Big Mistake

Nicholas POV

When my eyes opened the next morning, the first thing that hit me was a stinging ache at the back of my head. 

It felt like a hammer was pounding away, and I couldn't remember why. I swallowed hard and I tried to sit up, but a wave of dizziness washed over me. It forced me to fall back onto the pillow.

Soon, my eyes adjusted to the dim light, I realized I was in an unfamiliar room. It was a room I didn't ever remember walking into. The high walls were a dull gray, and the furniture was sparse and modern.

  It was the floor that caught my attention. Shards of broken glasses and bottles littered the wet surface, and the acrid smell of alcohol hung low in the room.

"What the actual hell?" I said with a small gasp. 

Panic set in as I struggled to remember how I got there, yet nothing came to mind. 

My eyes darted as I tried to find any clue, but my mind remained completely blank.

 That's when I heard a light snore beside me.

 I turned to see a woman with black hair lying on her side, facing away from me.

A chill ran through me. It was then that I recalled that I has been. Waiting for Lily, my ex girlfriend, the previous night. Did she finally make it to my room as planned? I blinked at the feminine figure that slept besides me and my mouth turned dry. 

 Lily's hair was blonde, not black! Who was this in my bed? I let out a sharp breath, trying to calm my nerves down. This was definitely not Lily. I didn't have to look at her face to confirm it. 

The woman stirred slightly, but didn't wake up. I watched her for a moment, as worry snaked through me.  

Who was she? And what had happened the night before?

"The night before! I reasoned, "I had to know how I ended up in bed with a complete stranger."

I peered under the bed covers and felt a jolt of shock hit me with a force. I was naked. I had no idea what had even happened the night before, but it was quite clear that something had gone very wrong. When I was sure that I was strong enough, I slowly pushed myself out of bed, trying not to disturb the woman. I couldn't risk getting seen by the strange woman, at least, not in my current state. 

I tiptoed across the room and stood by the bathroom door. Then, my eyed scanned the room as I struggled to find some clue as to what had happened.

 There was nothing!

Just the mess on the floor and the sound of her gentle snoring. I took silent steps back to the table besides the head of the bed, grabbed my phone and went into the bathroom, shutting the doors besides me.

With one glance at my screen, I saw that I had multiple missed calls from my assistant. 

I knew something was wrong. I was just about to ring up his line when his call came in. 

"Nicholas, where are you?" Joe, my assistant asked urgently, "I've been trying to reach you for hours. We have a situation."

I stood in front of the sink and stared at my eyes, fixed on my reflection in the mirror.

 "What's going on?" I demanded.

"The woman who was engaged down the hall, Sia Stanton...there's evidence that she was in your hotel room last night," he bluntly replied.

"Sia Stanton?"

"Yes. That's her name."

My chest tightened with fear. I could barely remember anything about the night before.

 What did my assistant mean by "evidence"? Was I being watched?

"Yes. Sia Stanton was in here last night. What’s the issue?" I shot at him.

"The issue is she broke off her engagement before coming to your room, and the media is pushing a narrative about an affair between you two," Joe explained. "It's all over the news. We need to do damage control, fast. From our sources, we have noticed that Sia's parents are involved with pushing this scandal"

My muscles tense and rage bottled up inside me. "Damn it!" I cursed. In seconds, my hand balled into fists and I threw a punch at the bathroom wall. 

This was not what I needed, especially with a big client on the line who would be turned off by news of this scandal. I paced back and forth in the small bathroom, trying to think of a way to fix this mess.

"How do we fix this?" I asked Joe. "We need to set the record straight."

"You are already in the spotlight and you know how bad it will be if the government has their attention on you, and—"

"Just shut up, Joe. I know I'm in deep shit. What's the way out?"

There was silence on the line.

"Call me back when you figure something. The strange woman in question is still laying in my bed."

"Wh-whaat?"

"Yes!" I rubbed my forehead, realizing how stupid I sounded, "And, I don't remember how and when she got in there. What I know is that we did something together. We were both wasted."

Joe sighed.

"Figure a way out of this mess. Call me soon." I snarled and ended the call.

I unlocked the bathroom door and went over to the only chair in the room. It turned the chair to face the bed and I sat with a deep frown. 

 My eyes remained pinned on her as I battled with the warring thoughts in my mind. Then, a thought hit me.

What if this strange woman was a spy? My annoyance flared. It was very possible that one of my rivals had sent this dark haired lady to seduce me, and the more I thought about it, the angrier I got. 

  She stirred, waking up with a start, and her eyes met mine. At first, she seemed confused to see me staring at her, and then, fear shone in her eyes as they widened. 

"Stay away from me!" she snapped, as she pushed herself up to sit on the bed.

 "Hello, Sia Stanton," I said, my eyes never leaving hers.

"Who are you? What do you want?" She asked in a shaky voice.

I leaned forward.

"I want to know what happened last night," I said, "I want to know why you're in my bed, and why your parents are telling the press that we're having an affair."