by Joyce Jordan
“You didn’t have to give them a suite, but thank you Lucas.”
“No offense, but I don’t think we have had so much fun at the club.”
“I heard some of what they said. Sorry about that. And it seems they got personal with Tony too,” Sam shook his head and laughed.
“We did see them fighting with Tony at the elevator. What did they say to him?”
“It’s embarrassing, but in short they propositioned him too.”
Serenity woke up as the elevator dinged their arrival. “Cute guy. You taking me to bed?”
“No ma’am,” Lucas replied.
“Good, good because I already have a boyfriend,” she replied with a slur. “Moira is single though. Where is Moira?” When Lucas didn’t reply fast enough Serenity started screaming, “Moira! Moira!”
Sam opened the door and they quickly entered the suite. Then she saw Sam and was telling him Moira was missing.
Sam placed his hand over her mouth. “Moira is right here.” When she mumbled something resembling an okay, Sam went on, “Now promise not to scream.” Serenity nodded her head and Sam released her mouth.
“Where are we?” she asked Sam.
“My boss has offered you two a place to sleep for the night. I will come and get you tomorrow morning and the three of us will need to sit down and talk.”
“Party pooper,” Moira slurred as she woke up. “Maybe we will just stay here for the next week.”
All three men laughed.
“Yeah well, I’m sorry I have to be the adult here. Time for bed. Do you want separate rooms or same bed?” he asked them.
“Separate,” Serenity said. “Moira has a menage tonight.”
“A what?”
“A menage. You know…”
Sam interrupted her, “I know what a menage is. But how are you even going to call the guys when you are drunk out of your heads?”
“They are already here silly,” Serenity giggled.
“And we already have the condoms. Safe sex.” Moira added. She placed her hand in her bra and pulled two condoms. “These ones glow in the dark. It says so on the package.”
“You realize you are referring to my boss and his friend? You must have had more than anyone tonight.” Sam turned turned to his boss and apoligized again, then went to take Serenity out of his hands, but he shook his head and told him he would lay her down, which he did in one of the bedrooms. He motioned for Conrad to follow and they placed the girls on the same bed.
Sam removed their shoes before he covered them up. “You two are grounded for the rest of the year.”
“Okay. What if we share our condom stash with you?” Moira said.
“Night girls,” Sam called out as he switched the lights off then closed the door.
Lucas couldn’t help laughing. “Are they always like this?” he asked Sam.
“Thank God no. They usually cause some kind of trouble when they are together. And honestly this is the first time this has ever happened, and I hope the last time too.”
“Don’t be too hard on them. They are welcome to come back anytime.”
“They are grounded remember?”
All three men laughed again as they made their way out of the suite. Sam said goodnight as he made his way to the parking garage and his car. Conrad and Lucas went back to the club to grab their keys.
“You were awfully quiet there my friend,” Lucas needled him.
“I didn’t want to make her brother suspicious before I made my move. Her friend, in her drunken state, mentioned that Moira was single. Which was a great revelation. So mystery solved. Now I want to know why she lied to me.”
They found two of the bouncers going through the club making sure someone was not passed out drunk on one of the floors. By the time they were done, Conrad and Lucas were coming down and they all left together as one of the bouncers locked the doors to the club.
Chapter Eleven
Moira woke to find out someone was hammering away in her head. She groaned and turned over to find a warm body next to her. Opening one eye to see which guy she had brought home, she saw Serenity who was still fast asleep. Relief washing through her, she got up slowly and used the bathroom. She made the mistake of opening the curtain to look outside, and the blinding sun increased her pain levels exponentially. Over by the bed, she heard Serenity swear and was glad she wasn’t close by to receive a punch that she saw her throw to the pillow.
“I think the drinking last night was a bad idea,” Moira heard Serenity whisper from across the room.
“I agree. Never to be repeated again.”
“Do you think we can afford breakfast in this place or should we pass by a Denny’s or Ihop?”
“Maybe we can at least get a coffee before we leave, then find a Denny’s or Ihop. We would have to work a whole week before we could afford a meal in this fine establishment.”
“You want to call room service while I use the bathroom then we can be off before Sam comes for us?” Serenity asked.
“Oh, don’t remind me. We are in big trouble. The menage you mentioned didn’t help.” Moira groaned.
Serenity laughed before she groaned in pain. “Ow! It hurts. I don’t understand how some people can get drunk every weekend,” she added as she finally got out of bed and took small steps to the bathroom.
Moira called room service for coffee then went to wait in the sitting room. “Did you see the toothbrush in the little drawer?” she asked.
“No, I just rinsed with water, but I guess I better go back. I need to get rid of the nasty taste in my mouth,” she said.
When the knock sounded at the door, Moira rushed over. She opened the door and closed it except that Sam was fast and opened it as he slipped inside.
“I see you are both awake. Sleep well?” he asked them. Another knock sounded. “You expecting someone?” he asked surprised. He quickly backtracked and opened the door to find a waiter with a breakfast trolley.
“Morning Sir. Breakfast for the ladies,” he told Sam.
“You ordered breakfast?” Sam asked them. “You really have made yourselves right at home.
“We only ordered coffee,” they said in unison.
The waiter had already finished unloading his trolley and everything was on the table. “No, the breakfast is compliments from the boss,” he told them. “And he said to tell you to drink this first,” he added as he held two glasses holding something that looked like algae. His badge said his name was Jorge.
“What’s that Jorge?” Moira asked as she took the glass that Jorge was passing onto her.
“Hangover cure,” Sam replied.
“Well, you do have a nice boss,” Serenity said as she sat down and placed her glass down onto the table. “Okay then. Maybe I’ll try that after breakfast.” She glanced at the glass again and shuddered. No sane person would ever want to sip that, let alone drink it.
“No ma’am. I’m afraid you have to drink that before eating anything else. The boss insisted I wait and make sure you drink the whole contents,” Jorge replied. He too looked at the glass and seemed to feel sorry for them.
Except for Sam who was smirking and when he looked at them both was grinning from ear to ear. “You better follow the orders from my nice boss. After all he gave you this beautiful suite for the night. One of the most expensive suites I might add. If we didn’t have to check out soon, you girls could enjoy some time in the sauna.”
Moira just ignored Sam who was enjoying gloating at their expense. “See Jorge, your boss doesn’t have to know that we didn’t drink the concoction. We could just run it down the sink and it will be our little secret.”
“I hate to burst your little bubble,” Sam said with no hint of being sorry at all. Infact he was grinning from ear to ear. “But he’s not only Jorge’s boss, he is my boss too. And I have no intention of keeping this little secret. So drink up ladies.”
Moira looked at Jorge who seemed relieved that Sam had stepped in. Poor guy. If she weren’t lo
oking at a glass full of what looked like algae she would have laughed at the whole situation. Holding her nose, she picked up the glass and swallowed the contents. “Agh!” she said as she set the glass down. She looked at Serenity who was still eyeing the glass like it was a cobra ready to strike her. “Just drink up Serenity. It’s really not as bad as it looks, though it could use a little sugar,” she said the last with a little laugh.
Serenity looked at Moira, then Jorge, then lastly Sam. The happy grin on Sam’s face telling her he didn’t think she had the balls to drink the horrid concoction made her grab the glass and empty the contents into her mouth. Like Moira, she tried not to taste it but was glad when the glass was empty. “There, you can go report back to your boss.”
With a look of relief Jorge smiled at them and told them to ring room service if they needed anything else. “Would you like me to bring an extra cup and plate for you sir?” Jorge asked addressing Sam.
“No thanks. I’ll use one of the cups already in the suite.”
“Wait,” Moira said when Jorge opened the door. She grabbed her purse from the coffee table and took out some bills.
“No, ma’am. It’s taken care of,” he replied.
The three of them sat down and lifted the lids covering the various dishes on the table. There was enough food to feed five or six people. Sam’s boss, Lucas, really knew how to go all out. There were plates filled with eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, fruit – pineapple, strawberries, grapes, apple slices, water melons, mango and peach. Another plate revealed toast, croissants and bagels. This guy seriously knew how to feed an army. There was no way the three of them would make a dent into all of this food.
After a few minutes Moira realized she was no longer hearing the little hammers in her head. Since she hadn’t even sipped her coffee yet, she realized whatever Lucas had prescribed worked wonders. Maybe she would ask the chef for the recipe in case she ever needed it, not that she planned on ever getting drunk, ever again. She would stick to her usual not more than four max and call it a night.
They ate in silence which was welcome as Moira was dreading the ‘talk’ with Sam. Moira poured her second cup of coffee and slowed down. Whether it was hunger or the hangover, she wasn’t sure which, but she had made a huge dent into her breakfast. She looked over at Serenity who was eating her breakfast as if it was her only meal of the day. Sam usually had a big appetite, no surprise there, but he seemed to be on some kind of marathon. She giggled and they both looked at her.
“What?” She asked and giggled again. “I’m just surprised at how much of the food we have eaten.” They both looked and laughed too.
“Well, I guess I was hungrier than I thought. I was going to take you out for breakfast, but I guess Lucas beat me to it. And way better breakfast too,” Sam said pouring another cup of coffee.
“Don’t you usually eat here?” Serenity asked.
“When I am over here, yes I do. But it’s always on the run and I don’t think I have ever had breakfast here. Maybe lunch or dinner,” he said. “Besides, if I did eat breakfast, I would probably just want a bagel and coffee. Nothing this fancy.”
Serenity’s phone started buzzing and she stood up to answer the call. Her face lit up and Moira knew it was her boyfriend, George. She didn’t stay long on the phone. Apparently George was hanging out with the boys, but had just called to check in. Isn’t that sweet? Moira asked herself. She was happy for her friend Serenity but kept asking herself if she would ever meet a guy who would be that sweet to her. With men like Conrad on the lose, maybe never.
One minute she was reflecting on life, the next Sam was reading them the riot act. Getting drunk in a bar full of men was an invitation to getting raped, gang raped even. They didn’t tell him that they felt safe enough because they knew he was around and would look out for them. That would have just been like adding dry wood to a blazing fire. When Sam was angry, thankfully not often at her, he so much remined her of both her dad and his dad. It was times like these that she saw how seriously he took to his promise to always be looking out for her. A promise he had made when he was a teenager, knowing how dangerous their dad’s jobs were, always fighting fires.
Sam was surprised when Moira stood up and hugged him and simply said, “I’m sorry. That was irresponsible. Won’t happen again.”
“Mee too,” Serenity said as she kissed his cheek.
Moira usually fought back. And now at a loss he simply decided to take her at her word and call it a day. A good thing he had been around and had made sure the other bouncers in the club kept a look out or them both. Miami was a dangerous place, with girls disappering lurred by fame and fortune by the shady characters, mostly those who preyed on innocent and pretty girls.
“Let’s go,” Sam said to them. “I need to run by the office real quick and then we can go home.”
They collected their purses and put on their shoes. Hopefully they didn’t meet anyone because it looked like they were hookers who had spent the night and where now on their way home. Talk about embarrassing. Moira and Serenity sat in the hotel lobby while Sam took the elevator to his office. They tried to take seats that were hidden from the hotel guests coming and going on a Sunday that should have been slow but seemed to have an obscene amount of traffic.
Moira saw him first. Her heart started beating, more like thumping rapidly. She tried to hide behind the potted plant that obscured the front desk, but unfortunately the man coming over seemed to have already seen them and was coming to them with a purpose. She had no time to warn Serenity as he descended upon them and greeted them. “Ladies, I trust you had a good night?”
“Lucas, hi. Ummm. Yes, thank you.” And thank God for small favors that he was alone.
“Yes, thanks for the use of the room. And breakfast too,” Serenity added.
“My pleasure. So I guess Sam is ready to take you home?” he asked.
Moira told him he had just run to his office for something, then proceeded to apologize for last night. Between her and Serenity they fumbled through their apologies, not even sure what some of the things they had said were, but hoping their various apologies covered everything. There was a lot of laughter when he reminded them about the menage and the condoms and as they thought they were done, a shadow appeared.
Moira looked up and groaned. Unfortunately for Moira, Serenity grinned. Didn’t she have any shame. Maybe their degrees of shame between them varied. Lucas laughed and Conrad just smiled. “Morning ladies,” he said smiling. Seriously? They had just gone through several minutes of wading through some colorful never to be repeated acts and words from the night before and now they had to go over it again. In broad daylight. Sober too. Now Moira understood why some people got drunk. If she had a few of them, she would manage to wade through the second apology fast and without any shame. Booze certainly did set you free.
Moira mumbled back a greeting and looked at the floor. She began to study the design of the tiles on the floor as if she were an art student studying for an exam.
She heard Serenity give a response as if she were the captain of the cheerleading team. What the...? Did she just hear Serenity ask for an introduction? Yes, because the next she heard was her explaining how we were never properly introduced last night. And asked that Conrad wouldn’t hold anything against them. At least Moira agreed with that last statement.
“Conrad King, as in King Intermational?” she heard Serenity ask. She liftted her head and gave her friend the look, but Serenity refused to look at her and if she didn’t know any better, she would have thought that her friend was flirting with the two men.
“Small world. You know, my friend here,” she said and pointed at her. “Her name is Moira. She works for Ford Kitchens and just started recently working in your cafeteria. She makes the most amazing pastries and desserts. You should try some.”
Moira just gaped at Serenity, wondering what had come over her. Gone was the friend who had been ashamed of last night and was now acting like a born again
marketing executive. It would have made sense if she were marketing her to Lucas, but it seemed she was marketing her to Conrad. More like selling her. Or better yet, pimping her.
Embarrassing didn’t begin to describe it. Moira had to get away and permanently shut Serenity, hopefully without killing her, in front of witnesses for that matter.
She cleared her throat and they all looked at her. “Sorry, I think we need to go.”
“Sam’s not here yet.”
Great. Forgot about Sam. “Actually he is, there, just getting off that elevator. Lucas, Conrad, it’s been a pleasure. Take care,” Moira said then grabbed Serenity to pull her away. When she realized she had forgotten her purse she turned around and grabbed it off the chair she had been sitting on earlier. In her hurry she forgot that it was open until she heard items fall out. Everybody stood still as they looked at the condoms that lay at their feet. Serenity giggled and she would have joined in except for the embarrassment she was feeling right about now. The glowing condoms. Oh God! Moira grabbed her phone that had also fallen and rushed to the bathroom.
A few minutes later Serenity joined her laughing and sobbing at the same time.
“Oh God! Serenity. How am I ever going to look at their faces ever again? I think I may need to ask Stu to move me to another company. It seems like last night wasn’t enough. At least then we were drunk. Today? Those condoms?”
Serenity dropped the condoms in front of her. She quickly stashed them in her purse when she heard the door opening and an older lady came in. They sat on the sofa in the corner of he bathroom buying some time. Finally Moira laughed and the tension left her body as Serenity joined in the laughter.
“I think this has been the best weekend ever. I may have to come back sooner than I thought.”
“Not until this whole thing dies down and everybody has forgotten.” They left the bathroom when they thought the coast was clear. They met Sam and walked outside with him. He was on the phone and whatever he was discussing seemed to be pretty serious. Moira stood there thinking they would see Sam’s car being driven by one of the valet attendants. Fortunately her coat covered what little of her dress there was, not that Serenity was any better in what she was wearing underneath her coat. The day was slightly warm, which made it kind of silly to be wearing a coat and Moira just wanted to jump into Sam’s car and be home, take a shower and put on more comfortable clothes.