Around the World in 80 Men Series: Books 11-20 (81 page)

Morgan
also turned to her window, and started to see something that reminded
her of things that made her beyond uncomfortable. They began to
drive into town, and the scenery started to look too much like the
neighborhood that Carlos had taken her to. She tried to just
breathe, to sit tight until they left the area, but the slowing of
the limo made her heart begin to race. Run down buildings crept
slowly by, men on corners stared as they passed them, and two hotels
that looked as if they should have been demolished sat side by side
as the limo turned on a small road between them.
You better keep
driving, asshole
. She sat up a bit more in her seat, and finally
let out a sigh of relief when the limo kept creeping down the narrow
street.

Barely
five minutes later, and with the bad area still in the rear view
mirror, the limo came to a stop in front of a multistory hotel. No,
it wasn't exactly in the worst of the area, but it was only a few
blocks away from a place that Carlos would have loved. “Uh...
this isn't where we're staying, is it?” Morgan was on alert,
looking out both sides of the vehicle liked a caged animal. Diego
was already stepping out, and he hadn't heard Morgan's question. She
thought she was being ignored, which was another one of Carlos'
traits. She opened the door and stepped out quickly, then almost ran
to the back of the limo where the driver and her client were
unloading her luggage. That was where she noticed that
her
luggage was all that was in the back, and Diego was baggage-free.
Just like Carlos
.

“Let's
get to the room, shall we?” Diego smiled at Morgan as she
looked at her bags on the sidewalk. She took a step forward and
raised her face to meet him as close to 'eye to eye' as she could.

“No,
we shall not get to the room. I've been on this ride before, and I
won't do it again. Sorry buddy, but you can pull this shit with
someone else.” She started to pick up her bags after her
announcement, but Diego instinctively put his hands over the handles.
He had no idea what had just happened, but he intended to make sense
of it one way or the other.

“Where
are you going?” He still wouldn't let go, and that infuriated
her.

“Let
the fuck go, I'm out of here!” He stared at her, wide eyed and
confused, then after a few seconds, he let go. Morgan started
walking away from him and never slowed until she got to the first
coffee shop that she came to. Diego and his driver watched her
struggle with her bags as she stomped into the small building. They
looked at one another, hoping that the other one knew what had just
happened.

Diego's
driver, Tomas, offered to retrieve the girl, but his boss just shook
his head and told him that he would return shortly. Tomas waited in
the limo until he knew what was expected of him.

“Morgan?”
She turned her head at the sound of Diego's voice and groaned softly.
At least it's a public place. Go ahead, try to pull me out of
here.

“That's
me.” She looked back down at the table and picked invisible
dirt from underneath her fingernails.

“May
I sit?” He grabbed the back of the chair across from her and
pulled it out a few inches. When she didn't answer, he sat himself,
hoping that he wasn't crossing any lines with the woman.

“I
know your type,” she finally looked up as he pulled his chair
in closer to the table. She looked him in the eyes, they certainly
didn't hold that same cold look that Carlos had held in his beady
dark eyes, but she wasn't going to let it fool her. Just his clothing
gave her a bad feeling. A dark suit, she couldn't tell if it were
blue or black in the lighting of the diner, but it looked expensive
whatever color it was. Even his cufflinks looked more expensive than
any piece of jewelry she'd owned in her life.
He spends that kind
of money on buttons?
His hair and eyes though, reminded her of
Gio. Long, dark hair, nearly touching his shoulders and light brown
eyes that kept staring at her. He had a natural tan complexion that
made him even more handsome, but she wasn't going to think about his
good qualities, at least not then.

“I'm
sorry?” He was more confused than before and was regretting his
decision to request company for the week.

“The
shitty hotel, the lack of luggage...I'm sure you've already called up
your boys and told them I'm here,” she told him, still staring
directly in his eyes.

“I
chose a hotel because it's in the city, I thought you would enjoy
being close to everything,” he explained, then a server
approached the table to ask what they'd like. Morgan told the woman
with the beautiful accent that she wanted a coffee. She was exhausted
after drinking, traveling and stress, so a little more coffee
actually sounded pretty good.

I'm
sure you do
, Morgan thought in reference to Diego living closer
to the outskirts of town. Carlos had the same story. She didn't
respond to him, so he continued. “I can take you to another
hotel, I just chose this hotel because there is a huge festival in
two days. I...I thought you might want to see it. I had a choice to
stop at the house and get my bags, or go directly to the airport to
meet you. I chose to meet you, and my bags would have been brought
to the hotel later.” He reached into his coat pocket, then
produced a brochure and slid it across the table. It was in Spanish,
but Morgan's high school lessons helped her read enough of the paper
to understand he wasn't lying. “Or...if you want, I'll take you
to my house. If that will make you feel better.”

Morgan
ran her finger over the picture of a colorful mime, the thought that
she just may be wrong about the man started to surface.
If he's
not an ass, then I am.
Just as she was working out the details
of what he was telling her, the man pulled a handkerchief from the
inside of his suit jacket, and handed it to her. It was then that
Morgan realized that her tears had silently returned.

“Is
this your... you know... first time, doing this?” He began to
wonder if her behavior could be explained away by fear, or first time
jitters. The 'ride' that she was on before could easily have been
a bad situation with an ex boyfriend. Morgan's quiet, and almost sad
laughter wasn't what he had expected.

“No,
it isn't. It's also not the first time that I've made an ass out of
myself.” She also laughed at the following thought.
I'm
sure it won't be my last.
When she allowed herself to relax, and
really listen to the man as well as look at him, the realization that
he was harmless came over her. It also wasn't the first time that
she laughed and cried at the same time.

“I'm
sorry, Diego. I've had a terrible day and I didn't mean to take that
out on you. This place is also very...familiar...to a...” She
paused to take her coffee from the waitress, but Diego spoke next.

“You
don't have to explain, we all have bad days. I understand.” He
understood what he needed to, that was enough. She had a problem with
the hotel, that was clear. He wasn't going to ask and he certainly
wouldn't force her to stay there. “I'll take you where ever you
want to go. If you want me to find you a hotel, or want to go back to
the airport, I'll help you get there.”

“Can
we start over?” Morgan managed a weak smile and reached her
hand across the table, holding it out for Diego. He smiled back and
nodded, then took her hand. “Hi, Diego, I'm not normally an
utter asshole, but I've been one today. I'm Morgan. It's a pleasure
to meet you.”

“It's
a pleasure meeting you as well, Morgan.” The man smiled at the
newly relaxed woman.

“I'm
not sure you even want to spend a week with me after that,” she
brought her hand back to the warm cup in front of her. “But if
you're willing to give me a chance, I'd definitely prefer if we went
to your house.” She risked making eye contact again and was met
with a warm smile.

“That's
fine. I'll bring you back here, if you'd like to see the festival...”

“I'd
like that,” she told him with a genuine smile. The first real
smile since Angel had delivered the news about Finlay.

Tomas
got out quickly when he watched the couple heading back to the car,
and followed the lead of Diego as his boss nodded toward the back of
the limo. Morgan's bags were placed back into the trunk, and the
three of them were on their way to Diego's home after he spoke a
quick word with his driver.

“I....
seriously owe you an apology. Honestly, Diego, I am so very sorry
for how I acted.” Her apology also made her want to cry again.
It could also have been her immense guilt that made her fight the
waterworks for the what seemed like the hundredth time that day.
Diego settled more into his seat and his easy smile took over.

“Like
I said before, I've had pretty bad days myself. It's alright.”
She appreciated the fact that he accepted her apology, but she also
knew that she had some serious making up to do. How she acted wasn't
her at all, at least not the Morgan that she liked to be, and it
became very important to her that she prove it.

The
two didn't speak about their meeting during the drive to his house,
instead, Morgan asked about almost everything they passed along the
way. She saw breathtaking skyscrapers next to old Victorian style
homes, and neighborhoods that were so brightly colored that they
didn't look like private homes at all. “It's like a constant
festival. It's beautiful!” The colors that changed from
bright red to deep orange kept her mesmerized as she listened to the
history of Buenos Aires.

He
told her how it was the only place in South America that held strong
European traditions and pride. The Italians and Germans actually
outnumbered the Spanish, but the love and pride for Argentina could
be seen everywhere.

The
multinational people of the area are called, Portenos, and he claimed
that they were among the most friendly people to be found anywhere.

“I
do have to warn you, however, that there is one person that I can't
honestly call... friendly.” He laughed, which made Morgan
laugh, then he told her that his head housekeeper wasn't one to tango
with. It was especially funny since he had also recently told Morgan
that the tango was the official dance of the area.

“What's
her name?” He told her that it was, Evita, but that it was no
use trying to speak to her because she couldn't speak one word of
English. “I'll remember that.” She smiled and nodded,
as if they had just shared a secret. “And why is it you speak
perfect English?” Diego laughed, almost everyone he knew spoke
English, but he just told her that he had learned it years prior.

“Speaking
of, Evita, it'll be interesting to see what she's up to since she
believes I'll be away for a full week.” She liked his humor
about the woman, and he really did look like a man that enjoyed a
nice banter with his cranky employee.

Morgan
tried to hold out as long as possible, but halfway through the ride
to his home, she couldn't fight it any longer. Her head softly fell
against the window and her eyes closed, putting her into a deep
sleep. She'd woken up early in Dallas the day prior, went though
hours of delays. That was followed by a thirteen hour trip, in which
she'd been awake for most of it, then, on top of everything, she had
a nasty headache from the damn Texas Teas.

He
nudged her when they pulled into his driveway, but she wouldn't move.
“Morgan?” He pushed again. “Morgan?” He
wasn't paying attention to the fact his driver was already on his way
to the back of the car. The windows were tinted, so Tomas couldn't
tell...before Diego had the chance to warn Morgan, Tomas opened her
door and she fell to the ground outside.

“Shit!”
Morgan hit the ground, shoulder first and she yelled out in surprise
more than pain. “Oh...” She looked between her client and
his driver, then looked to the ground around her and put it all
together. “Well, this is embarrassing,” she pushed
herself up with her hands, then with the help of Diego's hand, she
got to her feet.

“Are
you alright? I'm so sorry!” Diego was looking her up and down,
trying to find any injuries.

“I'm
fine, sorry for falling asleep.” She had planned on spending
the trip finding out more about her client, but it hadn't worked out
that way. She didn't even know what he did yet, but that would have
to wait.