Page 6 of Hired By the Consigliere

I repeated the steps in my head as I walked through the elegant hotel lobby and pressed the button for the penthouse suite. I felt a little like I was going to throw up.Boy, wouldn’t that be a great first impression? Bet this would be my last day as well as my first.

The elevator dinged and I stepped out into a very empty hall. Each door was spread far apart, indicating that the suites on the other side had to be massive.

I glanced down at my phone one last time.Room 470. I took a deep breath and scanned the doors until I finally reached the correct one.

I lifted my fist to knock when the door opened quickly.

A handsome man in dress slacks and a white button-down shirt, opened at the collar, sans tie and jacket, stood there looking displeased. “You’re not Gin.”

“Um...no. Ginevra couldn’t make it. I’m Aurora.”

“And you're late.” He glanced at the very expensive watch on his wrist and scowled.

“I’m sorry. It was a last-minute change and I—”

“It doesn’t matter. Get in.” He stepped out of the way and allowed me to enter. “I assume that Delphine has briefed you on what I expect?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. And we will simply tack the three minutes that you were late on to the end of the night. If those are agreeable terms?”

“Yes, of course. That’s fine. Again, I’m really sorry—”

“The shower is right through there if you’d like to freshen up before we begin.”

“Of course.”Okay, then. It seems we aren’t wasting any time.

I stepped into the bathroom. All the toiletries were lined up neatly on the counter and I quickly stripped down and started my shower. Part of me wanted to hide away under the warm spray of the multiple shower heads and pretend I wasn’t about to have sex with a complete stranger for money. But that would only make the whole situation worse. I needed to calm myself and get it over with. After that, I’d know whether it was something that I could do until another job came along, or if I needed to get used to the idea of living in my car until I could find a new job.

After my shower, I combed my fingers through my tangles and used the hotel’s built-in hair dryer to dry my hair while trying my best to style it without any product or tools. My dark locks fell around my face in beachy waves. It was as good as it was going to get. I opened the perfume bottle and lifted it to my nose letting the sweet subtle smell waft to my nose. I could see why he liked that particular scent. I dabbed a small amount on each pulse point behind my ears, my wrists, and one dab between my breasts.

I remembered a small tip that Fernanda had given as she slipped a small bottle of lube discreetly into my palm.

‘Use this. It helps, plus the clients love it if they think that they can make you wet even though they are paying you for sex.’She had rolled her eyes and chuckled.‘The male ego at its finest.’

I pulled the small tube from my purse and awkwardly applied a little.

After that, I had nothing else to occupy my time. I realized that I wasn't told whether or not to put my regular clothes back on or not but what person usually takes a shower then puts the same clothes back on? So instead, I wrapped the towel around my body tighter until it looked almost like a white strapless cocktail dress.

You can do this. It's just a one-night stand... even though you've never had a one-night stand before. What the hell were you thinking? You can't do this.

“I can't do this,” I whispered to myself.

I couldn't breathe, my heart racing, pounding inside my chest like it wanted to escape.Iwanted to escape. I wanted to run away from that bathroom, the hotel, the city, my life. How had things gotten so bad? How had I ended up there?

A knock on the bathroom door made me jump, jolting me from my thoughts.

"Everything okay in there?" His deep, booming voice was warmer than it had been previously, and it gave me the courage to respond.

"Yeah. I'll be right out."

"Okay..." He sounded less sure than before.

I looked at myself in the mirror and stared deep into the eyes of a girl I hardly recognized. "You can do this."

I nodded to myself before opening the bathroom door and determinately walking into the bedroom.

He laid there, reclined back against the pillows on the king size bed. His hands rested behind his head, sprawled out, looking relaxed with one knee casually bent. He tensed when he spotted me, but he didn't move other than to sit up a little straighter.

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