned around in appreciation. The place was spacious, very modern, and had a great view of Las Vegas, just like James’ suite back at the hotel.

Savanah came rushing over to me then and took my hands in hers. “I’m so glad you came,” she said, smiling brightly. “And you look so cute in that dress.”

I chuckled and glanced down at myself. “Thanks,” I said. “And this place is awesome.”

She nodded. “I know. I love it here, especially the view.” She looked around the room with affection, her eyes bright.

I watched her, feeling a sense of relief that she looked happy here. I was glad because that meant William must be nice to her and not mistreat her, which I dreadfully feared. I didn’t want her to suffer, because I personally knew how painful it was to receive such mistreatment. Furthermore, I had come to care for Savanah, despite us knowing each other for such a short time.

William came over and handed me a glass of champagne. I thanked him before taking a sip of the bubbly. From the corner of my eye, I noted James had taken a seat on the sofa, one leg crossed over the other, a glass of champagne in one hand. William joined him a moment later, and the two men, despite the air of tension between them, started conversing. I wondered if they were enduring each other’s presence for our sake. The thought was certainly viable and, indeed, made me deliriously happy. James was willing to sacrifice his time to be in the company of a friend he didn’t much like for me. And William was doing the same for Savanah.

Savanah tugged at my arm to get my attention. “Why are you smiling?” she asked. “It looks like you saw something amusing.”

I straightened my face immediately and shook my head. I had no idea I was smiling at all. “No, it’s nothing,” I said, and then I changed the subject. “Aren’t you going to show me around?”

Savanah looked surprised at my request. “Did you want to take a look around?”

I nodded. “Of course.”

“Okay, come on then.”

We were heading toward the stairs when Savanah said to William, “I’m going to show Mia around, all right?”

I saw William nod. Savanah smiled appreciatively at his approval and happily went up the stairs. I noted her steps were light, as if she had a sort of happy bounce.

On the landing of the first floor, I felt my breath catch at the back of my throat as I gazed at the view before us. “Wow!” My eyes grew wide with wonder. “It’s a very nice view here.”

Savanah nodded. “Yes, it is, isn’t it?”

A moment later, after I was sated with the beautiful scenery of Las Vegas, Savanah led me about, inspecting the rooms. There were three bedrooms: the master I assumed belonged to William and the smaller one Savanah’s. The smallest one was set up as a guest room. Back on the ground floor, there was William’s office, which I had a sneak peek quickly, and there was also the library, which apparently was Savanah’s favorite place. She claimed it was her safe haven, and she’d been spending the majority of her day there reading books when William wasn’t around.

I smiled, thinking I’d be doing the same if James’ suite were to have a library. Then I wondered about his mansion back in LA, rather hopeful there was such a place there in the house somewhere. Of course, I’d spend most of my time during the day there when James wasn’t around too.

Savanah drew my attention away from the library and led me across the hallway toward another room. Upon opening the door, I realized it was a gym, fully equipped with a cross trainer, treadmill, and all the equipment one could think of and use in a professional gym to stay fit and healthy. Of course, Savanah cheekily claimed she had been using the treadmill quite regularly in the morning too.

Once she had shown me all the rooms in the penthouse, we headed back to the open-plan living area. There I saw a chef and a maid laying out the table. I had no idea this dinner was going to be such a fancy thing, with a chef cooking for us and all. I had thought Savanah would be doing the cooking, and of course, it’d be just her and me. But this was nice too, and everything was so elegantly set out.

The smell! God! It was simply amazing, and I couldn’t help myself and smiled gleefully.

“Smells so good.”

Savanah nodded. “Michael is one of the best chefs in Las Vegas, or so William said.”

“Really?” I asked. “Wow! You guys have your own chef?”

Savanah blushed. “William hired him to cook for me.”

“Oh.” Wow! I realized then that William was more than just nice to Savanah, which made me even happier for her. I reached out for her hand and squeezed it tight. “You’re happy with him, aren’t you?” I wanted to know for sure.

Savanah licked her lips. “Yes… I guess so,” she said.

Her answer confused me. What did she mean by that? Wasn’t she happy William treated her like a princess? Yes, I guess so meant she was happy, yet there was something else lingering inside…some unsatisfied or unhappy circumstances.

William’s voice drew my attention from my thoughts about Savanah. “Come on, ladies,” he said. “Time for dinner.” In which case, Savanah eagerly walked to him.