Free Five-star Seduction by Louise Make Page B

be, but –”
    â€œI’m not a stray puppy!”
    Her anger startled them both. Langa knew it was justified, but she’d never let her emotions for a man run unleashed before. Was this what she had become? A woman who spent her days alternating between crying and screaming?
    â€œI know you’re not, Langa. And I don’t think it was Lazola’s intention to make you feel expendable. He’s never been very good with matters of the heart. He’s never committed to anyone before. With time, maybe . . .”
    â€œI don’t have time. Certainly not for a maybe.” Langa left the extravagant breakfast untouched. She marched towards the bedroom but stopped just before entering. She addressed Thomas over her shoulder. “Why is it always you who’s more concerned about cushioning my heart?”
    She didn’t wait for a reply. While packing her overnight bag, she heard Thomas quietly leave the suite. Langa didn’t stop moving until everything she’d brought was packed. She knew if she stopped to think she’d smash something.
    Later, bag in hand, Langa headed for the front desk to drop off Lazola’s keycard. She swore to herself that this would be the last time. No heart could survive the roller coaster ride hers had already endured.
    Langa’s stride faltered as she neared the reception area. The woman at the front desk had her back turned and did not notice her. By the friendly conspiracy she shared with the chatty receptionist, it was clear that they knew each other well.
    â€œYes, I know Lazola isn’t here,” she said. “I spoke to him an hour ago. He’s in Houghton. I just need to stop by his suite for a minute. I’m meeting him at the airport as soon as I can get there.”
    Even from a distance and at an obscure angle Langa recognised the slender form and glossy hair. And the face she hadn’t seen in over three months. The woman was smiling excitedly with the redhead behind the desk.
    â€œI’m not sure what’s going on, Sarah, but he’s asked to see the whole family in Cape Town. Something tells me we might be hearing wedding bells soon. But hush, keep it to yourself. Lazola would slay me if he knew I’d mentioned this before he had a chance to say so!”
    Langa rushed to the foyer bathroom before either woman spotted her. So Lazola did have a fiancée after all, one that the entire staff knew. A fiancée who was heading up to his suite at that very moment. The suite! It was a mess from the night before, and someone was bound to mention Langa were Lazola’s fiancée to start asking difficult questions. Oh, what they must think of her!
    Langa felt sick.
    For the first time in her life she chose the coward’s way out. She rinsed her face and walked out of the bathroom. She crossed her fingers all the way to the front doors. Once there, she left the keycard with the surprised doorman. Fortunately he didn’t ask any questions when she told him she needed a driver to take her home.
    The minutes it took for the sleek car to pull around the front of the hotel felt like a lifetime. Langa released a grateful breath when it pulled off with her securely in the back.
    * * *
    â€œYou have got to be kidding.”
    Robert McMann was swaying in his leather chair, one ankle crossed over the opposite knee. Langa knew that meant trouble. The more relaxed Robert looked, the more lethal his counterattacks tended to be.
    She kept her cool. “I’m serious. My other accounts have barely had my attention in the last six months and that’s not fair to those clients, is it?”
    But her excuse was credible and Robert seemed to be coming around to it. “I suppose it isn’t. Although I’m surprised that you’re willing to give up control of your biggest account.”
    Langa put on her best sly grin. “The thrill lay in landing the account. Who knows? Maybe I’ll score another now