Tempo (14 page)

“Last night was the most amazing night. I have never had sex so many times in one night. I have never wanted to have sex so many times in one night. I can’t get enough of you Karlie.” Lifting my chin he lowers his head for a soft languid kiss. My insides begin to melt and my core begins to twitch.

“Last night I had more sex than I have ever had in my entire life.”

Leaving him with his mouth hung open, I head to the bathroom.

“There is a toothbrush on the counter for you, you can use my toothpaste. I had the front desk bring it up this morning.”

“Oh my God, Eve knows too!” First it’s room service, now the front desk. Who else knows I spent the night here?
Well there’s also Lloyd and Tony.
Grumbling at myself, I head back into the room to eat my breakfast. Still naked I grab Michaels robe from the closet as I make my way to where he is. His eyes are on me like a hawk on its prey.

“
You didn’t have to dress for me,” he says.

“I had to dress for me or we may never leave this room.”

“We can work from here today?” He looks to me with a hopeful expression in his eyes.

“We wouldn’t get anything done.”

“Oh I think we could accomplish a great deal, but since we are speaking of work, I want to go with the oval tubs. Can you please order them today? I will get the plumbers working on re-piping for the new configuration. Order seventeen of them so I can put one in my penthouse apartment. Does anything else have to be ordered today?”

My mind has a tough time moving from sex to work so quickly. I can see that Michael has no problem transferring to business mode. We spend the next hour going over order details and time estimates.

“Oh I almost forgot to tell you, Anna and your team will be arriving tomorrow to help you with the purchasing orders and planning.”

“Okay that makes sense. Thanks.” The frown I feel inside must have made its way to my face.

“You look disappointed. Is there something wrong?”

Giving him a pouty look I say, “No, it’s just that … I just got you and now I will have to share you.”

Grabbing me by the waist he lifts me up and slides me down his body. When our faces are together he kisses my forehead, my nose and then gives me quick peck on the lips. “We have the next ninety days if you like.” Turning me around he swats my behind and tells me to get dressed. I head to the closet to grab my dress, but it’s nowhere to be seen. I do find a pair of my jeans, a t-shirt and some of my new undergarments.  My sneakers and socks are on the floor. Turning his way I give him a questioning look. He answers in one word.

“Tony.”

I let out a groan. “Where is my dress?”

Smiling at me he makes a proclamation. “I have a lot of fond memories of that dress, I think I am going to keep it as a souvenir.”

“Like hell you are, I just bought that dress and it cost me a fortune.” I begin to search the closet for the little bit of black cloth.

“You just bought that dress?” he asks.

“Yes, I bought it specifically for the presentation.”

“You bought it for me?”

Feeling a bit self-conscious, I begin to open my mouth and then snap it closed again.

“Answer me Karlie.” His voice sounds stern
, but his body language says something totally different. He is anticipating my answer.

“Well, yes I did buy it just for you. You were driving me insane with your stolen kisses and innuendo. I wanted you and I bought that dress hoping that you would be able to see the possibilities. It’s a great dress. Are you angry at me?”

“Angry? No, I am so pleased that you want to please me. That makes me very happy. As for your dress, I had it sent out to be cleaned, it spent the night in a wrinkled heap on the floor and I definitely want to see you in it again.”

Grabbing my clothes I head for his shower. The body wash smells of citrus. It smells of him. I stand under the water and reflect on the last few days. I have had the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Outside this room is a gorgeous man who makes me feel like I have never felt before. He thinks I’m beautiful and he makes me laugh. Everything about him seems good. My heart is at risk and I know it. If I get hurt this time it’s of my own choosing. It will be from a choice I make. That’s an empowering thought. When I got hurt before, I had no control. This thing between us is very powerful and I want to see where it leads.

Showered and dressed I head back to the bedroom. It’s a beautiful suite. Joshua, the bellman was correct, the end units have the greatest view.

Michael is busy on the phone and I don’t want to bother him so I attempt to sneak out the door.  I almost succeed.

“Hold on a second please.” He says to the person he is speaking to. I feel Michaels grip on my arm, pulling me against his chest. “I am going to have to call you back in a minute.”

I wrap my arms around him and hug him close.

“Where are you going?” he asks.

“I have work to do, besides, you look busy.” Reaching up, I touch his face with my hand.  On my tippy toes I stretch to reach his mouth and plant a soft kiss on his lips. “Have a good day Michael.”

“Will you join me for dinner tonight?” He looks at me with something like longing in his eyes.

“Sure, my place at seven?”

“I’ll be there.”

Walking two doors down I reach my room. My sentinel is present.

“Hi Tony, how are you?”

“Doing very well Ms. McKenna.”

“Looks like we are going to be together for a while Tony.”

“That’s what I hear Ms. McKenna. Congratulations.”

“I am going to need to go to Tempo in an hour, can you take me then?”

“It would be my pleasure Ms. McKenna.”

“Can you call me Karlie?”

“No I can’t Ms. McKenna.”

I am going to have to talk to Michael about that. All this Ms. McKenna is making me feel old. In my room I busy myself with purchase orders. I steal a few minutes to take care of personal items as well. My rent needed to be paid as well as various other bills that still come due regardless of my geographic location. Feeling like my ducks are in order I call Anna.

“Hi Karlie, congratulations! We are so proud of you. This is the largest job our company has ever had and you landed it. I cannot tell you how happy I am. The team will be arriving tomorrow to help with the details. How was dinner last night?”

“Dinner was wonderful, we had lamb and risotto and zucchini. He bought a nice bottle of champagne. It was lovely. Did you go and celebrate too?”

“Yes, the whole team went for dinner? What’s going on between you and Mr. Scarpetti?”

Surprised at her question, I don’t know how to answer. I don’t want to lie to her, but I don’t really know what’s going on with us. “What do you mean?”

“The gossip column has you two nearly married. The pool picture is looking rather cozy.”

“Oh the picture, that’s easy to explain. I was enjoying some down time at the pool. Mr. Scarpetti saw me and was kindly bringing me a club soda. He tripped and dropped the drink. Glass went everywhere. He picked me up to remove me from the hazard and thought it would be funny to throw me in the pool. That’s all.”

“Hmmm somehow I am not buying it Karlie. All I am going to say is to be careful. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“Thanks Anna, I appreciate your concern. I am really attracted to him, but I won’t do anything to jeopardize the contract or the job.”

“Karlie, the contract is signed, he made sure of that. He insisted on it yesterday. There is no risk there, I just want you to be careful.”

“You sound like my mom.”

“Good. Someone needs to mother you. I will see you tomorrow.”

“I am e-mailing you some orders that need to go out today. Can you rush the invoice through?”

“I sure can. Our flight arrives around three tomorrow, can you make dinner reservations for the team? Mr. Scarpetti is welcome to join us as well.”

After Anna hangs up, I power up the laptop and search for the newest photo. There it is, front-page news. Michael is looking beautiful, his body glistening in the water. His strong arms are under my legs and supporting my back. I am looking at him like a fool in love and he is smiling ear to ear. I can see how the picture could be misinterpreted. We look like a couple frolicking in the water. The caption makes me gasp:

It seems as if Mr. Scarpetti has found his match. Playful and carefree, it looks like love is in the air. The beautiful brunette has been identified as Colorado native Karlie McKenna. The two met while discussing designs for Tempo. Sorry girls it looks like the younger Scarpetti might be off the market for good. However, Vincent Scarpetti Sr. is still available; his wife disappeared twenty years ago and hasn’t been seen since. If you’re interested in Vincent Sr. he is due to be paroled in less than 90 days.

They identified me by name. How crazy is that? I can’t even imagine the repercussions of that kind of irresponsible reporting. Poor Michael has already been married off to me and he doesn’t even do the girlfriend thing. They also reported his mom as missing for twenty years. I don’t know what’s worse, knowing your parent is gone forever or not knowing where your parent went. Closing down my computer I grab my notebook and head off to Tempo.

Tony and I arrive in the underground garage in less than ten minutes. The drive is quick
, but I miss the freedom of walking. With the newest gossip report, there is no way that Michael will ever allow me to move freely through town. The thought depresses me.

Heading to the rooftop first, I measure out the space so I can order the perfect number of fire pits, and seating elements. I create a checklist and mark off items as I go. I will have to remember to ask Michael what he wants to do with the lighting up here. Since my last visit, I can see that progress has been made in regards to the bar. Michael moves fast. Smiling to myself, I can testify to that.

Traveling down two floors I find myself in the suites. The plumbers are making the adjustments for the oval tubs that should arrive in two weeks. Looking over my shoulder I see Tony standing guard. Floor by floor I walk the space double-checking to make sure nothing was forgotten. It’s critical that everything goes as planned. So many moving parts coupled with two holidays could be cutting our deadline short. I have everything timed to perfection and barring any disaster; the project should run like clockwork. I pull out my checklist and mark off the items that have been completed. The hotel is abuzz with activity. Contractors seem to be everywhere. Tony stays close, but I feel like someone else is watching me. Starting on the tenth floor the hairs on my neck and arms stand up. Shrugging it off to fatigue as well as so many strangers being present, I finish my inspections. I head to Tony and tell him I am ready to leave.

The flowers I find in my room are beautiful. A large arrangement of irises, yellow roses and baby’s breath sit in the center of the coffee table. They can only be from Michael. They are the first flowers I have ever received that didn’t come from my dad or my prom date. I am touched by his thoughtfulness. As seven o’clock approaches I change into some of my new undergarments and throw on a sundress. I have decided on a simple dinner of pizza and beer. I hope that Michael likes simple. I figure we’ll sit around the coffee table and watch TV. Checking my phone for messages, I see that I have missed several calls. Punching in my password to retrieve my messages, I am shocked to hear that four are from various reporters asking about my relationship with Michael. Two messages were hang-ups and the last one chilled my blood. It was Evan, “Hey love, so good to see you again.” The panic starts to rise; I can barely breath.  Hearing the voices at my door, I try to pull myself together. Michael is here and I won’t let Evan steal this
time away from me. Six years are enough!

I paste a smile on my face and welcome Michael into my room. He is super sexy in his black jeans and black t-shirt. It’s the first time since the flight that I have seen him dressed in casual wear. He walks in the room and as soon as the door closes, I am wrapped in his arms. His hug feels comforting and safe. Standing back he looks me up and down.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, why?” How can he tell that something is wrong?

“I sense that something is wrong Karlie, tell me what’s happened?”

I want to tell him that I missed him
, but I don’t want to sound needy. I don’t want him to know that my past has chased me to Las Vegas so I decide to tell a partial truth.

“I saw the latest gossip, I am so sorry that people are making up stories about you and me. I feel bad that you are being linked to me. I hope that it doesn’t cause you any problems.” He looks confused and maybe a little concerned. “It must be hard to be in the limelight all of the time. I have only been in it for a few days and I can see how old it can get. Today I had four calls from reporters and one prank call on my phone. Thank goodness I never answer my phone when I’m at work.”

“People have been calling your personal phone?”

“Yes, I suppose when they identified me, they used their resources to track down my number.” Trying to make a joke, I say, “You know how those people with resources work?”