𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐘 | 𝟏𝟖+

Chapter 19

A T H E N A

"Taste on my tongue, I don't want to wash away the night before.

And the heat, where you laid, I could stay right here and burn in this all day"

° ° °

Vincenzo is standing by the door, waiting for me as I arrive and send him a sheepish smile.

"Sorry, had to go to the toilet."

He shakes his head and smiles. "Alright now, go on. You need to eat," he says and puts his hand on my back. "Can we just order room service?" I ask and look at him with raised eyebrows.

He shakes his head, "No, cara, I want to have some breakfast and leave immediately. We can order room service tonight."

He winks.

I open the door, ready to step out of the room when I stop in my tracks. Without thinking, I push Vincenzo roughly behind the door and firstly, he looks stunned, "Are you going to behave like a naughty little..."

"Nate, hey, I didn't expect you here," I say and lean against the door as I watch him approach his room next to ours. He looks in my direction, surprise written all over his face.

"Athena! Wow, I didn't expect you here, out of all places. What a coincidence," he laughs. "It certainly is," I say through a forced smile.

"Are here on a vacation or...?"

"Yes! Vacation, I came here for some time off, so..." I trail off and send him another smile.

Of course he's here, he works for Vincenzo. "Were you going downstairs?" he asks with raised eyebrows.

I nod. "Yes, I was about to get some breakfast," I reply, which I regret later.

I send Vincenzo a glance, to see him standing against the wall next to the door with his head leaning against it.

"Oh, I just came from having breakfast. But I can go with you if you want some company..."

"No!" I interrupt him when I see Vincenzo clenching his jaw and hands, an angry expression on his face.

"I can manage, really," I say. "No, I insist," he says and sends me a charming smile.

"Nate, I really appreciate it but I'm fine on my own. I was planning to meet with a friend anyway," I lie.

He takes the hint and nods his head. "Well, alright. If you need me, you know where I am," he winks and gestures to his door. I smile and nod. I wait until he has entered his room, before I turn to Vincenzo.

"I thought all of your employees slept downstairs?" I ask him and pull the door a little more open. He sighs. "Normally they do. Nate probably paid a little more to also have a suit of his own," he says and rakes a hand through his hair.

"Perfect," I mutter.

And this time we walk down the hall, without interruptions.

° ° °

After we had breakfast, Vincenzo called his driver to pick us up. Now we're seated in some sleek car that's driving us into the big city.

"Where are we heading now?" I ask Vincenzo and turn to him. He puts his phone away and looks up to me.

"You are heading into the city for a little shopping while I have to endure some boring meeting with a company who wants to make a deal with me. At noon, I'll meet you for lunch in a restaurant my driver will take you to," he says and gets out his wallet from his pocket.