by Iona Rose
My hotel room door bursts open and I glance up in annoyance as Sebastian comes bounding in, calling my name. I cover the mouthpiece of the phone in case my call goes through and hiss at Sebastian to shut up.
He just laughs. He comes further into the room and shakes his head when he sees me on a call. He marches to the desk and bends down. He sticks his hand behind the desk and the line goes dead in my ear. Sebastian straightens back up and grins at me, showing me the cord he’s just disconnected from the socket.
I slam the receiver down and get to my feet. I’m taller than Sebastian and I stand over him, glaring at him in frustration and anger. “What the fuck are you playing at Sebastian?” I demand as I step closer to him, my anger showing.
Sebastian ducks out of my way, but he’s still laughing and waving the cord, taunting me. It’s like he wants me to punch him or something. “Relax Chance. You’re more uptight than Dad. I know you think Kimberley and I won’t last, but I’m telling you, she’s the one, and—”
“What makes you think I think you and Kimberley won’t last?” I interrupt him.
“Because I’ve spent so long playing the field,” he says.
“Only because you were trying to get over her in the first place,” I say. I know that’s not the real reason he thinks that. I can see it on his face. I rack my brains, trying to think of anytime I’ve said something that he could have taken to mean I thought him and Kimberley were doomed. I can’t think of anything. “Come on Seb. Why do you really think that?”
“Well, the whole love and marriage thing isn’t really your thing is it?” he says.
“Not at all,” I agree. “But that doesn’t mean I think it’s not for everyone. You and Kimberley are made for each other.”
“So, why aren’t you taking this seriously then?” Sebastian demands. “I’m only ever going to have one stag party and you can’t stop working two fucking days for it?”
Maybe, he has a point. Yeah, he does. But that doesn’t excuse him cutting off one of my calls not once, but twice today. He had no idea who those calls were to, and even once he saw my client’s name on the screen on the plane, he had no idea how he would react to being essentially told to fuck off. He could have cost the firm a lot of business.
“Fine. I’ll stop,” I say.
“Good.” He grins then shakes his head. “I honestly can’t believe we’re in Vegas and I’m having to impose a no working rule. The hard part should be convincing everyone it’s over and they have to go back to work.”
“Whatever. I’ve told you I’ll stop. Now, do me a favor, and stay the hell out of my room, otherwise you’re not going to live long enough to marry Kimberley.”
“Ooh, fightin’ words.” Sebastian grins. “Bring it on, bro.” He’s dancing around the room, his fists up.
I try to stay mad at him, but I’m laughing at his antics.
“Ah see, you can smile without your face breaking,” he teases me and stops dancing around. “We’re going to have a couple in the hotel bar before we head out. Are you ready?”
Before I can answer, Matt steps into the room. “Why is Sierra downstairs in reception?” he asks me.
Fucking hell. This is just getting worse. She was meant to sneak in without either of my brothers or Bradley seeing her.
Both Matt and Sebastian are staring at me now, their eyes burning a hole into my guilty face, waiting for an explanation.
“Look, I agreed not to work for this weekend. But that doesn’t mean shit can just be left to not get done. Sierra will be taking care of a few things for me while we’re here, that’s all,” I say.
“It takes your work obsession to a whole new level when you can’t go on a stag night without bringing your assistant along.” Matt smirks.
“I’m glad you think this is funny,” Sebastian says. “Do you have any idea how much trouble I’m going to be in now?”
I narrow my eyes at him. “You think Kimberley will be jealous because Sierra’s here?” I ask.
He laughs and shakes his head. “God, no. But Bernie will. She’s pretty much my best friend and I told her she couldn’t come out here with us because it’s a guy thing. She got it, but it’ll be a whole different ball game if she finds out about this.”
“It’s not like she’s here for the party,” I defend. “And besides, hen parties are always rowdier than stag parties. She’ll have a much better time with the girls.”
He shrugs. “Just make sure you tell her I had no idea about this if she finds out,” Sebastian says.
“I will. I’d better go and find Sierra and see what’s taking her so long. I just have to quickly go through what I need her to focus on and I’ll meet you two in the bar in ten.” I grab my room key, phone and wallet and leave the room, reminding them to flick the lock over when they leave. I walk away knowing they’re both staring after me.
I head down to the lobby, quietly fuming. I’m annoyed at my brothers; they don’t want to work this week, yet they don’t seem to want anyone else covering the work that needs to be done either. I’m still annoyed at Sierra too. I mean how hard is it to be in a place the size of fucking Vegas and not get seen by the few people who would recognize you?
I step out of the elevator and cross the lobby.
Sierra is just turning away from the check-in desk. She’s wearing a sensible knee length pencil skirt with a white blouse and a black jacket. If she’s too hot, she’s not showing it. Her ashy blonde hair is clipped up in a French pleat. She clacks across the lobby in her heels.
“Sierra,” I shout.
She turns to face me. Her perfect posture doesn’t falter, but she gives her nerves away by pushing her glasses up. Something she always does when she’s nervous. She comes to stand before me. “I’m so sorry Mr. Hunter,” she says. “I checked the lobby before I came in, but then there was a problem at the desk and it took longer to sort it out than I thought it would, and then Matt was there. I tried to lie to him, but he saw straight through it. Have I caused a whole lot of trouble?”
I can feel some of the anger leaving me. Sierra has been my assistant for the last two years, and this is the only mistake I can ever remember her making. If this is as bad as it gets, then we’re all good.
I shake my head. “No, I’ll handle it. Now what was the problem at reception?” I ask.
“They said they couldn’t find a room booked for me. I had to beg them to let me go up to your room and find out what was going on. They only agreed because I showed them my company ID and they recognized your name,” she says.
“Wait here. I’ll fix it,” I say. I go up to the desk and flash a smile at the receptionist there. “My name’s Chance Hunter. I have two adjacent rooms booked for this evening and tomorrow evening. My assistant has just tried to check into hers and she was told there’s no record of her having a room booked here.”
“Let me check that for you, sir. Chance Hunter you said?”
I nod.
She starts clicking on her keyboard. She gives me a professional smile. “I see the booking here.” She makes another few clicks. “Oh, I see the problem. Because you had already checked in when your assistant arrived, the booking moved to another part of the system. I’m sorry. My colleague is new and wouldn’t have known to check there.”
“No worries,” I say.
She hands me a key card and wishes me a pleasant stay.
If only she knew. I turn back to Sierra.
Rick is talking to her and as I get closer, I hear their conversation.
“So yeah. I’m in room 217 if you want some company later,” Rick says.
I see Sierra tense up as she shakes her head. “As I said, I’m here for work. And I don’t know if that line has ever worked for you before, but I can assure you it wouldn’t work on me even if I was here for pleasure.”
I shake my head and shove Rick away from her.
He frowns at me. “What? I can’t talk to women now?”
“You can talk to women all you want, just quit har
assing this one. This is Sierra, my assistant,” I say.
“Oh. Sorry,” he says. He winks at Sierra. “You can’t blame a guy for trying, can you?”
She smiles and shakes her head.
Rick wanders over to join Mark.
“Sorry about that.” I hand her the key for her room. “Your room is 1124. It’s next door to mine, so if you need anything, you know where to find me. Did you bring the Bramer files like I asked?”
She nods her head.
“Good,” I say. “He has some rather bizarre requests as you’ll see. It could take weeks to source some of that stuff, so if you can make a start on going through it all, that would be great. I also need you to arrange a meeting with Vince Falcrow. Oh, and can you send Dennis Rogers something. An apology for Sebastian cutting off our call earlier. I’ve spoken to him since and he’s fine about it, but it won’t hurt.”
“Got it,” Sierra says. “And what do you want me to do about Millicent Burroughs? She’s been calling non-stop since you pushed her meeting back.”
“I’ll get back to you on that one,” I say. When I remember who the hell she is, I don’t add.
“Okay, well if that’s it then, I’ll go and make a start,” Sierra says.
“Wait,” Rick says.
I hadn’t noticed him sidling back over.
“Seriously, Chance? You’ve dragged the poor woman all the way out here and you’re not even letting her take a night to herself to see the sights?” he asks.
“And that’s your business because?” I ask.
He shrugs and wanders back away again.
He makes it sound like slave labor. I mean it’s not like I’ve dragged Sierra out here against her will and her bonus will more than make up for any inconvenience. But he does have a point though. I mean it is Vegas. I smile at Sierra. “He’s right,” I say. “Take the night off and take in the sights. There’s plenty of time tomorrow for work.”
“Thank you Mr. Hunter,” she says with a smile.
I return her smile and go to find the others in the bar.
Sierra
As I head up to my room, I find that I can’t get Chance out of my head. He looked so different in his jeans and t-shirt. Trendy. It’s funny because he’s two years younger than me, but I always think of him as older. Out of the three Hunter brothers, if I didn’t know them, I would say Chance was the oldest. There’s a maturity about him and he’s always so well presented. But tonight he looked… different.
Don’t get me wrong. I’ve always thought he was good looking. He has a strong jaw, full lips and beautiful blue eyes. His fair hair is always just the right amount of mussed up and he’s tall and muscular. But I’ve never looked at him and felt myself respond to his looks like I did tonight.
Not that it matters. I mean nothing can ever happen between us. Chance is my boss and I’m not someone who acts unprofessional. Plus, he’s a total workaholic and I could never be with someone who didn’t have time for our relationship.
Our relationship. God, listen to me. You’d think he’d asked me out or something. All he did was give me a night off, and it’s a night I would normally have had off anyway. I shake my head, pushing away my silly daydreams as I step out of the elevator and go to find my room.
I find it easily and step inside. It’s nice, better than nice, luxurious. I knew it would be though. Chance had never been one to stay somewhere nice and put me somewhere cheap when we’ve been to conferences and stuff.
I unpack my things and take my suit off. I look at the clothes I’ve brought, wondering what to wear now I’ve got the night off. I settle on a knee length black dress and heels. I get dressed and look at myself in the mirror.
I sit down on the end of the bed. I really do want to go out and explore Vegas, but where would I go on my own? I’m kind of hungry, but sitting alone in a restaurant in Vegas is just too pathetic for words.
I decide to go for a walk along the strip and go to one of the casinos. Loads of people go to those alone, so I won’t look out of place. And then I’ll grab some takeout food to bring back up to my room once I’m done.
I’m humming to myself as I grab my bag and head for the door. I place my hand on the handle and a loud knock sounds from the other side. I make a startled yelping sound and then I tell myself not to be paranoid.
I open the door and my heart sinks when I see Chance standing there. I guess a night off was too much to ask for after all. It looks like it’s going to be a slice of pizza while I work tonight.
Chance
I wake up slowly and the first thing, no, the only thing, I notice is the absolute fucking blinding pain in my head. The light streaming in the window is dazzling me and I close my eyes, trying to drift off to sleep again, but it’s no use. There’s no way I will be able to get to sleep with my head pounding like this. I sit up slowly, the room spinning around me. I kick my feet over the side of the bed and groan quietly.
What the fuck happened last night? Clearly, I drank far too much, but right now, it feels more like I was run over about fifty times. I blink a few times and the spinning stops. I run my hands over my face and groan again, louder this time.
A gasp from behind me startles me to my feet.
Sierra sits up, pulling the sheet up to cover her naked breasts. Her naked breasts. What the fuck? Even through the pain in my head and my utter confusion I can’t help but notice her eyes. Without her glasses hiding them, they sparkle brightly. Even with the mascara smudges beneath them and the creases in her face from the pillow, I notice how beautiful she is. Her hair hangs around her face and over her shoulders. It’s so much longer than I imagined it. It’s got a slight curl to it that suits her.
“Mr. Hunter,” she says, not looking at me. “What’s going on?”
I think we’re well past her calling me Mr. Hunter, but I don’t say that. Instead, I just gape at her like an idiot for a few moments.
Her eyes flit to my face and then she looks away again.
“I-I don’t know,” I admit. I clear my throat awkwardly. What the hell happened between us? Why is Sierra in my bed? And why is someone inside of my head banging away with a huge hammer?
“Why do you keep looking at me like that?” Sierra asks quietly.
Because you’re absolutely stunning and I’ve never noticed it before and I can’t understand how I’ve never seen it. “I guess I’m just not used to seeing you with your hair down,” I say.
I mean it literally. I’ve never seen Sierra without a French pleat or a tight bun in her hair.
She raises an eyebrow and looks at me, keeping her eyes firmly on my face. She gives me a half smile. “I could say the same about you,” she says.
I frown, confused, and her eyes flicker down for just a second. Long enough for me to realize I am standing there completely naked, my morning wood pointing at Sierra like an accusatory finger. “Shit, sorry.” I spot my boxer shorts on the ground and I grab them and pull them on.
“I feel like I’ve been hit by a train,” Sierra says, rubbing her temples.
“Yeah. I know that feeling,” I say.
“Can I use your bathroom?” she asks.
I nod.
She pulls the sheet tighter around herself. Wrapped up in it, she heads towards the bathroom door. She goes inside and closes the door.
I am still in a state of total and utter confusion, but I know I can’t still be as good as naked when she comes back out, and I start to gather up my clothes.
My clothes aren’t in the neat pile I would normally leave them in. They’re scattered all over. That could mean one of two things though. It could mean that Sierra and I were in the throes of passion and stripping off as we moved towards the bed. Or it could mean that I was blind drunk and was just taking my clothes off at random as I moved through the room, ready to collapse into bed.
Surely, it has to be option two. That would make the most sense. I can’t work out why Sierra is here though. I decide to just stop thinking about it for a moment. It’s
not making anything any clearer and my head is hurting worse the more I try to make sense of anything.
I pull my jeans on with a sigh. I fasten the button and as I’m pulling the zip up, a scream comes from the bathroom. I run towards the door, calling out to make sure Sierra is okay.
Sierra
I sit down on the closed lid of the toilet, the sheet still gathered around me. My head is fuzzy, aching and I feel kind of nauseous. I can live with that though. It’s only a hangover; nothing a few aspirin won’t cure. The aspirin won’t bring my memory back though.
What the actual fuck did I drink last night that was so potent that I have no recollection of the night before? I mean I’ve woken up a little disoriented before, but never in someone else’s bed without knowing how I got there. And I’ve always been able to piece the night together after a couple of minutes.
Think Sierra I tell myself. I can’t though. It’s just a blank space in my head where last night should be. I can’t help but think of Chance. An image flashes through my head of him standing beside the bed, his cock on show. I can’t help but smile despite myself. Chance is always so together, not someone who gets rattled. But his face when he realized his cock was not only out, but was hard and pointing in my direction. If I hadn’t been so embarrassed, I probably would have laughed right there and then.
I’ve known Chance for two years, and I’ve never seen him at a loss for words. He’s usually so articulate. He’s not a babbler, but he always knows the right thing to say for any occasion. But apparently, this morning threw him as much as it threw me, because he just stood there, his mouth opening and closing with no sound coming out.
I know we didn’t have sex. Well, no actually, I don’t know that. But I mean I don’t think we did. Why would we? Neither of us have ever been anything but professional before. There’s been no flirting, no suggestive looks. We’ve barely even spoken to each other except for work related things. Hell, until last night, I hadn’t even seen him in casual clothes and he’d never seen me with my hair down.