Saturday, January 21st
Jade
The shrill sound of her phone woke her up. Still disoriented, she reached for it. Blinking to focus her vision, she saw her best friend's name, —Nerea—glowing on the screen.
"Yeah?" she mumbled, still half-asleep.
"Get up already!" her friend screeched.
Jade groaned and moved the phone away from her ear.
"For God's sake, don't yell at me," she complained. "It's too early. What do you want?"
"Early?" Nerea laughed. "It's ten in the morning. Get up, I'm in your living room having something to eat with your dad and your sister."
Jade snorted —Not exactly ladylike— which made her friend laugh even more.
"I'll be there in a minute," she muttered.
She set the phone down on her nightstand and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds. Kicked her legs a bit in protest, she really wanted to keep sleeping.
But she got up, plugged in her phone, and headed to the bathroom.
About fifteen minutes later, she stepped into the living room. Three pairs of eyes turned toward her.
"Jade, you came home yesterday and didn't even say hi," Lucas scolded gently.
"You were asleep. I didn't want to bother you," Jade said, sitting beside Nerea, who was sipping orange juice, and Alicia, who was tapping away at her phone, completely checked out.
"Nonsenses. You should have woken me. I haven't seen you in days," he said, his lined face showing clear sadness, and Jade instantly felt guilty.
"It won't happen again," she promised, grabbing a cookie.
"Well, Mr. Henderson," Nerea suddenly announced, "Jade and I have a few things to take care of, so we're heading out now."
Jade scrunched up her nose, something she always did when she had no idea what was going on.
"Oh, I didn't know you were going out," Lucas said, glancing at his daughter.
"Me neither, trust me," Jade replied. The three of them laughed.
"We're going shopping! We need to get ready for the employee party, it's going to be amazing!" Nerea cheered excitedly.
Jade gave her a once-over: she was wearing black pants and a shirt that boldly said Fuck You. Her loose, chestnut hair fell in soft curls down her back. Her warm brown eyes were always cheerful, and her sun-kissed skin was glowing.
"Ner, there's still a week and a couple of days until the party. What's the rush?" Jade asked.
"A week and one day," she corrected. "And the rush is because we never go anywhere, so we've got to make the most of it. Now grab your stuff and let's go. Oh! Mr. Henderson, can Jade sleep over at my place tonight?"
"She's an adult. She can make that decision herself," Lucas replied.
"It's fine, Dad. I'll see you tomorrow. Actually," she turned to her friend, "I'm staying the whole weekend. That way it's easier to head back to the hotel on Monday."
Resigned, Jade went to grab her backpack and packed enough clothes to stay at Nerea's and go to work.
They left the house and hopped on a bus. A while later, they arrived at the mall.
"We should've left this for later," Jade complained.
"Never!" Nerea exclaimed, grabbing Jade's arm. "It's better to shop ahead of time."
Jade gave in. They walked into the first store, and that was how their day went in and out of shops until they were happy with their haul.
Monday, January 23rd
"I'm still so tired," Nerea whined.
"Me too," Jade yawned.
"This poor girl lifestyle is going to kill me. What if I find myself a sugar daddy?" Nerea stood up, wearing a thoughtful expression. "Honestly, I wouldn't mind some old guy giving me everything I want."
"Stop talking nonsenses and let's go shower," Jade said, laughing.
"I need a boyfriend. David's hot, but it's nothing serious," Nerea added, catching Jade's attention. "And you, didn't you have a thing for Robin?"
"It's Robinson, not Robin," Jade corrected. "And yes, I like him a lot," she admitted with a dreamy sigh.
"He's so handsome. And polite. You know what? He's actually a great catch." They grabbed their things and headed for the bathroom. "He's the only one around here who hasn't flirted with any of the girls, only with you."
Nerea bumped her hip into Jade's waist.
"How do you know that?" Jade asked, laughing.
"The only things more gossip-loving than a group of maids are the ladies from my neighborhood," Nerea declared. "In this hotel, everything gets around. It's like an illegal newspaper."
"You're insane," Jade mumbled, still laughing.
Dominick
10:00 am
He had a meeting in an hour. These five days in New York hadn't been as bad as he expected.
He'd gone out a few times and slept with a couple of women. Even one of the maids had flirted with him. He'd been tempted, but he had a commitment to keep.
He finished getting ready and left the room.
As he entered the elevator, he checked a message from Gregory: Waiting downstairs.
Once in the lobby, he noticed the girl who'd checked him in wasn't there anymore. He wanted to see her, she was gorgeous. He thought maybe he could invite her out for a... drink.
He smirked at his own boldness.
He approached the girl behind the counter. Her hair was loose and chestnut brown, and her pretty brown eyes looked up at him. He glanced at the name tag on her chest. Nerea, it read.
"Nerea, right?" he asked.
"That's right. And you are…?" she inquired.
"Dominick," he smiled. "Dominick Jackson."
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Jackson. How can I help you?"
"I'm in the Royal Suite 303. I'm heading out for a bit, and I need it cleaned. Please change the curtains and the sheets. I'd like them in grey, please," he said with a charming smile.
"Of course. I'll send someone right away," she replied.
"Thank you, Nerea." He nodded and walked out of the hotel, where he got into the car with Gregory.
Jade
"Hey, Ner," Jade greeted.
"That nickname is weird, I don't like it," Nerea frowned. "Couldn't you come up with a better one?"
"That's the one I like," Jade shrugged.
"Anyway, I didn't call you for that. Here," she handed her a key, "this is for the royal suite, 303. Clean it and put on gray sheets, and the curtains too, in darker tones."
"Seriously?" Jade asked. "What kind of person asks to change the sheets, and with what right?"
"Someone very important, apparently," Nerea said. "I did some digging, he's had several meetings with Maximiliano. Looks like they've got business together."
"He's not that special," Jade rolled her eyes, tying her blonde hair into a high ponytail.
"You should wear your hair down. It's such a beautiful shade of blonde," Nerea complimented her.
"I don't like it. I've been thinking about cutting it."
"Don't you dare!" Nerea gasped in horror. "You only hate it because it looks like your mom's. Just let it be. You're nothing like that witch."
They both laughed.
"I'm not promising anything. See you later."
Jade went to grab her cleaning cart and all the supplies she'd need for the room. Once everything was ready, she got into the elevator and arrived a minute later. The hallway was empty.
She found the key to the room and inserted it into the door. She heard the lock click open and stepped inside.
She pulled out her Bluetooth earbuds and got to work.
Half an hour later, she was almost done, just had to fluff and arrange the pillows on the bed. Her phone rang, so she stepped out into the hallway. Her cleaning cart was parked beside the door, and she walked over to the window to take the call.
"Hello?"
"Jade!" her sister exclaimed. "How are you?"
Jade smiled. Alicia always called her around that time, just to check in.
"I'm great, little one. And you?"
"Awesome! I went out with Allison and her boyfriend today. His name is Alejandro. They bought me ice cream, it was the best!"
Jade clenched her jaw.
"That's nice, Alicia, but it's a little early for ice cream, don't you think? How's Dad?"
"Alicia, come here!" someone called out in the background.
"Dad's fine, gotta go, Mom's calling me. Bye, Jade!"
"Be good, little one."
She hung up, hit play on her music again, and stepped back into the room.
She kicked off her shoes and climbed onto the bed. She spread her legs a little and used one hand to steady herself while the other fluffed the small pillows.
She hummed along to the song.
Dominick
10:55 am
The meeting had been canceled. There'd been an issue, so Dominick went out for a drink instead. But today just wasn't his day. A waiter had bumped into him, spilling juice all over his white shirt.
Frustrated with the clumsy waiter, he decided to head back to the hotel and change.
He entered the lobby in a rush, barely catching what Nerea said:
"It's not done yet…"
But the elevator doors had already closed.
He figured she meant his suite, but shrugged it off, he'd just tell the maid to come back later.
He stepped out of the elevator and saw the cleaning cart parked by the door. A few meters away, the girl he'd seen earlier was talking on her phone.
Assuming she was finished, he walked into the room. Everything looked spotless. The bed wasn't fully done yet, but the sheets were the gray ones he'd requested.
He headed to the bathroom and closed the door behind him as he undressed. Shirt, pants, everything into the laundry basket. Naked, he stepped into the shower and let the water run over him for a couple of minutes. He rubbed a bit of soap where the juice had spilled.
Since that was all he needed, he got out, wrapped a towel around his waist, and used another to dry his hair.
He opened the bathroom door…
And the sight that greeted him caught him completely off guard.
The girl he'd seen earlier was on the bed, practically on all fours, fixing the pillows.
"Didn't you know I was here?" he asked, but she ignored him. He frowned. "I'm talking to you."
But she still didn't respond.
For some reason, that irritated him. Though, at the same time, he felt a pulse of heat between his legs when his eyes landed on the girl's parted thighs, her light blue cotton underwear in plain view.
He grimaced.
«I wish it were lace», he thought.
Then instantly scolded himself.
He stepped closer to her and, without really understanding why, let his palm fall onto her ass.
The girl jolted upright, spinning around abruptly, her eyes wide with fear when they landed on the man standing before her.
"What the hell…?" Her fear quickly turned to rage the moment she realized what had just happened. Fury clouded her vision. "What is wrong with you?!"
Dominick burst out laughing.
All it did was make Jade angrier. She jumped off the bed in an instant and slapped him across the face with a resounding smack. The laughter died immediately. He clenched his jaw, stunned, no one had ever dared lay a hand on him.
"How dare you?!" he roared, furious.
"The same way you, pervert, dared to touch me without my consent!" she shouted back, shoving him hard. She snatched her phone and ran out of the room.
Dominick wanted to chase after her, to teach her a lesson. He was angry, like a raging bull.
He grabbed the first set of clothes he could find from the closet and stormed straight to Maximiliano's office.
He barged in without knocking and walked in uninvited.
"I demand you fire the maid who was in my room," he ordered, his breathing ragged.
"We'll talk later, Nerea, we've already coordinated everything for today," Maximiliano said, dismissing the girl.
She stood up, eyeing Dominick's furious expression. The only thought that crossed the brunette's mind was: What did Jade do now?
"First of all, hi Maximiliano, how are you? Mind if I walk in and interrupt your meeting?" he said sarcastically.
Maximiliano Anderson was an extremely handsome man. His light blue eyes and medium brown hair made more than one woman swoon. His flirtatious way of speaking was his secret weapon to make women fall for him.
"I'm not in the mood for your little jokes," Dominick growled.
"And I'm not in the mood for you disrespecting my staff in front of me," Maximiliano shot back through clenched teeth. "So sit down and explain what the hell happened. Why is your cheek red? Actually, it looks like a perfect handprint."
Dominick took a deep breath, trying to calm the storm inside him. He sat down and began to recount everything.