Side Effects

Chapter 4

My bedroom door has a lock on it, for which I'm eternally grateful. By the time I got back to the house, the pizza was almost gone, and I was lucky to snag a few pieces before I retired to my bedroom, which had two girls waiting for me in the bed as though they thought I wanted them. Oddly, neither was the blonde ringleader, and I had to kick them out so I could lock the door and try to compose myself. I sent a quick text to Alaya, telling her I'd go get her at 9am, and then had to convince her all over that it was indeed real, though this time I think she was giddier than disbelieving. Afterwards, I ate some of the pizza while enjoying a glass of chianti, then did my normal nighttime routine before getting some sleep.

It wasn't a restful sleep, the girls were very loud, and there was a lot of beer arriving. Several times there were knocks on the door, and one time it sounded like a body crashed into it. Had there been a single hotel opening in the area, I would have taken it, but there were none. Believe me, I looked, but it was spring break and everywhere was booked.

I admit, the next morning I was petty. I got up early, took a shower to wake up, then turned on the pool pump and emptied the pool into the intercoastal waterway. I know, it was stupid, but I guess I wanted to be a little bit of an asshole after the crap they'd pulled on Alaya. Yes, they could fill it back up, but it would be cold until the sun warmed it up.

I loaded up the DB11, then said goodbye to the house for the last time. It wasn't a hard thing to do, and a minute later I was blasting down the road to Alaya's place. My GPS brought me to a tiny blue bungalow with wrought iron bars over the windows in an old neighborhood behind a strip mall, and I pulled into the driveway near her Beetle, then texted her that I was outside. She came out quickly with a small roller bag and a duffel bag. That didn't look like a lot of clothes! I got out of the car after popping the trunk and helping her shoehorn the bag in there. I love my car, but it doesn't have the biggest trunk! In fact, I ended up giving in and putting her stuff in the back seat, which was still a tight fit.

"So, not too much sex in the back seat with this car, eh?" Alaya asked with a thumb at the tiny back seats.

"Nope. I don't think I could even get back there alone!" I replied with a chuckle. "You ready for this? Have your passport?"

She held up her passport, then stuck it into her backpack. She was dressed in a pair of comfortable sweatpants and a tee shirt. She'd taken me at my word, and dressed for comfort, which was good. "Nope, I'm not really ready. But let's go. I called my mom last night, and she's convinced you're a drug lord that's going to make me smuggle opium or something."

I couldn't help but snort in laughter, though I could see why she'd think that. "I do work for a company making drugs, but very different ones! Hopefully I'll prove your mom wrong, and you'll have a great time working with us."

My house was located in the tiny town of Lighthouse Point, which was just north of Fort Lauderdale. Alaya was staying in Fort Lauderdale, which was perfect as the company jet always met me at the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport there.

"How long of a flight is this going to be?" Alaya wondered as the airport came into view.

I looked over at her with a smile. "A little over 22 hours."

"Are you fucking with me?"

"I wish I was. But the plane has a lot of amenities that will make things easier. There is a bed for sleeping, and no we won't share, as well as food and drinks and Wi-Fi. Two of the chairs are vibrating massagers. We'll also have some work to do to onboard you into the company, so that will keep us busy, and then the rest of the time we can do whatever you like. Do you want to watch movies, or read? Go for it. We're going to do a lot of flying on this trip, but we'll have fun too. You, as my new assistant, can even help with that, because you can advance scout all the places we're going and find us things to see or places to eat," I explained.