A Night with The Enemy

“You need to leave. Now”. The deep voice rang through my ears, jolting me awake and sending a thunderous wave of pain through my head. “What, where am I?” I said grudgingly, forcing my heavy eyelids open. My stomach dropped as everything came flooding back. The bar, the drinks, the kisses. I focused my gaze on the tall, muscular, shirtless and annoyingly handsome man standing by the window of the dimly-lit hotel room. “You heard me.” His voice was cold, his eyes devoid of emotion as he uttered his next words. “Get dressed. I’ll call you a car.” I clutched the sheets closer to me as I sat up, a knot twisting in my stomach. “Wow, how charming.” I deadpanned, picking my clothes off the floor and slipping them on. “I didn’t promise you anything. We were drunk. This was a mistake.” His words pierced through me like a needle in fabric. I wasn’t the type to do this, one-night stands weren’t my style. But last night felt different. It felt electric, like there was real passion behind his kisses. But I guess I was wrong. “Right, of course,” I said, trying to avoid his eyes. “You can relax. I’m not exactly the clingy type.” I turned to face him and for a split second, something flashed in his eyes. Regret. But it disappeared as fast as it came, which made me question whether I had actually seen it or not. “Good, I’m glad to know that we’re on the same page.” He said, returning his gaze to the black cellphone in his hand. ‘Why did he have to be such a douche?’ I thought to myself as I zipped my dress and grabbed the rest of my belongings, my teeth grinding together. Hurriedly storming out of the hotel room, I paused as I reached the door. “Just out of curiosity, do you even know my name?” He didn’t respond. He didn’t even look away from his phone for even a second. I nodded, pursing my lips. “I thought as much.” And with that, I slammed the door of the room with enough force to rattle the frame. Putting one foot in front of the other quickly, I stormed out of the hotel with one goal in mind. To forget this ever happened. “You slept with him?!” Sarah practically yelled, almost choking on her iced coffee. “Keep your voice down!” I hissed, looking back and forth around the café. “Do you want the whole café to hear you?” She scooted her seat closer to mine, her eyes as wide as saucers. “Okay, okay, calm down. You were drunk, he was hot, you didn’t catch his name and now you’re traumatized because..?” “Because he was a total jerk, Sarah. A complete and utter-” “Okay I get it.” Sarah laughed, cutting my stream of profanities short. “Sarah be serious, this is not funny.” I said, lightly smacking her arm from across the table. “Yeah, yeah whatever, I’ll be serious. But tell me this, was it good?” Sarah retorted, suggestively wiggling her eyebrows. “That is not the point.” I said hotly, giving her a hard stare. “That’s totally the point,” Sarah said, a glint of amusement in her voice. I let out a groan, covering my face with my hands. “I’m not that kind of girl. One-night stands are not my thing; I feel so stupid.” “Don’t beat yourself up about it. You’re allowed to be that girl once in a while. Especially if he looked just how you described him. Tall and muscular? You did humanity a favor.” Sarah let out a whistle, earning a glare from me. Noticing my mood shift, her teasing faded. Pushing her coffee towards me, she spoke softly. “Here. You need this more than I do.” I reached out and grabbed the cup, pulling it towards me and taking a sip, allowing the warmth of the drink to envelop me. “I-it’s just that he was so rude. He treated me like a mistake that he wanted to erase.” I exhaled, looking down at my feet under the table. “Well, screw him. Even though you already have.” Sarah’s joke hit my ears and a sound I hadn’t made all weekend erupted from within. I laughed, a real laugh. “I know he was terrible, but at least you’ll never see him again.” Sarah added, her chest swelling at the fact that she was able to cheer me up. I nodded in agreement, my face lighting up. “Enough about men. Look at the selection of dresses I found for the wedding?” Sarah’s eyes lit up as she showed me a selection of beautiful white dresses. “Oh, I like this one.” I pointed at a beautifully laced wedding dress in the corner of the screen. As we chatted away, I found myself forgetting about my one-night stand with the mystery man. And I was glad. Sarah was right. Or at least I hoped she was. “Okay, deep breaths Mia. You’ve got this.” I muttered to myself, folding my shaking hands together in front of the elevator doors. “First day jitters?” A girl from beside me asked. She looked to be about my age, all put together with her perfectly straight hair. “Something like that,” I said, forcing a small smile. “I’m Marie” She said, stretching her hands out as the elevator ascended. “Mia.” I responded, shaking her hand. “Nice, if you ever need help finding something, don’t hesitate to ask me. This place is a maze.” Just as she finished talking, a loud ding rang through the elevator. “Thanks, I appreciate it.” The elevator opened to reveal a sleek open office, bathed with glass and steel. Everything screamed money and power. I stepped out, my shoulders squared and my heels clicking louder than I wanted as Marie led me to the front desk. “I’ll leave you with HR.” Marie paused, placing her hand on my shoulder. “Good luck Mia,” she said, turning and walking away. ‘Luck,’ I thought to myself. I’ll need it. Ten minutes later, I had a badge and a temporary desk. Things were going smoothly. Up until the office manager mentioned the welcome meeting. “Your team will introduce you to the CEO shortly. He personally meets all the new hires.” My stomach flipped. “Wait… The CEO?” My voice raised several octaves higher with each syllable. “Mr Sanchez is very hands-on. He likes to know who he’s working with.” My stomach dropped. Mr. Sanchez. That name twisted in my gut like a knife I’d forgotten was buried there. I sat still for a moment, my heart pounding in my chest when the door opened. A tall man with dark eyes and sharp cheekbones walked in, and my blood ran cold. “Oh my God.” I whispered, nearly dropping my clipboard. “It’s him.”