Chapter 6
Jasper
“Your constituents seemed pleased with what you told them last night,” Mikal said.
I didn’t even lift my eyes from my laptop as I answered. “Don’t look so surprised, Mikal.”
All evening I had felt him watching me. Has he forgotten who is in charge?
Although he was excellent at his job, lately Mikal and been taking too many liberties with his responsibilities. Hiring Alysa was the first, but last night, he’d invited people who hadn’t been on the list I’d provided him. He blamed it on gossip and claimed that word of mouth had spread too far. It was a possibility, but I didn’t buy it. The surprise guests were each from prominent families from different towns in Tabiq. Granted, word travels, but not that quickly. “There appeared to be more attendants than I thought there would be. Do you know why?” I questioned.
Mikal stammered, “No, sir. I… I don’t. With this your first public appearance at New Hope, I’m sure they wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to observe you with the Hendersons.”
“This has nothing to do with the Hendersons. It is about what is best for Tabiq,” I stated firmly. I grew tired of everything revolving around that damn family.
“I understand. I was pleased not to have overheard any negative comments about your choice of bringing an American to the event.”
I couldn’t hold back any longer. “You’re the one who suggested I hire her. Now that I have, you’re questioning who knows about it? Are you intentionally trying my patience?” He opened his mouth, but I silenced him with a wave of my hand. “The less you say at this moment, the better for you. I suggest you find something to occupy yourself back at the office and leave me to do my work.”
For a moment Mikal looked like he was going to try speaking again, but he nodded and turned to leave my suite. Usually, I wanted him close by if I needed anything, but today, he would be an obstacle in the way of my productivity.
I checked the time. Alysa should be here by now. Last night, I noticed she’d had a glass of champagne. Had she ordered more when she returned to her room and now was she in her room nursing a hangover? That doesn’t happen on my time.
Calling her would be easy, but since when did I take that road? I slipped my keycard into the breast pocket of my suit jacket and left my suite. Because I’d looked over the paperwork Mikal had drawn up regarding Alysa’s employment and accommodations, I already knew her room number.
It wasn’t long before I reached her floor. James Burke seemed to have appeared out of nowhere and asked, “Are you lost?”
The hint of sarcasm wasn’t lost. “Not at all,” I stated, walking right past him. I knew what I was doing on this floor but had no clue what brought James here. A moment earlier and I might have seen what room he was leaving. There were only a few doors at this end of the building as well as a stairwell. No matter what, I didn’t like him snooping around Alysa. Although she had signed the contract, I’d given her, I highly doubted she was any match for Burke when it came to seeing through his lies and manipulations.
I stopped in front of Alysa’s and before I knocked, I looked down the hallway to see if James was still lingering. He was gone, thankfully. James must know that Alysa was an employee of mine, but I didn’t need rumors started about anything inappropriate going on between me and Alysa. People would question my loyalty to Tabiq and it could potentially cost me the election.
I rapped on the door. All I could do was hope she opened the door quickly so I could get out of the hallway.
“It’s open,” I heard her call out.
The doors automatically lock when shut. How could it be open? I pushed lightly and the door gave way meaning she’d intentionally left the door ajar slightly What is wrong with you? This is so dangerous. I entered and quickly closed it behind me. The first thing I noticed was the lights were all off. If it wasn’t for a soft moaning coming from the other side of the room, I wouldn’t know she was actually in there.
“Put the towels in the bathroom, please,” she said, her voice was weak and scratchy.
I could feel my anger rising. Not only was it unprofessional that Alysa didn’t show up for work, but the fact that she hadn’t even reached out to me was completely unacceptable. She probably knew I didn’t want to hear any of her lame-ass excuses.
“I’m not housekeeping,” I stated firmly. Hiring her had been a mistake. One that was easily rectified. “And consider yourself fired,” I barked.
“Ja…sper?” she asked weakly.
“Is there someone else you work for?” I snarled.
My eyes had adjusted to the darkness of the room, and as I went further in, I could see the bed. It was in disarray, but vacant. She also wasn’t in any of the chairs by the table. Where the hell is she?
I strode across the room, and when I reached the foot of the bed, I spotted her long blonde hair peeking out around the corner on the floor.
Are you still so drunk that you can’t even get on the bed?
I found it disgusting and was tempted to turn and walk out. But instead, I walked over and opened the curtains to let the light inside. Maybe that would help sober her up.
But as I looked down at her in the daylight, I stepped back. She was clothed in a black thong only. Not what I expected. But an irresponsible drunk didn’t appeal to me, no matter how exquisite her body was.
As my eyes roamed higher, over her abdomen and firm breasts, I had to remind my body that I wasn’t attracted to her, but my body was telling me different. I was a man and she was a beautiful, intelligent woman. If it wasn’t for her lack of good judgement and overindulgence in alcohol, maybe things could be different.