Chapter 2
Chapter Two
In the morning Derius ordered the deluxe room service breakfast for two and when the food was delivered he knocked on her door. “Lady? The breakfast is here if you’re hungry. We have time to eat before we go meet with the resort manager.”
He received no response at all and stood there outside her door for a minute or two, irresolute.
Surely she was fine but it went against his nature to ignore the fact there’d been no response.
He knocked again. “I’m going to take a shower so you’d have the sitting room and the food all to yourself.
And then you can have the bathroom after.
I can go roam the hotel for a few minutes while you do your morning thing. ”
The door opened suddenly and she stood there in the hotel’s big fluffy robe, a hint of a rose colored silk nightgown peeking through the closure.
“I’ll take the bathroom first and yes, offer accepted for you to make yourself scarce for at least an hour.
And the name is Leonie, by the way, Leonie Bradnum, if you didn’t hear me tell the desk clerk last night. ”
Derius was tongue tied but managed to stammer out his name.
“I’m Derius Tate.” He began to raise his hand as if to shake with her but her pointed glare froze him in mid motion.
He backed away, Leonie watching him like a hawk.
“I’ll throw together a breakfast sandwich from what room service delivered, grab my coffee and go then.
” He did as he’d promised and left the room with food and drink in hand, wandering down to the patio beside the pool on the ground floor, where he sat and ate and sipped his coffee.
One of his friends had come down early to swim laps and now Braden left the pool wrapped his hips in a towel and sat next to him. “Did you straighten everything out with your date?”
“Leonie? Not hardly. We have a meeting with the resort manager in about an hour and a half and she wants out of her contract and to leave today.”
“Did I hear you two right last night, was she the mystery girl you ran out on when the last deployment hit?”
“Yeah.” His closest friends knew the whole sad story so Derius confirmed the information. “She won’t even let me explain or apologize or anything. I know I don’t deserve a break after what I did, but if only she’d listen to me—”
“Asking a lot, pal,” Braden said, rubbing his hair dry. “You still came out better than me, at least you have a date. Mine was a total no show. Got married on her home planet.”
Derius stared. “That’s rough. Can IDA fix you up with someone else?”
“Apparently not in time although Delain said they tried but I might have a solution.” His friend grinned. “Tell you later. Good luck with your situation.” He left and Derius finished his coffee in a few gulps.
When he returned to their suite, he could tell from the room service cart Leonie had eaten and the bathroom was all steamy.
There was no sign of her but he heard sounds from her room as he passed through the sitting room to take his shower.
It was impossible not to think about her having been naked in this same space a few minutes ago.
As he stood under the stream of water, he remembered how good the two of them had been together three years ago and Derius had no choice but to put his hand to work, stroking his hard cock, to get some relief and not go to this damn meeting with a hard on.
She was waiting in the sitting room by the time he finished and ducked into his bedroom to get dressed.
She’d put on a cute green and white sundress with hot pink ribbons and sandals with matching trim and had a straw hat in her hand.
She was tapping her fingers impatiently on the arm of the chair as she waited for him and rose the instant he walked into the room fully dressed in his own cargo shorts and a short sleeved resort shirt.
“We can’t be late,” she said, turning on her heel after one rapid glance at him and heading for the door.
Derius smothered a smile. She’d looked him over head to toe and he could tell she still liked the view, even if she was mad at him.
If only the resort manager had a way to keep her here, Derius was sure he could get past her defenses eventually and at least explain his behavior of three years ago, if not resurrect their relationship.
After all he had this entire tropical paradise working for him, to soften her mood.
They walked to the admin offices in silence.
Derius made a few attempts at polite conversation, calling her attention to a flock of the vividly colored birds winging out over the ocean and pointing out an intriguing little curio shop later but Leonie gave him only raised eyebrows and monosyllables in reply.
Geoff Delain, the resort manager, had the top floor office in the admin building.
The surroundings were as luxurious as the rest of the IDA facilities.
They had to wait a few minutes while he finished an interstellar com and the receptionist offered them real coffee and pastries. Then she ushered them into the office.
Delain was impeccable in a white tropical suit and a turquoise silk shirt, rising to greet them by name, and shaking hands. “Please, be seated and let me know how I can be of service today.”
“I can’t go through with this date,” Leonie said bluntly. “I want to be let out of my contract and allowed to leave today, on the next shuttle.”
Delain checked with Derius, who kept his face blank. “May I ask why?”
“We have history,” Leonie said awkwardly. “It was…unpleasant. I wouldn’t date this man if he was literally the last male in the Sectors.”
“I see. A lot of energy there.” Delain leaned forward. “Are you afraid of Mr. Tate? Do you feel in physical jeopardy?”
“Of course not.” Her response was incredulous and instant, which was a relief to Derius. He’d never forgive himself if he scared her.
“I’m afraid I need you to step outside for a few minutes,” Delain said to Derius next, taking him by surprise.
Assuming the manager wanted privacy to probe why Leonie was so adamant, in case she did have safety reservations she couldn’t or wouldn’t utter in front of him, Derius rose.
“I need to be on the record first that I very much want to continue this date under any restrictions Leonie wants to impose. I just want the chance to explain my past behavior and to apologize to her.”
She turned her face away and pretended to be studying the exotic flower arrangement on the table across the room.
“Duly noted.” Delain rose and escorted him to the door. “Salinda can get you coffee while you wait. It shouldn’t be long. You understand I must speak to Ms. Bradnum in private.”
Derius refused the offer of more coffee from the receptionist and paced the small waiting room for about ten minutes until Mr. Delain reopened his office door and invited him in again. Leonie was sitting with a rigid spine, two bright spots of color in her cheeks. She didn’t look at him.
“As I was saying to Ms. Bradnum just now, Resort Planet is not only for dating couples but we also host conferences, corporate retreats, weddings and tourists. Of course the Ardannan dating facilitation is a huge part of our portfolio but not the only piece. Unfortunately we’re completely booked up right now—there’s a huge wedding this weekend with guests coming from all over the Sectors for one thing—and I’m regretfully unable to accommodate her request for alternative sleeping arrangements.
It’s the same story with the shuttles. We can’t squeeze another person onto a shuttle and violate the physical laws of travel in space or the Interstellar Commerce Commission regulations. ”
“And the contract I signed to come here is unbreakable,” she said in a harsh voice. “Don’t forget to tell him that.”
“Your government insisted on a number of special provisions in the umbrella agreement,” Delain told Derius smoothly.
“My advice to Ms. Bradnum and to you is to do your best to enjoy the remainder of your stay. Don’t think of it as a date any longer.
Think of it as an opportunity to explore the resort and perhaps to talk in a neutral setting and resolve this tension you’re both so plainly holding in your lives.
We do have a counselor onsite if you’d care to—”
“No,” Derius and Leonie said at the same time. They exchanged hostile glances.
Delain chuckled softly. “Ah, a point of agreement at last. Promising, eh?” He rose and clearly the meeting was over so Derius left his chair and Leonie reluctantly got to her feet.
The manager escorted them to the door and stood and watched as they acknowledged the goodbye from the cheery receptionist and departed.
“That was a waste of time,” Leonie said once they were outside.
“Listen, I don’t know what was in the fine print of the contract—I didn’t bother to read it,” Derius admitted.
“The government said ‘you’re going’ and I went.
But just between us if there’s anything you find objectionable that I can do something about, tell me.
I don’t want you to be miserable for the next five days. ”
She walked in silence, then said, “Don’t worry about it. I’ll manage. I have work I can do. You should go be with your friends and do what Delain said, have fun.”
There was no more conversation as they proceeded to the hotel and up the gravlift to their room.
Housekeeping had cleared the breakfast dishes and remade the beds in their absence.
Derius hesitated in the sitting room but Leonie marched straight to her room and shut the door. At least she didn’t slam it this time.
His friends were at the beach this morning so he changed into his swimsuit and put his shorts and a tee shirt on. He knocked at her door and said, “I’ll be at the beach with the guys if you need anything.”
There was no response so with a shrug he left the room and headed for the beach.