by Grant, Livia
Like the healing cut on her left palm, the proof she was indeed awake was there, in the reflection. The letters were smeared, not having had time to dry before she’d insisted on getting dressed, but there was no denying the actor’s mark on her body.
Shane Covington was uber-famous, ultra-rich, and kinky as fuck. Her heart lurched just thinking about all the debauched things he’d said and done to her, and they’d barely spent any time together. She instinctively knew she’d only seen the tip of the iceberg that was Shane Covington. That realization both excited and terrified her in equal measures.
What the hell was she doing?
If she wasn’t careful, she was going to screw around and get fired if she kept shirking her duties to spend time with the famous guest.
Worse, she was in real danger of getting her heart hurt when their tryst ended… and it would end. Shane was famously single. If she was to believe the tabloids, he burned through beautiful women faster than the water going down the drain in front of her. So why was he wasting his time with her?
That was the million-dollar question.
She turned the faucet off and zipped up her uniform. There was no time to think about all this complicated stuff right now. She needed to finish cleaning the last suite, then get downstairs to check in with Julie and Maria. She’d left them on their own all day.
It only took her a minute to get back to the housekeeping cart she’d left in the hallway outside of the Paris suite. Just knowing he was still on the other side of that heavy door raised her pulse. She had to press through the urge to knock and return to his bed, pushing her cart toward the double doors at the end of the hall instead.
Even though the computer showed this room had been vacant for several hours, she was anxious not to have a repeat of her error yesterday. Nalani knocked loudly, announcing “Housekeeping” in a loud and clear voice as she leaned forward to supply her retinal scan, which opened the locked door.
Just to be sure, she called out “Housekeeping” a second time as she pushed her cart into the room, letting the heavy door slam closed behind her.
She sighed with relief when she made her way through the foyer into the spacious bedroom, confirming she was indeed alone. The room may be empty now, but there was no doubt it had been well used the night before.
The comforter was on the floor, the sheets almost completely off the bed. Furniture had been moved around, and one chair still had white nylon rope tied to the armrests and legs, bringing back memories of seeing the red-headed woman tied up the day before. Had she been crazy enough to return to the room for a second round with Henry Ainsworth, or had he shared his violent brand of sex with a different unlucky woman last night?
Nalani tried to not think about it, going to work, stripping the bedding and working to put the room back together. When she finished with the bedroom and sitting area, she grabbed the bucket of supplies from her cart and headed into the opulent bathroom.
She was only a few steps into the room when movement caught her attention in the mirror. She looked into the mirror just in time to see Henry Ainsworth rushing her direction from the small room that held the toilet. He was naked with only a towel wrapped around his waist to hide his privates.
He’d surprised her so quickly, she froze, unable to comprehend what was happening. His hands clamping down on her biceps from behind coincided with her brain protesting.
He had checked out. The room was supposed to be empty.
She cried out in pain from the tight grip he had on her arms. Their eyes met in the mirror, him towering over her by at least eight inches. What she saw in his eyes terrified her.
“I’ve been waiting for you. I’m in need of some of your extra special VIP service.”
Nalani may not be as worldly as most of the guests who stayed at the mansion, but she wasn’t stupid. She knew with certainty exactly what kind of VIP service Henry Ainsworth was looking for.
She fought down her fear, knowing she needed to keep her wits about her if she was going to escape without making an already bad situation worse.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Ainsworth. My app said you’d already checked out. The room is supposed to be vacant.”
“And it will be… as soon as you finish your VIP service duties.”
He had started to exert power, pressing her down toward the floor. She instinctively knew he wanted her on her knees in front of him, but he was crazy if he thought she’d go there without a fight.
Nalani lifted her foot, bringing her shoe down onto the bare foot of the man holding her captive from behind. His shout of pain coincided with him loosening his grip on her arms. In their brief struggle, she pushed away from the older man, catching the edge of the towel, exposing his protruding erection.
Like yesterday, the bent pole repulsed her, helping kick her flight instincts into a higher gear. She shoved him as she turned, ready to run to the exit, but he was ready for her, grabbing and holding her captive. For an older man, he was in pretty good shape, making it difficult to escape.
“I love a slut with spunk. Nothing will turn me on more than finally putting you in your place. You’ve been a naughty girl, bursting into my room yet again without announcing yourself. I’m afraid you need to be punished.”
The man was insane—truly.
“I’m sorry, sir, if you didn’t hear me calling out my arrival, but you’ve already checked out. You aren’t even supposed to be here.” She could see his face turning red in the mirror, a look of raw rage in his eyes.
“Are you calling me a liar? Haven’t you heard, the customer is always right?”
He released her left arm and started pawing at her uniform, trying to get his hands on the same zipper Shane had opened an hour before.
This couldn’t be happening. It was her worst nightmare. As scary as the idea of being sexually assaulted by a guest was, it was the real possibility of losing her job that scared her the most. If she complained about him, she knew it would turn into he said/she said and as awesome as the Cartwright-Davidsons were to work for, she knew she would lose if they were forced to choose between a lowly housekeeper and one of their top paying customers.
Gathering all her strength, Nalani pulled her arm up, then slammed her elbow back as hard as she could into the gut of Henry Ainsworth. Her blow knocked the air out of the movie executive, and he loosened his grip. She took the opportunity to turn and run past him, back out of the bathroom, through the bedroom and foyer, and finally, out into the long hall.
Her first instinct was to stop and pound on Shane’s door. Surely, he would protect her from the older man as he had the day before, but seconds before she knocked, she remembered a very important fact.
Shane was an actor, in the same business as Henry Ainsworth. The men knew each other, and while she didn’t think they were best friends, could she really take the chance Shane would want to get involved? After all, having one of the most powerful financiers in the industry against you could impact his career.
When the door at the end of the hall opened and a furious Henry Ainsworth appeared in a luxurious Runway robe, she was forced to make her decision.
She turned from the door to the Paris suite and took off at a sprint toward the Runway office, praying Madison or Avery was there. Even if they weren’t, the office door had a lock. She could put the door between her and the man chasing her, then… what?
She honestly didn’t know how this was going to turn out well for her.
The office was empty when she arrived. The second she slammed the door closed and turned the lock, she felt marginally better. She rested her ear against the door, trying to hear if Mr. Ainsworth had followed her all the way to the office, but it was hard to hear over her pounding pulse.
Only after several minutes went by and there was no knock on the door, she began to relax slightly. But what if he was on the other side of the door, waiting for her to come out?
Worse, how was she ever going to finish her shift? She’d left her cart in the Hong K
ong suite. She’d eventually have to go in there and finish cleaning his room. And worse, what about tomorrow… the next day? Next week? The longer she stood at the door, trying to sort through what to do next, the angrier she got at the older man. How dare he put her in this position?
The knock on the door scared the bejesus out of her. She was about to scream at him to leave her alone when Madison’s voice called out.
“Hey! It’s me. Whoever is in there with the deadbolt on, you need to unlock the door!”
Nalani’s brain scrambled to figure out what she was going to say to her friend and boss. Should she tell her the whole story? Or would it just put that bull’s-eye on her back for being let go sooner when it turned into he said/she said? Only the fear for Madison’s safety, out there exposed to Mr. Ainsworth, convinced Nalani to unlock the door and let her friend in.
“Oh, hey, what’s going on? I was texting you a bit ago to see what time you planned on wrapping up today. Jaxson called and asked if you could stop by their house on your way home. Sounds like the twins might have got into a bit of trouble now that they’re crawling. He didn’t give many details.”
Her friend had whisked past her, talking a mile a minute, a fresh cup of coffee in her hand. Only when the club manager got to her chair and sat did she look at Nalani and finish, “You think you can stop by?” Madison had a funny look on her face as Nalani waited near the door. She eventually tacked on, “Hey, you don’t look well. You feeling okay?”
She wanted to scream she was anything but okay, but the events of the last twenty-four hours, both good and bad, were starting to close in on her, and she was having trouble focusing. The stress of it all suddenly felt like an eight-hundred-pound gorilla sitting on her chest, cutting off her air.
When Nalani didn’t answer, Madison jumped to her feet, approaching Nalani quickly, reaching out to place her wrist on Nalani’s forehead to test for a temperature.
“You don’t feel warm. Do you have a stomachache?”
How easy it would be to lie and just go home, but Nalani hadn’t lied to Madison before, and she wasn’t going to start today.
“I just had a scare is all. I thought Mr. Ainsworth had checked out a few hours ago, but I just went in there to clean his suite, and he was still occupying the room. He was in the bathroom when I went in to clean.”
“What a jerk. He texted me himself to say he was ready to check out hours ago.”
“Well, he changed his mind and…” she let her voice trail off, unsure how much to share. “And he isn’t happy with me. He accused me of barging in on him without knocking, but I swear I knocked and yelled housekeeping like always.”
“Of course, you did. I can hear you sometimes from the office, so I know you’re careful. He's just the pain-in-the-ass he usually is. Don’t let him get to you. I’m sure it will blow over by the next time he stays.”
Just thinking about having that man in the building again gave Nalani the creeps. It wasn’t fair that he had the power to ruin a job that she really liked.
“What are the chances we could refuse to rent rooms to him anymore?” she finally asked hopefully.
“Ha! Don’t I wish. He’s always bitching about this or that. His newest thing is asking for a discounted rate because of his volume, cheap-ass bastard.”
As nice as it was that Madison had a poor opinion of the jerk, it was clear she wasn’t inclined to ban him from staying, and as long as Nalani kept quiet about his threats, who could blame her boss. There was a big difference between sexual assault and being a cheapskate.
Nalani needed to speak up. She needed to…
Madison’s cell, lying on the desk started ringing. Her face lit up like a Christmas tree, telling Nalani it was Trevor McLean on the other end of the phone.
“Sorry, I need to get this. With the club being closed the next two days, we’re trying to take a short getaway to Palm Springs.”
Off her boss went with her coffee and phone, leaving Nalani alone in the office again. She relocked the door and plopped down in the chair behind the desk she and Avery shared when they needed to do paperwork.
She had many options, but she didn’t like any of them. Should she find Miguel and report Mr. Ainsworth to their head of security? She was pretty sure at least some of the women going into his room were being forced into dubious consensual sexual situations, whether or not they had willingly gone to his suite. What if they were too afraid to speak up? There was a good chance he’d paid them off with money or opportunities, making them unwilling to speak against the powerful man.
Shane had seen Ainsworth angry at her the day before, but she’d made the mistake of entering his room unannounced. And like before, she didn’t want to Shane dragged into this mess. Things were already complicated with him. She didn’t need to add this to the mix.
Madison had a good idea. It was Sunday, and the club was closed for the next two days. Only Shane and one other guest were staying over. She didn’t need to worry about finishing the Hong Kong room until Wednesday, and by then, she’d figure out how she was going to deal with this whole mess.
She opened the bottom desk drawer and took out her purse. She’d take the elevator outside the office door all the way down to Black Light and take the back exit out to her car. She knew Ainsworth didn’t have a key for any of those locations, which gave her a little peace of mind.
She needed to go home, take a long bath and soak while she thought through all that had happened. Her hand visibly trembled as she reached to unlock the door to leave. She wouldn’t feel safe again until she was locked in her own apartment.
Nalani was halfway to her car when she remembered Jaxson had wanted her to stop in at their house on the way home. It was the last thing she wanted to do but knew it was her job.
The thought briefly crossed her mind, maybe she should mention the incident with Mr. Ainsworth to the owners, but what good would come from that? He hadn’t hurt her, not really. It would still be he said/she said, and considering the VIP pretty much paid for her entire monthly salary in the few days he slept over, there was no way the Cartwright-Davidson’s would want to open the can of worms her confiding in them would open.
Anger flared that the asshole’s actions made her feel unsafe even in her place of employment. Worse… how was she going to feel comfortable coming back in a few hours to meet Shane?
Maybe this was a sign from the universe, telling her what a crazy idea it was to think she could go on a date with the Shane Covington.
Chapter 6
Piper should have quit drinking about two drinks ago. Despite her head starting to throb and her near-empty stomach churning, she opened the mini fridge in her suite at The Plaza and pulled out the last two small bottles of liquor.
Aviation gin and Bacardi rum.
She didn’t like her choices. She’d already polished off the tiny bottles of Absolute vodka and Jack Daniels as well as her favorite mixers, and there was no way she was desperate enough to drink the Tequila. She’d ruined that drink forever by overindulging on her one and only spring break many years before. She’d have to settle for a gin and seven unless she wanted to phone room service.
She dismissed the idea immediately. She was almost never alone. It had taken way too much effort to arrange for these few days in New York on her own—no assistant, no bodyguards, no publicist, not even one of her many boy-toys she had on speed dial. She hadn’t been in the mood to see any of them—not since the disastrous event at Black Light several weeks before on Valentine’s Day.
It’s how she ended up holed up in her hotel room for the last twenty-four hours, and not even the need for food or booze reinforcements felt like good enough reasons to have to see another human being. Tomorrow afternoon would come soon enough when she’d be forced to rejoin the world and head to her appearance on the late-night talk show.
Tonight, she just wanted to wallow—alone.
She’d been looking forward to the solace after barely holding it together for the last f
ew weeks. This was her ‘get her head on straight again’ weekend. Her chance to reset back to the Mistress Ice of a month before. Before she’d been foolish enough to sign up for the stupid roulette event, and Nolan Boeing had been insane enough to bid on her, making the dominant her submissive for one night.
What a fucking disaster. Why couldn’t he just leave her alone?
Even as her addled brain thought it, the truth burned hot in her alcohol filled brain, refusing to let her forget, no matter how many alcohol units she ingested.
She stumbled to the wall of windows that looked out over Central Park. Even at eleven on a Sunday night, New York City was buzzing below her. From this height, she could look down at the busy street below and see several horse-drawn carriages. They were probably filled with lovers—kissing and holding hands romantically, whispering sweet nothings to each other, proposing marriage. All the things she’d sworn off years before when she’d decided all that mattered was her career. And for the most part, she was happy with her decision.
There was just one problem, and his name was Nolan Boeing.
Piper took another drag from her rock glass, swaying enough, she had to reach out and stabilize herself by grabbing the back of the tall-backed desk chair next to her. The twinkling lights of the city blurred. She told herself it was just the booze, but there, alone in the room, she was having trouble keeping up her lies to herself.
Piper Kole was a strong woman. She didn’t cry. Tears were pathetic.
But in a moment of weakness, when no one was there to witness it, she felt her resolve crumble. The tears she’d been holding back spilled down her cheeks, dripping to the carpet below.
This was all Nolan’s fault. He snuck in that call that afternoon from Shane Covington’s phone, catching her off guard—gotten in under her radar. Despite the almost three thousand miles that separated them, it felt like he was here, in the room with her, ever since she’d hung up on him many hours before.