“Hey, Thompson! Would you get us some drinks?”

I started at the call, though I came back to myself in the next second, a smile crossing my face.

“Everybody tell me what you want,” I said, getting up. “I’ll have it all brought over.”

I wasn’t surprised they were asking me to go, I was surprised they hadn't tried to send me on errands sooner, considering how much younger I was than anyone else in the group. They were all above twenty-five, and I was only twenty-three. I was going to be treated as the gopher, but not for long if I could help it.

Even in the VIP area, the place was crowded, and it was enough to let me know the club was fairly popular in the area. There was a bar set up against one wall, and I slid through the bodies moving around easily. Women came at me because I was young, tall and handsome. Being in the VIP area also gave me importance, so that meant I was worth something, namely their time to try and get my money out of my pockets and into theirs. It was pretty much the same thing that happened to me any time I walked into a club, only this time, I didn’t bother stopping to look at any of them.

None of them were my type, then again neither was Laura. I was surprised that now I’d had a taste of her, I couldn’t get her out of my mind. She was incredible.

It was a little maddening. The whole time since I’d left the hotel, I hadn’t been able to get her out of my mind. I would have loved to bring her on the trip with me, to have her on my arm the whole time. Not that I would have even if she’d agreed to come with me. It may or may not have helped the deal I needed to make, and I had to think carefully about everything. If I didn’t have the experience I did, the attention I was paying to this whole deal would not have been enough.

“Hey,” I called out to the bartender. “I’d like a few drinks brought to our table? Over there.” I gestured back to where I’d come from over my shoulder.

“Sure. What is it you’d like?”

The bartender folded her arms on top of the bar, leaning over it to bring her face closer to mine and flash some cleavage. My eyes drifted down for a second, before looking up into her heated eyes and flirtatious smile. Any other time, I would have flirted back. Even in the middle of a deal, I wouldn’t have held myself back.

All I could think about when I looked at this woman, was how her dark hair was completely different from Laura’s fair locks. Her eyes were darker, her skin paler, her body thinner. She was completely different from Laura, and while it wasn’t off-putting, it didn’t get my body hot either.

“Just the drinks!” I said listing off the orders.

She took the hint and backed off. “I’ll have it all sent to your table, sir. Please wait a few minutes.”

I nodded, then turned to head back.

Laura…

Last night with her had been full of surprises in several ways. While Laura giving into me was one of them, there was more than that. Now that I was away from her, I couldn’t help wondering…

All she’d told me was that she had been sick, but it wouldn’t need a genius to know that she’d likely had breast cancer at some point. I knew all about it because it was one of the causes my mom donated to over the years, and the couple times I’d helped her out in her fundraisers, I’d learned bits and pieces.

Just hearing the word cancer was bad enough. Laura was lucky to be alive. I knew some of the statistics, and how they weren’t all that reassuring for someone in that position. It was difficult to connect the perky, sassy maid with such an illness. She didn’t act like someone who’d been through something like that, because I knew it couldn’t have been simple, considering the extent of the surgery and the lingering scars I’d seen on her body.

I made it back to where the group was, and not long after the drinks followed. Not long after that the women came, but every time I looked at one of them, all I could see was Laura in my mind. In particular, the look on her face when I made her explode, feeling her body shaking under mine as she shuddered in orgasm. Fuck, I could still taste her on my tongue.

Some time passed, and I noticed some of the men in our group getting up to join the women on the dance floor. A few of them stayed behind to enjoy the drinks, and I decided to pay some extra attention.

“You’ve been quiet, Mason,” one of the men said and I hated that someone else had observed my behavior. I just wanted to be left alone. A drink or two and then I was out of here. I wasn’t going to win the deal in this place.

“I’m not particularly in a partying mood, I suppose,” I said, surprised at my own honesty.

“Ah, yes. I heard the rumors that your father isn’t well? Who’s managing the business in his place?”

“My brothers and I are looking after things, but Trent is at the forefront of it all.”

Fuck! I hated to use my Dad’s illness as an excuse, but it was better than telling him what was really on my mind.

“Ah, yes. The oldest Thompson son. So he’s back to work for your father?”

“He’s always worked for the family, really. We all have. Dad just likes to get most things done on his own. My brother would have come but he told me he’d be in meetings for the whole day, so I came in his place.”

He nodded his head and shared looks with his associate.

“I’m going to assume you came here to make a deal then?”

This was it. While the VIP section of a club wasn’t exactly a convenient place to make deals, it didn’t matter. The others were off having fun, and I stayed back to make my case for the deal. The others might have had chances throughout the day, before I joined the group when they were playing tennis, even on the drive to the club. I wouldn’t know who got the deal until tomorrow, but I was fairly confident in my abilities.

It was the one thing Dad had to be proud of when it came to me.

Laura was still in my thoughts, but I pushed them aside. As much as I wanted to go back to her, I needed to focus on closing the deal.

By the time the others came back to join us, I was done negotiating. I didn’t last long after that, before I was impatient to be away from all the noise and smell of alcohol.

“If you’ll all excuse me,” I said, getting up. “I’m going to be heading back.”

No one tried to get me to stay. In fact, some of the competition grinned when they heard I was leaving. Not that I cared. I made my way back to the hotel where I took a shower then lay down on the bed. It was a while before I could fall asleep.

The next morning, I got the good news just before I checked out of the hotel. We got the deal. I was grinning all the way back home because I finished my task, and I would get to see Laura. I was in a hurry to relay the news to Trent, then I could find Laura and get back to my own life. When I arrived at the hotel, I had my suitcase taken to my room for me and took the elevator all the way up to the office. Trent was always in there. He even ate lunch in the office, so it never occurred to me that I wouldn’t find him there.

“What?”

I looked up at the secretary; my hand paused on the door handle. She stood up from her desk and rounded it to stand in front of me. I backed up for a moment.

“Is my brother busy somewhere else? A meeting?” I didn’t quite believe her when she said he was out.

She shook her head, her hands clasped together in front of her stomach and a small furrow in her brow.

“Mr. Thompson left, I’m afraid.”

An eyebrow jumped up. “My brother left? The hotel? Is it for work, or what?”

I was getting impatient and hating all this fucking cloak and dagger treatment. Just tell me what’s going on and be done. Why is everyone always so fucking secretive?

“Your sister came to meet him, and they spoke. Afterward, he checked out of the hotel.”

I frowned, glanced at the door, then turned back down the hallway, pulling my phone out of my pocket to call my sister. It took so long for her to pick up I almost thought she’d ignore me. She picked up just before the call cut off.

“What is it?” she asked, her voice subdued.

It was enough to give me a moment’s pause. I wanted to ask what was wrong, but I had something much more important to deal with.

“Emily, I heard Trent took off after you said something to him. What the hell happened while I was away? And where’s Kevin?”

She sighed. “I think Kevin is still busy, but Trent’s gone back home. To his home, not the mansion. If you want to know why, you’ll want to ask him, but he dropped everything and left.”

That had me freezing again. Fuck, there was still work to be done, wasn’t there? Especially with this new deal coming in. I couldn’t call Trent and ask why he’d just left, he and I weren’t nearly that close. But he’d pretty much left Kevin and me in charge without a word. It wasn’t like him and it meant I’d be busier now, instead of taking some time off. I let out a groan, looking at the folder I still held in my hand where I’d the signed documents for the deal.

“I’ve gotta go, Emily. I need to get some stuff done here. I’ll call you later so we can talk.”

I would have liked to ignore all responsibility and play hooky, but I knew better. The hotel would survive without someone working in the head office for a day but work still needed to get done. Damn our father and his stupid work ethic. I turned around and walked back to the secretary.

“Is there anything important Trent was supposed to do before he left? I’ll do it myself.”

“Yes, sir,” she said, getting back up. “Please come this way, and I’ll show you.”

I sighed as I followed her into the office, knowing my schedule would be packed for the rest of the day. I could call Kevin later to let him know so we could divide the work up equally.

It was evening by the time I sat back in the office chair, done with… not everything but enough that I thought I could get some rest and continue with everything else later. Laura immediately came to mind, and I jumped out of my seat.

I’d spent most of yesterday and today just thinking about her, wanting to see her. I’d turned down all the women who’d come onto me on my trip, very tempting women at that. Not one of them had been able to make me stop thinking of Laura just by looking at them. They also didn’t have that spark that attracted me to Laura so much in the first place. That something that made my toes curl every time she was in my vicinity.

After I’d had her in my bed, my interest in her had increased rather than waned. Instead of summoning her to my room again, because she very clearly didn’t like it, I went out to look for her.