CHAPTER FIFTEEN
I snuck out of Michael’s room early in the morning. He looked like he would sleep the afternoon away and I couldn’t stand looking at the ceiling any longer. I felt strange stepping out of his room in my wrinkled dress. Not to mention, I couldn’t find my panties anywhere.
As I carefully closed the door, trying to be silent, I heard another door down the hall. I looked up to find Charles in running clothes. His shorts were tight to his legs and I could just make out the outline of his package. I quickly looked away, but our eyes made contact for a split second and I couldn’t deny the hurt I found within his.
I tried to run away, my heels in my hand, but Charles quickly caught up to me. “Haley...” He grabbed my shoulder and turned me around.
“Charles. I really don’t think this is a good idea. I mean…” I trailed off, refusing to look into his sad, blue eyes.
“You don’t have to pretend like nothing happened. I know where you’ve been. I watched you leave with him last night.” He sighed and pinned me against the wall, his hands on either side of me, keeping me trapped. “I talked to my sister. I know what she did.” I pushed him away and kept walking down the hall, but he grabbed my wrist yet again. “Haley. Please, just listen to me. All I’m asking for is five minutes.”
“Fine.” I leaned against the wall, looking irritated. After my night with Michael, the last thing I wanted to do was have this conversation.
“Look. I know it’s no excuse, but my sister is always trying to protect me. I’ve told her time and time again that I’m old enough to make my own decisions, but she just keeps babying me.”
“Well, I’m sure if you told her how you really felt, she wouldn’t try to control your life,” I told him, feeling like he was a fraud. Here he was - the owner of a billionaire dollar enterprise and yet, he couldn’t even handle his own sister. At one point in my life I thought this man ruled the world, but now, it just felt like he was a phony.
“I do. She seems to believe that every girl I’ve ever come close to loving is just going to steal my money. But I know that some of them – one girl in particular –would never do that.” He looked deep into my eyes and our faces gravitated together. “I know she would never do that to me and that this time, my sister was wrong. So very wrong…” I was surprised. Deep down, I knew he was talking about me. I could hear the conviction in his voice and couldn’t deny that he was being genuine. My heart skipped a beat as our noses touched and our lips were mere inches away.
“I…”
“I’m sorry, I think my five minutes are up.” He straightened out and stepped back. “I guess I’ll be seeing you around.” He gave me a half smile before jogging away.
“Wait!” I called after him, but he was already gone. I frowned, my heart aching as all my old feelings for Charles resurfaced. Maybe I had been wrong to ignore him. Maybe I should have given him a chance to explain himself. Maybe I had jumped to conclusions way too quickly.
Sighing, I started walking back to my room, knowing I had nothing else to do. Once there, I plopped onto my bed, still wearing the same dress. My head felt muddled with everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours. I had learned so much. Met so many different people. Had one of the most amazing nights of my life.
I settled under the covers and remembered what Michael told me right before we fell asleep after our second round of passion: “I’m going to do everything I can to make sure I get you in the auction.”
Last night, cuddled in Michael’s arms, I was totally fine with that, but now, after talking to Charles, I wasn’t so sure who I wanted to win anymore.
***
I don’t know how long I was asleep for. I woke up to the sound of someone knocking on the door. Feeling groggy, I rolled out of bed and rubbed my eyes. I took a peek at the mirror and cringed. After my night with Michael, and after sleeping without properly wiping my makeup off, I looked horrible. I already had a blemish in the middle of my forehead. I touched it, but it throbbed painfully and I groaned. There was no way I’d be able to cover that up.
“Haley? You in there, girl?” Emanuel’s high-pitched voice sounded through the door. “If you don’t hurry, you’ll miss the auction!” My eyes widened at the word auction. Was it really tonight? Quickly, I opened the door. Emanuel gasped and stepped back. “Jeepers, what happened to you?” He asked, stepping inside. “You look like you just survived an apocalypse without the nerve to break into a department store and get some makeup wipes.”
I just stared at him. What kind of an expression was that? “Excuse me?”
“You heard me. Didn’t anyone teach you that you simply cannot, under any circumstances, go to bed without properly removing your makeup? It’ll destroy your skin.” He frowned and touched my forehead. “See, it’s already started. Tsk, you’re going to make my life a whole lot harder.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. It’s just that one thing led to another… it was a crazy night, to say the least.”
Emanuel flashed his hand in the air and I stopped talking. “Don’t worry about it. I’m here to make you look flawless, no matter the circumstances.” He winked. “Let’s face it, I could even make the Loch Ness Monster look beautiful.”
“Are you comparing me to that Scottish monster?”
“Better than the Chupacabra.”