Page 7 of Mistletoe Mistake
The hotel manager should be able to tell me about the party she'd been working at, which would be a good place to start. He should have access to the name of the company that had provided the entertainment, or at least the information about the company that had thrown the party, and I could take it from there. Once I'd settled on that plan of action, my body finally began to settle, allowing me to close my eyes and get some sleep.
~Gemma~
My disbelief and amusement over the way things had played out with Cole followed me back to my room, two floors below his. Holly hadn’t returned yet, which meant the party must still be going on, but I didn't feel like going back downstairs. The pleasant buzz I’d been floating on all night had died, killed off by the shock of what had just happened.
Standing in front of the mirror, I replayed the events of the night in my head as I examined my appearance, trying to decide what had given Cole the impression that I was a prostitute. While I thought we were flirting under the mistletoe, he had apparently been speaking literally. As I remembered him asking how much a kiss would cost and the way he said he wanted 'the whole package', my cheeks flamed red with embarrassment. Had I honestly thrown myself at him so hard that the only logical conclusion he could come to was that I wanted to be paid? I must be coming across as more desperate than I thought.
I had to admit I also felt desperately disappointed as I peeled off my dress and stepped into the shower, trying to wash the whole night off of me. Cole excited me more than any man ever had, more than I thought possible, and now, I had to face the fact that our entire chemistry had been based on a misunderstanding. Maybe I should have stayed and taken his money. At least then I would have gotten to shag him, and I felt pretty certain it would be a memory worth having.
His dark, brooding face flashed in front of my eyes, and I could almost feel the intensity of his gaze again while my hand moved down across my body, over my hard nipple and lower. I could almost feel Cole's hands on my thighs again, moving up until...
As I got to the part of my memory where he thrust his finger inside me, I let my own fingers follow. A low moan echoed in my throat, echoing into the bathroom air while I imagined his big, strong hand working me over, plunging my hand in as deeply as I could. I hadn't even had a glimpse of what hid beneath his suit trousers, but even the thought of it, and what he might do with it, had me panting. With hardly any effort at all, I could picture him hovering over me, his body moving against mine, and my knees buckled as I came, the water from the showerhead still pouring over me.
Fuck, that didn’t take long at all. My orgasms were usually a lot harder to come by.
Taking a deep breath, I regained my balance and turned the water off. After drying off and putting on my comfortable pajamas, I climbed into bed, trying to think about things more objectively. As good as the imaginary sex might be, did I really want to be with someone who judged any woman so quickly based on what she wore, or who assumed that I could be bought? Definitely not. He must be wealthy, based on his suit and his hotel room, so he was probably the type who thought his money could get him anything he wanted. I had spent my whole life surrounded by, and avoiding, those types of men.
Cole wasn't worth my regret, I decided. I could chalk the whole thing up as a learning experience and move on, as he no doubt would himself, and with that thought in my head, I went to sleep.
The next day, Holly and I had a lazy morning followed by a room-service lunch. When I told her the story of what had happened with Cole the night before, she nearly fell off the bed laughing.
“Oh, Gem, I wish I could have seen the look on your face when he offered to pay you! What did you say?”
“I just told him there'd been a mix-up, but to be honest, I was really disappointed. I bet it would have been good.”
“That is too bad,” Holly agreed sympathetically. She knew just how long it had been since I'd had anyone exciting in my bed. “Why are the hot ones always such jerks?”
"Not just the hot ones," I reminded her. I was beginning to think there weren'tanymen out there who weren't defective in some way. The two of us certainly hadn’t found any.
She tapped a finger against her cheek thoughtfully. “But, hang on, you didn't actually tell him that you weren't a hooker?”
I shook my head. “Not in so many words, but I'm sure he figured it out.”
Holly looked unconvinced. “It sounds like he's not the brightest bulb on the tree. Maybe you should have spelled it out for him.”
“It's not like it matters. I'm never going to see him again.”
“True, but at least maybe he'd think twice before he made the same assumption about someone else.”
“You’re saying I should have taken one for the team?” I clarified, and she wrinkled her nose at me.
“Well,someonewill have to put him in his place sooner or later. It might as well have been you. I would have loved to see you go all high-class on him.”
When she'd finally finished laughing at me, we headed out to do some early Christmas shopping, returning to the hotel in time to get ready for our event later that afternoon.
Though I had been trying not to dwell on it too much to keep my nerves in check, this event was a very big deal for us. An upscale West End hotel would be celebrating their grand reopening, a hotel that Holly and I had been working on for the better part of the last year. Together, we had completely redesigned the whole ground floor, giving it a brand new look, and Holly had spruced up the guest rooms with her unique flair. We were excited for people to see our work and we were hoping a lot of new interest in our business would follow.
The two of us started Anchor Design three years ago, just out of university, and this hotel project had been our biggest one so far. Holly and I made a great team: I oversaw the architecture side of things while Holly handled all the interior design. She served as the managing director of Anchor, while I owned and funded the business, though there weren't many people who actually knew that detail. I preferred if the other staff thought of me as one of them and that our clients weren't aware of my family connections. That also explained why I'd taken Sudlow, my mother's maiden name, as my professional name. My father and his position played no part in our business.
Compared to the party the night before, our event that evening would be a much more restrained affair, and we dressed to match. Holly wore a pretty pink wrap dress with gold jewellery that beautifully complemented her tanned skin and blonde hair, while I went with an emerald green A-line midi dress and matching heels. The green shade brought out my eyes and contrasted vividly with my red hair, making it one of my favourite colours to wear. Forgettable was one word I never wanted applied to me or our designs. I would much rather stand out from a crowd.
Once we were ready, we walked the few blocks over to the hotel where the owner, a handsome Italian billionaire in his 50s named Alberto Morelli, whom we had only met once before, came over to greet us.
“Ms Sudlow, Ms Chapman, it is wonderful to see you again.” He gave us both kisses on the cheek as if we were old friends. “Everything looks wonderful, I think you will agree.”
Satisfaction flowed through me as I looked around the entrance area. Holly had been handling most of the on-site consultations, so this was the first time I'd seen it in person since work finished, and it more than lived up to my expectations. Sometimes, it amazed me to consider how something that started out as an idea in our heads could become reality like this. Design could be truly magical.
Signor Morelli ran us through the plan for the event. “Once everyone has arrived and had a drink or two, I will make a short speech and bring you both up to introduce you and your company. Afterwards, we'll have dinner in the restaurant.” He gestured toward the dining space that we had also redesigned. “Everyone will love it. You should know that I have invited several of my top competitors here tonight, and I have no doubt that they will try to tempt you away from me. But I hope that before you take on too many new clients, you will consider my offer to redo my hotel in Milan.”
