Chapter 5

It didn't matter if the sun crashed on the earth or if the moon decided to replace the sun during the day, Michael Stahom was never late to work until that morning. He drove into the parking lot of the huge building where he was CEO and owner, Empire, in a haste to attend the meeting he had called for and was already 45 minutes late for. Typical Michael would have put whoever came five minutes late on probation but it was his turn to be on the receiving end. It didn't matter though, no one was going to punish him anyways, He owned the place.

   "Good morning Mr Stahom" the receptionist smiled in greeting as he hurried into the building.

   "Good morning, Emma" it was hard to keep track of his employees names but Michael made sure he knew the important people.

   "They're all waiting for you" Bridget, Michael's assistant, called out to him as he walked into his office. The elevator ride up to the floor where his office was situated was enough to inform him on the status of the office. It was rare to ride the elevator alone but that was what Michael experienced that morning. A quick glance at his watch made him flinch, He was already late, coffee wouldn't harm anyone but it most definitely would help him clear his mind from thoughts of the red head in the amber mask.

   Room service had been the one to wake Michael out of, if he would dare to admit, the most peaceful sleep he had had in months. He wasn't surprised to not find her in the bed, he was just disappointed he had slept too long and too deeply that he had missed her departure. The second cheque he had written her was on the table alongside his briefcase. Instincts told him to check for any missing items and he did but he saw everything in place. Just as he expected.

   It wasn't even the cheque that was making him take his time to make coffee before he proceeded to the meeting, it was the woman and the entire encounter. Michael couldn't shake off the image of her blazing red hair, he had seen redheads before but the stripper's was a different thing entirely.

   "....then we would rearrange the whole project and make sure we get it right this time around" Drake, Michael's manager was talking in the conference room as Michael walked into it, coffee in hand and a file in another. His company was looking to sign a contract with another major company, there was no room for error, not even from him.

   "How do we rearrange something we've spent months working on?" One of the employees blurted out, voicing everyone's concern.

   "We start from the major projects, changing what needs to be changed and then move to the little projects" Michael answered as he took a seat at the table.

   Drake cast him a quick glance that screamed "where have you been?" accompanied with a nod, "The boss is right" he acknowledged. "We're going to start from the big guns and then move slowly into the minor league. Slow and steady wins the race so they say" the majority nodded in agreement.

   Michael frowned, "Don't be too slow though" he addressed the room. "We have to up our game, we're too far behind. Okay?" The room echoed in unison "Okay!"

   Less than 30 minutes later, the meeting ended with everyone having a clear understanding of what had to be done in regards to the project and the contract. Drake on the other hand wasn't smiling.

   "Where the hell have you been?!" He scolded, the moment they were both alone in Michael's office.

   "I had something important to attend to" Michael slumped into the chair with another cup of coffee in hand, hangovers were the worse and why couldn't he keep his mind from wandering back to the redhead and how good she felt in his arms?

   "The red head stripper is more important than the contract you had spent months working on?" Drake scolded, noticing how lost his friend was. What had happened after he left to meet the stripper?

   "You handled everything perfectly well, Drake. There wasn't any need for me to be there"

   "Yes, maybe not at the meeting but you fucking ditched me last night. I remember dragging you to the club but I ended up going back home all alone"

   "Let's just say, plans changed"

   "Plans? What silly plans? You got wasted and decided you wanted to fuck a stripper" a pause, "Those were the plans? You criticized the whole place, frowned at the women, judged the men and ended up caught in the redhead spell. How did that work exactly?"

   "I don't know what you want me to say. I've told you, plans changed and I had no control over them"

   "You had no control over sleeping with a stripper who most definitely would have been a sex worker?" That triggered Michael.

   "Drake, I have a serious headache and I'd like you to get your annoying ass out of my office so I can think!"A bigger pause coupled with glares.

   "Suite yourself" The door almost went off it's hinges as Drake walked out of the office. He was right to be upset, Michael had in actuality, ditched him but drawing conclusions about a woman he didn't know, was way too much of a stretch.

   As he pulled into his apartment later that night, he realized he had learnt more than he intended about the redhead masked stripper, Amber who was actually June Skylar. A sick mother and a younger sister and three different jobs, there was no wonder she accepted the offer when the money was increased.

   The front door creaked open as the babysitter walked out of the mansion, "Good evening, Stella. How is she?" He asked as he walked past her into the house. Curiosity and determination had been replaced with exhaustion. The mystery woman wasn't a mystery anymore and he didn't know which one bothered him more.

   "She's asleep. Goodnight Mr Stahom" the babysitter answered as she walked to the garage. Michael instructed the driver to drop her off as he climbed up the stairs to his daughter's room. He wanted to take a hot bath and go to sleep, he was exhausted. It had been a long day.