Chapter 12

Mia’s POV

The bar is filled tonight, I stay on the second floor to avoid those sweaty people down there. I sit in the booth with my rum and coke in hand.

Anton was beside me, texting someone on his phone and his brows furrowed. “Is everything alright?” He seems slightly startled then puts his phone down. He gives me a small smile before shaking his head. “Everything’s fine.”

I see right through him, I know when something’s bothering him. He’s been quiet the whole night, he didn’t even get a scotch like he usually does. Instead, he got a beer. He only ever drinks a different drink whenever something’s on his mind.

“You know, you can take the night off. I don’t think anything’s out to get me tonight.” I take a sip of my drink as I glance over to him. He immediately shook his head, “No, I can’t leave you here. What if-“

“What if what? No one’s tried anything against me in the past year, I’ll be fine.” I see the puzzling look on his face, thinking about it. “Seriously, just go. I’ll call you if anything goes wrong.”

He looks at me and gives me a weak smile. “Thanks, Mia. I’ll leave the car to you.” He reaches into his pocket and hands me the car keys.

He gets up from the booth and turns to me. “Call me if anything, absolutely anything, goes wrong.” I nodded in response and with that, he left.

I never really saw Anton as a bodyguard or someone who works for me, he’s always been a friend. He was always there for me whenever I had problems, especially since he knew how my father was. He’s not the type to open up, so he understands when I don’t want to talk about something. And I was the same with him, not pushing him to tell me about his problems. But we always knew we were there for each other.

I get up from the booth before finishing my drink. I head over to the railing where I see a gorgeous brunette. She was wearing a black dress that clung onto her body. “What brings you here tonight?” I approached her and she gave me a smile.

“I’m here to have fun.” The woman says as she turns to look at me. “Have fun? That’s a pretty dangerous answer.” I held her gaze, keeping eye contact.

She tilted her head. “Dangerous?”

“Yeah,” I turn to look at her and rest my arm on the railing. “Because now I’m curious what your idea of fun looks like.”

She takes a step closer and she traces a finger along my arm. “I can show you to give you an idea.” She says in a low tone and a smirk grows on my face. “But first, tell me your name.”

I let out a huff before turning away. “I’m..” I wasn’t able to say my own name when I recognized a specific redhead from the crowd. My brows furrowed when I realized who it was. Kaitlyn? What the fuck is she doing here?

She was dancing, she looked so carefree. Losing your job can really change a person, huh? I looked into it more and it seemed legit. She stormed out of the office, she packed her belongings. There were even reports for misconduct prior to when she got fired. She’s really lost it I guess.

But still, what was she doing here, at a bar? Was she here alone? No, she probably came with someone right? Anyway, it’s not my problem.

I clear my throat before paying my attention back to the woman in front of me. “I’m Mia.” I offer her a smile.

“Layla.” She was inches away from my face. She looked down on my lips before looking back at my eyes. I lean in the slightest bit closer before whispering, “Well Layla, what is your idea of fun?” And just like that she closed the space between us and pressed her lips against mine.

She pulled me in closer with her hand on my arm. I put my hands on her waist as I pulled her closer. She moves her hands up to my shoulders before wrapping her arms around my neck, deepening the kiss even more.

She then kisses my jaw then a trail down my neck. I open my eyes and look down to where Kaitlyn was. A blonde woman approached her who soon led her to the bar. I hope that woman’s decent enough to know Kaitlyn’s not in a state to consent to anything.

Layla pulls me closer as she continues to kiss my neck. I shook my head to turn my attention back to Layla. She’s gorgeous and I’ll probably take her home tonight if she wants to.

I try my best to focus on Layla. I close my eyes to feel the pleasure she’s giving me. I’m pretty sure she’ll leave marks if she keeps this up. I pull back and bring her lips to mine.

The kiss grows hungrier and hungrier as she pulls me in even closer if that was even possible. I should be turned on by this right now, but my mind keeps going to Kaitlyn. What if that girl had bad intentions? I opened my eyes and looked down to see Kaitlyn downing a drink. Does this girl have a death wish or what?

Layla pulls back and rests her hands on my shoulders. “Would you want to go back to my place?” She whispers as her hands trail to the collar of my shirt. I would like nothing more. The corner of my lips turned up as I opened my mouth to say something but I was at a loss for words when I saw the woman walking away, leaving Kaitlyn alone. So she didn’t have bad intentions, she’s just an asshole.

“I just remembered I have somewhere to be tomorrow morning, I’m so sorry.” I didn’t even bother waiting for her response as I made my way to the first floor. What was that woman thinking leaving a drunk person alone? I made my way through the sea of people and I finally reached the bar where Kaitlyn was. She had her head down on her arms, I think she’s passed out.

“Kaitlyn.” I shook her shoulders softly, but she still didn’t budge. “Kaitlyn.” I raised my voice slightly and shook her shoulders but still nothing. I pull her up and her eyes are still closed. Great. I pinch the bridge of my nose, trying to decide what to do right now. I can’t believe I’m stuck dealing with this.

I pick her up bridal style as she wraps her arms around my neck. I made our way to the car which was of course parked 3 blocks away. Tonight just couldn’t get better could it? She stirs a bit and lets out a groan before resting her head on my shoulder and tightening her arms around my neck.

I see my car, finally. I open the door to the passenger seat and carefully put her inside. I put on her seatbelt before making my way to the driver’s side. I made my way to the nearest hotel I could find. I can’t believe I gave up a brunette to deal with a drunk person. A drunk person who’s been trying to put me in prison for years at that. I grip the steering wheel tighter as I think about tonight. I really needed a distraction.

I finally came across a hotel which I had stayed at before. I get out of the car and give the keys to the valet before going to the passenger side to help Kaitlyn out of the car. I try getting her to stand up but clearly her legs don’t seem to work right now. I let out a frustrated breath before carrying her once again bridal style. I make my way to the reception to book a room, not just any room but a suite.

After the room was booked I made my way up to the room, I really need to lay down right now. I enter the room and see a living room area with a couch and two chairs with a sliding door that leads to the bedroom. I open the door to the bedroom before gently putting her down. I let out a breath of relief because finally, this girl is out of my hands. It’s not like she was heavy or anything, I was just terrified she’d throw up on me.

I took off my blazer and put it on one of the chairs on the side of the bed. It’s quite hot tonight. She was sleeping peacefully, little did she know a huge headache awaits her tomorrow morning. I went to the foot of the bed to take off her heels before pulling the covers over her. She seemed comfortable enough. I leave the room and make my way to the living room area, laying down on the couch. I’m too tired to drive all the way back to the mansion. I’ll stay the night.

I could’ve just left her there, I could’ve gone home with that brunette but seriously? How could I do that when I just knew Kaitlyn was alone in a bar, drunk and passed out. I would’ve done the same for anyone, it’s basic human decency. I unbutton the first two buttons on my shirt before letting out a long breath. Tonight was one hell of a night. I put an arm over my eyes and let sleep take over me.

I wake up to the sound of my phone ringing. I reached into my pocket to see who it was, it was my father. Just who I needed to call me, of course. I sit up from the couch and answer the call. “Yes, papa?”

He goes on and tells me where I need to be today, the deals I’ll be making and the people I’ll be ‘taking care of’. All I do is agree and tell him I’ll have it done, but in reality I’m sick of being his puppet. But it’s what I have to do, either I suck it up or I end up in a ditch somewhere. I hang up the phone and stand up to get my blazer from the room.

I start buttoning up my shirt before I slide the door open and see Kaitlyn’s awake. “Morning,” I say as I grab my blazer and put it on. She had a panicked look on her face. “Oh my god, did we-”

“No. I never sleep with drunk people.” I fixed my blazer before making my way out to the living room and to the kitchen area where there was a refrigerator. I grabbed a bottle of water and returned to the bedroom to give it to Kaitlyn. She hesitantly got it from my hold before saying a small “Thank you.”

She took a sip of the water and I made my way out, but then her voice made me stop in my tracks. “Is this where you’ve been staying? I thought you had a mansion?” I let out a small chuckle at her words. Did she really think I’ll be staying in a hotel? Where people could easily find me?

“No, I got this room for you. You were so out of it last night, I was afraid you’d throw up if I drove all the way to my place so I got a room at the first hotel I came across.” I turn to meet her gaze and she has a puzzled expression. I know what she’s thinking. Why would someone like me do such a thing?

“Look, stay as long as you’d like, I paid for a week anyway. That apartment you’re staying in looks like hell.” She lets out a dry laugh. “Excuse you, but that place is good enough to live in.”

“Good enough? Please, Anton told me the building itself looked infected.” I scoff out before leaving the room. Seriously, how could anyone be living in that place?

I reach for the door but hesitate. For fuck sake, I can’t believe I’m doing this. I make my way back to the bedroom and grab a piece of paper from the nightstand. I write down my number and Anton’s number. “If anything happens, call either one of those numbers. Only use this for emergencies, okay?” I give her the piece of paper.

“You’re actually giving me your number?” She looks down at the paper before looking at me again. “Yes, please don’t make me regret it.” I then leave the room and make my way to the elevator.

Why exactly did I give her my number? I have no idea. I just know she’s gonna do something stupid. For someone who’s a cop, she always gets herself in the dumbest situations that could so easily be avoided. If we were in New York I wouldn’t care, I know she has people there, but she knows nobody here. Well, if you count Andrea as somebody I guess that’s someone.

I leave the hotel and make my way to the first place I need to be today. It’s only 10am and I already have so much shit to do. It’s okay, the sooner I finish the sooner I can go back to New York and hopefully my father won’t have to fly out here. I hate when he does because it usually means I’m doing something wrong, which then leads to not so great things.

I call Anton and tell him to meet me there. At least he’ll help me get through the day, he always does.