Little lie

“I’m sorry, but your name isn’t on the list,” the receptionist said sharply. Right now, I feel like a maniac who just walked into a hotel, claiming to have booked a room. “I did,” I say. “I booked it on the site.” She sighs. She’s obviously not interested in whatever I have to say. I sigh too. “Is there any way for me to book any other room?” She smiles at me instantly. Are all receptionists built this way? Acting like robots that change their emotions as soon as a button is punched. “Yes, room 118 is available,” she says. I asked her to book the room for me as I slid my card through the machine. The sound of the transaction being successful makes me smile. Another proof that I’m doing well without a man in my life. A staff member came over, taking my tiny luggage in his hand. I followed him closely. I pray that my day won't get any worse. Dealing with my current headache, my cab driver that was delayed by an hour and a failed room booking, I got into the elevator. I have a shoot in the next hour. I got here by lying. I pull my face cap lower down my face in case someone I know is around me. I will be as good as dead if anyone who hates me catches me here. Just in case you don’t know, everybody hates me already. I breathed again before inserting the card lock into the door and hauling my luggage in. The lights are off and it's late already. I simply kick off my shoes, and slowly creep on the bed. I draw the blankets to cover myself when I feel another person stiffen beside me. “What the hell?” the voice says. The voice is deep and angry. I froze instantly and got up, waiting for the person behind me to put on the bedside lamp. He does and I freeze immediately. “Sir,” I stuttered at the sight of the man that was frowning and the muscle in his jaw popping a thousand times within the twenty seconds our eyes met. The man sitting beside me is none other than my boss, Arion Gray. The man I lied to. “What are you doing here?” is the first question he asks me. I look around the room and blink to make sure I’m dreaming. I looked back at him. His green eyes were darkening. He’s losing patience. I’m not dreaming. I think of a quick lie. “I came to see my aunt,” I lie, the lie rolling off my tongue in heavy lumps. I swallow hard. The creases of a frown on his forehead reduces a bit, but it's clear he doesn’t believe me. You flew in to see your aunt? Why didn’t you stay with her? “She lost her keys.” He shakes his hair away from his face. My eyes drifted to his shirtless body. It’s the first time I've seen him like this. The dark circles under his eyes, his disheveled hair that he is now running his hands through and the day-old stubble on his chin. I bet that by the morning, it would be gone. And here I am, stressed out as hell with the face cap still on my unwashed hair in jeans and an old baggy top. “How did you get here?” I fished the room card from my bag and waved it at him. He clicks his tongue and mutters something under his breath. “Aren’t you supposed to be at the hospital with your father?” I bite my tongue. Who knew that my boss would have remembered the tiniest detail about his unhealthy, poverty-stricken secretary that he barely tolerates? “You lied,” he says, stating the obvious. God knows how many times I’ve lied to this man or how many people I’ve lied to. I spare myself a few seconds of prayer, hoping I don’t get tangled in my lies. I simply nodded, and changed the topic. “Now that we are stuck in the same room, we could keep each other company in the meantime.” He looks at me like I’m mad. He turned to his side, backing me. “Why are you here in this city?” I asked him, peering to see if he was still awake. At least he hasn’t chased me from the room yet. “You were supposed to follow me on this trip,” he shrugs. You’re here now. So it doesn’t make any difference. My heart is in my throat. My shooting is tomorrow. What if he offers to follow me there? I will be dead meat if he finds out that I’ve been working two jobs. Or if he finds out what happened before I flew out of the city under the pretext of seeing my aunt, that is nonexistent. I can't fall asleep. I lay on my back and counted the ceiling of the cheap hotel. Another thing that brings the question to my head. Why is the CEO of Gray von Group of Companies lodged in such a cheap hotel? He probably wanted to stay there to hide his identity. But he has always been secretive about everything. I only knew about his girlfriend because he asked me to prepare a bunch of flowers for her one time in advance for their date. He didn’t even have the time to sign it himself. Men, I tell you. “How is Miss Jennie?” I asked again, listening for the sound of his uneven breathing again. I can feel him stiffen beside me. Did they have an argument? Or isn't he used to talking to people about his girlfriend yet? “She’s fine,” he says, gritting his teeth. I almost wiggled closer to him to feel more of his body heat. He would kill me if I did so. The air conditioner gets cooler, and I can't find the remote anywhere. I wouldn’t even go look for it. Not when the pillow is getting comfortable. “Sleep on the floor.”