Around the World in 80 Men Series: Boxed Set 21-30 (95 page)

Julius
narrowed his eyes. “Are you?” Both of them nodded, and
Manuel continued.

“That
night, you said you would give anything to have 'the good life', even
if just for a week. Well, little bro, I'm going to give you just
that.” Manuel knew Julius really would give anything he had to
live a week without having to worry about anything, a week where the
world looked at him in another light. Not as the poor man who can't
keep his car running, or afford a proper lunch, but as the man who is
being driven around in a limo, wearing an expensive suit, with a
beautiful woman on his arm.

Julius
wasn't understanding what Manuel was telling him, but after another
hour of explanation, it all became clear. Manuel, who would never
have to worry about money again, had made an account with Julianne's
service, but had used Julius' photo instead of his own. It was the
only way to offer his half brother to the women, yet pass the test of
proper credentials for Julianne.

It
would have been easier to just give his brother the money to have a
better life, but their father would never allow it. Sneaking a
little fun now and then, however, could be kept secret.

“Anyway,
she'll be here in about a week and a half, and you're going to have a
blast! I've already booked a limo for you, and reserved a table at
two of the best restaurants in town. You'll get your wish, little
bro.” Julius told him to cancel, to do something to make it
all go away, but Manuel wouldn't budge.

Julius
was finally left alone with his thoughts. He was the poorest person
that he knew, his father and step mother hated him, and he was
expected to entertain a high end call girl for a week. Things could
not have been worse.

Peru

Book
Twenty-eight

Chapter
One

“I
can't do this. I can't fucking do this anymore.” Tanner dropped
his phone on the coffee table in front of him, then leaned back
against the sofa. His body released the long breath that he'd been
holding in since he'd heard Morgan's voice, in a way that sounded
more of a sigh. He didn't know what to do, what to say or what to
think. Morgan was in Poland, and with any of the seven billion people
in the world, she was with his cousin. He grabbed one of several cans
of beer off of the table and finished it without taking a breath,
then grabbed another.

He
closed his eyes and leaned his head against the back of the couch.
For the first time since he'd met Morgan Holland, he questioned
himself. “Maybe I just need to let her go.” Even speaking
the words produced a hard lump in his throat, it was something that
struck his heart in a way he'd never felt.

A
hundred thoughts sped through his mind, each one contradicting the
last.
I can't let her go, I love her. This would never work
anyway. It could work. No. It can't. I wish she'd quit her job. I
can't ask her to do that. What am I thinking? I rarely even get to
see her. But when I do see her...fuck. She's with Eryk right now. But
it's her job. But it's Eryk. I knew this was her job. Will there ever
be time for me? I can't keep loving a woman who doesn't love me the
same way. Okay, I know she loves me. But am I wasting my time? No,
there is never wasted time when it comes to her. FUCK!

Six
beers later, he still couldn't make his mind stop, no matter how hard
he tried. Granted, the beer had slowed it down a bit, but it only
surfaced more ideas. He would think about something else, and it
would immediately go back to thoughts of her.

Tanner
got up and, more drunk than he thought, stumbled his way back to the
fridge and grabbed three more cans of beer, then slowly walked back
over to his couch. He popped open the tab on the first one and
chugged all the contents. The second can was opened and he was
already working on downing that can as well when his phone lit up on
the table in front of him.

First
thought was to ignore the call, that was until he read who it was.
“'Ello?” He closed his mouth quickly to avoid a beer burp
into the speaker.

“Yes,
Mister Collins?”

“Yes,
ma'am. What's going on?” He sat back on his couch and drank the
first half of his second beer quickly.

“Firstly,
I do want to apologize for the inconvenience this may cause you, but
this is in regards to your request to be hidden on our database...”
Julianne began, Tanner could hear the sincerity in her voice.

Tanner
had completely forgotten about his request, it had been months prior,
shortly after he had met Morgan. He had asked to be hidden from the
selection screen, so nobody else could choose him. His heart longed
for Morgan, and any other involvement that he had with women would be
done outside of Julianne's service. “Yes?”

“Well,
it seems as if there was a glitch in the system last night. It only
lasted two hours, but during that time, all of our hidden clients had
become visible to the women,” Julianne continued.

“And
I was picked,” Tanner sighed and took another drink.

“Yes,
several of you were. Now, if you wish to not have the company, I will
inform Miss Amber she will be required to choose again, or we can go
through with the request and she will arrive on Friday. Either way, I
must call to let you know you've been chosen, that way the email sent
out will not startle you.” Julianne's database is set to send
out an automated email when clients were chosen.

Amber,
huh?
Tanner sat up and rubbed his temple. Morgan had kept him
disinterested in woman for quite a while, and quite a while also
happened to be the time that it had been since his male needs had
been met.
Like Angel said...we're not married.

With
liquid courage coursing through his veins, Tanner gave her an answer.
“You know, Miss Marks, it couldn't be a better fuckin' time.
Let Amber know, I look forward to meeting her.”

*****

“Morgan,
he would have called back if it were that serious.” Eryk stood
behind Morgan and watched the sadness move across her face as she
attempted to pull her hair into a presentable up-do. She nodded, but
not in agreement.

Morgan
had tried to talk to Tanner the night before, for hours after their
awkward call, but he wouldn't answer his phone. Eryk had tried as
well, mostly to ease Morgan's mind, but he also failed to talk to his
cousin. The rest of their evening was spent mostly in silence, then
a quiet, yet restless night's sleep. Still, the next day as they
prepared for the party, it was the only thing that Morgan could think
about.

“I
just wish he would talk to me. He sounded so....sad.” Morgan
looked down to her wrist and moved her bracelet in a full circle.
Eryk watched her and wished he knew what he could say to make her
world better right then. His other thought, however, was that he was
grateful for never wanting a true relationship, because dealing with
other people's problems was not something he ever enjoyed. It would
be better, he decided, to simply take her to the party and hope that
she forgot about his dear cousin for the night.

“Alright,
enough of this.” His hands moved to her shoulders and he
turned her to face him. “Let's go have some fun, and
maybe....,” he dropped his forehead and gently placed it
against hers, “we can get back to some real fun.” Morgan
knew exactly what kind of
fun
he wanted, and that moment
pushed the boundaries of the line between her professional and
personal life. She took a few moments to gather her thoughts before
speaking, otherwise, she would have spilled the truth; she wanted
nothing more than to leave Eryk right then and fly directly to
Tanner.

With
every ounce of self control, she finally answered. “Okay.
Let's go.” She smiled weakly, trying to make herself appear
more happy than she felt, and walked toward the bedroom door. “See
you later, Handsome.” Her hand went to Boomer's large head as
she passed him in the hallway. Eryk shook his head and was already
looking forward to the end of the week when he could shake the recent
drama from his life.

Ten
minutes later, Eryk and Morgan were walking to the party that was
already in full swing a few houses from his. He chose not to speak
to her at all, hoping that she would come around on her own without
him dealing with the Tanner situation, and she enjoyed the quiet walk
so that she could think about what to do about her favorite Aussie.
Their silence was broken not twenty feet from the front door of their
destination. It was Eryk's phone, and they both looked at the front
when he removed it from his jacket pocket.

“Here,”
he handed his phone to Morgan without answering, “I'm done with
this shit.” Eryk walked away from Morgan and mumbled something
about meeting him inside if she wanted. Morgan looked down at the
phone, then to Eryk's back as he continued to walk away. It was a
horrible feeling, not knowing whether to answer and deal with the
issue at hand, or run after her client. Ultimately, and just as
Tanner was about to hang up, she decided that matters of the heart
were far more important than Eryk's professional approval of her.

“Tanner?”
It was all she could say when she answered the phone. She was met
with silence for several seconds. “Tanner, please talk to me.”
Morgan walked slowly to stand at the side of the large front porch
of the party home. She heard a long sigh and knew that he was going
to finally answer.

“I
was calling for Eryk. Put him on the phone, Morgan.” A single
tear dropped to her cheek as she spoke.

“Tanner.
Please...don't be upset with me... I … I didn't know. You
have to believe me, I swear, I didn't know you two were related.”
She wanted to tell him that she and Angel had suspicions and that's
the reason her best friend had asked him if he had a brother. She
wanted him to know that she would have canceled if she knew the
truth. She wanted him to know that her heart was usually always in
the right place, even when she made mistakes, but it was silence that
she offered instead of a further explanation since a full blown
crying episode would follow, and that couldn't happen in front of
Eryk's friends and neighbors.

Tanner
realized that he wasn't going to get to talk to Eryk, and he was
quick to let Morgan know that he was done with their conversation.
“Maybe in time we can talk, Morgan...but not now. Go and have
a good time with my cousin, that's what you're being paid to do.”
The silence, indicating that Tanner was no longer on the other end
of the call, forced her to fight an avalanche of emotions right there
in front of the house.

“Morgan!”
Eryk's unpleasant tone brought several faces in his direction.
Morgan looked as well, and started to walk towards him. “No,
that way.” He nodded to the street and she turned slightly to
meet him on the sidewalk. He took three stairs at a time as he left
the porch and was at her side within seconds. “I don't know
what was said, and I don't care. But this,” his index finger
quickly, and not so gently, wiped a tear from the bottom of her chin,
“isn't what I signed up for. I'm sure you can find your way to
the airport.” With that, he grabbed his phone from her hand,
then turned quickly and left an emotional whirlwind in his wake.

Eryk
could deal with almost anything that came his way, but an emotional
woman that was meant to provide fun for the week, wasn't something
that he would tolerate. In his world, free time was something that
he had worked hard his entire life to enjoy, and if Morgan couldn't
provide what was promised, then he had to let her go.

Chapter
Two

Morgan
stood on the sidewalk for a moment, as more hot tears streamed slowly
down her cheeks. She watched Eryk climb the stairs of the porch,
then enter the house, followed by a loud slam of their front door.
Some of the guests gathered in a small circle in the front yard,
occasionally one would point or turn around to look at Morgan. She
was embarrassed and had no idea what to do.