Chapter 28
The Hotel
Chapter Theme Song: Safety Net by Ariana Grande
[Iris’s POV]
Immediately, I tried to hide my panic as I stared wide-eyed into his face that was marred by suspicion. I was about to make up an excuse to cover that idiot’s phone call but he beat me to it.
“Are you completely lacking in etiquette, Miss Young? How long does it take to answer one phone call?”
Relieved that he hadn’t overheard my conversation, I exhaled a deep breath. Smiling at him, I replied, “I am very sorry about that, Mr. President. It was an urgent call that needed my attention. Did you wrap up the meeting?”
He hummed in agreement as he glanced down at his watch. He did that often. It wasn’t all that surprising to me though, he seemed to be a creature of habit and you would have to be to run a place like this.
“Miss Young, at seven this evening we will leave for the hotel. I’ll pick you up from your apartment about a half hour before that. Feel free to leave work early today so you can prepare for the trip.”
Not giving me time to respond, he brushed past me and headed toward the office. Sighing as I switched my phone to silent, I trailed off after him.
The rest of the day we spent working at Eden International Limited. I had always heard of how successful this company was and, now that I was on the front lines, I personally witnessed how hard this man worked. He was strict with his employees and made sure that they all stayed on task, but it made sense. This was a multinational company with large amount of money constantly being shuffled around. One mistake could bring a halt to many ongoing projects.
As we went around the different departments, he introduced me to the staff. They all seemed pretty shocked at seeing me. At this point, I was getting use to this reaction. Getting back to my desk, I busied myself with arranging the president’s schedule and completing the tasks that Mr. Scott had assigned. Before I knew it, evening approached and everyone was leaving work in high spirits. I gathered my things and hurried home as I still had to get ready for the weekend.
Back at my apartment, I nervously stared at the outfits that I had laid out on the bed. Somewhat satisfied at what I chose, I stuffed the outfits into my suitcase. After that was done, I put on a black shirt with a pair of skinny jeans. I didn’t know how long we would be travelling for and I wanted to be as comfortable as possible. Grabbing my jacket out of the closet, I picked up my suitcase and quickly headed outside.
Coming out of my apartment building, I saw the Maybach waiting for me. The driver quickly got out of the car, took my bag and gestured for me to get in the car. Instinctively, I sat in the front passenger seat. Just as I was about to fasten my seat belt, I saw that the driver had reopened my door. I glanced back at the president through the rearview and saw his vacant expression.
“Sit back here with me, Miss Young. That spot is reserved for the guards.”
I nodded my head slightly and immediately complied with his order. Settling down in the back, I made sure to keep a safe distance so that I wouldn’t crowd him. As I looked out the window, I noticed that there were no extra company cars around.
Still scanning the area, I asked, “Where are the others?”
“What others? Are you missing someone?”
I was more than a little taken aback by his harsh reply. Staring at him in disbelief, I answered flatly, “I was under the impression that everyone was traveling together. That’s all, sir.”
Not looking at me, he shrugged. “They already left. I guess they couldn’t wait to be surrounded by the escorts I hired.”
“Well, thank you for putting it so bluntly,” I thought as I wrinkled my nose in disgust. Scooting closer to my door, I increased the space between us and I noticed the hint of displeasure in his eyes. What did I do now?
Pulling onto the freeway, we sat in silence. The ride, as always, was quiet and boring. I let out an involuntary yawn and mumbled an apology. He kept sitting there in his rigid posture which reminded me of an overlord who would slap you if breathed without permission. Ignoring him completely, I kept my focus outside of my window.
Finally, after three hours, we arrived. I was tired of all the travelling that I had been doing for the past couple of weeks. All I wanted to do this weekend was sit around in my apartment while wearing my pajamas! Why was that proving to be so hard since I accepted this mission? I cast the president a hateful glare. It’s all his fault.
However, as I excited the car, my eyes sparkled in delight as I saw the beautiful place before me. “Whoa,” I involuntary said. My gaze took in the ten story hotel, which sparkled against the night sky. In front of the entrance sat an enormous three tier fountain, which was filled with different colored water lilies. Various trees were strung with twinkling lights, giving the location an overall fairy tale look.
As I stood there absorbing my surroundings, I totally forgot about the man behind me. A cold gust of wind brushed against my body and I reflexively rubbed my arms. Unexpectedly, I felt a jacket being thrown over my body. I jolted at the sudden action and twisted around to see the president shoving his hands into his pockets.
“ You forgot your jacket in the car.”
Shocked, I blurted, “Oh! Yes, t-thank you.”
Not answering me, I stood there a tad disappointed. Wait, why was I disappointed? Before I could think of anything else to say, I heard a raspy voice coming up from behind us.
“Oh, Xavier! This place is an absolute dreamland. Finally, you have done something to give pleasure to these poor over-worked souls,” Mr. Brighton said as he nodded toward the group of employees.
I glanced over and saw that everyone was wearing their casual clothes. They looked a lot more welcoming when they were relaxed. Well, they deserved a break. I saw firsthand at how hard they all worked. Feeling Mr. Brighton shift his gaze down toward me, I immediately became uncomfortable. I looked up at him and saw him unabashedly undressing me with his eyes. Smiling sweetly at me, he said, “Oh, your secretary has arrived too. We will have so much fun—” He stopped short as he met the president’s cold glare and cleared his throat. “Together, I mean. We all will have fun together. Let's head inside the motel Xavier.”
The president nodded as he grabbed my arm and brushed past the gross old man. Mr. Brighton seemed embarrassed because he didn’t join us. Instead, I saw him walk over to the small group of men that I had seen at this morning’s meeting. From time to time, I felt his hungry gaze on me and I rubbed my temples as I felt a headache approaching. After a few more minutes of greeting each other, we all proceeded to go inside to get our room keys.
Walking down the hallway, the president briefly explained that I wouldn’t have to worry about my meals and that I would be dining with the company. I thanked him for his generosity as we stopped in front of my door. Taking out my key, I glanced over and saw him walk into the room right next to mine with a smirk on his face.
Letting out a sigh of frustration, I pushed my door open and thought, “Whatever, I just want to lie down for a minute.”