The Perfect Arrangement

Chapter 3 - Cindy

The buzzing came and went so quickly, but it was still enough to startle both me and Blake, and I pulled it out of my bag, relieved to see the text-message from Alex.

I’m outside. Where is you?

I could feel Blakes eyes watching me as I hastily texted back;

On way. Got held up.



It wasn’t until I’d pressed send that I realised I still had no plan on how to get out of the hotel without going through the main lobby and being seen. I cursed under my breath- or so I thought; Blake’s amused voice cut through my panicked thoughts.

“Need help, Cindy?”

“Who the f**k is Cindy?” I retorted, suddenly irritated by his presence and my predicament.

“You, Cinderella-Cindy, get it? Y’know, because you’re running away from Prince Charming before he catches you” He smirked, clearly proud of himself. I rolled my eyes.

“Lame” I muttered, yet I couldn’t help but be a little amused. “And he is not a prince, nor is he charming!”

“Oh, I don’t know about that, Cindy…you seemed pretty charmed by him last night.” Blake winked, folding his arms across his chest and smirking as he watched my entire face begin to glow red.

I decided that my embarrassment couldn’t get any worse, so I may as well get his help and get the hell out of here. “But actually, yes, in answer to your question, yes. I do need help, if you could give me the code so I can open the door to the emergency staircase without having to set the fire alarm off, I can be on my way.”

Blake raised an eyebrow then smiled; “What, you won’t even leave a glass slipper for my friend to find you? You’re gonna break his heart, Cindy.”

I laughed, once again adjusting my dress which I was sure was growing smaller and smaller the more I stood there.

“I’m sure his heart will heal.”

“Ohh, I don’t know, Cindy. I have a feeling you’re a special one.”

I snorted and rolled my eyes, Muttering a ‘sure’. I looked at him impatiently.

“Sure, I’ll help you” Blake said. He turned and threw the storeroom door wide open again then looked back at me, motioning for me to go in front of him. He said nothing until we reached the door I needed, and he swiftly punched in the number and pushed the door open. Without another word, he held the door open, and I stepped through with him following me a little. He paused when I was a few steps onto the landing and used his foot to hold the door ajar.

“I don’t know if you know, Cindy, but you’re on the penthouse floor, you have a lot of stairs to get down.”

“I know” I frowned, already regretting my decision and wondering if it would have been easier to take the punishment from my Dad when I was seen doing the walk of shame in one of his partner hotels, but it was too late now.

“When you get downstairs, go out the door and turn left, follow that corridor to the end, you’ll see some double-doors, turn right when you reach them, go through the kitchen and out of the kitchen exit.”

“Why through the kitchen and not just out the normal fire escape? The kitchen staff will be there, surely?”

“Cindy, even the kitchen staff are hungover, they’re all helping clean up from the party. Kitchen’s empty. Fire escape will set off an alarm. We wouldn’t want Prince Charming coming fown to find you now, would we?”

“Oh, okay” I said, choosing to ignore the last part of his statement.

“Take care, Cindy” he said, and before I could even turn to look at him to say thank you for the kindness, the door had slammed behind him, and he was gone.

As promised, my best friend Alex was waiting for me outside. He said nothing when I got into the car, instead he gave me a sly look with his eyebrows raised. He drove quietly, and I was relieved I wasn’t subjected to his judgements about where I had spent the night. I’m sure Dad will have plenty of those if he finds out. When we pulled up outside my house, Alex finally turned to look at me with an amused expression.

“Theodore Campbell? Really?”

“What?” I asked.

“Of all people to go home with, you go with Theodore Campbell?

“Hey! I didn’t know who he was when I went home with him!”

“Oh yeah, you were pretty smashed to be fair. But still, Myra, of all people, you had to choose him… you know he brings home a different girl every night, don’t you?”

“I know” I groaned, hiding my face in my hands; “Dad will kill me if he finds out”

“Just tell him you were with me. I’ll cover for you. He likes me.”

I couldn’t disagree. My father did like him. He saw him as a responsible guy and never minded if I spent the night at his place. Granted, there was nothing but platonic friendship between us, but it made things easier if we let our parents think there was something more.

I nodded and thanked him. The rest of the drive was quiet.

“I’ll call you tomorrow when I’ve recovered from this hangover” I told him and leaned across to accept his kiss on my cheek.

“Laters” he called as I closed the car door. “And by the way, if you get a s****l disease from that guy, I’m not covering for you!” He called after me. I shot him a smile over my shoulder and hurried into the house.