CHAPTER TWO
992 Words
This was strange for Leo. Usually, he was long gone by the time the girls woke up, leaving Ronny to deal with them. But this girl was different. As he chuckled and watched her, he wanted to stick around this time. He wanted her to stay, but he knew asking her to, would put a lot of strain on his ego, and he couldn’t afford that.
‘Ohhkay, slow down Leo’ he said to himself, reigning in his thoughts.
By now the girl was gathering her things into her bag and seemed eager to leave.
“Wait,” the word was out of his mouth before he even knew it.
She ignored him and kept packing her things.
Annoyed, Leo’s tone was more commanding as he said the second time, “Lady would you just wait for a second?
She turned, raising an eyebrow. “Yes, Mr. Narcissist?” her voice as critical as ever. There was an emotion he couldn’t read in her eyes, but the instant it had come into her eyes, it vanished.
Leo’s jaw clenched, and he closed his eyes for a moment to gather his composure. He counted silently to three before opening them again and asking, “How much?”
She c***s her head, “How much is what?”
“Your fee for…” he didn’t complete it and instead gestured to the bed.
Her expression shifted to confusion, then to disbelief. “You think I’m a call girl or something, mister?”
Leo blinked, genuinely surprised. “You’re not?”
The door burst open and Ronny walked into the room.
His tone held an air of authority as he began, “Alright lady, what’s your price…” but his words trailed off as he took in the scene before him, his eyes flicking between Leo and the woman as they came to realize something was off in the room.
With a confused look he addressed Leo, “I thought you’d be gone by now. And speaking of, why do you look so flustered?”
Then he gestured to the woman beside him “Did she ask for an island as payment or something?”
The woman scoffed and walked past Ronny. Her shoulder smacked into his as she muttered something about “stupid billionaires.”
She slammed the door behind her. And as she stomped away, they could hear the sharp clattering of her heels against the tiled floor of the hall.
Ronny glanced at Leo, bewildered. “What was that about?”
Leo sighed and turned to look out the window, watching the sunlight spill into the room, bathing that area of the room in a near-yellow glow. He replied, his voice tinged with frustration, “Nothing, just another one-night stand. Nothing more. How did I and the lady even end up here”
Ronny’s look was questioning. “You don’t remember” he asked, then his cheeks bulged, struggling to contain his suppressed laughter. The struggle proved too much for his cheeks, and he threw himself into a fit of laughter.
Leo watched quietly. He had never been so confused in his life. He couldn’t take it anymore, he asked. “Why in hell are you laughing”
“You and that doll were dead drunk yesterday, and were all over each other, like two long-lost lovers. I had to have both of you brought down to this hotel before you made fun of yourself in the club, and the tabloids pick up on your atrocity, and make a star of themselves from it. But I have to agree that the doll was worth the trouble. She has a nice shape on her.”
Leo was slightly embarrassed. “Anyway, what’s the schedule for today?” he asked, ignoring Ronny’s words.
Ronny cleared his throat, his tone turning serious, and he replied. “Well, we’re meeting with Noble Corp today for that merger they requested, and… woah, since when do call girls have business cards?”
“She’s not a call girl— ” Leo started to say then he turned abruptly. “Wait, did you say business card?”
In a second his long legs crossed the distance between him and Ronny. Leo snatched the card from him, asking him “Where’d you find this?”
“At the door mouth”, replied Ronny. “Must have fallen off when she walked out”
Leo nodded absent-mindedly as he read out the content of the business card, “Rosaline Veterinary Services. Where your animal friends get the golden treatment”.
He paused, his fingers tracing the card’s surface as he muttered, “Rosaline.”
“Just another one-night stand” Ronny teased with a smirk. “She got you good man. She must have given you the golden treatment. I would trade my old woman to get down with a doll like her, and make no mistake, I love that old woman”
Leo laughed and playfully punched Ronny. The latter dodged and quipped, “While we’re still on the topic, what in the captain underpants is that thing you have on? You look like a stripper bro, seriously, go change”.
“It's not that bad,” Leo said, dropping the business card gingerly on the desk and heading towards the bathroom.
Then from the shower he called, “How’d you find me anyway? I didn’t text you?”
“I’m your PA bro” Ronny yelled back. “It’s my job to always know where you’re at. By the way, is there soap?”
“Yeah, why?” Asked Leo.
“I’ll have to wash that image of your weird eighties off my mind” replied Ronny with a deadpan. “Might even need an exorcism to remove it”.
Leo ignored him and finally turned on the shower.
And the first thing that came to his mind as each cold droplet fell was her.
- Writer
