CHAPTER 70

MELANIE.

I CUT ALLIE OFF MID-SENTENCE AND HUNG UP.

I sprang up from my bed, mildly jostling the cat, and dashed to the door. Pulling it open, I raced down the first flight of stairs and came to a stop in front of the guest room Taylor was in.

I knocked twice before opening the door to an empty room. “Taylor?” I called out in case she was in the bathroom but heard nothing.

I quickly glanced at the bed and nightstand and desk and vanity to see if she'd left her phone though I knew it was a fruitless action. The girl's phone was always glued to her hand.

“Shit shit shit,” I said, going down the rest of the stairs and rushing into the kitchen where I found Lauren who, for some reason, looked bad-tempered.

“Have you seen Taylor?”, I asked.

Lauren made a sound and put her hands on her hips, “Seen her? You bet your fine self I've seen her. Made the effort of going to call her down for breakfast, and she took a bite of bread and spat it out saying it wasn't gluten-free. Gluten-free!” Lauren spat like she'd just uttered something sacrilegious.

“Next thing I know, she'll tell me she's on a diet and ask for matcha smoothies.”

I would've found this funny if I wasn't in such a big hurry to find her.

“Do you know where she is now?” I prodded.

Lauren waved her hand to indicate a direction, “Said I offended her sensibilities and she needed to breathe, then she took off in the direction of the back doors”.

She had hardly finished talking when I started walking out again, calling out a thank you. I passed rooms I'd never been in and followed a large amount of sunlight to a set of transparent doors which stood half open.

I stepped out into a pool area that had deck chairs and umbrellas placed randomly, a small bar section advertising fruit-based drinks, changing rooms at the side and tons of flowers in bloom at the other end of the biggest house pool I'd ever seen.

Taylor was clad in a bikini the color of apricots. Her sunglasses shaded her eyes and she floated on her back in the pool, the very picture of relaxation. She snapped her fingers, “You there. Get me a strawberry mocktail” she ordered.

I just rolled my eyes, “No.”

She lifted her shades and glanced over, “Oh, it's you” she said with all the excitement of someone who just found a dead roach in their shoe.

“Oh yeah, do you by any chance know whether Jordan comes here in the mornings?” she continued.

The small smirk on her face and the way she fingered the strap of her bikini top made it clear she wasn't asking out of mere curiosity. Cue another eye roll.

“Taylor, I need you to delete my photo from your Instagram,” I said point blank.

“Why should I?” she asked calmly. Because I'm wanted in

three countries and hiding from freaking Interpol.

“I’m a private person and I don't like the thought of my photo being out there”, I said instead.

She scoffed, “Is that why I couldn't find you on any platforms? Wow you're so boring.”

I didn't care what she thought of me. I just needed her to delete the freaking photo.

“Could you just delete it? Please?”, the last part came out after a little hesitation.

As soon as I saw the smirk on her face grow, I knew I was shooting blanks.

“No. I don't like you, and this makes you uncomfortable, and I'm here for it. So relax, and enjoy the only shot at the spotlight you'll ever get”, she said simply.

My hands itched to wrap around the neck the tabloids had called “swan-like” but couldn't decide whether to squeeze or shake her like a toy rattle. She was playing with things way bigger than she knew. Telling her the real reason wasn't an option; she would most likely hand me over to the feds herself.

My gaze slid to where she'd dropped her phone on a towel and she followed my line of sight.

“Don’t even think about it. It needs my fingerprint to unlock” she said, like that was sufficient protection from the likes of me. But then, she had no idea who I was so she was allowed her delusions.

“Back to my earlier question. Do you know if Jordan-”, Taylor started to say and I interrupted, the beginnings of an idea coming into my mind.

“No he doesn't. He usually takes a swim really early though, 3 or 4 am maybe”, I said with a little helpful smile that turned into a smirk when she placed her shades over her eyes.

“Good. You may go”, she said dismissively and I turned to leave with the smirk still on my face. In truth, I knew nothing about his swimming habits but the thought of her shivering in her bikini at 3 am waiting for him put me in a slightly better mood.

That aside, I needed to find Jordan. It was his fault for letting his boink buddy stay when she was clearly being manipulative. That was the thing with men. Put a pretty face and smile in front of them and they're blinded to what lies beneath. I'd never been to Jordan's suite, but I'd seen the direction he took so following it should probably lead me there.

I jogged up the stairs and walked to the doors near the end of the hallway. Opening them, I was immediately certain I was going in the right direction.

Every piece of furniture in here was either black or dark grey. There was a huge flatscreen TV presiding over an array of sofas that didn't look too comfortable.

On the other side was a marble-top kitchen island and behind it were all the necessities of a kitchen. There was a closed door opposite where I was standing that I presumed led to his bedroom. It was like a whole other apartment on its own. Little wonder I only saw him downstairs occasionally.

Jordan stood behind one of the grey sofas with one hand gripping the back of it and the other still holding his phone to his ear. His only reaction to me barging in was a raised eyebrow as he spoke into his phone in clipped tones.

His face was devoid of expression as usual but I could tell from the tight grip he had on the backrest that he wasn't pleased with whatever he was hearing.

“Perkins, when I added you to the team what position did I give you?” He listened. “Exactly, so it is your job to manage your situation. I do not want to hear from you again unless you're calling to say it's been handled. Understood?” he hung up without waiting for a reply and slid the phone into a pocket.

“Harsh” I commented.

He gave a tiny shrug, “If it results in efficiency, I do not care. This is the first time you're setting foot in here and I presume it's not to question the way I run my business”, he deadpanned.

I immediately started to protest, “Hey! I wasn't criticizing your-” he interrupted me by holding up a hand.

“Get to the point, little bird. What?”

I sighed and stepped further into the room without breaking eye contact, “We have a problem.”