Around the World in 80 Men Series: Books 11-20 (60 page)

She shook the negative
thought, then grabbed her phone again, finding her list of music. It
was the same list of music she'd put on Sean's iPod and it was
perfect to set the mood for the perfect evening she had planned.
Morgan turned the volume up as high as it would go and sang along to
every song, just as she'd done that night at the pub as she soaked in
the tub.

Chapter Four

Kai read the text again that
Julianne had sent him the night before. He was to meet Morgan at the
south end of Esplanade Park, and Julianne had also sent a photo of
the beautiful girl-something that she normally didn't do-just in case
the park happened to be busy at the time. There was no chance of
that, however, as the temperature had dropped far too low for any
normal person to frolic in the park that day.

He had paced in front of the
stone bench for nearly thirty minutes, hoping that Morgan would show
up early. It was obvious that he didn't know her, because Morgan
would never be accused of running early to any event. As he waited,
he checked his phone several times, something that he did throughout
the day and night, and answered all incoming business related
messages and calls. His business was something that would never be
put on hold, and he was at least grateful for the spare time to catch
up with his potential clients.

Morgan ran down the sidewalk to
the park that she suggested to Julianne, and cursed her high heeled
boots with each step. They were actually quite comfortable, but
certainly not meant for running under any conditions.
I still
have three minutes, slow down!
Her legs were happy to obey, and
Morgan walked quickly toward the man that she knew was her client.
Still out of breath, she tapped him on the shoulder and waited for
him to turn around.

“You're late,” Kai
turned around, staring at his watch that had just passed ten o'clock
by seconds.

“Oh, uhm...”
I
still have one minute.
“Sorry?” Morgan shrugged her
shoulders, hoping her apology was sarcastic enough for him to notice
she wasn't actually remorseful.

“I'm only kidding with
you, breathe,” he put his hand on her shoulder to turn her
around, and started walking forward. Morgan laughed nervously and
clicked her boots across the ground quickly to catch up.

“It's hard to breathe,
it's so cold!” She rubbed her arms, hoping to work out the
goosebumps that had risen all over her body.
I swear, next place I
go, it must be above zero degrees. I'll settle for double fucking
digits right now.

“You'd get used to
it,” he told her then grabbed her hand to guide her across the
street. Morgan felt like an old woman being escorted by a boy trying
to earn his good merit badge. When they were on the other side,
Morgan realized he was taking her to the same pub she'd spent the
evening in the night before.

“Well, I hope you have a
fireplace in your home,” Morgan told him as he held the door
open for her. “Or ten of them. Ten is good.” The girl was
finally over her depression and was on her way to self-discovery.
What she'd recently discovered was that it was much easier to be
happy, and at that moment, she couldn't be happier. She couldn't
pinpoint exactly what had changed, but she felt different and was
more than ready to be herself again.

He didn't answer her, but went
right up to the bar and ordered them both a glass of wine.
Okay,
he's a gentleman...but also a take charge kind of man.
When the
wine was poured and set down on the counter, Morgan realized his
taking charge had led to a full glass of red wine. She thought she
could be nice and try to stomach it, but when he handed her the
glass, even the smell repulsed her. Morgan took a look at the man to
make sure he wasn't looking, then held the glass by the rim, down to
the side of her hip..
It's like a trough. It's a goddamn trough of
red wine!

He found the two of them
a small table against the wall, then pulled the chair out for the
girl and she slowly took her place in the wooden seat. It looked like
it was on its last leg, so she hoped it would hold out until they
left. Morgan set the larger than normal glass on the table for
inspection and made a face at the crimson liquid inside.

“Actually, we're staying
in a hotel nearby. My house is nearly two hours away and I have a
meeting with clients at the hotel, so it's easier this way.”
Morgan nodded and watched the gorgeous man take a generous sip of his
wine, then another. When she asked which hotel they'd be staying in,
he told the name and Morgan recognized it as the one across the
street from the one she was staying in.
Of course, it probably has
an extra stupid star or something.
Not that the hotel she was
staying in was bad, but she didn't need five-star accommodations for
one night. The one across the street had been much more fancy, at
least from the outside.

“My things are at the
hotel across the street, so I have to get them by noon...”
Morgan told him and he finally met her eyes. His eyes, they were
lighter than she'd remembered in the picture. Very, very light hazel
with bright shards of green speckled throughout. His strong jaw was
cleanly shaven and every short light brown hair on his head was
gelled perfectly in place. He was built thick, but it was all hidden
beneath a meticulously perfect suit. He nodded briefly, then took
another large gulp of his wine.
Nobody is going to take it from
you, Killer. I sure as hell won't.

“Excuse me,”
Kai stood from his chair and his phone rang out as he reached for it
inside of his jacket. Morgan assumed he must have felt the vibration
first, but damn, he was quick. The man walked a few feet away from
the table, looked back at Morgan, then walked even further away.

“Sheesh. It's not like I
care...” Morgan giggled at the man's private behavior. “Oh...”
She looked at his wine, which was more than half empty, then looked
at her own and got an idea.
He won't notice...
Morgan poured
some of her own wine into his glass, making hers appear as if she had
drank a bit.

When the man came back to the
table fifteen minutes later, he drank the wine back down to where it
was before she'd added hers and the girl had to hide her giggle. It
was even harder to hide the giggles the second time she did it, only
that time, she had to do it quickly when his back was turned to her.
The third time, and when she finally emptied her glass into his,
Morgan couldn't hide her laughter and had to excuse herself from the
table.

“Oh, so serious,”
she made a face in the bathroom mirror and talked through her teeth,
mocking her client. Morgan also knew that he definitely suffered
from working too hard, and she officially appointed herself as the
one person that would get him to relax. “You hired me for a
reason, so get ready for a major distraction from business.”
She blew a kiss to the mirror, and smiled as she left the ladies
room.

Her slow walk to the table,
mostly because he was on the phone again and stayed put since she
wasn't there, allowed her to size him up properly. His suit was
wildly expensive, that was obvious, and his haircut most likely cost
more than her boots. He wore a stark white shirt under the luscious
black material of his jacket, with a maroon tie that nearly screamed,
look at me.. I'm freaking fabulous!
He was a looker, and she
had seen a few smiles come forward during their moments of
conversation that weren't taken over by his phone. Morgan nodded
slightly to herself before reaching the table, because he would be an
easy one to crack.
From one work-a-holic to another, I believe
you have just met your match. Time to get you to have some fun.

Morgan returned to her
wobbly chair at the same time as Kai ended his call. She grabbed the
menu off the table and tried to find something light that would hold
her over until dinner. “I think I'll have the soup and a
salad. How about you?” She nodded toward his menu, the one
that he hadn't bothered picking up, and smiled. He shook his head
and grabbed her menu from her hands and put it down on the table.

“There's no time, I have
to meet someone for lunch, so let's get you to our room.” He
didn't stop from standing, even when Morgan's stomach announced its
disapproval.

“Alright.” She
kept her tone light, even though she wasn't happy with missing out on
the potato soup that looked beyond tempting. Morgan followed him out
to the street and stood next to the man as he hailed another cab.
When it stopped, he reached into his jacket and handed her the room
card.

“Here, I'll meet you
there after lunch.” She hesitated at first, then nodded and
took the card from his hand. It wasn't
that
big of a deal,
but she had thought that they were going together.

“Sure, see ya there.”
Once again, she kept it light and friendly, but mentally vowed to
get him to lighten up.

*****

Four o'clock that afternoon
Morgan sat in the lobby of the new hotel and waited for her meal.
She had spent the prior five hours waiting for Kai, but her hunger
had gotten the best of her and she had to find food. She ordered a
pasta dish that was loaded with shrimp, one that she hoped wouldn't
take too long to prepare. Not to mention, the screaming in her
midsection while she ordered might also have helped in pushing the
server to put the order in quickly. She wouldn't be disappointed as
her meal was brought out within minutes of ordering, and Morgan dug
in with a gusto that was usually reserved for her favorite pizza. Or
blueberry muffins.
You are so getting one hell of a tip.

“I guess you were
hungry.” Kai's voice that sounded right behind her stopped her
in mid-shovel-bite. She nodded and smiled while covering her mouth
with a napkin.

“Yes, starving!”
He took the chair across from her and smiled back.

“Sorry for my delay, I
didn't have your number or I would have called and told you.”

“No problem,” she
told him, then slid the menu across the table to her client. “Did
you eat?”

“No, but I think I'll
have what you're having. Looks good.” With that, he waved over
a waiter and told the young man his wishes. He also ordered them both
a glass of wine, but that time, Morgan spoke up.

“No, no thank you. I'm
fine with my...uhm...water.” She cleared her throat, then
managed a smile toward Kai. “So, you really work a lot?”

“Yes. I do. Wish I could
take a break once in a while, but if I did, everything would fall
apart.” Morgan curved her mouth to the side, biting on her
cheek as she did sometimes when she was deep in thought.
I'll find
a way.

“It's alright to relax
once in a while, you know?”

“No, I can't,” Kai
shook his head, then took a drink of his wine that had been delivered
to the table. Right on cue, the man's phone rang, and like he'd done
at the pub, he disappeared to the other side of the lounge.

Seriously? Can't these
people say everything they need to say in one phone call?
Morgan
shook her own head, but knew she'd find a way to get the man to turn
his phone off before the night was over. She got back to digging into
her pasta and it was nearly finished before her client returned to
the table. By that point, his food had also arrived and was halfway
down the road of “return this because it's cold”, but to
her surprise, he didn't return it. He gave it a little stir when he
sat down, then addressed Morgan. “I really do apologize for the
calls, but I'm afraid it's only going to get worse throughout the
week.”

Morgan asked him what he meant
and the man was happy to tell her. She saw a certain pride in him,
the same kind of pride she remembered seeing in Dante when he'd
spoken about work. His smiles came out more often and his eyes got
this sparkle to them. Their conversation about his job continued all
the way through the course of their meal, and even up the elevator to
their room.

Kai explained that he took in
failing businesses, fixed them sort to speak, and resold them. He
also invested in property, very large properties in very appealing
areas and sold them as well. Not that Morgan knew much about
gambling, but as he'd told her about his job, that's what she had
imagined. It was always like taking a big chance. He'd buy an area,
knowing a big business wanted to pop up shop there and they'd pay him
off...then, if the business began falling, he'd take over and resell
it. It was a win-win. Not that every time he bought property a huge
corporation would buy it, and there were certainly businesses that
thrived, but it paid well.

He was about to collect his
winnings from his most recent investment, the one he was in Helsinki
for. He'd bought a large lot in the middle of the city and was
selling it for nearly double to a bank that wanted to go up.

“We always have our
meetings here though, it's the halfway point for my clients and
myself, but this one worked out conveniently,” he finished up
his thoughts as they walked into the room.

“I'd say it did,”
Morgan smiled, then bent over to remove the boots that had ached her
since running that morning.
He sure does like to talk.
She
continued smiling as she walked toward the bed where Kai was already
laid out comfortably.