Chapter Twenty-One
Caleb
Rolling over in bed, I worried that I would vomit. My head felt like it might implode on itself, and I just laid there feeling like hammered shit. In my experience, the best thing to do for a hangover was to eat something greasy and have some coffee. I would, of course, add my special shake to the mix to help with the situation.
I always regretted drinking so much when I woke up feeling like death. But it sure didn’t stop me from doing it in the first place.
When I opened my eyes, I saw Hailey beside me, looking more beautiful than she had ever looked before. The night before came crashing back, and I couldn’t help but smile. It had been the best sex that I had in awhile – and I knew good sex. We had both gotten way too drunk, and things got out of hand.
The smile left my face as I wondered how she was going to feel about the whole thing. Not good, probably. In fact, there was a very good chance that she was going to be mad. I rolled onto my back, deep in thought. She would want to kill me; she might blame the whole thing on me. Technically, I was her boss, and I definitely should have known better.
Will she quit and return to Georgia? The thought that I might have fucked up my situation it didn’t sit well with me, at all. I had a hard time regretting the night before, but I knew I would if she ended up leaving me and the job. That was the absolute worst thing that could happen. I needed to think of a plan, something to say to her that would make her stay, no matter what her reaction was. Though if she was pissed, there would be very little that I could do to stop her from walking out the door.
I silently got out of bed. I thought it was best to not be in the bed when she woke up. That could be an ugly scene. She could feel however she wanted to feel and then meet me in the kitchen for breakfast. I made my way to the bathroom. I slipped into a pair of jogging pants and a t-shirt and left the bedroom.
I hoped she would wake up feeling as great about the night before as I did, but I knew that was asking a lot. Heading into the kitchen, I saw the open liquor bottle and the shot glasses. My smile widened as I put the cap back on the bottle and set it in the cupboard. I placed the empty shot glasses in the kitchen sink and wiped down the counter.
It was like it never happened – and yet it did. I was so glad that it had happened. It was seriously an awesome night. I considered texting Matt to tell him about it but thought it was best to wait and see how Hailey reacted to the whole thing first. That would change the story that I told him.
Opening the fridge, I glanced inside. There were bacon and eggs, which sounded like a great breakfast. I could cut up some fruit, as well. I pulled out some strawberries and pineapple and set them on the counter. I went about fixing a pot of coffee so that it would brew while I cooked. The whole time I cut up fruit and kept an eye on the bacon in the pan, I couldn’t stop thinking about Hailey’s long legs and round bottom. She was extraordinary in so many ways.
She walked into the kitchen just as I was finishing the eggs, and I smiled at her. She looked at me sheepishly, a deer in the headlights look about her.
“Good morning.”
She sat down on a stool at the counter and didn’t say anything. Oh, shit.
“I hope you are hungry because I made a ton of food.” I grabbed a couple of plates and started nervously filling them. I didn’t know what else to say because she wasn’t saying anything herself. I worried that she was thinking of different ways to kill me.
“Caleb?”
I froze while filling the plates and turned to look at her. She held a worried expression, and I set down the plate.
“Yes?”
“About last night.”
I held up my hand. “Before you say anything, I just want to say that I know it was irresponsible and it wasn’t what you came here for. I don’t regret a moment of it, but I know that it complicates things a bit since you work for me.”
She nodded. “I just can’t be having sex with you while we’re working together. I just don’t want to feel like I’m getting paid for that.” She looked down at the counter, and my face burned red.
“Oh God. I’m sorry, Hailey. Trust me, that is not how I see last night at all. It was just sex; it’s no big deal. I certainly don’t expect that as part of your job.”
She looked up at me and nodded. “Good. Sex is sex, that’s all it was.”
I smiled. “Did you at least enjoy yourself?”
She smiled back at me, and I was starting to feel less like I would be murdered. “Yes, I did. It was great, actually.”
“Damn right it was; it was amazing.”
She laughed awkwardly, and the air in the room was becoming less tension filled and becoming more relaxed.
“Are you hungry?”
“I’m starving.”
I nervously got her a plate together and set it in front of her. I then poured her a cup of coffee and set it down before her. I watched as she added cream and sugar to it, and she seemed to be okay with the situation. She got up to go to the fridge and grabbed a carton of orange juice and brought it to the table. I got myself a plate of food and a cup of coffee and sat down across from her. She focused on eating for awhile, and I dug in, as well.
We both sat there eating, lost in thought. I felt awkward about the whole thing, but there really wasn’t anything left to say. At least she wasn’t planning on leaving. I would just play things off like last night didn’t matter that much. There was nothing else left to do.
“I’m going to wake my sister up, make sure she’s not dead.”
“Oh shit, I forgot all about her. It’s a good thing I made lots of food.”
I got up to make another plate as she went to find her sister. I was glad we got the sex talk out of the way before her sister was in the kitchen. Though, I was sure the two of them would talk about it later on. A few minutes later, a rumpled Mandy came walking into the room.
I laughed at the sight of her, “Feeling that good? Food should help.”
“I feel like death warmed over... I’m worried that food won’t stay down.”
“Well, try anyway.”
I put a plate of food and a cup of coffee in front of her and resumed eating myself. It was silent and awkward around the table. I looked up at Hailey.
“Do you have stuff that’s being delivered from Georgia?”
“No, we decided to leave everything there in storage, especially since the apartment is already furnished. We are actually thinking of moving to LA after the job here is done. It just makes sense for me to be there for my career.”
I nodded, “Yeah, of course. So, aside from furniture, is there anything that you do need?”
“Well, we need cutlery and plates, pots and pans, stuff like that,” she said as Mandy nodded at her.
“No problem. Get whatever you need. I’ll give you a credit card, just work within twenty thousand.”
She laughed, “That seems a bit excessive, don’t you think?” Mandy’s eyebrows were so high that I wondered if they would fall off her face.
I smiled, “I have no idea. I’ve never shopped for an apartment before. Mine was taken care of for me. If you have money left over, then by some shoes.”
She smirked, “Okay then.”
“How often do you think you might stay at your sister’s apartment?”
“I would like to stay there sometimes. I will be here whenever you need or want me to be, though. I don’t mind. I will deal with it, but, yes, I did plan on spending some time there, especially during the times when you are busy.”
“Okay, I guess I can understand that.”
“Thanks. I’m glad you understand.”
I smiled. The sooner we got over the awkwardness of the night before, the better off we would all be. I didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable around me, at all. I wished we were in the kind of situation where we could have had morning sex, but that was definitely a tall order at the moment. I was lucky she didn’t storm out of the house that morning.
I was happy she was willing to let the whole thing go and stay with me. I would have hated to have to tell Matt that she left because I was an idiot and fucked the whole thing up. I didn’t want to ever have that conversation. Not to mention Aria would go up one side of me and down the other. She would assume that I had not changed at all and that it was time to drop me. And then, of course, I would have to deal with my father. It would be a huge domino effect that would only lead to disaster, and I wanted to avoid that at all costs.
“I’ll drive you girls back to the hotel when you are finished, and you guys can get settled into your apartment.”
“Great, thanks.”
We ate the rest of our breakfast in silence, each lost in our own thoughts. I just hoped that she was having good thoughts about the night before because every time I thought about it, it brought a smile to my face.
“Stop smiling.”
I looked up to see her watching me, and I burst out laughing. She giggled, and it definitely broke up the awkward feeling between us. Mandy looked as confused as ever, and I wondered how she was going to feel when Hailey told her about the night before.
When we finished eating, the girls went up to get changed and to freshen up while I went out to the patio. It was a beautiful day, and it looked like the week was going to turn out well. I was looking forward to seeing what the weekend would bring. I would give Hailey a few days off so she could help her sister out, and it would give us a chance to avoid any awkwardness after the night before. By the time we saw each other again, things should be back to normal.
“We’re ready.”
I turned to see Mandy and Hailey standing at the door, and I got up from my chair and followed them out. I wondered briefly how Matt’s morning meeting went and sent him a text to see how he was feeling after the night before. We all had gotten pretty drunk, and he probably wasn’t feeling the best, either.
When we arrived at the hotel, Mandy got out, and Hailey stayed put. She looked over at me and smiled, “So, what’s next?”
“I’ll catch up with you in a few days, okay? Get settled, do some shopping, and please message me if you need anything.”
“Okay, thank you.”
I watched as the two of them made their way into the hotel and sighed. Thank God, she is staying.