The Secretary and Her Boss

Chapter 19

I had seen more romantic movies than I could count, and with that massive amount of knowledge could honestly say— as I opened the door to my hotel room, face burning, a very handsome man standing behind me— that I was well aware of how horrible of a situation I had gotten myself into. Little did I know, this was just the beginning of a night filled with unexpected twists and turns.

"I'll order some room service," I offered, my voice uneven as Laurence Royal crossed the threshold. He settled down on the couch, an arm covering his face as he slumped down, looking too tired to hold up his normally polished exterior.

"What would you like?" I asked, moving for the phone.

Laurence Royal, voice weary, replied, "Nothing," voice barely audible from behind his arm. The exhaustion in his tone was palpable, a stark contrast to his usual composed self.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes at his response. "So, you're one of those," I muttered, picking up the hotel phone with a hint of annoyance.

His arm fell off his face and he looked over at me, eyebrow raised. "One what?"

"Those people who get all stubborn when they are sick, pretending they don't need anything. All it does is waste time. I'll ask one more time to be nice and then I'm choosing for you. What do you want to eat?"

"Bowl of soup," he muttered, arm back over his face, head leaned back against the arm of the couch.

After ordering two bowls of tomato soup, and a grilled cheese sandwich, I moved to the large balcony windows and pushed them open, the ocean breeze filling the room with fresh air, the roar of the waves a calming balm to the tense situation.

Moving back over to Laurence, I held out a glass of water, and two pain pills. "Here. Take these. They'll help with your grumpy attitude."

Laurence furrowed his brow, staring down at my hand, where the two tiny pills sat. "You're bossy when you take care of people."

I shrugged. "Nothing gets done unless I make it an order. Learned that the hard way when my brothers got sick."

Laurence sat up, taking the pills and dry swallowing them, ignoring the cup of water I had offered.

Yep. Grumpy.

"How many brothers?"

"Six. All older," I replied, sitting down on a chair next to the couch, ignoring the bed completely. I'd force him to move over to the bed eventually, until then, the chair was a safer place to sit than to the spot on the couch he had left open for me unintentionally. 

"They are always breaking bones, spraining wrists, dislocating shoulders, and my job was to patch them up... or call the ambulance depending on how bad it was. I don't know who fixes them up now. Probably one of our dogs... or something," I said smiling to myself, a bout of homesickness tugging at my smile and making it sad.

I miss my mess of brothers. They would laugh their butts off at how I injured my ex boss before sending him to the hospital. They wouldn't be stoked about him being in my hotel room though...

"You love your family don't you," Laurence said, pulling me out of my thoughts. He looked over at me, eyes unreadable.

"More than anything," I said, voice surprisingly fierce. "They've offered to kill for me and it's only fair that I'd do the same. Sibling affection and all that."

Laurence cracked an actual smile. It changed his entire face, making it softer, more approachable, his dark lashes brushing against his cheeks, eyes light. "Held together by a blood pact I assume? I'll make sure not to cross the Autumns family."