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Chp. 30
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The Lovelane Motel Chp. 31
*** Solana ***It was Monday morning, and Solana half-dread seeing Mark. That weekend was the longest for her. She spent every moment waiting for a knock on her door or to run into Mark in the hall again. That was after the nervousness had passed. But there was nothing like that. He also didn't call her phone again that Saturday, and at first Solana appreciated the space because she was a little unsure and extremely anxious about what he'd say. On Sunday, she expected to see him. To have him knock on her door. He hadn't. Then he called finally in the evening, after keeping her anxiously waiting all day. She'd watched the phone ring, unable to answer. After calling the second time, he'd given up. Why was she too anxious to answer the phone? Because his calling her, instead of knocking at her door, could only mean one thing - rather than taking it further, he wanted to put an end to it. "I'm not avoiding him." She mumbled into her cup of coffee as she sat waiting at her office desk.
The Lovelane Motel Chp. 32
*** Mark ***As Solana vanished unto the street from the curb, Mark closed his eyes, head on the window frame, as he asked himself yet again, 'What am I to do?'He'd spent the entire weekend asking himself this, and his answer had been the same - 'Do Nothing.'How could he even consider taking things further with Solana when he had nothing to offer her? Not even a comfortable house to live in. Not until the lawyer confirmed he was in the clear.Life was tough, which was why he'd been careful not to want much. Not to get attached to anything. Or anyone. Nothing was permanent. His mother left without warning, now he was saddled with a task he never imagined she would entrust him with. This was his responsibility. His task. Solana was a paid employee. If she became a part of his life. If they became lovers, what could he offer her rather than added pressure to see the motel standing strong again? He was doing the right thing. His number one focus was Lovelane, and this past month had ta
The Lovelane Motel Chp. 33
*** Phil ***It was past four PM, and Phil had little to do. He decided to take another short break outside the supermarket. His 'cozy' motel room was only three minutes' drive from here. Maybe he should walk there, he thought. He had to leave the motel earlier than he wanted because of work, so he hadn't seen Solana all afternoon - she was the reason he was staying there for the next twelve hours.Another 40 minutes break was what he needed, Phil told himself. It was enough time to chat her up and continue to deepen their acquaintance. As he drove out of Ever-Good for the second time that day, he tried to come up with an excuse in his head to go knocking on her office door. When he couldn't come up with one, he decided he didn't need it."There's nothing unusual about stopping to say hi to a former employee who now worked in the motel where I happen to be staying this afternoon." He nodded to himself in agreement. The drive was longer than five minutes because it was nearly the off
The Lovelane Motel Chp. 34
*** Solana *** Only a few minutes after Phil left her office, Mark rang for Solana. She was startled because she saw him go out and was not expecting to hear from him until tomorrow at least. They had just wrapped up the campaign, so she suspected he wanted to review that one last time before she closed officially for the day. Moments later, she sat across from him in his large office as they went over the results of the campaign. He'd bought her an Ipahd for the job, which she placed on the desk in front of her. Though she knew she was not allowed to look down on it longer than three seconds. The results were great. From her estimations, the returns far exceeded his target. So why didn't he look happy? She wondered. The thought caused her to do a quick memory scan, trying to recall if she had ever seen him happy. He smiled occasionally, though never at her. She had seen him laugh more than once with Joe. But when it comes to looking happy, she wasn't sure she'd be able to tell if h
The Lovelane Motel Chp. 35
**** Phil ***Later that night when Phil drove into Lovelane's driveway and found a parking space near Mark's reserved car park, he doubted the guy was in the building. The Daniels and some of their relatives lived in the tall building blocks away. He thought Mark had likely walked home and left his car here in the driveway as he did sometimes. Phil checked the time again. It was now past 10 PM. Was it a terribly inappropriate time to contact Solana? He wondered while walking into Lovelane's lobby.There was a security guard standing near the door. He nodded at the younger man's greeting. The face at the reception counter was unfamiliar. It was another young lady around Solana's age. He guessed they’d changed shifts already. She greeted him and supplied the key to his room. As Phil walked toward the staircase, he noticed the pretty-faced security guard coming down the hall, eyes on him. For no reason, Phil recalled seeing Solana talking and laughing with this one more than a couple
The Lovelane Motel Chp. 36
*** Mark ***After Solana went inside and shut her door, the only sound in the hall was of a distant bird, and someone's watch, maybe his own or Phil's, ticking. Tick, tick, tick.Mark was still, eyes locked on the other man, who wasn't attempting to move either. Even if he did attempt to move, Mark was aware he was blocking the man's path.He willed himself to move, but he stood rigid, waiting... He didn't know what he was waiting for. There was nothing wrong with Solana standing in the hall this late at night, looking like sin and smiling at another man. It was not his business. From the moment he walked in on that image minutes ago, he'd kept repeating these words in his head to quell the tumult rising in his gut. 'It's not my business. She's not mine.'The both of them hadn't even heard him come up. He'd walked in on Phil fucking her with his eyes, while she spoke softly and giggled up at him. 'What if I gouge out those eyes with this ball pen in his pocket?'Mark swallowed to
The Lovelane Motel Chp. 37
*** Solana ***The next morning, Solana sat across from Mark for their usual meeting. The adapter, which she meant to give to Phil last night was on his desk beside his laptop. He raised his coffee cup to his lips, eyes fixed on her, even as hers were on the adapter sitting between them.He took a sip and dropped the cup on the wooden coaster gently. Then he wiped his mouth with a napkin before saying, "Yeah, he didn't really need it."Solana raised her head to meet his gaze. The sunlight poured into the office through the window, delicately touching his damp, thick lashes. They reminded her of glistening dewdrops decorating a cluster of daisies. He licked his lips and left them parted slightly, eyes now settled on her lips.Solana swallowed and looked away, shifting a little in her seat. She was sure her cheeks were stained darkish red now. He'd caught her staring."Did he call again?" His voice was somewhat hoarse. "To ask for this." He tilted his chin toward the adapter."I put my
The Lovelane Motel Chp. 38
*** Solana ***Another week went by while things settled into normalcy between Solana and Mark. Or so it seemed on the surface. The motel was making progress. As far as Solana could tell, she and Mark were back to the time after she just got here. They worked together smoothly, pretending the past never happened. Playing the role of boss and employee without issues. Solana thought Mark played that role effortlessly. So she was determined to follow his lead, always wearing her cold, independent-woman, businesslike demeanor at all times.Every morning whenever she got to her desk, she sternly reminded herself that they were boss and employee, nothing more! Despite the undeniable sizzling tension that lingered between them, she must always keep their professional boundaries in mind at all times. The only challenge was the fact that the lingering tension was a spillover from their odd history of having seen each other naked. Her body knew what he felt like. How he tasted. Just like his
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The Lovelane Motel Chp. 70
*** Phil ***"I'm outside the hotel." The Uber driver's voice came through the phone on loudspeaker."Be there in two minutes." Phil replied as finished buttoning his shirt.It was early October. Which meant four-season countries were in their colder months. The weather was much chillier than he expected when he landed the previous day.He doned his new, thick, ankle length jacket as he rushed out of the room to his waiting cab.Minutes later, he was in front of Kendi's hostel in the city center.As she approached him from the distance, furrowed brow, messy curls peeking out of her hair warmer, he admitted silently that she was the reason he'd flown here. Not to piss off Mark some more or get over Solana. "You really are here." Laughter and disbelief colored her voice as she said this."What made you think I was lying?" He asked."What are you doing here, young Gonza." The shock was still in her voice but the amusement was gone."Young Gonza?" He scoffed. "Are you mad at me or someth
The Lovelane Motel Chp. 69
*** Solana ***The vibe in front of the motel lobby felt awkward as Mark led Solana away. He was quick to hide the embarrassed look on his face and Phil's fake smile was hard to miss. She looked at Joe's face for clues, but the guard was unreadable as he watched she and Mark moved towards the lobby.When she turned to glance at Phil again, she failed to see his face because Jamal and the temp guard's wide shoulders now stood in the way.Solana also noticed Lucy quickly returning to her seat as they passed the lobby. Mark did not let go of her hand even as they walked past receptionist to the staircase.She felt the need to ask. "Are you and Phil -?" "Chatting." He replied before she could finish the question. "That chat was long overdue."Was chatting the new code word for fighting? More importantly, had been about to do that because of her? That would be beyond flattering. However, it was totally unbecoming, especially for her former boss.Solana decided to find out later. Perhaps w
The Lovelane Motel Chp. 68
*** Mark ***"Who was that?" Mark asked his cousin.He wondered why she had been unusually quiet all day. Was it his little speech about parents and how they didn’t stick around forever? He shrugged off that thought. If it really got to her, she wouldn't be leaving, would she?One thing he knew was that she got like this whenever she was upset. Either her father must've really pissed her off or something happened, which she was unwilling to share. He thought his uncle was definitely not the only reason she was rushing back.She ignored his question, pretending not to hear, and he had no desire to press further, so he let it lie. Everyone deserved their privacy."I'm not happy you're leaving so soon." That was the truth."So come to Denmark one of these days. You're rich now. You can afford to go wherever you want." She replied, a half smile forming in her face. "Bring your pretty girlfriend, too." She winked as she moved ahead in the queue."You think she's pretty, huh?" Mark couldn't
The Lovelane Motel Chp. 67
*** Solana ***“You two should be working.”The sound of Mark's uncle's voice as he climbed down the stairs sends a jolt through Solana. This man again.She wished the ground would open and swallow her up. Mark still had his arms around her. She clumsily move out of his embrace, lowering her head in complete embarrassment. Stepping a few feet away, she wished there was a wall to hide behind, at least.“Thought you were meeting Uncle John? Mark asked the man.Solana raised her eyelids to steal a glance only to find the older man turning to continue on his way down the stairs. Relief made her suck in a deep breath. He was not on his way to Mark’s office.The man did not reply his question. Instead, he said, “Or you could use one of your suites. You’re not in a movie, Marky boy.”Solana glanced at her boss to find him looking down at her. It didn’t seem like was listening to his uncle.When the older man disappeared out of sight, he took her gently by the arm and led her into her office.
The Lovelane Motel Chp. 66
*** Solana ***After the little chitchat at the new kitchen, Solana only saw and heard from Mark just once for the rest of the morning.The brief meeting they had afterwards was nothing close to awkward. It was formal and serious, making her feel like they were back to that time when she pined for him all day and night. It felt like they'd returned to the stage when he looked at her with evident lust but keeps a safe distance.At some point before her lunch break, she wondered if their date on Saturday was not even real. Or were they back to pretending. It seemed like he'd forgotten the fact that she was his girlfriend now. Lovelane was the most important thing, of course. She was alright with that. Can't be jealous of the attention the motel got from him.But she was eager for the day to end. She needed to see how he'd treat her once they were officially done with work.It was break time, and she sat on her desk, wondering if it was alright to check on him. If it be too forward of he
The Lovelane Motel Chp. 65
*** Mark ***As Mark and his uncle entered his office for their meeting, he was prepared for any unsolicited comment or advise about his personal life.To his surprise, the man made no reference to Solana when they sat down to talk business. He went back to his usual, dignified, pretentious, proper self, beginning his questions and lectures about all Mark would be handling.Mark followed his lead and kept a professional and calm manner throughout their talk. If uncle Johnny saw him now, he imagined the man would say something like, "how come I never get this type of courtesy from you."The meeting went far better than he expected as they made plans for other businesses outside Lovelane.It turned out that uncle Johnny and Mr. Johnson were wrong about his paternal uncle. He hadn't come to see what his mother left behind to take back from Mark. He was getting the sense that the man came to ensure he was handling the estate well enough. If he thought he wasn't, only then would he make a
The Lovelane Motel Chp. 64
*** Solana ***Solana took a deep, steadying breath before opening her door. It is Monday morning and time for work.She had been dating her boss for forty-eight hours, and this day would be the first time they'd work together since they got involved.The sound of a door opening made her want to do one of two things. Nunber one was to get back inside her apartment and lock her door till he leaves. Number two was to run quickly down the stairs. She wanted to hide from him.Choosing the latter, she was already facing the gate but had to stop at the sound of her name."Solana." 'Why, oh why are you nervous?'She turned around and forced a smile through the grimace when a few drops of hot coffee spilled into her hand."Good morning," he said."Good morning," she replied.He moved closer bringing out his handkerchief and took the cup from her. Her hand shook a little when it made contact with his, but Solana was thankful that his did the same.He dabbed gently with his handkerchief, wipin
The Lovelane Motel Chp. 63
*** Phil ***The distant sound of a cock crow roused Phil from a sleep that felt like death as he forced his eyes open. The headache that struck as the daylight hit his eyes brought back memories of the night before.He and Kendi had ridden the elevator downstairs and she'd continuously insist he couldn't drive home in his state. Then she'd led him by the arm to this room, dumped him on the bed and left.Shame and anger filled him as he remembered leaning on her soft shoulder for support. The events of the past twenty-four hours made him wish this weekend would end already.Solana's date with Mark and the fact that he spent the evening with his bottle. Plus getting mocked by his ex. These things made him want to run off and start a new existence somewhere far from here."It's not enough that she witnessed the whole thing. You had to get wasted in front of her, too?" It was this very thought of Kendi that kept Phil on the bed, wishing he could vanish from the city.Eventually, he made
The Lovelane Motel Chp. 62
*** Phil ***"Hey! Hey!"Kendi stood between Phil and the glassdoor of the lobby. The nausea he'd felt all day intensified as he watched Solana and Mark enter the new, tiny elevator. "Don't even think about what you're thinking about." Kendi warned him, pulling his arm towards the outdoor staircase that led to the bar.Phil didn't know what he was thinking. Except that the bastard had his hand on Solana's lower back while she smiled up at him and gave him those doe-eyed looks."They are just getting back from a date, Phil. That means you lost! She chose him. C'mon." Kendi kept dragging him away, and Phil noticed mister harsh-face security guard now watched him with interest from the lobby's glass door. He felt like going up to that one to ask him what he's looking at. But Kendi had a tight grip on his shirt as she dragged him away."She hasn't told me that yet." He argued."Don't be stupid." She replied, urging him up the stairs.An the image of Mark and Solana, naked in bed tonight,
