by Sienna Grant
I plucked my phone from my pocket and opened the screen, it was Gavin, my best friend, answering my earlier message:
Dude. No way! Paisley Kennedy? She was in our year at school. Check out her Facebook page. Don’t you remember her? Dude, her and her friend had the biggest crush on you! I gotta see this. – Gav.
I didn’t remember it that way but, fuck it. Opening my app, I typed her name and after scrolling through the different Paisley Kennedy’s on there, I finally found her. Clicking the right profile name, there she was. The geeky kid in glasses stared back at me, the girl we made fun of because she wore glasses and the worst clothes. The nerd that preferred her books to the guys. She always had her fucking nose in a book and look at her now. Those books must have done something because she’s fucking gorgeous.
Yeah, I thought to myself, look at her now and she fucking works for me.
Well, wasn’t this going to be fun.
When I heard Paisley saying goodbye. I knew that was the sign I needed to go back out there.
“Nikki.” I called out, closing the door of my bedroom. “Have you got Paisley’s paperwork?”
Her eyebrow cocked and she stared at me. With a glance, she nodded and flicked through her shit. Once she’d gathered it all together, she handed it over.
“Can I ask why? You don’t usually take notice of your employees.”
She placed a hand on her hip and her eyebrows met in the middle. She knew I was up to something.
“Just wanted to have a look. You know, make sure you’re doing your job…” I smirked. I didn’t need her to know that I was looking up her history and finding her number. I never got into the paperwork and didn’t need to.
She flicked her middle finger up at me.
“Cheeky fucker.”
“I love this working relationship.”
I felt triumphant and laughed when I heard a knock at my suite door. I looked over and saw Rhys, my head of security, already looking through the peephole. He turned back to me and gave me a nod. Nobody got through that door without Rhys’s approval, the man was a tank. Bulging arms and a towering frame, he’d make any man piss himself.
I propped my shoulder against the door and waited. Gavin waltzed through like he owned the place.
“Oh, fantastic.” Nikki said as she rolled her eyes. “It’s the double act. Let me know when the trash has taken himself out, I’ll be downstairs in the bar.”
“Good to see you too, Nik. As always, you look good enough to eat.” Gavin’s eyes roamed over her tiny frame, and he licked his lips for emphasis. I swear he did it to wind her up.
Screwing her face up at him, she gathered all her paperwork together and, shoving it under one arm, she made her way past us. She lifted her middle finger until it was in Gavin’s face.
“Eat this, arsehole.”
He stepped forward until he was standing over her, her finger dangerously close to his lips.
“If you insist…” The tip of his tongue snuck between his lips and licked the tip of her finger.
“Ugh, you’re revolting.” She wiped her finger on his t-shirt and stomped away towards the door.
“Love you too, sweet cheeks.” Rhys opened the door for her, and she disappeared through it.
“Fucking hell, Gav.” I laughed. I knew I shouldn’t, but I couldn’t help it. “It didn’t take you long to get here.”
He flopped down onto the couch and watched me.
“What?”
“So, tell me… Paisley Kennedy. Is she still a geek?”
“Dude. A geek, she is not.” Talking of geeks, it sounded like I was channelling my inner Yoda. “She is fucking hot, mate.”
He stared at me like I’d grown another head. “Fuck off. I’m not having that. I don’t believe ya.”
“Don’t believe me then, but believe me when I say that I had to have a second look as she walked through the door. I knew the name, but she looked that different, I couldn’t place her.”
“The next time she’s here, message me; I need to see this.”
“You’ll be as shocked as I was.”
“I doubt it.” Gav grumbled, sounding sceptical.
I flicked on the TV and Gav got himself comfy on my couch. I picked up the paperwork I had from Nikki and flicked through to the piece of paper I needed. Once I’d found her number, I punched it into my phone and saved it with her name and put the rest away. I didn’t need to see it. Nikki would’ve made sure she’s the right fit for the job. She’s the bulldog, not me.
For the next few hours, Gav and I joked around and laughed together. Although Nikki wasn’t too happy when she came back and saw him still there. She made her feelings quite clear with a loud sigh.
“Where have you been?” I inquired. There’s no way you can spend that much time in a hotel bar without getting completely shitfaced. She’d been gone at least two hours.
“I enjoyed the peace and quiet downstairs and got some work done. Trying to get you some work.”
“I’m bored man. Let’s go out.”
“Gav, it’s like three p.m.” I stated.
“Yeah, and…” a frown creased his brow, “we can hit some pubs first and maybe grab a burger. There’s a new club opened in town and you got us some VIP passes.”
“I did, did I?” I lifted an eyebrow.
“Yep, now get changed, we’re going out.”
I sighed and Nikki looked at me. This wasn’t the first time Gav had done this. If it’s not a club we ended up at, it was a casino. “Fine. Help yourself to a drink, while I get ready.”
I disappeared into the bedroom and stripped out of the clothes I was wearing and prepared to get ready. First though, I needed to do something. I picked up my phone, opened my contact list and scrolled to her name before punching out a text:
Be at the hotel for 8 in the morning.
I threw my phone down on the bed with a smile tugging at my lips. I washed and pulled on some black jeans and a dark blue shirt. I rubbed some wax into my short, dark hair, and splashed some Boss aftershave around my face. I glanced into the mirror, looked into my chocolate brown eyes and smirked. I slid my phone and wallet into my pockets and slipped my feet into my black Vans and headed out to Gavin.
Chapter Five
By the time I walked into my apartment that night, my head was buzzing. I was scared, I was excited, but I was also nervous.
He’d strode away with confidence. A confidence I could only have ever dreamed of. It’s nothing new, he’d always had that. His self-assurance was what got him through school and the career he has now.
I dropped my bag and sunk into the couch. My head fell back until it was against the cushion and I closed my eyes. They were stinging and I knew why… I dragged myself back up from the couch and went to the bathroom. Pulling my bottom eyelid down a little and with the fleshy part of my finger, I flattened it out and very lightly pressed it against my contact lens and took it out. It wasn’t often I left my glasses off and wore contacts, but I knew today I just had to. I repeated the action for the other one and as my eyes watered, I wiped the moisture from them and blinked a few times. I dropped the lenses into some solution and grabbed my glasses from the bedroom.
Without my contacts in, my eyes felt better instantly. The photo of me in my school uniform sitting on my bedside table, caught my eye. Seeing that geek looking back at me, made me remember why I opted for contacts in the first place. I’m sure Roman would’ve known who I was if I’d had my glasses on. If he looked at my credentials in the first place, he’d have known right away that we’d gone to the same school. That we were the same age, and we shared the same year group, but obviously that’s a job out of his domain.
Once I was out of my suit, I dressed in some joggers and rolled the cuffs at the bottom up and threw on a vest top. Just as I entered the kitchen to make coffee, Lesley walked in and sidled up to my side.
“So…?” She asked softly from behind me.
“So?” I answered as I turned my head to th
e side and smirked.
“So… Roman.” Her high-pitched squeal reverberated through my ear drum as she screeched. “Please tell me he’s got worse with age, has a beer belly, and he smokes fifty a day. Just so I can picture him looking like my dad and then my crush will be over.”
“Les, he’s twenty-three, our age, what do you expect?”
Holding her hands out at her side, her eyebrow lifted, “Just fucking humour me at least…”
Shaking my head, I smirked and indulged in her little fantasy.
“He’s much worse…” my eyes widened for dramatic effect. “He’s a total slob.”
I shrugged but chuckled at my own brand of bullshit. That man was hotter than Hades, but I was making a vow that I would not let him get to me. “But honestly, he seems like he’s a dick, but then nothing changes there does it — he’s always been one, just a bigger one.”
“Do you think I don’t see what you’re doing? Ever since we were at school, he was always on your radar, even if you weren’t on his. I know you Paisley Kennedy, you can’t hide shit from me.” She gave me a tight smile and leaned on the kitchen counter at the side of me. “And who wouldn’t, he was fit then and he’s fitter than fuck now.”
Grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl, I bit into it and crunched my way through it, while I looked for my phone.
“Can you see my phone?”
“Why, do you have naked pics already? If you do, I want to see.”
“You are insatiable.”
“You’ve always known this; it shouldn’t surprise you at all.”
After a quick glance around my kitchen and coming up empty, I headed through to my bedroom and found it on my bed. I tapped the screen to see if there’s anything important and apart from a few notifications on my home screen, there’s a message sitting there screaming at me to be opened.
UNKNOWN NUMBER: Be at the hotel for 8 in the morning.
I knew exactly who this was. I had Nikki’s number saved and there was no-one else who it could be.
Rather than open the message, I unlocked my screen and scrolled through my Facebook notifications first to see I had a friend request waiting to be accepted.
Roman Dean wants to be your friend.
Yeah, I bet he does… and now he knows who I am.
My finger hovered over the accept button, but I left it for now. A strange tingling began in my stomach, but I put it down to lack of food, because I knew they weren’t butterflies.
Yeah, you keep telling yourself that, Paisley.
Berating myself again, I clicked on the message to reply but play dumb.
Hello. Who is this?
With my phone held firmly in my palm, I headed back to the kitchen, it dings with a message. I took another bite of my apple, held it between my teeth and grabbed a can of Pepsi max from the fridge. Turning over my phone, I rolled my eyes when I saw his reply.
Good joke. Everyone knows who I am. Your boss. While you’re on your phone, accept my friend request, I hate being left hanging.
I shook my head at his words and replied.
I’m not sure I want to be friends on Facebook with my boss.
See you in the morning, Mr Dean.
I ate the rest of my apple and threw the core in the bin, before waltzing into the living room, back to Lesley, dropping down at the side of her.
“Shall we order pizza and watch a movie?” I asked as I turned my head.
“Oh girl, you are totally on my wavelength.”
“I’ll order pizza, you choose the film.” I delegated to her.
“Deal.”
I definitely had the easier end of the bargain, getting Lesley to choose a film to watch was like trying to get her to choose between two of her favourite slices of cake. Takes forever and by the time she’s chosen, it’s gone stale.
Chapter Six
I wandered into the Waldorf and took the lift to the penthouse. Knocking on the door of the suite, I waited for the door to open and looked around me. The soft, muted colours relaxed me, and the stress I’d felt all morning about working alongside Roman Dean, drifted from me. I rolled my neck just as the door opened and, craning my neck back, my mouth formed an ‘O’ as it gaped open. I looked at the huge beefy man that stood before me. He wasn’t just huge; he was a fucking mountain. He practically filled the gap of the doorway.
“H... hey.” I whispered as I took my badge in my hand and lifted it up, seeing as I seemed to have lost the ability to actually speak. He lifted his chin, a serious expression sitting on his face.
“You got appointment?”
“Y... yes. I mean no.”
I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole.
“I’m Roman’s new publicist?”
My eyes rolled. I had no idea why I’d posed it as a question, I mean why the fuck would he know the answer. My head shook and internally I was calling myself all the idiots under the sun. Just then, Nikki’s red head popped around his large body.
“Paisley.” Nikki called out with a smile. “It’s okay Rhys, stand down, big man,” She patted his arm. “She’s not going to hold us all to ransom.”
Nikki reached around him and grabbed my hand. I pointed a tight grin at the giant I now knew as Rhys and squeezed through the tiny gap between him and the door frame and followed Nikki.
“I don’t know about that. It depends on what she remembers from school.”
His deep voice from the other side of the room sent a thrill through me, it was rough and sounded like he’d just gotten up. I didn’t want to think about him at school. Doing that took me back to when I was insecure and had no confidence in myself. Other than a few self-esteem issues, I wasn’t that person anymore.
Obviously, after I left yesterday, he’d looked at all my paperwork, that’d be how he got my number.
“Morning, Paisley.”
Shaking myself off, I straightened my stature and gave him my best smile as I walked further into the room.
“Good morning,”
“Is it?”
I stopped dead in my tracks and nearly died on the spot when I found him staring at me. My mouth dried as he leaned against the wall, with his cup in his hand and no shirt on. His chest was smooth and lightly tanned, that must be a sunbed tan because, hello, we’re in England. I blinked and retorted back to him.
“Well, the sun is shining and we’re breathing, so yeah, it is good.”
“I don’t remember you being that smart mouthed back at school.”
You’d know how smart my mouth was if you’d have even said hello to me at school. I wanted to reply but I knew I shouldn’t. I wouldn’t. Pushing from the wall, he stalked towards me until he stood in front of me.
“Coffee?”
A waft of his scent drifted up my nose, no-one should smell that good.
“Ple-ease.” My voice cracked.
A smirk tugged at his lips and he turned away. The breath left my lungs. I thought I was going to blow up like a balloon, holding all that air in. As he turned around, I caught sight of his arse in his joggers. It looked amazing as they sat low on his hips, his slim torso narrowed towards his waist, putting all kinds of images in my head about that holy grail us girls loved so much. Closing my eyes and shaking my head, I knew I had to get a hold of myself. I couldn’t work for him and do my job like this. I was either going to have to suck up whatever was bugging me or tell Mr Brantley to assign someone else — and there was no way that was happening. This was an amazing opportunity, even I could see that. Lifting my chin, I walked over to the dining table and placed down my bag.
“If you’ll excuse me a sec.”
I felt his gaze burning a hole into my back, as I made my way to the bathroom. I didn’t look back or even falter in my heels. I was so proud of myself. Locking the door, I turned around and placed my hands flat against the cabinet and stood in front of the mirror.
“Get a fucking grip, Paisley.” I cursed myself in a whisper.
The last thing I needed was Roman Dea
n thinking I talked to myself. The expanse of the bathroom reflected in the mirror; I was amazed at how beautiful it was. It was decorated in beige tones and white, the tiles sparkled back at me. Even though I hadn’t used the toilet, I flushed it anyway. Roman didn’t need to know that I’d used it as an escape. I quickly rinsed my hands beneath the running water to keep up my little facade and dried them on the white fluffy towel. When I went back out there, Roman and Nikki’s heads were together like they were planning.
“Sorry about that.” I spoke up to get their attention and let them both know that I was back.
Roman slowly turned and faced me with a cup in his hand, he sauntered over until he stood in front of me.
“Here you go.”
“Thanks.” I took the cup from him with a small, appreciative smile and turned away to get some work done.
I placed my cup and laptop on the table in the dining area of the suite, switched it on and waited for it to load. I looked around. I couldn’t believe how big this place was. It was decorated in muted, subtle tones and the bedroom and bathroom were off the main room. There was a small area with a coffee machine and cups but nothing more.
As my Mac powered on, I took the seat and clicked on Word to start typing up some notes. I could hear Roman and Nikki whispering from behind me, and I really wanted to remind them both that it was rude to whisper but I kept my thoughts to myself.
It sounded like they were having some kind of conflict as they whisper shouted and before I realised, Nikki took a seat at the side of me and smiled. Not saying a word, I smiled back and carried on with the notes I was making until I heard Roman huff as he sat down on the couch. I looked to the side and caught the glance he made at me from the corner of my eye and I moved my gaze to his. He smirked and started scrolling through his phone, lounging back against the cushions as he threw his feet up on the coffee table in front of him.