Short Stories - Romance

#6 - His Thoughtfulness

I just wanted to fall apart and cry, but apparently the universe wouldn't let me have that too.

"Miss Thornfield, please, as management, we insist." The hotel manager's distraught expression while he held out a basket filled with an assortment of gifts was the only thing keeping me from snapping at the man.

"And for the last time, this is not necessary." I let out an exasperated sigh. It wasn't like the hotel's management was responsible for ruining my pity party.

"Even then, do this old man a favour." He pleaded, his lips curving into warm determined smile. The thing easily breezed past my sadness and into my soul. How could I say no to that?

"Isn't there a law against this kind of persuasion?" I huffed, but that smile only widened.

"Well, is it working?"

"That depends." I folded my arms, arching a brow at him.

"On what?"

"On your promise that there will be no more gifts, or apologies. That I'll be left alone." Uncertainity flashed in the older man's eyes making me narrow my own at him. "What is it?"

He cleared his throat. "Just a little matter of dinner. On the house."

"Absolutely not." I waved him away, but the man only held out a finger in a waiting gesture, before pulling out his phone.

"Yes Sir. No Sir, I absolutely understand. No need for that- I will, of course. Thank you Sir." His head bobbled countless times at each instruction received from the other end of the call and once he was done, his warm smile had been replaced by a nervous one. "I'm afraid you cannot decline the dinner, or my job is on the line."

"What? That's ridiculous." I snorted a laugh, but the man was not smiling, forcing me to sober up. "Let me talk to your boss then." I gestured for him to handle over the phone, but he held it tightly while his nervous smile turned warm in a flash.

"It's only food and if you prefer, it can be delivered to your room."

I let out another sigh. "Will you leave me alone if I say yes?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die."

"Fine." I didn't need to say it twice. The man slipped through the door I held open for him, placed the gift on the coffee table like it was some precious gift and walked back out.

"Do you have any preference on the dinner menu or have allergies?" A brightly coloured note pad materialised from his jacket's side pocket as he got ready to jot down the information, of which I had none. And even if I did, I wouldn't have bothered to tell him because food was the last thing on my mind.

"You know what? Surprise me." I mustered a smile that quickly faltered once the man turned around with a spring in his step. I hated to do that to him, but I needed him gone. Closing the door, I leaned back on it before slipping to the floor. The tears came right after, leaving my body quaking with grief and my mind flooded with every one of those questions I had no answers to no matter how hard I tried finding any. Life could really screw you over any way it liked and at any time. I barely ignored the thoughts about my late mother. With my own shattered heart after Jackson's betrayal, I ached for us both. I could only hope she had never known about my father.

A knock on the door had me wiping my teary face, but with no intentions of answering it, I stayed put. Whoever was at the door, though, seemed determined to annoy the hell out me and when I couldn't stand their constant knocking, I shot to my feet, ready to scare them off.

All my annoyance gave way to mortification when I laid my eyes on the person who stood grinning outside. "You!"

"You've got to stop running away from me, Princess." The jerk invited himself in before I could blink. "I come bearing gifts." He lifted a bottle of wine and two empty glasses. "If you are going to drown yourself, this is the better way to do it. Trust me, I know."

"Drown myself?" What the hell was he talking about? When those brows only arched in my direction, I caught on so quickly my stomach lurched at the very idea. Was that why he'd violently pulled me out of the pool? I had been too furious to ask at the time and he, well, he was one people I didn't want to see and recognizing him on the spot had me running...again. "Don't be ridiculous." I snatched the full glass he offered and I downed all its contents. "I felt like dying, not that I wanted to die." I didn't know why I volunteered that information. It's not like I owed him any explanation.

"Do you want to talk about it?" His offer was automatic and very very tempting, but I wasn't about to have a therapy session with my escort one night stand. He was after all the biggest shard of my broken world currently stabbing my soul.

"Go away. I'm not talking to you."

"More then." Instead of getting his butt out the door, he filled the glass I shoved back to him. "I promise, I won't charge. It's on the house."

"Argh! I swear if I hear 'on the house one more time', I'll stab someone." Infuriated by his thoughtfulness that was apparently working, I emptied the glass before grabbing the whole wine bottle. "Now, get out." I demanded as I crashed on the couch. I wasn't about to take his advice and drown myself while he was here. God knew I didn't trust my drunk self or him.