Struggling Dad Delivered Room Service At A Hotel, Not Knowing A Millionaire Guest Would Fall For Him
The Cost of a Scandal
“You know,” she said after a while, “I didn’t come here for business. I came to get away from people trying to control my life.”
He looked at her. “Who would try to control someone like you?”
She gave a sad smile. “People who have money invested in me because I’m not just Meline Eldridge,.”
“I’m the majority owner of Eldridge Holdings.” Jackson stared. “Wait, you’re a millionaire?”
She nodded. “Several times over.”
He sat back. “I didn’t mean to hide it,” she said. “I just liked the way you looked at me like I was just a person, not a transaction.”
He didn’t speak for a moment. “Then you are just a person,” he said. “One who eats too much risotto.”
She laughed, relief washing over her face. “I don’t care how much money you have,” he said seriously.
“But I have a daughter; I can’t afford to play games.” “I’m not playing,” she said, and he looked at her, really looked at her.
“Neither am I.” They sat in silence, the kind that felt safe.
Then she touched his hand. “Stay a little longer.”
He didn’t answer, and he didn’t need to. He just stayed.
Meline’s suite was dark except for the glow of the city lights spilling in through the glass. Jackson sat on the edge of the low sectional, the quiet between them thick.
She turned her head toward the window, her voice low. “I used to watch this skyline from a boardroom on the 82nd floor,.”
“It always felt like the city belonged to someone else.” Jackson followed her gaze at the glittering skyline far beyond what he could ever touch.
“It still feels that way to me.” “Don’t let it,” she said. “You belong anywhere you decide to stand.”
Meline reached for the wine bottle and poured more into his glass. “Let me take you somewhere tomorrow.”
His brow lifted. “Where?” “I’m not telling. Just wear something that doesn’t have a name tag on it.”
“I don’t think I even own anything formal.” She gave him a sideways glance. “Then I guess I’ll have to fix that.”
“I can’t afford…” “I didn’t say you had to pay.”
Jackson leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “Meline, I don’t take handouts.”
“It’s not a handout; it’s an invitation.” He hesitated, watching her. “Who else will be there?”
“No one that matters.” He didn’t answer right away, then said, “I’ll have to find someone to watch Ava,.”
“I know someone,” she said quickly. “My assistant’s cousin is a certified teacher and runs a weekend program for kids.”
“I already checked.” Jackson blinked. “You already checked?”
“I figured you’d say yes.” His mouth tilted in amusement. “You’re a piece of work.”
“And you’re impossible to plan for, so 7:00, I’ll send a car.” She didn’t wait for a yes.
She walked toward the bedroom and tossed one last look over her shoulder. “Don’t be late.”
The next evening, Jackson stood in front of the mirror in a charcoal suit. It had been delivered in a sleek garment bag with no return address.
The fabric was smooth and the fit perfect. He didn’t ask how she guessed his measurements.
Ava twirled in her socks behind him, arms raised like a ballerina. “You look like a prince.”
He crouched and kissed her forehead. “I’ll be back before bedtime, okay?”
She nodded solemnly. “Will she be there,?” Jackson blinked. “Who?”
“The lady who makes you smile weird.” He laughed. “Yeah, she’ll be there.”
Ava ran off to show the babysitter her drawing. The ride was silent in a car that smelled like money.
Jackson’s palms were damp by the time they pulled up to a building in Tribeca. Inside, a private dining room was set for two with flickering candles.
Meline stood near the window wearing a deep plum gown. She turned when he entered, and for a moment, the air left his lungs.
“You clean up,” she said, eyes trailing over him, “way too well.” He adjusted the cuff of his sleeve.
“This place looks like it costs more than my rent.” “It does.” He raised a brow, and she smiled. “You’re worth it.”
Dinner passed in waves of conversation,. They spoke of her childhood in boarding schools and the pressure to live up to a name.
“I don’t want to be a figurehead,” she said. “I want to build something real, but they think my last name is all I have.”
Jackson leaned back in his chair. “Then prove them wrong.”
She looked at him. “Says the guy who won’t take a free suit without arguing.”
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t return it.” “Don’t.” He didn’t push it.
After dessert, she led him to a rooftop terrace. The city stretched below them, quiet in its chaos.
“This is my favorite place in the city,” she said. “No one ever comes up here.”
She stepped closer. “You make it feel safe.” He turned. “Meline, I know this is fast,” she said.
The kiss wasn’t perfect. It was cautious at first, then deepened with something that felt like relief,.
They felt like two people finally remembering how to exhale. When they pulled apart, she didn’t step back.
“You’re the first person who’s ever looked at me like I’m more than a brand.” He touched her face.
“And you’re the first person who’s ever made me feel like I belong here.” She tilted her head. “You do?”
He didn’t notice the photographer standing three buildings away. The shutter clicked silently into the night.
The article dropped two days later. Jackson saw the headline on a co-worker’s phone: “Heiress Eldridge’s Rooftop Rendezvous with Mystery Man.”
There was a photo, unmistakable. His hand brushed her cheek with the city glowing behind them,.
By the time he reached the locker room, his manager was waiting. “Jackson, my office, now.”
“You didn’t think to mention you were getting cozy with a guest who owns half the city?” Jackson crossed his arms. “It wasn’t like that.”
“This photo says otherwise.” The manager threw a printout onto the desk. “You’re suspended until further notice.”
Jackson didn’t argue; he just walked out. Outside, the cold hit him like a slap,.
He had seventeen missed calls from Meline. He didn’t answer.
When he got home, Ava was painting a cardboard castle. “Daddy, I made your room in the castle!”
He crouched beside her. “You get the tallest one because you’re the strongest.” He kissed her head.
Meline’s calls kept coming, but he didn’t want to hear her voice yet. Everything inside him felt like it was splitting down the middle.
The next morning, she showed up at his door. She looked like she hadn’t slept.
“Why didn’t you pick up?” “Because I lost my job,” he replied.
“I didn’t know it would get out.” “It happened because I believed someone like you could exist in my world without breaking it.”
She flinched. “You think I wanted this? That I wanted us splashed across screens like a product launch?”
“I tried to stop it, Jackson.” “Ava’s school called,” he said. “Reporters were waiting outside.”
Meline’s breath caught. “I’ve worked every day to keep her life normal, and in one night that was gone.”
“I didn’t mean for this to touch her.” “It did.”
“I never wanted to hurt you.” He nodded once, his jaw tight. “But you did,.”
She stepped closer. “Let me fix it.” “You can’t.”
