Loving My Best Friend

Ch 6 - Booking Blunder

“Oliver, where the hell are you?” Emily cried into her phone. For the past hour, she had been waiting for Oliver at the airport and he was late, still on his way. He knew how crucial it was for her to be on time, but no, as usual, he was late.

“I am on my way, I told you.” Oliver said calmly. How could Emily forget that it was his habit of being late and then acting like he didn't care if he was late or early?

“You have been there for the past hour,” Emily said and felt like pulling her hair out. It would have been so much easier if she had been traveling alone, but no, she had to take him as well.

“I am almost there. Would you stop screaming at me?” Oliver exclaimed.

“I won’t. And if you aren’t here within five minutes, I am leaving you behind,” Emily said in a reprimanding tone.

“I am here,” Oliver said, and Emily rolled her eyes.

“Where?”

“Behind you, Emily.” This time his voice didn’t come from the phone. Emily turned around and saw him.

Releasing a sigh of relief, she shook her head. “I am not traveling with you again, ever.”

After hours of flight, they reached Miami and were late for check in when they reached the hotel they had booked at.

“Hi, I have a booking for Emily Gerald and another for Oliver Hansen.”

The receptionist typed on the keyboard and then frowned. “Yes, there’s one booking for Emily Gerald and Oliver Hansen.”

“Yes, that’s the one.”

The receptionist took off one of the keys from behind the board and placed it in front of Emily. Taking the key, Emily inquired.

“Is it for me or him?” Emily asked, shifting her weight from one foot to another. She was so tired and felt like the receptionist was taking forever, even though she wasn’t.

“I am sorry. It’s for the booking you made,” the receptionist said, making Emily confused.

“But there are two rooms. One for me and one for him. So we need another key.”

Emily glanced at Oliver, who was eying their exchange with interest. It looked like she was his assistant and not the other way around. “What are you looking at? Help me here.”

Oliver came forward, nudging her aside and talked with the receptionist, who instantly started to smile sweetly unlike when she was talking to Emily. She was used to seeing women behaving like this around Oliver.

“Sir, but there is a booking for only one room,” the receptionist showed him the screen and Oliver nodded with a sigh.

Emily heard him say something but couldn’t make out clearly what he was saying. He turned to look at Emily and sighed.

Lifting an eyebrow at him, Emily asked, “What?’

He took the key in one hand and walked towards Emily, avoiding her eyes. Upon reaching her, he looked into her eyes and shrugged.

“She says there’s only one room available. Your secretary booked one room for us and that’s the only one left. If there was any other room, she would have gladly given us but there’s only one,” he said, and began to walk in the direction of the elevator.

“What? So now I have to share a room with you,” Emily asked with panic evident in her voice, and Oliver stopped to look back at her.

“Unfortunately, yes. It’s not like I am dying to be in a room with you but we have to cope with the circumstances for now,” he said with anger.

“What if I don’t?” Emily asked in a small voice, getting intimidated by the way he was towering over her.

“Then find a room for yourself,” he said, and turned around to press the elevator’s button.

“What? You’re my assistant. You should go and find your own room,” she exclaimed, following him inside the elevator.

“I’ll simply catch a flight back to New York. Then you can explain to Dad what happened.”

Emily gaped at his audacity to threaten her and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him closer. What did he think of himself?

“Don’t you dare pull this on me. I am your boss and you do better remember that,” Emily said, and exited the elevator as soon as the door opened.

Oliver ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes while following her and realized that she was going in the wrong direction. “You’re going the wrong way, the room is this way.”

Emily stopped and looked around, realizing Oliver was right, and followed him with a sigh of disapproval. She stared at his back and wondered how she was going to survive in that room alone with him.

No, it wasn’t about the feelings but the constant nagging on his part that got on her nerves. Emily could clearly see that he wasn’t over what happened years ago and wasn’t going to let it rest in peace.

All of a sudden, the weekend seemed like a nightmare waiting to happen.

Sighing, Emily followed him inside the room and almost cried in relief when she saw two separate twin beds. She could feel the knot around her throat easing and she walked behind Oliver, placing her bag in a corner.

When she glanced at Oliver, he was staring at her with a sinister smile.

“What now?”

“Nothing,” he said and took off his shoes and then took off his shirt.

“What the hell, Oliver? I am standing right here,” Emily exclaimed and turned her back to him, trying to get the image of him shirtless out of her mind. He had no idea how much he tormented her.

“So? Better get used to it since we’re staying in the same room. I am going to freshen up. Meanwhile, order some food.” With that he said, he went inside the bathroom, leaving a gaping Emily behind.

Emily blinked and shook her head. Did he just order her? It seemed to her like he needed a lesson on who was the boss here.

~~~~~~~~

Oliver got out of the bathroom with just a towel around his hips and with another one drying his hair. He walked out and found Emily sitting on a couch at the corner, looking unnervingly calm as she stared at her.

For a moment, he stared at her and wondered if she was going to freak out or not because of him coming out in just a towel. But she surprised him, and said nothing.

“When’s the food coming?” He asked her and saw her getting up from the couch.

Emily struggled to keep her eyes on his face and not trail down to his abs and arms that she so wanted to touch and caress. But to keep her dignity intact, she kept a firm front.

Getting up, she walked up to him and walked close until she could smell his scent. Not once, Oliver’s eyes wavered from hers and he kept standing with a gleam of interest in his eyes.

“I didn’t order,” Emily said, and Oliver narrowed his eyes.

“Why?”

“Because I am not your servant and that's not how the chain of command works,” Emily said and poked a finger at his chest, making a point and ignoring the way she felt sparks on her skin when her finger touched him.

Satisfied, Emily picked up her clothes in one hand and proceeded towards the bathroom. Just before she could step inside, an arm circled around her waist, spinning her and pressing her back to the wall.

A surprised shriek escaped past her lips and she looked up to see Oliver caging her between the wall and himself. She stared into his blue eyes that were staring at her like they could see into her soul and Emily felt a shiver go down her spine. Her heart was already miles per second but the fire in his eyes made her heart want to jump out of her throat.

“What are you… doing?” Emily stammered.

Desperate to create some distance, she pushed at his chest and ducked to get away from under his arm that was placed on the wall beside her head.

With one hand, he secured her back against the wall and pressed her closer. Her cheeks reddened, feeling him flush against her and him staring down at her.

Emily gasped, seeing Oliver looking down at her. “You might be my boss outside this room, but inside these walls…” He shook his head at her.

“I am your boss,” Oliver finished, and Emily was at a loss for words. What was he talking about?