Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 23828 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 119(@200wpm)___ 95(@250wpm)___ 79(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23828 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 119(@200wpm)___ 95(@250wpm)___ 79(@300wpm)
My chest aches as I make my way to the elevator. I should have told him what my room number is or at least given him my number. I’m not going to be around for the whole day, and I don’t know when he’s leaving.
Still, I am preparing for the bake-off, where five companies will be there to look at all of us to see if any of us meet their standards. I get downstairs and into the kitchen area with all the other candidates when I see the man who had been sitting with Julien standing there with a tablet in his hand. My eyes scan the room, but I don’t see him anywhere. What if he’s one of the other bakers? What if he’s one of the employers?
Chapter Four
Julien
The sound of the door clicking shut wakes me from the best night of my life. I know she's left me and I have seconds to catch her, so I'm on my feet, slipping on my boxer briefs and running out of the room.
Damn it, the weight of my dumbass decision hits me when I feel my door close behind me. Fuck. I don't have anything on me, not even my cell phone nor my room keycard as I stand in the middle of the empty hallway. I press the button for the elevator that had just closed before I stepped fully out of my room. It takes a moment for it to make its way back up. However, once it comes up, I press the emergency stop and call button.
Seconds later, a male voice answers, “Hello, how can we help you?”
“I’m Julien Beaumont, staying in the penthouse suite, and I’ve locked myself out of my room.”
“You can come down to the lobby and get another key, sir.”
“I’m not quite dressed, so if you could send up one of your male employees to let me in. All of my identification is inside the room.”
“We’ll send someone up in a moment.” I could almost hear the laughter on the other end as they hung up. Fucking asshole.
I wait against the wall because there is another penthouse suite up here and I don’t want them to come out of their room and see me in my underwear. Not that my body isn’t cut with rippling muscle, but I hate to have people look at me. It’s how I’ve managed to stay out of the limelight even though I own one of the world’s most successful bakeries and two world-class restaurants.
A man comes up with a tablet and notices my predicament. “Hello, sir. Let me get you back inside.”
“That’s it? There’s no verification?” I don’t like the lack of security in this hotel.
“Sir, when you called, we looked up the security footage to the moment right before you called down. We noticed that a young lady had left. It’s clear you came from the room and you’re the sole occupant. Did she rob you?”
“No. I mean…not that I would know, but that’s not why I was trying to bring her back. Can you assist me with locating her?”
“I’m sorry, sir, but she got off on another floor and because she’s a guest, I can’t provide any of that information. It would be a violation of privacy, and we could be sued.”
“I’ll find her myself,” I snarl, wanting to deck the fucker for being almost useless.
“This time, I suggest you put on some clothes after gathering your keycard,” he remarks, looking down at my body.
“Oh, yes. Damn, she has me all messed up,” I grunt, stepping into the room and closing the door behind him. I need to get ready to locate that woman. My phone rings on the floor somewhere. I dig around and find it, only to have missed a call from my brother.
George shoots me a text: I hope you’re in the damn elevator because the bake-off starts in thirty minutes.
Son of a bitch. I don’t give a fuck about the bake-off. I need to find my woman and demand she tell me why she ran from me. She gave me her virginity, let me fill her with my seed, and then just took off as soon as the sun was up.
After a quick shower, I clean up my clothes from yesterday and realize that ma marguerite stole more than my heart—my favorite dress shirt is gone too. I’m going to have to spank her ass good when I find her and then fuck her holes so good she doesn’t want to leave again.
My phone goes off again, so I swipe it off the dresser and answer my brother’s call. “Why are you harassing me?”
“Because you’re late, and you’re never late.”
“I had a little problem. Take notes for me, and I’ll be there soon.”
“There are people down here that are waiting for you.”