Chapter 3

As we walked through the lobby of the CEO’s hotel, I pulled out my phone and pretended that I was texting. This was all about appearances and I needed to give the appearance that I was here to do something other than have sex with Kai Rivera.

I needed to avoid eye contact with as many people as possible. I also needed to do something about my shaking hands.

We were granted entrance to the foyer of the Presidential Suite, passing what I assumed were government agents to protect Kai. At the door to the inner suite, I was given a once over with a security wand and a brief pat down to ensure I wasn’t carrying anything explosive.

I didn’t need to bring anything with me. I was the explosive.

Eric asked me if he could take off my coat, but I politely declined.

Before I knew it, Eric had knocked twice on the inner door. And then I heard his voice.

“Come in.”

Now, I should probably explain a bit about myself. I know that you probably think I am a dirty woman. In reality, I am just a regular girl. Well, I am a full-grown woman. I have never done this before. I had considered myself a saint until recently.

I was actually an author. I wrote dystopian fiction and romances, generally but I couldn’t be called a wildly successful author. My books didn’t have movies made on them and I had enough money to live a comfortable life. But I was at a point in my career where my editor felt, I should be aspiring to more. The couples need to be sexier and the writing easy to sell to millions.

Aria Green was my best friend. We met in college and Aria was a matchmaker. Or so she would like to think. At college, she always had an incredible network of friends. She just knew everyone and liked to set them up with each other. One thing led to another, and eventually, she started taking kickbacks from some of the guys. I think it started as a joke, really.

Her business snowballed from there. Over the years, it evolved. She discovered that if she was to make real money, it needed to become incredibly exclusive. So, she managed to dump the frat guys and gave the impression that she was retiring from business. Actually, she started up a very new private business in the high end of the market. Her clientele consisted of very well-paid businessmen and politicians, many of them overseas.

I knew all about it but I never participated. I wasn’t interested in sex with people. I had my urges, but I never really thought about it. But with the current predicament, I took her advice.

The decisions were made and the rest, as they say, was history.

I snapped out of my train of thought. I needed to take deep breaths.

Kai River was seated casually on a lounge across the room. His feet were propped up on a coffee table, crossed. Suit pants on, no tie, shirt sleeves rolled up. He leaned forward, placing his glass of what looked like whiskey on the table before he rose.

Eric led me into the room to make the introductions.

“Kai, Rosalind. Rosalind this is Kai. I mean… Mr. Rivera,” he corrected.

Kai was taller than I had pictured. I knew he was six-foot-four-inches, but to see him in reality was just a different experience. His unruly hair probably added to his height.

I wasn’t sure how comfortable Kai was with the situation, so I took over. I had to channel my inner author and tap into the character I was playing.

“Mr. Rivera, it is a pleasure to meet you,” I said with my hand outstretched. I put on a warm smile on my face, trying to diffuse any awkwardness between him and I. Eric, though, was another story.

“Rosalind,” he replied, hand reaching out to take mine. His grip was firm and warm, and as he smiled at me. I think I swooned.

Knowing Eric was nervous about the whole thing, I turned to him. “Thank you, Eric. I think Mr. Rivera and I can probably take this from here.” I turned back to Kai with a shy smile. The man was not stupid. I could see that he knew why I was there.

Eric, who seemed to be holding in a breath, let out a sigh of relief. Then, he turned and left. Kai and I stood awkwardly until we heard the door close behind Eric.

“Miss… Rosalind,” he hesitated. Not knowing my last name was surely hard. That was part of the deal, though. Anonymity was the name of my game. It didn’t matter who I was, to begin with. Not even my readers knew who I really was. “Can I offer you a drink?”

“Please,” I replied. I glanced over towards the bar and saw that it was fully stocked. “I’ll have whatever you offer me,” I said confidently.

I placed my bag on a chair at the dining room table. It was within reach, but out of sight.

Kai readied my drink for me. I watched as his hand gripped the top of a soda bottle, the muscles in his arms twitching as he twisted the lid off. After pouring my drink, he turned to me, his hand outstretched, offering me the glass.

“Thank you, Mr. Rivera.” Our fingers touched briefly as I took the drink off his hand.

“Rose, if this is going where we both know it is going, we should drop the formalities, don’t you think?” His tone was a little playful. There was no hint of nervousness and his blue eyes were piercing as he waited for my response.

“In that case, call me Rose. We both know Rosalind is not my real name.” I raised my eyebrow to acknowledge the elephant in the room.

He smirked and raised his glass along with his eyebrow. “Well, Rose. Feel free to call me Kai… if you’d prefer.”