Page 22 of Housekeeping

12

Mason

“Hey, Thompson! Would you get us some drinks?”

I started at the call, though I came back to myself in the next second, a smile crossing my face.

“Everybody tell me what you want,” I said, getting up. “I’ll have it all brought over.”

I wasn’t surprised they were asking me to go, I was surprised they hadn't tried to send me on errands sooner, considering how much younger I was than anyone else in the group. They were all above twenty-five, and I was only twenty-three. I was going to be treated as the gopher, but not for long if I could help it.

Even in the VIP area, the place was crowded, and it was enough to let me know the club was fairly popular in the area. There was a bar set up against one wall, and I slid through the bodies moving around easily. Women came at me because I was young, tall and handsome. Being in the VIP area also gave me importance, so that meant I was worth something, namely their time to try and get my money out of my pockets and into theirs. It was pretty much the same thing that happened to me any time I walked into a club, only this time, I didn’t bother stopping to look at any of them.

None of them were my type, then again neither was Laura. I was surprised that now I’d had a taste of her, I couldn’t get her out of my mind. She was incredible.

It was a little maddening. The whole time since I’d left the hotel, I hadn’t been able to get her out of my mind. I would have loved to bring her on the trip with me, to have her on my arm the whole time. Not that I would have even if she’d agreed to come with me. It may or may not have helped the deal I needed to make, and I had to think carefully about everything. If I didn’t have the experience I did, the attention I was paying to this whole deal would not have been enough.

“Hey,” I called out to the bartender. “I’d like a few drinks brought to our table? Over there.” I gestured back to where I’d come from over my shoulder.

“Sure. What is it you’d like?”

The bartender folded her arms on top of the bar, leaning over it to bring her face closer to mine and flash some cleavage. My eyes drifted down for a second, before looking up into her heated eyes and flirtatious smile. Any other time, I would have flirted back. Even in the middle of a deal, I wouldn’t have held myself back.

All I could think about when I looked at this woman, was how her dark hair was completely different from Laura’s fair locks. Her eyes were darker, her skin paler, her body thinner. She was completely different from Laura, and while it wasn’t off-putting, it didn’t get my body hot either.

“Just the drinks!” I said listing off the orders.

She took the hint and backed off. “I’ll have it all sent to your table, sir. Please wait a few minutes.”

I nodded, then turned to head back.

Laura…

Last night with her had been full of surprises in several ways. While Laura giving into me was one of them, there was more than that. Now that I was away from her, I couldn’t help wondering…

All she’d told me was that she had been sick, but it wouldn’t need a genius to know that she’d likely had breast cancer at some point. I knew all about it because it was one of the causes my mom donated to over the years, and the couple times I’d helped her out in her fundraisers, I’d learned bits and pieces.

Just hearing the word cancer was bad enough. Laura was lucky to be alive. I knew some of the statistics, and how they weren’t all that reassuring for someone in that position. It was difficult to connect the perky, sassy maid with such an illness. She didn’t act like someone who’d been through something like that, because I knew it couldn’t have been simple, considering the extent of the surgery and the lingering scars I’d seen on her body.

I made it back to where the group was, and not long after the drinks followed. Not long after that the women came, but every time I looked at one of them, all I could see was Laura in my mind. In particular, the look on her face when I made her explode, feeling her body shaking under mine as she shuddered in orgasm. Fuck, I could still taste her on my tongue.

Some time passed, and I noticed some of the men in our group getting up to join the women on the dance floor. A few of them stayed behind to enjoy the drinks, and I decided to pay some extra attention.

“You’ve been quiet, Mason,” one of the men said and I hated that someone else had observed my behavior. I just wanted to be left alone. A drink or two and then I was out of here. I wasn’t going to win the deal in this place.

“I’m not particularly in a partying mood, I suppose,” I said, surprised at my own honesty.

“Ah, yes. I heard the rumors that your father isn’t well? Who’s managing the business in his place?”

“My brothers and I are looking after things, but Trent is at the forefront of it all.”

Fuck! I hated to use my Dad’s illness as an excuse, but it was better than telling him what was really on my mind.

“Ah, yes. The oldest Thompson son. So he’s back to work for your father?”

“He’s always worked for the family, really. We all have. Dad just likes to get most things done on his own. My brother would have come but he told me he’d be in meetings for the whole day, so I came in his place.”

He nodded his head and shared looks with his associate.