Sweet Subterfuge by Trina Duo

Chapter 2

Larissa did not return to the private room.

The incident in the corridor had attracted the attention of quite a crowd. That naturally included Travis’

subordinates. They had seen Travis leaving with Amber in his arms, but not a single person showed

any signs of shock or surprise.

It was likely that they already knew about Travis and Amber’s affair.

Thinking back to how she deliberately acted affectionately with Travis in front of them, Larissa thought

herself an idiot. They were likely laughing at her on the inside.

Doing everything in her power to hold back her tears, Larissa drove home.

The house was dark. When she turned on the lights, everything was as she left it before leaving for the

gathering.

But the air had gotten significantly colder.

Without further delay, Larissa stuffed all of her valuables into two large suitcases and headed straight

to her workplace, the Regal Dynasty Hotel.

She was the manager of the hotel’s housekeeping department, and she had a private staff room there

due to her constant night shifts. Although there was nothing in there but a bed, it was enough to be a

temporary home before she could find a new place to live.

…

Although Larissa was in charge of the housekeeping department, she was quite familiar with the people

in the lobby as well as the reception due to having worked at the Regal Dynasty Hotel for almost five

years.

“Ms. Seymour? I thought you took the day off today?” Livie, a receptionist, asked in surprise when she

saw Larissa come in with two large suitcases.

“Something came up, so I came back.” Larissa easily avoided the question.

But Livie was staring at her suitcases. “What about those?”

“Oh, an important guest is coming to our hotel. To provide the best service for him, I’ll be staying in the

hotel for now.” Larissa recalled the matter discussed by the general manager during the morning

meeting two days ago and used it as an excuse.

Sure enough, Livie did not question her.

“Yeah, I heard about it from our manager too. Looks like an executive from the company. He told us to

be as professional as possible for these two days. If we’re caught making mistakes, then we’d have to

pack our things and go.” She pursed her lips.

Larissa hummed in response. She had no desire to hang around. Pointing at the elevators, she said,

“Well, I’ll be heading up.”

She had not even taken two steps when the sounds of two different sets of steady footsteps could be

heard. In the quiet of the night, it was rather loud. Larissa turned around on instinct.

Two men walked in, side by side.

They wore tidy black suits and were rather tall.

Larissa’s attention was drawn to the taller man. He looked like one of those young stars with huge

followings—slim eyebrows, captivating dark eyes, and soft lips set against smooth skin—and yet he

was still rather masculine.

His left hand fell naturally at his side, and his right was loosely stuck in his trousers’ pocket. Despite his

elegance, there was a hint of roguishness to his temperament. As if sensing Larissa’s gaze, he looked

up and turned to her.

His stare was terribly sharp, unlike his overall innocuous appearance. Larissa could not help but

shudder at that.

“Um…would you like to check in?” Livie’s sweet voice sounded at just the right moment. Only then did

the man withdraw his gaze, and Larissa quickly turned away.

The shorter man stepped forward and said, “Yes.”

“Have you made reservations?” Livie queried yet again.

“Yes.” He handed his ID over. “One presidential suite, and one deluxe suite.”

The words “presidential suite” made Larissa pause once again. There was only one presidential suite in

the Regal Dynasty Hotel. According to the general manager, it was reserved for that “important

guest”…

Larissa flung her suitcases at the reception, turned, and made her way to that tall man. She put a

professional smile on her face and stuck out her hand. Just as she was about to open her mouth, she

suddenly remembered that she did not even know his name. Her smile froze for a second before she

managed to cover it up.

“Hello. I am the manager of the Regal Dynasty’s housekeeping department. My name is Larissa

Seymour. I will be in charge of any affairs during your stay.”

The man gazed at her for two seconds before turning his attention to her hand.

“Hello.”

His voice was just as melodious as Larissa had expected. It had a low, rich timbre, like a good-quality

cello.

She was still caught up in it when her hand suddenly got cold—

The man had removed his right hand from his pocket and was gripping hers. His hand was just as

smooth as his face, and his fingers were slender and well-defined.

Larissa gazed at her own hand, which was slightly more calloused than his, and a sense of self-

loathing swelled from within.

“Kevan Rogers,” the man said, uttering an unfamiliar name.

Larissa was stunned for a few seconds before she realized that he was introducing himself.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Rogers!” she said respectfully.

Kevan’s dark eyes narrowed as they took note of her facial expressions. Soon, the faint smile faded

from his face, and a hint of frost crept into his gaze. He drew back his hand and stuck it into his pocket

again.

The other man had finished checking in and handed a room card to him. “We’re good to head upstairs.”

Kevan hummed lowly in response. He went around Larissa, accepted the card, and walked toward the

elevator. When the other man bypassed Larissa, he kept shooting meaningful looks at her.