Meet Lauren Pierce. Fiercely independent, beautiful and a perfectionist. The media loves to call her the 'ICE PRINCESS' because of how cold and unyielding she is, and she doesn't care enough to correct them. The only thing she cares about is her su...
Lauren woke up to the sound of her phone ringing. She opened her eyes and sat up, blinking to disperse the cobwebs of sleep still clinging to her mind. The rays of the rising sun touched her face, and she stretched, ready to start her day. Wait. The sunrise!??? She gasped, staring at the alarm clock beside her bed. 6:34 am. FUCK. I'm late!!
She scrambled out of bed, grabbing her phone off the counter in a dash to the bathroom. She had never woken up past 5 am in the past 5 years, and was already behind by an hour. She picked up the phone without looking, busy pulling off her clothes and getting in her bathrobe. Wait a moment. How did she end up wearing her dress to bed-
"Hello!? Lauren?" Mark called out, and she froze her frantic actions. Mark!??? The events of the last night came crashing back to her memories. They'd been drinking and talking at that cute out-of-the way bar...she'd pulled him closer.. SHIT.
"Mark? What happened?" she asked, setting the phone down on her bathroom vanity and splashing water on her face. She could almost hear his smile on the other side of the phone.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Are you finally up? You had a meeting at 9, so I called to make sure you woke up. I did promise. I would have let you sleep in longer otherwise." he said, and she could hear the clanging of closing cabinet doors and pots and pans in the background.
"You're already working? Its 6 am," she said. He chuckled. "Well I have to get the fresh bread and pastries going for the morning rush. Since you're up already, I'll let you get ready in peace," he said, preparing to hang up. She had to ask him about last night, so she said, "Wait, don't hang up. What happened last night? I don't seem to remember much."
He didn't say anything for a moment, and she had a feeling she must have screwed up somehow. Being around this man had somehow managed to turn her life on its head, and she wouldn't be surprised if he told her she'd backflipped or something.
"Nothing much, don't worry. I took you home, with some help from Turner," he said. She couldn't bring herself to believe him. Something HAD happened. She had a feeling. But What?
A text flashed on her screen, from Byers.
Clothes shopping appointment at 2. Bergdorf Goodman.
Oh. Right. The fitting for the inauguration ceremony.
She suddenly had a brilliant idea. "Are you busy at 2? I need your opinion on something." she lied, hoping he'd agree to come so she could pry whatever information he was hiding out of him. She could hear him moving around in the kitchen for a bit, giving instructions. "I don't think so. I have the morning shift and the afternoon off. Why?" he asked. She smiled. "I'll text you the address. Meet me there."
She's been at the office for two hours, but she couldn't seem to focus. The meeting was successful, she had managed to get an affordable and honest supplier for the hotel, and just in time too. She wasn't worried about that, however. She was still in shock over how she couldn't remember most of her night. She was a good drinker, and her hangovers were never serious.
