Page 6 of Sex, Lust & Lingerie

CHAPTER 4

Jaime

I’d managed to stave Gloria off with my lame excuse of another client, but when my phone rang again moments later, I hesitated to answer it. Unknown number. It rang twice. Then stopped briefly before ringing again. The code. They were calling me again. My pulse quickened and my chest tightened. Clutching my phone, I set down my half-drunk coffee on the table.

“Gloria, I’m sorry. I’ve got to take this one outside,” I spouted, heading toward the French doors that opened to the terrace off our room.

“Oh, that client again?” snipped Gloria as she secured an elastic around the tip of her long braid. The urge to slide it off, free her hair, and throw her on the bed with me on top of her made my dick stiffen. I thought about letting the call go voicemail, but I knew it was too important.

“No, another client. It’s purely business.”

Her head angled over her shoulder toward me. A look that could freeze the Equator spread over her face. “I see. Personal business.” Her glacial voice dripped with sarcasm. “Perhaps the client you met with yesterday?”

Another ring. I’d not told her that Emanuelle, who’d arranged for the Grande Roue ride, was really Emanuel. Now, it seemed pointless.

“Gloria, I told you. I keep all my clients’ dealings confidential.” I twisted the handle of one of the doors, opening it. “So will you please excuse me.”

“Fine.” Her voice stabbed my back as I stepped outside. The early morning Paris air was crisp, and several stories below me on the busy Boulevard St. Germain, the City of Light had already come alive. Much like New York, it was a city that never slept.

Closing the door behind me, I swiped my phone and answered. “Zander here.”

The familiar monotone voice on the other end wasted no time with pleasantries. “When are you leaving Paris?”

My blood heated. How the hell did he know I was here? Had they followed me? My mind raced back to the slimy scar-faced dude watching me and Gloria last night at the bistro bar. With a shudder, I wondered: Was he one of theirs?

Without challenging my interrogator, I straightforwardly told him that I was heading back to New York shortly. I’d be landing at Teterboro in the early morning.

“Change of plans,” the voice responded.

My brows furrowed as I pressed the phone closer to my ear. “What do you mean?”

“We need you in LA ASAP.”

Processing his directive, I glimpsed Gloria finalizing her packing. Her icy gaze met mine briefly and then flitted away. Turning my back to her, I spoke again into my cell. One word: “Why?”

“Things are about to explode. We need to know you are committed. That we can count on you.”

Again, I turned my head toward Gloria, who, zipping up her bag, was unaware of my gaze on her through the French doors. At the sight of her gorgeous ass, my cock stirred.

“Well?” asked the voice, refocusing my attention.

“Yes.” Pause. “I am.”

“Good.” The voice lightened, and I could imagine a slow, half-smile crawling across the intense face of the person on the other end. Along with a reaffirming nod. “We’ll be in touch with further instructions.”

And with that the line went dead. Dropping the phone from my ear, I blew out a breath. One that released my bottled up tension. Things were happening faster than I anticipated and I didn’t have a game plan.

With another deep inhale, I collected myself and headed back inside the hotel room that held so many memories for me. That still held Gloria. Despite the sounds of my footsteps and the door shutting behind me, she ignored me and instead transported her packed suitcase closer to entrance to our room.

I dashed up to her. “Let me help you.”

“Mr. Zander, I really don’t need you.”

Her words, like shards, cut into my chest as she continued without looking back at me.

“Did your client call go well?”

“Yeah. But it’s complicated.”

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