SORRY EX-HUSBAND, I AM NEVER COMING BACK

CHAPTER 16 - A NIGHT TOGETHER

WESLEY

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Brooks," the receptionist said, for what I counted as the fifth time. "We are completely at capacity for the week. Valentine's reservations tend to fill very early in the season and we—"

"A staff room," I said. "Is there anything your staff uses that could be made available temporarily? I'm not particular about the size or the amenities."

She blinked. "Our staff quarters aren't available to guests, unfortunately."

"A conference room," I tried. "With a sofa."

"Mr. Brooks—"

"I'll pay double the normal rate," I said. "Whatever the number is. Triple."

"There is genuinely nothing available," she said.

I stepped back from the desk.

Natalia was standing two feet to my left and I could feel her irritation as she stared at me.

"This is unacceptable," she grunted.

"I agree," I said.

"I'm not sharing a room with you," she continued.

"The feeling is entirely mutual," I nodded.

We stared at each other for a moment with the shared displeasure of two people who had found something to agree on and were not happy about it.

"There are other hotels," she said, pulling out her phone.

"There are," I agreed, pulling out mine.

We stood in the lobby of the hotel making calls and sending messages for the next twenty minutes but the responses were all the same - there were hardly any available rooms.

Natalia was still on her phone, her jaw set, scrolling through something

"I'll take the room," I said. "You can make whatever other arrangement works for you."

Her eyes were fixed on me immediately. "Excuse me?"

"I'm not sleeping in the lobby," I said. "I have work to do tonight and a meeting at nine tomorrow morning and I need a functioning workspace and a few hours of sleep."

"That room was booked under Carson Group," she said. "Which means it's my room."

"It was booked under Carson Group," I agreed. "Which is also paying for my participation in this trip. So technically it's our room."

She turned on her heel and walked toward the elevator and I picked up my bag and followed.

The suite was, as the receptionist had promised, beautiful and spacious.

There was a single large bed, a sitting area with a couch along one wall, a desk by the window, and a balcony overlooking a quiet Paris street.

I set my bag down by the desk, opened my laptop, and sat down on the bed.

Natalia stood in the middle of the room for a moment, looking at the general layout. Then she pulled her suitcase toward the bathroom without saying anything and closed the door behind her.

Seeing that she was finally out of my way, I opened the campaign files and got to work.

I kept my eyes on the screen and worked through the floor plans methodically, marking the best angles for the video content and making notes on lighting for each location.

A few minutes later, the bathroom door opened and the scent of her perfume hit my nose.

I turned around to see that Natalia was already settling onto the bed in a loose pair of pajamas. She glanced up when I turned and our eyes met for a brief second.

"If you stare at me again, I will call the front desk and have you removed."

I chuckled.

"Move to the reception if you're uncomfortable."

"This is my room," she said.

"Then shut it," I said, turning back to my laptop. "I'm working."

I lasted another eleven minutes before I accepted that the perfume was a problem I could not think my way around.

I closed my laptop, picked it up, and moved to the couch.

I set up my workspace on the coffee table and got back to the budget reconciliation and for the next forty minutes, I made reasonable progress.

I decided to take a quick break and so, I moved over to the balcony for fresh air.

The cold breeze was exactly what I needed. It cleared my head in a few seconds and I basked in the atmosphere for a while before deciding to just continue my work there.

I set my laptop on the small balcony table and worked.

It was cold enough that I had to keep my coat on and my fingers were stiff by the time I finished the last of the documents, but my head was clear and the work was done.

I pushed the balcony door open quietly and stepped back into the room.

The lights were off and the room was dark except for the faint glow coming through the windows from the street below. Natalia was asleep, her breathing slow and even, and at some point her blanket had slipped down and was now pooled around her waist. Her shoulders and arms were completely uncovered in the freezing room.

I stood there for a moment, watching her as she turned in her sleep. Then, I reached down, picked up the blanket from where it had fallen and I drew it up to cover her body.

I straightened up and turned to leave but just then, something pulled at my wrist.

I looked down and realized that the bracelet I wore on my left wrist had caught on the thin bracelet Natalia was wearing on her right. They were tangled together in a small knot.

I tugged at the bracelet in one quick motion, aiming to release myself but that woke her up.

And the last thing I expected to happen next was what happened, because the next second, she slapped me hard across my cheek!