Chapter 14

Julia Rome walks down the stairs with a large suitcase in his hand and I follow after him with his laptop that I decided to carry for him. It was the least I could do and besides, I'm technically still his maid even though he hired me to do another job that I start today.

"How many days will you be gone for?" I ask pausing at the end of the stairs to look at him.

"How is that any of your business?" He asked without even looking at me.

I stood behind him watching as he stops at the mirror at the bottom of the staircase to fix the last few buttons on his shirt. He was wearing a black suit with a white shirt underneath. He looked really handsome, but I bet he would look even more so with a smile.

I shrug, "It's not, but there's no need to be so mean about it."

He picks his bag up and headed in the direction of the garage with me trailing behind him.

"Just don't invite anyone over, don't throw a party and I want to return and see my house the way I left it."

"How old do you think I am?" I jog a little to be able to walk next to him.

He stops at one of his cars. There were five others in here, but this black Ferrari seems to be his favorite, it was also my favorite. She was just so beautiful not to mention, but also my favorite color.

His dark eyes watch me from head to toe, which made me a bit self-conscious. I was wearing a red cargo pants and a tank top, but his eyes made me feel as if I was standing in front of him in my birthday suit.

"Old enough to do all the things I mentioned."

I roll my eyes at him, "I'm twenty-four Mister, not a teenager."

He continues to look at me as if he was in deep contemplation before he opens the car door and place his bag inside. He got in and took the laptop from my hands. He didn't even thank me for carrying it for him.

I pout and lean against the window just as he started the car.

"What do you want, Roderick?" He says irritated that I was most likely wasting his time considering I decided it was the best time to lean against the window just when he was getting ready to drive off.

"Don't miss me too much," I whispered seductively, just to push his buttons.

I watch in amusement as he rolls his eyes and look straight ahead, "Don't bet on it, now get off my car."

I stood straight and raise my hands in surrender. He reversed so fast before turning the car and speeding off. I guess he just couldn't wait to get out of my presence.

Rome I sat at the bar just swirling my whiskey around the glass. I don't consume alcohol for many reasons, but the main one is fear. Fear that I will become the monster my old man was.

It was 9:15 pm and I arrived at the hotel hours ago. I checked in, had a shower, and even slept only to wake up with five missed calls from Julia. I did not plan on returning her calls, that's the last thing I would do. Josh had called sometime after to tell me that she wanted to find out if I had a safe trip and to say that her first day of training went well.

I was waiting for the Mayor to show up, the meeting was tomorrow, but he wanted us to have a drink before. I've been waiting for ten minutes now and everyone who knows me is aware of how much I hate tardiness.

A chuckle followed by the voice of a man caught my attention.

"Hello Rome, I apologize for being late. This is my daughter she had to take her special time to look glamorous even though she was already born glamorous."

"Oh, dad don't embarrass me."

I raised a brow at the father and daughter. She wore a white dress that compliments her olive skin, and black heels that did wonders for her legs. Her dark hair was in a bun at the back of her head. She was beautiful and I might not know anything about women and their beauty products, but I do know that this woman here went a bit overboard with her makeup.

Mayor Shawn Monet wore a checker shirt and black pants. He held onto his daughter's arm as if he was expecting someone to come along and kidnap her.

"Kelly Monet, it's a pleasure to finally meet you Rome."

She held her hand out for a handshake or maybe it was a kiss, whatever this woman was expecting she wasn't going to get it.

Taking a small sip from my drink I told her, “It’s Mr. Livingston."

Shawn chuckles and help his daughter to sit on one of the bar stools before sitting on the one next to her, “Don’t mind him love, he's not the friendliest man in the room, however he is one of the good ones."

I waited for them to order their poison, before getting to the point, "So why are we here Shawn?"

"Always so straight forward," He says before drowning his shot and ordering another one. It wasn't a surprise to me, this forty-four-year-old was practically an alcoholic. I glance at Kelly who was twirling the straw in her Margareta, she seemed content which means Shawn wasn't a dangerous alcoholic.

"I just wanted to catch up with you, before we meet with the other men tomorrow and I wanted you to meet my lovely daughter."

I nod, I know his intentions. He's been going on for years about me finding myself a wife and now he brings his daughter on a business trip and keeps stressing on how beautiful she is. He seems to think that everyone should get married by at least the age of twenty and manage to maintain a good relationship with their partners for as long as he has.

Shawn and I chatted for a good amount of time all while ignoring Kelly. I watched as he drowned what must have been his fifteenth drink, while I had only one sip from my first.

"I think I'm going to head to bed. Kelly, you stay here and keep Rome company," he says standing from the stool. I shake my head at his words. I was starting to wonder when he would do something like that. He was too transparent.

"Let me follow you to your room, dad," Kelly says trying to help him.

"No sweetheart, you younger folks stay and chat. Tell Rome how you're in your final year of Med school."

After about a minute of watching them argue back and forth, Kelly finally released a sigh and sat back down next to me.

I glance at Shawn who had made his way to the elevator, before watching Kelly drown the rest of her drink.

"Are you going to drink that?" She asked pointing at my drink, I shake my head and push it towards her. My eyes widen as she drowns it as if it was water. I guess it runs in the family and she was just playing around with her drink in order for her father not to suspect anything.

"He can be so stubborn sometimes," she says before ordering tequila.

Instead of answering, I watch her curiously. She seemed like a dangerous woman, one minute she's playing a good girl around daddy dearest and the next she's taking her shots like a man takes a few blows and showing how irritated she was with her father.

"Do you want to hear about how I wasted years of my life studying something I don't plan on pursuing, or do you want us to get naked and comfortable in your room?"

I smirk, she was blunt and dangerous indeed.