In bed with my boss

CHAPTER 11

EMILY

A faint knock filtered through my sleep, causing me to shift as I buried my face deeper into the warmth and familiar scent surrounding me.

Knock.

My eyes snapped open, and I jerked so abruptly that a firm arm circled tighter around my waist, stopping me before I could sit up.

A gasp caught in my throat.

For one disoriented second, I stared at the fogged-up windshield, my pulse thudding in my ears before last night came crashing back.

The storm.

The SUV.

Cole.

My panic attacks and the way he helped me through them.

Slowly, I lowered my gaze.

His forearm was draped possessively across my middle, his hand resting just above my hip while my back was pressed flush against his chest. His steady breaths fanned the nape of my neck, warm enough to send a shiver down my spine.

I swallowed.

Carefully, I slipped my fingers beneath his wrist and lifted.

Nothing.

His arm barely moved.

I tugged a little harder, twisting my shoulders in an attempt to slide free, but the movement earned me the opposite reaction.

His arm flexed.

Before I knew it, he’d pulled me closer, nestling his face into my hair until there wasn’t an inch of space left between us.

A low groan vibrated against my back.

“Where do you think you’re running to?” He mumbled, his voice thick with sleep.

Heat rushed into my cheeks.

“I wasn’t—”

Knock. Knock.

The sharp rap against the driver’s side window cut me off.

I felt Cole silently pull away from me.

Saving myself the shame and embarrassment, I shifted away from his warmth and scent and adjusted myself in my seat, looking at anything but him.

“f**k,” He muttered underneath his breath.

I closed my eyes in regret.

If I hadn’t agreed to this project, I wouldn’t be sitting next to a man who’d seen me have panic attacks and probably regretted letting me get that close to him.

I wanted to look away, but I needed to see the regret written on his face so I could spend the rest of the trip beating myself up over it.

His gaze stayed lowered as he raked a hand through his hair. When he finally looked at me, whatever I expected to find wasn’t there. Instead, there was something I couldn’t quite put a name to.

A silent pause settled between us as we looked at each other, me trying to read his mind through his eyes and him…

“Boss, are you in there?” A voice called from outside, breaking through the clouded haze.

Cole held my gaze for another second before clearing his throat and looking away. He retrieved his phone from his pocket with deliberate ease, paying no attention to the person outside.

“That must be the hotel,” he said as he scrolled through his phone. “All the messages I sent went through.”

I said nothing as I serching for my phone.

“It’s in there,” Cole said, pointing to the cup holder.

My phone only had fifteen percent battery left when I turned it off, and I didn’t remember putting it there, so he must have.

“Thank you,” I whispered as I turned it on. Relief washed over me when I saw a few bars of signal. The network was finally back.

“Mr. Calloway,” the voice called again, knocking on the window. “Are you in there?”

“Yes,” he hissed as he opened his door, leaving me to gather myself.

After a minute, I drew in a beep breath and opened the door, letting the cold breeze slap against my face.

I looked up to the sky and couldn’t help but notice the light drizzle, even though the the clouds had begun to clear.

“Go get our bags from the boot,” Cole instructed, snapping me back to reality.

I stepped fully out of the SUV, wanting to see who he was talking to, but my attention snagged on the damage the crash had done to the car.

“Hello, ma’am,” a deep voice greeted, drawing my attention away from the wreck and over to the boot.

“Hello…”

“Alex.”

“Alex,” I repeated.

He pulled out the two carry-ons and shut the boot. “Sorry for not making it when the crash happened.”

“It wasn’t your fault we ended up here. Besides, the network was down, so we weren’t able to send a message to anyone.”

He gave me a slight nod before picking up the bags and walking towards what I assumed was the main road, where Cole was waiting.

“What took you so long?” Cole asked in a gruff voice as he collected his bag.

“I needed to ease myself,” I lied, glancing at the road where the fallen tree that had caused our accident was now gone.

He didn’t respond. Instead, he looked at the other man standing beside the Mercedes parked a few feet away.

“Your name?”

“Liam, sir.”

“Liam, I have a meeting in about ten minutes so you and Alex will drive Ms. Carter back to the hotel. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir,” they both replied.

With one final look at me, he turned and walked towards the red McLaren parked on the other side of the road.

With a quiet sigh, I followed Alex to the Mercedes waiting for me when I noticed that Cole’s coat was still draped around my shoulders.

“Your coat,” I called after him.

He paused, one hand already on the driver’s door.

“Keep it,” he said before climbing into the car.

A second later, the engine roared to life, and he drove off to God knows where.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I stepped into the hotel’s bustling lobby, where the polished marble floor gleamed beneath the crystal chandelier.

Kids ran around one side of the lobby while a group of businessmen appeared to be having a meeting on the other. Women strolled past with shopping bags, and new guests walked in as bellmen wheeled their suitcases towards the elevators.

Cole Calloway must really have a crazy ton of money to own a place this luxurious, I thought as I looked around.

“You’ll check in over there,” Liam said, directing me towards the front desk.

“Okay.” I took my bag from him. “Thank you so much. Have a nice day.”

“Anytime, Ms. Carter,” he replied before walking out of the lobby.

I made my way to the front desk.

“Hello,” I greeted.

“Hello, ma’am,” the brunette receptionist greeted with a warm smile. “Welcome to Palm Springs Hotel. How may we help you?”

“I booked two separate rooms two days ago under Cole Callway’s name.”

Her eyes widened.

“Mr. Cole Calloway? The owner of this place?”

Her reaction made me laugh.

“Yes, him.”

“Wow,” she whispered as she typed into the computer.

A few moments later. a crease formed between her brows.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Uhm…” she cleared her throat before glancing at her colleague and then back at me. “We’re so sorry, ma’am. We had a lot of guests yesterday because of the thunderstorm, and when we tried to confirm your reservation, we couldn’t reach you…”

I closed my eyes, silently praying she wasn’t about to say what I thought she was.

“…so we gave one of the rooms away.”

My stomach dropped.

“We got stuck in the storm, and the network was down, so that must be why you couldn’t reach me. Is there any way you can work something out?” I asked, hoping she could hear the silent plea behind every word.

She offered me an apologetic smile.

“We have a few guests checking out later today, so you don’t have to worry. But for now, our bellman…” She gestured to the man standing beside the desk. “…will take you to your room so you can get some rest.”

Already exhausted by the endless turn of events over the past twenty-four hours, I thanked her and walked over to the bellman.

“This way, ma’am,” he said, taking my bag before leading me towards the elevator.

I followed him silently as one thought clouded my mind.

If no one checked out…

I’d either have to give up my room…

Or…

Share a room with Cole for the night.