Candy

Chapter One

I glanced at the address on my phone and looked back up at the hotel I was standing in front of. Never in my entire life in my line of work have I been invited somewhere as swank as this. I raised an eyebrow and adjusted my skirt, making sure I showed enough leg – but not too much to make me look suspicious in the hotel. I made my way through the lobby confidently and was promptly stopped by security.

“Miss, I’m sorry but right now we’re not allowing anyone without a room key inside the hotel. Can I please see your key?” The man, a balding forty-something asked.

I pulled my phone from the depths of my large purse and showed him the text. “I’ve been invited here, to this room.” I told him.

He took the phone in his hand and held it out so his eyes could adjust. His eyebrows rose as read. “One moment,” he said handing my phone back to me. “Could you please follow me?”

I sighed, crossing my fingers and hoping to God this wasn’t a trap. He went behind the front desk and picked up the phone, making a call.

This was it, I decided. I was caught and I would be going to jail. My heart was pounding in my chest and I quickly recalled what was in my purse. I had my fake ID, which would be punishable if I tried passing it off as my real ID. I could immediately tell them it was a fake and maybe get off of it, but there was no going around the pot and the pills buried in the bottom of my bag. I pulled my phone to text Reggie, but the guard cleared his throat.

“Go on up,” he said in a low voice. “Please be quiet when walking through the halls.” He said.

I widened my eyes in surprise and nodded, quickly walking to the elevator, my heels clicking on the tile floor. I pushed the button to go up and entered the elevator alone. On the fifth floor, it stopped and two boys with hoodies and sunglasses got on and gave me a wary look. One of them had black hair and gauges and had his hoodie halfway over his face, and didn’t look over at me again the entire ride. The other had light brown hair and a small birthmark on his neck. He gave me a small nod and shifted on his feet, obviously uncomfortable to be next to me. We all got off on the fifteenth floor and the two boys exchanged a glance between themselves as I followed them down the hallway.

1543 was the room I was trying to get to. They both stopped in front of 1545 and watched as I knocked.

“Excuse me,” the one with the gauges said and stepped forward. “Who are you?”

The door opened and someone with a mass of curly brown hair stepped into the hallway, shirtless and wearing a pair of sweatpants. I couldn’t see his face as he pushed me into the room.

“Excuse me,” I snapped, turning around to face a closed door. I tried to wrench it open, but the shirtless jackass on the other side of the door must have been holding it shut. I glanced around the room. The room was just like a regular hotel room, with a bathroom immediately to the right once you walked in, a closet with a giant sliding mirror for a door across from the bathroom, a large queen sized bed with white sheets on it, a small desk with a mirror above it, a large chair facing away from the bed and towards the large window with the blinds pulled shut.

“It’s okay guys,” a voice said. “She’s with me.”

“Haz, who is that?” another voice said.

Haz? I mouthed. I knew that name. I’d heard it before, but I wasn’t exactly sure where. Maybe I’d read it.

“She’s a friend,” the voice said. “Excuse me guys.” He opened the door and suddenly I got a good look at his face.

My mouth dropped and I gasped. It was Harry Styles.

He rushed forward and clapped a hand to my face rather roughly. “Please don’t scream,” he said sounding annoyed. He let his hand go and grabbed the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign off the door and put it on the front, so everyone in the hallway would see.