Me: You idiot. I asked you not to fuck this up. And what do you do? You fucking screwed up. And now she's pissed off.

Screws? I asked Aaron to step in and do something if he felt something further would happen. But giving her a box of screws? What the fuck?

Aaron: Hey. I did what you told me to do. So how did I screw this up for you?

Me: Why would you give her a box of screws?

Aaron: LOL. You told me she asked if you had some loose screws. So, when I saw how Mason was eying the stunning green-eyed, gorgeous babe and heard what they were talking about, I handed a waitress a small wrapped box, asking that she give it to "your girl" and insisted that she not point out who it was from. I did what you asked. And now you're pissed at me.

Me: Screws? That's what you came up with? You obviously went there prepared. So why choose to do that?

Aaron: Because your girl is right. Only they're not loose; you completely lost your screws. So I gave them to her to make her think about what she was doing there with him...

Fucking smart ass...

And he only did something I would do. Only this wasn't the right time to be a smart ass. I've got to live with Eloise for a week, and the last thing I needed was to upset her, making our stay together much more miserable.

Aaron: I also felt that if she knew your screws were, in fact, lost, it showed how unglued you would become knowing she was out with another man. So it was a warning shot.

Now I have to come up with another plan to fix this. I mean, it is actually funny Aaron gave her screws and his reasoning behind it. But it wasn't what I wanted him to do. Now she assumes I was there spying on her, which is not what I wanted her to think. Which, in a way, I kind of was.

Still...

I wanted Aaron to step in if he had to, but differently, without letting her know I was involved in it in any way.

Me: By you doing that, told her I was involved. I wanted you to do something that didn't make it look like I had anything to do with it. On top of that, you dissed me in the process.

Aaron: Sorry, bud, but as I said, your girl is correct when she said you've got loose screws. Because you do, the Callum I know wouldn't be going nuts over one woman. He wouldn't have had me spying on a certain woman, and he wouldn't have given up meeting and having sex with random beautiful ladies because of one woman. So you, my friend, have definitely lost your screws.

I know I have, but now he made it, so I have to work harder for her not to beat the living shit out of me when she arrives in Hawaii and sees she's spending the entire week with me.

Ugh...

Me: Thanks for watching them. Is there anything else I should know?

Aaron: You're welcome. Sorry. I didn't mean to make things worse if I did. But honestly, when I was studying her around the guy, I saw a look on her face like she knew she shouldn't have been there with him. You must have said something to her to get under her skin because when he grabbed and held her hands and looked at her with desire in his eyes, she had a look of panic on her face. So I don't think there will be another date in the future.

Well, that sounds promising.

Me: Did you follow them back to her place?

Aaron: Yes, and all that happened was he walked her to her door, hugged her, and left.

Whew... that's a relief.

Me: Thanks.

Aaron: You're welcome. Oh, by the way. I have to say, you were right about Eloise and why you're so obsessed with her. Because she is H. O. T. Hot!

***

For the first time, I couldn't wait to leave New York and get home. New York has always been one of my favorite places to visit, but after Eloise went on a date with Mason and Aaron fucked up with her, I couldn't get to the airport fast enough. I even switched my afternoon flight to the morning one, and instead of ensuring I was sitting in first class, my fucked up ass took the only seat available in coach.

Aaron is right. I've completely lost it.

And now I know I went off the deep end because instead of going straight home after arriving in Chicago, I drove straight to the office to talk with Eloise. But when I got there, disappointment instantly set in when Emma informed me she had taken the day off.

"What's her excuse this time?"

"She took the day off to spend time with her parents, since today is the fourth anniversary of her older brother's unexpected death."

Now that wasn't what I expected to hear. My hand rested over my heart from the sudden discomfort in my chest—my heart aching for her. And because of that, I wasn't sure what to ask or say to Emma without it sounding insensitive or offensive.

I know what it's like to lose someone you love, so I know her pain. I also know if I ever were to lose my brother, I wouldn't know what to do.

With a stern look in Emma's eye, she continued, "So I will ask that you please not get on Eloise's case for not coming in today."

"I may be an asshole at times, and this isn't one of those times you need to worry about me being a prick to her," I assured her, because it was true. Losing a close family member is not something to give someone a hard time about, and if she took the day off to celebrate his life, then so be it.

"Good."

I turned around, and as I started walking, I told her, "I'll be in my office."

The first thing I did when I sat at my desk was show Eloise I have a heart.

From: Callum
To: Eloise
Subject: Sorry

Eloise,

I'm sorry to hear about your brother's untimely passing. Although it's been four years since he passed away, I want you to know that even though you and I have a bitter history, please don't hesitate to ask if there's anything you need. I'm here. Family is everything.

Sincerely,
Callum

I know she won't contact me for help or advice, but I still had to let her know and show I have heart and also let her know that I care.

Eloise may mockingly laugh at me with this email. And she has every right to. After what I did to her on the day of her grandmother's funeral, I deserve to be called out. That was insensitive of me, I know, and I still owe her an apology for that, which she will get from me when we're in Hawaii.

The next thing I knew I needed to do, since I hadn't already, was to get ahold of Rory and Isabelle to warn them about me changing rooms. It's also to let them know I know what they're up to.

So I sent them a group text.

Me: FYI, change of plans on the room situation in Hawaii. Since figuring out you set me up with Eloise and hid it from me, as well as her, which I'm pretty sure she still doesn't know, I called the hotel and swapped our basic room to the penthouse suite. I figured it needed to be worth it if you're making us spend time together in a hotel room.

Isabelle: Did you tell her?

Me: Hell no.

Isabelle: I haven't told her either. You weren't supposed to know or find out until you got into your room. But Eloise ruined it when she told you where we were last weekend. Please don't tell her, either. I don't want her not to show up for our wedding. Because I'm pretty sure that's something she'd do.

Rory: Sorry, bro, but it needed to be done. So now that you know, please don't do anything that will ruin our wedding. Isabelle will cut off your nuts.

Isabelle: And I will.

Me: If anyone ruins anything, it'll be her. Not me. I went out of my way to make sure the accommodations with me were more pleasant. And I'll have you know, to ensure she'll be in a good mood during your wedding, I went out and spent LOTS of money on the hemorrhoid who despises me with a passion.

Isabelle: Oohh! I'm excited! What did you buy her? Will I get to see them before she does?

Me: A dress, earrings, a necklace, and a bracelet. And yes, you can see them. I need to know if they'll be to Eloise's liking, anyway.

Isabelle: I'm screaming and clapping my hands here. I need to see them! Like right now!! Where are you? Are you still in New York?

I knew she'd be excited. But I feel Eloise won't be as enthusiastic as her best friend when I give them to her.

Rory: You've got a lot of sucking up to do in just two days. Better start now; the last thing I want to deal with in Hawaii is Eloise telling us she murdered your ass and asking that we help bury your body.

I laughed at that comment. I think they're the ones who need to worry about who she'll want to put six feet under.

Me: Hey. If anyone is killing anyone, it'll be Eloise murdering you both for not telling her I'm her partner. That I'll be the one escorting her down the aisle. And I'm the one she's spending the week with in Hawaii. And yes, Isabelle, I would love for you to see what I bought her. I need to ensure the ensemble will be to her liking. And I'm at the Chicago office. I came here to talk to Eloise, but come to find out; she took the day off.

Isabelle: Oh crap! I forgot. Today is the anniversary of Max's death. Callum, whatever you do, please don't upset her today.

Me: It's not in my plans.

Isabelle: Thank you. This is one day out of the year that hits her hard. She and Max were super close.

Me: Don't worry. My fighting days with her are over, at least for now. I can't promise anything after we return from Hawaii. And Isabelle, where are you? I'm on my way to getting your approval.

Isabelle: I'm at home! Hurry! I want and need to see what you bought her!

Me: See you soon.

***

My stomach is twisting in knots as I drive to Rory's and Isabelle's house. Worried about the wrong size, the color I chose, and the style of it all. I also worried that it'd be too much and that she'll think I was trying to buy her love—which I was not. It's just a temporary truce to ensure we get along for our friends' sake.

I was given the option to rent the precious jewelry, but because I was in the mood to do something nice for Eloise, I purchased them for her instead. After that, what she does with them after we leave Hawaii is entirely up to her.

Hopefully, she decides to keep them.

Isabelle opened the door with a massive smile on her face, and she excitedly pulled me inside, immediately taking the bags from my hand and running to the couch. "You're acting like I bought them for you," I chuckled, teasing her as I headed to the living room to sit beside her.

"She is my best friend, you know."

"I do now," I groaned.

She laughed while pulling the box with the dress out of the bag. "Now, do you understand why Rory was adamant about you being his best man?"

"It was something I thought about all week in New York. And yes, now I know what the two of you were up to. You're trying to set us up."

She laughed. "Well, I wouldn't go that far. But I'll admit, we did talk about it." She looked at me as she rested the box on her lap. "Rory really, really wants you to settle down. And he felt Eloise may be that girl you'd be willing to settle down with." She nudged me with her shoulder, smiling. "She's a beautiful woman, you know."

She's not only beautiful but... "She's gorgeous," I blurted out.

"She is. And I'm glad you think so," Isabelle happily said, lifting the lid to the box. Her mouth instantly dropped wide the second she saw the dress. She lifted it, and in awe, she said, "Callum! This is beautiful!"

"I thought so too. Is it too much?"

"Oh, God no! She'll absolutely love this!"

"The color is okay?"

She looked at me wide-eyed. "Are you kidding? It's perfect!" She looked at the tag, then at me, her eyes widening even more. "You spent that much?"

I nodded. "Yep." Now I can't wait to see her reaction when she sees the jewelry I bought her.

"Well, you got her size right. But you may want to remove the tag, so she doesn't flip out about how much you spent on her."

"Noted."

Isabelle shook her head as she put the dress bag inside the bag, folding it back to the way the store clerk did, and then neatly placed it back inside the box.

"However you look at it, she's going to flip out either way. First, when she sees you and realizes who you are. Then she'll have a meltdown knowing she'll spend a week in the same hotel room with you. And then she'll freak out that you bought her something as beautiful as this. But whatever. She'll get over it. Just ensure you hang this up immediately when you enter your hotel room."

"Planned on it."

"Good." Excitement filled the room the second she saw the name on the jewelry bag. "Harry Winston?!" she screamed. "Are you kidding me?" She quickly and carefully snapped the lid open. "Oh, my God, Callum! They're beautiful!" she emphasized, bringing the box closer for her to inspect. "Are you sure you're not secretly in love with her? Because I know how much Harry Winston jewelry costs, and I'm smart enough to know this trio cost you a damn fortune!"

"I'm not in love with her," I answered quickly. "As I said, it's a temporary truce to ensure she's in a good mood. I want everyone to be happy this coming week. The last thing I wanted was two hot-heads ruining your wedding."

She laughed. "Callum. No matter what you do, she'll be pissed off all week. At me for hiding this from her and at you for, well, everything..."

I already gathered that she would be. So I've got more plans to help keep her in line. I flashed her a smile. "Don't worry. She'll be good this week. I'll make sure of it."

She lifted a brow, asking, "Oh? What do you have planned?"

I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and pulled her to me. "That's for me to know and for you not to worry about. What I want you and Rory to do is worry about your wedding. I'll have Eloise under control. Guaranteed..."

***

When Aaron called to tell me that he saw Eloise walking around the club—alone—I jumped into my Range Rover and drove as fast as possible. Now I'm marching around the club trying to find Eloise before some horny idiot talks her into going into a room.

If any idiot should be doing that, it should be me.

And the longer I walked around the club, not finding her, the more worried I became. Fearing she was already in a room, allowing a man other than me to pleasure her, satisfying every need she's lacked since our night in Florida.

Then I decided to return to an area I had already checked after remembering Lilah had mentioned Eloise's interest in watching people having sex. And I'm glad I returned because when I entered the dark hallway, I found her standing alone, in her role-play nun outfit, watching a group having a threesome.

I may not see her face since I came in the hallway with her back facing me, but I recognized her outfit, her luscious figure, and the port wine marking on the back of her right shoulder blade. So I snuck up on Eloise, covered her mouth while wrapping my other arm around her waist, and pulled her against my body.

"It's me," I warned her, so she didn't scream or try biting my fingers after feeling her body stiffen like a steel pole. "What are you doing here alone?" I asked, whispering in her ear.

Her body loosened, and her head leaned against my chest. "I was having a rough day and needed to get out to clear my mind. And since Lilah was busy with her friends, and my friends have their own things going on, I decided to come here and explore."

"You shouldn't be here alone."

"Why?"

"Because."

She breathed a laugh. "That's not a reason."

My mouth lowered to her neck, reminding her, "Because you're mine more than you think."

"Being your assistant doesn't make me yours, Callum," she retorted quietly, not wanting to bring attention to us.

I feathered kisses along her shoulder blade, up her neck, and to her ear, whispering, "No, it doesn't. But I have other reasons why that is."

Another quiet laugh left her lips. "Give me a break, Callum. You don't even know what a relationship is. And for someone to claim a woman as theirs. They have to be in a relationship with them—something you don't even consider an option in your pathetic life."

"What if I told you I'm rethinking that part of my life?" Not a lie, either. Because I'm willing to change if she's ready to give me a chance, and I'm only willing to do this if it's with her. And her only.

She laughed again. "Callum Harrison wouldn't know what to do with just one woman in his life."

Probably not. But these last four months, I've proven otherwise.

I looked at what she was watching after hearing her breathing pick up. "Is that what you want? A threesome?"

"No," she breathed.

"Why are you watching them, then?"

"Curiosity."

"They're not what you think they are."

"You've done it before?"

Yep. And I'll tell you what. If you were my girl, there's no way I'd share you. No fucking way.

"I have, yes."

"What's wrong with them?"

"Nothing is wrong with them. But they're only for people willing to share, and you, my dear, I'm not willing to share with anyone."

"I never said you were mine, and I never agreed to be just yours," she breathed, anger in her tone.

My hand lifted to her chin, and I brought her to my mouth, chastely kissing her lips, letting her know, "FYI, I've been yours for months. More than you know."

"You hate me."

"I don't hate you."

"You have a funny way of showing it, then. If you don't hate me, prove it," she taunted, her breathing becoming more erratic. And it became even heavier when I lowered my hand to her pussy.

"Permission to touch?" I asked, not wanting her to make a scene in front of everyone surrounding us, enjoying what they were in the hallway to see.

"Permission granted. Just don't humiliate me again."

"I don't plan on it," I said, my hand lowering into her panties and her breathing halting when my middle finger slid between her slick folds and entered her wet pussy.

Wanting to get Eloise away from everyone to prove she's mine, my arm firmly tightened around her, and with my hand still between her thighs finger fucking her, I guided her away from the crowd and to a small room nearby. One I knew was available, where nobody could see or hear us.

My brother calls it the quickie room, and it's only available to family... and yes, my brother owns this joint. That is the only reason I could order her down from the cage not long ago.

I locked the door, lighting up the occupied light on the other side of the door, then pressed her up against it and crushed my mouth on hers, still fucking her pussy with my digits. "So fucking wet for me, Eloise. Tell me you're not mine."

"I'm not yours," she panted. "I'm wet because of what I was watching."

Liar...

"Wrong answer, Ellie."

Her breathing hitched. "What did you call me?"

Shit...

"Ellie. Or would you rather me call you Eloise?"

"Eloise. Ellie is reserved for someone else."

I chuckled lowly... that would be me. But since Isabelle asked me not to reveal anything to her yet, I responded while devouring her neck, "All right, Eloise... tell me who you belong to."

"Nobody."

"Wrong answer again," I told her, my fingers going deeper inside her wetness, looking for that particular spot that made her come unglued the last time I fucked her brains out.

When her knees buckled, I knew I had found what I was looking for and increased my thrusts, ensuring I hit her spot every time.

She whimpered when my fingers left her heat. "Teasing me again?" she snapped, just as I gripped her hips and lifted her, carrying her to the bed I knew was to my right.

I dropped her onto it, lowered to my knees, and pulled her to my mouth, saying, "Nope. I wanted your legs wrapped over my shoulders when my tongue digs into your sweet pussy."

My tongue slid into the warm, wet heat, and she gripped my hair, tugged, and moaned, "Fuck!"

"Patience is a virtue, Eloise," I teased, smiling. "I need to taste you first and get you primed up for when I fuck your pussy. But before I fuck it, I need to hear who it belongs to."

"It belongs to me," she responded, sounding like she said it with a smile. That tells me she's back to being a brat, looking for me to discipline her.

My mouth dug deeper into her tasty pussy. "Eloise," I moaned, my tongue deep inside the wet tunnel. "If you want me to fuck it. I need to know whose pussy this belongs to."

"It belongs to me. But you can still fuck it."

I chuckled. "Nope. Not until you tell me it's mine."

"Fuck you, Callum. You can't always get what you want."

The hell, I can't. "One thing you need to know with me is that when I want something, I get it."

"Not with me, you won't."

I chuckled against her wet, quivering flesh. "Tell me now, or I'll spank it out of you."

"Spank me, then," she taunted, pressing my face deeper into her warm, sweet, favorable pie.

I figured that's what she wanted by how she was acting with me. So not only does she want me to give her a good tongue lashing, but she also wants a good fucking spanking from me—her boss. Just like she begged me to do in Florida.

My assistant, my girl, my Eloise, wants and likes to be punished. And if that's what she wants, that's what she'll get. Which I don't have a problem with; I need to make sure she knows she's my girl. Because once she sees it's me who she'll be spending a week with in Hawaii, I know she'll try changing that status. And I need her to remember I have no problem punishing her when she requires discipline.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter!! 🤞🤞