Hotel O

Neither of us dare to speak despite our mouths being unhinged. I know whatever words come from my mouth have to be good or he won’t believe them. But the same goes for him. I need explanations. A reason for this madness. And I definitely need to know more.

“What the hell are you doing here?” he asks through gritted teeth.

I casually lean back and place my hands on his desk. “Enjoying the show.”

“That’s not what I asked,” he growls, marching toward me.

“Actually, it is.” I know I’m being snarky, but I can’t help myself when he gives me that look.

“Don’t. Lie. To. Me.” He’s practically in my face right now. But I’m not scared.

“It’s not a lie,” I reply.

His lip twitches, and I wonder what he’s thinking. If he has as many questions as I do. If he feels caught in the act.

“Bullshit,” he says. “You came here to spy on me. Why?”

“Spy?” I say, narrowing my eyes.

He grabs my arms. “What are you hiding?”

“Nothing,” I say, frowning.

“Who do you work for?”

He seems out of his mind.

“It’s none of your business,” I reply.

His grip grows tighter as every second passes. “The moment you walked into my hotel, you made it my business.”

“So it’s your hotel now?”

“Don’t play semantics with me,” he growls. “You knew what you were getting yourself into when you walked through that door.”

“Why would I come in the first place if I knew what kind of sex show you guys were putting on?”

“Oh … oh-ho-ho.” He laughs. Hard. And loud. “Don’t pretend you don’t love the kink.”

“I didn’t—”

“Stop lying,” he says, pushing me further against the desk. “I’m done with your games.”

“Let go of me,” I say.

“No, not until you tell me who sent you.”

“What?” I make a face. Has he lost his mind? “No one sent me.”

“Lies. Who was it … Davies from across the street? The national gossip paper? The cops?”

“No one,” I repeat. I don’t know what he wants me to tell him. “I came here because I wanted to know what you were doing.”

“Right … and you know everything now,” he sneers.

“Because you wouldn’t tell me,” I say.

“No … of course not. Look at what happened,” he says.

“Nothing would’ve happened if you’d just explained what you do here at this hotel.”

He narrows his eyes. “Oh, and you think I’m just going to tell you? Do you think I’m stupid?”

“No, I think you find it hard to trust people. And that’s okay,” I reply.

There’s a momentary pause, a silence that thickens in the air, causing us both to choke up.

“Can I even trust you?” he asks, his lip curling up.

I nod. I don’t think I can gather the words. It’s hard. So hard …

Because all I want to do right now is go back home, sit down behind my laptop, and write that motherfucking story like my life depends on it. But I can’t. At least, not right now with him breathing down my neck like a certified dragon.

He’s pissed off, and rightfully so, but I can’t turn back time. I made this choice for a reason.

He sighs and shakes his head, releasing my arm. Instead, he places his hand on the desk behind me. “You play a dangerous game, Kat.”

“I guess it’s what I like.” I lean forward, using my boobs as leverage.

I know it’s wrong, but I also know I don’t want to get into trouble. Especially not with him. I’d rather keep him on my good side. Whatever that means right now.

“What were you thinking?” he says. His voice still sounds strained, but less than before.

“I just wanted to see. That’s all.”

“You were curious. I get it. But you should’ve come to me,” he says.

“I did. Several times. You ignored me,” I reply.

“For good reasons. This company lives and survives on discretion.”

“I can be discreet,” I say.

“Right,” he scoffs.

I eye him up and down. “What?”

“Like this?” He grabs the bottom piece of the short outfit I’m wearing and waves it around as though it’s a bunch of leaves. It’s truly whimsical, but it makes sense in the setting.

But I am well aware of how it looks … and how naked I feel right now.

“Your people made me wear this,” I reply, feeling my face warm just from the thought of him seeing all of me. And when his eyes actually roll down, my whole body tingles.

“These are for the girls we hire,” he says. “And you aren’t one of them. How did you get in?”

“Easy.” I shrug. “I followed the crowd, pretended I belonged to one of your customers, and presto.”

He frowns. “I’ll need to have a tough conversation with my guards.”

I smirk. “Sounds like it.”

“Don’t think I’m letting you off the hook,” he says. “What you did was wrong.”

“Oh … are you going to have me arrested?” I jest, jokingly poking him, but he doesn’t even flinch.