AMB~she~OUS

CHAPTER TWENTY

"Breakfast maam."

"Coming!" I shouted dragging myself out of the comfortable bed to the door.

"Just place it there." I instructed the waiter before tipping her with a bill I had sitting on my table.

My eyes were still heavy with sleep even though I went to bed before midnight. After walking away from my idiot stepson, I had a few drinks with Alex her co-workers before calling it a night.

"If you need anything else just ring the reception. Have a good day maam."

"Thank you."

I dragged myself back to my bed, I had a small headache from all the drinks I had and another from Nick. I can't believe he had the audacity to boss me around like that.

I mean who the hell did he think he was? Did he really think I was going to jump whenever he asked to? I guess I just had to show him.

My hands reached for my phone on the nightstand, I still had my late afternoon flight, I wasn't going to cancel it.

"Good morning. I would like to confirm my 4 pm flight to Paris." I spoke into the phone.

"Can I have your name, please?"

"Katherine Daniels."

I heard some typing in the background and a small silence.

"Unfortunately, I can't find your name on the list of people that have booked a flight on one of our jets." I heard the woman say.

My brows knitted in confusion.

"Are you sure? My assistant booked a flight on Monday, the platinum package, it could be some sort of error." I said in frustration.

"I'm sorry but there must be some confusion maam."

"That's okay, thanks."

Penelope had a lot of explaining to do. My fingers clicked on her contact and it was answered on the second ring.

"Good morning, Mrs Daniels."

"I'm glad you're having a good morning Penny because I'm certainly not. Why did you not book my flight to Paris, you know I have a very important business meeting there." I said in the calmest voice I could conjure.

"Uh but maam, Mr Daniels asked me to cancel it."

"Craig asked you to cancel my trip?"

"No. It was the other Mr Daniels. Nick."

The next set of words just died in my throat.

"How? When? And since when do you work for Nick?" I nearly barked out.

"He came looking for you on Tuesday after you left for Milan. Said you weren't home, I told him about your trip and how you planned to fly from Milan to France instead. He told me to cancel that flight and asked me to get him one to Milan. I'm sorry Mrs Daniels, he said it was a direct order."

Her words had me doing a double-take. What the hell was he doing? Did he follow me all the way to Milan ?

"Maam? Are you still there?" Penny's voice brought me back to the present.

"Yeah. Next time the boss decides to do that, let me know. I hate surprises." I didn't give my assistant time to respond, I quickly cut the call.

What next?

I definitely had some packing to do.

****************************

Hours later I was sitting opposite Nick in a ridiculously flashy jet. My eyes were on my laptop, I needed to keep myself busy through the flight. Nick was a different story, he had a glass of whiskey in his hands, with his eyes out the tiny window. He would occasionally glance in my direction thinking I wouldn't notice. I had to bite my tongue to avoid lashing out at him.

"Go ahead. You look like you're dying to say something." He spoke without looking my way.

"What makes you think I have anything to say to you?" I questioned him.

"Hmmm. For one, you keep tapping your foot impatiently. And that huge frown etched on your face screams 'annoyed'. I can only guess you are annoyed with me...for some reason."

He was good. I had to give him that, which annoyed me further. I wanted to confront him about what my assistant had told me but held my tongue. Not yet.

I looked him straight in the eye ignoring the surge of heat that passed between us the moment our eyes met.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

The hostess' interruption didn't give him a chance to respond.

"Can I get you two anything?" She asked looking between Nick and me.

"Nothing for me, thanks." I didn't like eating when flying, it made me airsick.

"And you sir?" She flashed Nick a huge smile.

"A refill of this and a glass of red wine, thank you." His attention was directed back to me.

"I said I didn't want anything." I plainly pointed out, closing my laptop.

"I know but I remember you blatantly saying that red wine helps you relax. You look a bit...uptight."

My cheeks reddened involuntarily at that tiny detail he remembered from two years ago. Luckily the hostess was back quickly and it made it easier for me to ignore him. This was going to be a long trip.

After a gruelling hour and a half, we finally landed in Paris. A black SUV was waiting for us outside, we rushed to the car with airport staff behind us carrying our bags. I grumbled under my breath at the weather, a few large drops of water had already descended on us and it looked like a huge storm was coming.

I was slightly disappointed because I was secretly looking forward to visiting the famous French beaches. The rain was already dampening my mood.

"I had my secretary book two suites at the Shangri-la hotel, hope you don't mind." Nick said.

I scoffed.

He had been calling the shots so far, he didn't care whether I minded or not. When had that changed?

By the time we got to the hotel, the rain was pouring down on us. Nick got out first and opened an umbrella for us before leading us to the reception.

The lobby was slightly crowded with a bunch of tourists hiding from the huge storm. My eyes marvelled at the gorgeous place, I had been to Paris a few times but never to the Shangri-la before. The pictures on the internet didn't do it justice.

"Bonsoir, bienvenue à l'hôtel Shangri la." The receptionist greeted.

"Reservations for Daniels." Nick spoke.

I stood beside him with my eyes glued to the side of his head. Watching him intently, reminded me of two years ago. In a drunken haze stumbling through the hotel to his suite, who would've thought that today our circumstance would be one out of a soapie opera.

"La suite Shangri-la for the Daniels. Enjoy your stay."

The words that followed brought me back to the moment.

"One key?" I heard Nick ask calmy.

The receptionist checked her computer again and nodded her head.

"Yes, reserved for Mr and Mrs Daniels." She spoke in a matter-of-factly tone.

It only took me a millisecond to comprehend her words...

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Is this what a cliffhanger looks like?

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