Around the World in 80 Men Series: Boxed Set 21-30 (55 page)

Chapter
Three

“
Mr.
Rivera, you'll find that your account has been refunded in full.”
Julianne gave Luis a slight nod as she spoke. It was the following
morning and Morgan had requested for Julianne to call for Luis so she
could see him off. At least, Morgan assumed he wouldn't want to be
there while she was going on a trip to Drama Drama Island.

“Oh,
that wasn't necessary at all...I..well....” He wasn't sure how
to say how he felt. Even though he knew Morgan wouldn't be
servicing
him, he still wanted to be there
to show support for a new friend. “I won't ask for her company
for two weeks, but I would very much like to see the rest of this
week out with her.” He had already decided that he wouldn't
leave, but the women had no idea at that point what his plans were.

“That
will be up to her, Mr...”

“
Luis,
please.”

“
Alright,
Luis. That will be up to the young lady.” Julianne took a sip
of her coffee, then gave him another brief nod before disappearing
into the bedroom. “Morgan, he's here. Are you decent, child?”
She tapped a knuckle against the bathroom door and waited for a
response. A muffled
yes
was
given and Julianne turned the knob and walked in, the sound of her
heels and metal bangle bracelets echoed loudly against the tiled
floors and walls as she made her way through the long room and over
to a footstool against the far wall. “It seems as if you've
made an impression on Mr. Rivera.”

“
What
do you mean?” Morgan was standing on her toes, leaning towards
her reflection. Her breath fogged up the
mirror
when she spoke and she quickly wiped it off before continuing with
her mascara. “He isn't leaving?”

“
It's
up to you,” Julianne shrugged. She sounded a bit too happy,
even for her usual self. Morgan envied that her boss was such a
morning person and she wondered if it was a trained skill or
something that one either had or didn't have.

“
Up
to me? Why in the hell would he want to stay?”

“You
sound surprised.” Julianne smiled and slowly crossed one knee
over the other. Morgan quit playing layer-the-lashes and turned
around to face her boss. One hand went to her hip and her eyebrows
came together.

“
Oh,
Julianne.” Morgan felt her eyes burn with the threat of tears
and she pulled out an Angel move, fanning her eyes rapidly with
flailing hands. It worked and her mascara was saved. “Yes, if
he wants to be here. But will you give his money ba...”

“
Already
done, dear.” Julianne stood and began walking back out of the
room, but before she left, she said one more thing to Morgan. “By
the way, those jeans and that sweater should never have met, nor be
seen together in public. Separate them.” She wagged a finger at
Morgan's ensemble, then shut the door behind her.

Morgan's
giggles broke free as she stared down her reflection in the mirror
again. “What's wrong with it?” She was still laughing
when Julianne answered from the bedroom.

“
Everything,
child! Separate them!” Again, Morgan giggled and pulled the
light brown sweater over her head. She sighed and carried it over to
her bag that was sitting below the seat Julianne has just occupied.

“
Well...what
goes with these pants?” She'd been talking to herself, but
again, a reply came through the door.

“
You
can start with fire. Fire goes with those pants.” Morgan bent
over and held her side as she laughed even harder.
Julianne has
jokes!
It was in that awkward position that her boss found her
when the bathroom door was opened once more. “Give them to me.”

“
What?
My....pants?” Morgan blurted out, her eyes scanning her own
body.

“
No,
your eyebrows! Yes, dear. Give me the goddamn pants!”

“
But
you bought them!”
“And people once thought the Earth
was flat until they saw it for themselves. Pants. Now.”
Julianne held her hand out as if she were awaiting a payment.

“
You're....serious?”
Julianne nodded, keeping a straight face while her full lips came
together tightly in a near smile. More laughter. Morgan could barely
breathe, let alone keep her balance while she removed the jeans.
Standing there, in her deep purple bra and matching thong, she handed
her pants over to the impatient Julianne.

“
Let
us never speak of these again.” Julianne turned away from
Morgan, holding the pants as if they were infected with a disease,
but across her lips, she wore a large smile that the young woman
could not see. The pants actually looked fabulous on Morgan, but
getting rid of them was a well made sacrifice for putting a smile on
the young woman's face.

“
That
was good,” Luis whispered when Julianne walked back out into
the main area and the wise woman
tsk
'd him, letting him know
to be quiet about it. “It's good to hear her laugh, she's got a
great one.” He tipped his forehead towards the bedroom and a
smile formed across his lips at hearing the faint laugh that was
still sounding from the bedroom.

“
I'll
have her meet you downstairs when she's ready.” Julianne
informed Luis, then left the room once again, going into her own room
that time. Luis picked up on the cue and nodded.

“
I'll,
uh...be downstairs then.” Luis laughed quietly to himself,
talking to the empty room and went down to the restaurant to wait for
Morgan.

He
didn't have to wait long because his breakfast date was walking
through the room, weaving in and out of the small tables as her eyes
finally found him. He took a deep breath as he watched her, and
waved as he forced a smile to his lips. She didn't look like the
same girl that had met him in Spain, and that broke his heart even
more. Her eyes didn't hold their endearing twinkle that he usually
found himself staring at, nor did she walk too fast, which was
another trait that he'd grown quite fond of. In fact, he was sad to
see, that her eyes spent most of the time searching the floor in
front of her until she finally joined him.

Morgan
didn't give him any time to greet her, as her words were already
flowing unchecked from her lips. “I have no idea why you're
still here... but... thank you.” She only looked up at him a
few times as she spoke. Luis felt the need to pull her close to him,
but he sat up straight and tried a different approach instead.

Luis
couldn't stand seeing her so sad, and seemingly so alone. However,
knowing that she had no idea what her attraction was to those around
her, was the worst part of it all.

“Truth
is, Holland, you have no idea why anyone would
want
to stick
around with you, do you?” She looked up, staring at the smug
look on his face, and all she could do was fight the damn tears
again. “Don't. No more tears.” Morgan looked down and
felt her face warm to the point of forcing her hands to her cheeks to
cool them. She was holding her face, staring at the table, when she
finally answered him.

“No...
I don't.” There it was, the ugly truth, and she didn't know
which one of them caused the tears to fall over her hands at that
moment. Luis didn't intend to make her cry, but he did intend to
make his point, so he continued.

“Women
will easily like you, because you're too kind to be a threat.”
Morgan almost smiled, as she knew exactly what he meant. “Men,
well.. that's a different story. Men like you because,” he
cleared his throat softly as their server approached with their
coffee that he'd ordered when he first sat down, as well as
breakfast. The server walked away, and Luis leaned down and put his
head close to hers, “as I was saying... men... well, you give
them something that they long for, and can rarely find.”
Morgan's eyes moved up and found his, but she didn't dare ask what it
was that she could give a man that any other women couldn't.
“Holland... you give them life.” Her brows came
together, and she took a breath to speak, but he wasn't finished.
“Laughter, freedom, fun, and interest. You give those things
freely, and never expect or demand anything in return. Life,
Holland, you give them the best of this world as easily as you
breathe. It's rare, and the most coveted gift that a man could
receive from a beautiful woman.” She still didn't understand,
and she certainly didn't feel rare by any stretch.

“If
you mean sex..,”

“No,
not sex. That's business, and you know it,” he took her chin
with one finger and lifted her face towards his, “it's all the
things that you do aside from the business arrangement.” Luis
sat back again, as well as did Morgan, as their meals were placed
before them.

Over
their breakfast of eggs and pancakes, Luis spent most of the time
explaining the difference between Morgan, and single women who would
normally date the men that she meets. Morgan heard herself in much
of what he was saying when he spoke of women that use sex to land a
man, or some that try too hard to be loved, instead of liked. There
are women who are insecure, and simply lack the self worth that they
need, and some that have been hurt so badly in the past, that they
need a man to work hard through their own trust issues. Luis and
Morgan both knew that there were many other types of women out there,
but he touched on only a few types, sadly, the most difficult types
to find love, and it made his point.

The most attractive qualities in a woman are laughter, happiness,
and a love of life that can't be faked... or hidden. Since Morgan
had started working for Julianne, there were no worries about
tomorrow, or finding a boyfriend; all Morgan wanted to do was enjoy
her life and all the people that were in it. That, as told by Luis,
was the rare quality that Morgan was showing, for the first time in
her life, and the one that men most coveted.

Their
plates were removed, and Morgan was nearly speechless. If what Luis
was saying was true, then it was the biggest irony that ever could
have happened to her. When she tried desperately to find a good man,
she fell flat almost each and every time, but when she gave up
looking for the sake of her new career, she became a woman that men
desired above most others. She sipped her coffee, and let his words
play over in her mind, wondering if it all could be true.

She
recalled a recent conversation that she had with a certain Aussie and
the words she'd spoken to him also replayed in her mind. He'd asked
her if she wanted to give a relationship a try and she had
immediately asked herself what was different.
Why
would Tanner
want a relationship? He wouldn't have wanted to be with her if they'd
met a year prior and she knew it.

Even
Veta, the red-haired woman who Morgan had met during her first trip
to Australia entered her thoughts. She had reminded Morgan much of
herself, the way she'd practically begged for Tanner's attention and
the man had wanted nothing more than friendship.
She reminded me
of....me....because that is who I was.
The fact was something
Morgan had already known for months, but the rest of it fell into
place. She hadn't known why the men were so nice to her or why men
like Tanner or Finlay wanted to be with her, but it finally made
sense.
They changed because I changed.

“I
know what you need.” Luis' voice brought her head up and she
met his eyes questioningly. “A long soak in the hot tub.”
He was already scooting his chair out before Morgan replied.

“Oh
my god, that sounds really good right now.” Morgan smiled and
took his offered hand that helped her get to her feet.

“No
more sadness, no more tears. I want to see the woman I met a few days
ago.” Luis pulled her in for a tight hug and she nodded into
his chest.

“Well,
a hot tub is a good start in getting me there,” she giggled and
pulled away from him, then took his hand as they walked together to
the elevator. Morgan still had her thoughts on the words Luis had
told her, but she forced them on the back burner until they were
changed and back downstairs.

In
the jacuzzi, Morgan did exactly what Luis had intended for her to do.
Relax. So much had been put on her shoulders; stress, secrets, bad
news and she never had time to recover. While she soaked in the hot
water, a bit of that recovering process happened. Even if was just
one step, it was just as important as the one before, and the next.