“Perhaps you could move up within this company?” I suggest, ignoring her nonsensical answer. “This tour company is owned by a parent company, isn’t it? With hotels and the like, surely. They must have designers on staff to handle the acquisitions and remodels.”
She looks at me, interest sparking briefly in her eyes before it disappears just as quickly. I wonder if I’ve overstepped the line. Then she frowns, tiny lines appearing on her forehead before she’s rising in her seat and slipping past me into the aisle. “I’ve got to prep the group for Mount Vernon,” she states without looking at me, but I’m not sure if that’s true or if she’s just looking for a way to end this conversation. A conversation that’s left me with more questions than answers.
I watch as Daisy turns on the microphone and grabs the group’s attention. Then she reiterates that we’re on our way to Mount Vernon—the same information she gave them when the bus left the hotel not twenty minutes ago. I tap my finger on my mobile while I try to recall the time difference between the East Coast and Las Vegas.
I think it’s time to start digging.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Violet
I’m the worst. Literally the worst. My pulse is racing so fast. Why did I just tell him all that? It’s a good thing no one’s life depends on my ability to lie because I suck at it. I suck all the sucks. That sounds sorta perverted, doesn’t it? Perfect, now I’m thinking about sucking his dick.
It’s a nice dick. A great one, really. I smile thinking about my naïveté regarding uncut cocks. I can’t believe I told him I didn’t know what to do with it. I’m so ridiculous. It was basically the same, except easier to give him a hand job. And more sensitive. Like when I swirled my tongue around the head and he made that little groaning noise that almost made me come. I swear groans in British sound different than American ones. Like a way better kind of different, which sounds crazy but I promise is true.
I take a huge breath and try to calm myself as I grab the microphone so I can repeat the same information I gave the group twenty minutes ago. Information that doesn’t need to be repeated, but I needed to get away from Jennings. Granted, I’ve only managed to get two feet away from him, but I’ll take it.
I can’t believe I just word-vomited out all that information about myself, but it’s not like he’s going to check, right? It’s not like he would know what Daisy majored in or what she does when she’s not on tours. It’s not like he has access to her employment files to verify anything I just told him. I almost laugh out loud at the idea. Can I be any more paranoid?
He knows nothing.
Nada.
Zip.
Zilch.
I like him.
Wait. Where did that thought come from? I glance over my shoulder to where he’s sitting, still next to the seat I just escaped from. His head is bent over his phone and he appears to be tapping out a text or an email. From this angle I can see his jaw ticking in concentration as he types.
So of course I like him. I’m sleeping with him and it’s not as if I go around sleeping with men I don’t like. I liked the look of him when I smiled at him in the bar that first night, didn’t I? I liked his eyes. And his jaw. His dark hair and the way his shirt fit his shoulders. I liked that he sent me a drink when all I did was offer up that stupid three-second smile. No one’s ever sent me a drink before. In the movies men are always sending drinks, but in reality it doesn’t happen that often. At least not in my reality. In college I had guys offer me red Solo cups filled with beer from the keg, but it’s not the same thing.
I like the tone of his voice and his British accent. I like the way he smells and the feel of him pressed against me.
It’s just the sex, right?
Except I like the way he pays attention when I talk. The way he wants to know more—even though I can’t tell him more because I’m a big fat liar. But nonetheless, I like the way he pays attention. It was sweet how he suggested I look for openings within the company. It wouldn’t be a terrible idea, if I actually worked for the company. Daisy isn’t qualified for positions I’d be interested in, not to mention it would be problematic to apply as her and keep this charade running any longer. I’m still not convinced I’ll make it to the end of this tour without blowing it.
But I could have Daisy keep an eye out for the jobs I’d be qualified for and then apply for those as myself, couldn’t I? Daisy’d probably even get a bonus for referring me. Wouldn’t that be something? She dumps her job on me and then ends up getting a bonus out of it. Quintessentially Daisy.