Mr. Big(11)

She laughed at him and shook her head, and Liam ordered champagne for all of them to toast the challenge. Mia couldn’t believe she had agreed to it, but having a hot night with a good looking man in exchange for a first class round trip ticket to Rome, in addition to the hotel, was not a bad deal to take.

She looked over at Liam who seemed to be glowing with excitement. “How am I going to meet him?” she asked with slight trepidation. Mia loved meeting new people, but she had never met anyone with the sole intention of sleeping with them before she had ever laid eyes on them. Her stomach tightened at the idea of it.

Liam seemed to sense her slight nervousness and he rested a hand lightly on her arm. “Well, I’m going to be doing design work at his office for another few weeks, so come in with me as soon as you can and I will just say that you are a private consultant that I’ve brought on for some of the work. You’d be there in an advisory capacity, and then you could meet him and… do your magic. Ask him out to dinner or drinks and make the sparks fly!” He winked at her and she nodded and felt her chest tighten right along with her stomach.

“…um, Liam, what if I’m not his type?” she asked quietly.

He rolled his eyes. “You’re his type; you’re a woman. I am not his type, I’m a gay god. Listen,” he smiled at her kindly. “You are a truly stunning woman, you’re intelligent, you’re fun, and you’re single. You are all of the right things for this to happen, and it just needs to happen once. That’s not hard, seriously. You know that. So don’t get nervous about it. When can you come by? It should be soon. It wouldn’t be as believable to have a consultant come in after the job is half done.”

Mia thought over her schedule quickly and reminded herself that Rome was waiting for her on the other end of the deal. “I can come in tomorrow, actually. I was going to have an in-day at my office, but I can put that off a day and spend tomorrow with you.”

“Perfect!” he said happily. He tipped his champagne glass back and set it down with satisfaction. “I may not be able to find out if the rumor is true for myself, but I would be satisfied just knowing whether or not it’s true, and who better to trust with the mission than you, my dear?” he laughed lightly and winked at her and she laughed in return, shaking her head as her heart picked up pace just a little.

“Well, I guess I’ll do my best,” she said with a touch of uncertainty. “What does he like? I’m wondering what I should wear.” Mia looked at Liam thoughtfully.

He shook his head slightly. “Just come as you always do; you have impeccable style and taste. You always look classy. Just dress like that and you’ll be fine.”

She shrugged. “All right. I can do that.”

Ava giggled and looked around at all of them. “It’s so exciting! I can’t wait to hear how it goes!” Maddie raised her glass upward in the center of the table. “To romantic missions.” They all toasted with mirth and slight blushing, and drank to the day to come.

Mia went home with a little bit of a buzz, a knot in her stomach, and a mind dizzy with wonder at how she had managed to get herself into a bet like the one she had accepted from her friends. It was one of the wildest things she had ever done, and she thought about it from every perspective as she pulled her shoes and clothes off and washed her face before bed.

The last thing she thought of as she closed her eyes and let the world go away was the television show, and she could only wonder what it would be like to try to seduce such an elusive man, in particular for the sake of a bet, but on the other end of the bet was Rome, and she loved Rome.





Chapter2



Mia dreamed of the characters from the television show, including Mr. Big, and all of them were with her in Rome. All of them were disappearing and reappearing in different places in the Coliseum. She walked through some of the hallways and pathways in the ancient massive structure and the faces of the characters would show up and they would be near her, and then they faded away, disappearing into shadows.

She tried to speak to them, but they would only watch her, and none of them spoke to her. She tried to talk with Mr. Big several times, but he would only watch her and then vanish. He would not walk to her or stay where he was until she got to him. It was confusing and frustrating to her and she tried all she could to get to him, but nothing worked.

By the time Mia woke up, she was annoyed and a little tired, not having slept restfully. She pushed herself up from her bed and showered. Walking into her closet, she flipped on the light and took a look around her, wondering what would make the best first impression; wondering what would make a lasting impression. She wondered what would make an impression that clearly offered a one night stand but didn’t immediately scream “tramp.”