Mr Spencer(29)

She glances over to them. “Are you coming down to check in now?”

“Yes,” Anthony answers. “We’ll just perform our checks of the suite, and then we’ll be down in a minute.”

With one last smile, she disappears down the stairs and back to her job.

Beth starts to run up and down on the spot, and then she jumps up on the bed and begins to bounce. “Holy fucking shit, Lottie.” She squeals in excitement. “This place is off the Richter.”

The guards chuckle at my over-animated friend. She doesn’t hide who she is from them. The guys check the wardrobes and the bathroom. They pull the curtains back to inspect the windows, and then disappear to check the rest of the suite.

I flop onto the bed, dejected from my super privileged check in.

“Who was I kidding, Beth? I can’t escape who I am. Just look at this stupid apartment.” I sigh sadly.

She falls down to lie beside me, and we both look up at the ceiling. “It’s going to be so much fun sneaking guys in here,” she says casually.

“What?” I look over at her.

“That cherry of yours… it’s going down. In a big popping fashion.”





5





Charlotte


I sit at the kitchen island with my glass of wine. I’m staring at the Google images before me. Beth will be here any moment to take me out to dinner. We decided that it’s best if we play it safe this weekend and behave. The guards are on full alert, and we will get busted if we try to pull anything sneaky too soon. Even the thought of just going out to dinner with Beth is enough for me—something I don’t normally get to do.

I click to the second page of images of Spencer Jones, studying photo after photo of him laughing and joking… kissing beautiful women, too. I think back to my place that night, when I straddled his lap and we were making out.

His perfect kiss.

His hard body up against mine. His hands all over me.

It felt so natural. With his classic good looks and his sense of humour, I’ve thought of him often over the last ten days, and always with regret.

I wish I was experienced enough to please him. Lord knows, I wanted to.

Beth is right; I need to change my life, and I need to start living. My plan is to ease my father and the guards into this different lifestyle, and then when they get back into the country, I’m not going home.

I don’t care about the consequences anymore. It is what it is, I’m not doing anything wrong by wanting some independence.

I’m staying in London to find myself, whoever she may be. I’ve done my time being a good girl and toeing the Prescott line. My pining for Spencer has shown me exactly what I’m missing out on: Fun.

I would look for an apartment to rent permanently, but I know it will only entice a panic, and Edward will be here in an instant to drag me back to Nottingham.

I’m going to ease myself into it to—see if I even like living in London.

I hear the door open, and Beth comes into view. “Are you ready to hit the town?”

I snap my computer shut. “Sure am.”

She holds her hands up in the air.

“What?”

“Anthony just checked me out on my way in.”

“He did?” I smirk.

“He told me I looked gorgeous.”

“Well, it’s true, you do.”

She narrows her eyes. “Do you think he has a girlfriend?”

“No idea. Edward would know.”

“Next time you speak to Edward, ask him for me.”

“Okay. You ready to go?” I ask.

“Sure am.” She rubs her hands together in delight. “I’m going to prick-tease Anthony tonight ‘til his balls fall off.”

I grab my keys and bag. “That will be traumatising for me to watch, but whatever.”

“This time tomorrow, he’s going to be jerking off to the thought of me,” she brags as she reapplies her lipstick.

I burst out laughing. “Beth.”

“No, it’s, Oh, fuck yeah, Beth,” she says, feigning a man’s voice as she pretends to wank herself off.

“Where did I pick you up?” I cringe.

She bats her eyelashes playfully and links her arm with mine. “From the Fun Friend Lottery. Now, let’s go.”





*



“So, you won’t let anyone see you, will you?” I ask Wyatt for the tenth time. It’s Monday morning and I am freaking out about my new job. The two of us are walking down the bustling street towards my new office building.

He raises his brows with exasperation. “I told you ten times… no, but I don’t understand why anyone can’t see us. They all know you have guards.”

“It’s just weird you know, I don’t want to seem odd to my new colleagues.”

He rolls his eyes.

“And there are guards in the foyer of the building, so you don’t need to hang around, Wyatt.”

“Well, we sure aren’t leaving you here.”

“That’s ridiculous,” I scoff. “Go and do your thing for the day and I’ll text you half an hour before my lunch break. Then you can come back and take me to lunch.”

We arrive outside the tall building. We peer through the glass to see a metal detector and three armed guards.