My Exception (My Escort #2) (12 page)

I
begged Hayden to show me the articles that he had talked about. On some dodgy-looking gossip pages were images of Damon walking with the same woman I had met today, much to my disgust. Two pictures were at well-known restaurants. They were both smiling and laughing with one another.

Although Hayden wanted to talk it through, I only wanted to be alone. I had missed four calls from Damon since lunch today. It became so unbearable after the fourth call that I turned my phone off entirely.

Hayden only had a single-room apartment. It was, after all, his temporary residence. He offered me his bed and said that he would sleep on the couch, but I couldn’t accept that. This was his home and I was intruding, and besides, I couldn’t get any sleep even if I tried. So instead I restlessly tossed and turned on the couch as Hayden slept in the bedroom.

I knew that Damon had a very important meeting the following morning, just about when my plane was due to leave. Usually he tried his hardest to spend the night before my travels with me, as well as drop me off at the airport. Not this time.

The next morning, I was very pleased to have no surprise visits from him at the airport. I don’t think I could have braced myself enough to face the reality of it head on. I was running away, entirely. It felt safer than confronting him. Many other questions swarmed my mind. What if all those nights he couldn’t make it to mine was simply because he was with her?

Hours of sitting on the plane and looking out the window passed. I felt motionless, drifting in the air with no certain place to go. I was grateful that Hayden and I hadn’t been seated together. I knew he was worried about me. But I didn’t want to talk about it, not with the man who had rightly pointed out that it was very odd that Damon did not show me his apartment. Instead of calmly leaving that to rest, I should’ve asked. Now these were the repercussions.

At some point I must have fallen asleep. The announcer’s soft voice woke me; we were almost ready to land. I looked back to the sweeping clouds. The sky was beautiful. I adjusted myself in my seat. No matter how much I felt as if my world were falling apart, this was work and I would see it out to the end. When I walked off the plane, I would do so as Clover Granture, travel columnist, and I would write the most amazing travel piece anyone had ever read about Fiji. I had to; this was all I had left. Even if I had to fake that smile, this was something I would achieve.

Everyone began filing out in singular order. Hayden was four rows in front of me and waited for me to pass him before taking position behind me. I smiled at him over my shoulder, surprising him. The cover began now.

I have to be okay, this is my work
.

“We finally arrived,” I said with a bright smile, although my eyes probably conveyed tiredness. “Did you get much sleep?”

He gave me a calculating look for a moment. His blonde hair was a bit rough, showing that he had probably got some sleep. “A little, you?” he asked. I smiled again and told him ‘heaps.’

“Mr. Zilch?”

An airhostess with long legs and long blonde hair walked over to us. She gave me a sharp look before handing Hayden over a card. She smiled suggestively. “Please give me a call sometime. I hope we might be in the same area.”

With a Hayden smile he warmly accepted it, thanking her. He didn’t say anything at all, which for some reason had the airhostess giddier. She fidgeted with her hands and then walked away, looking over her shoulder at him once more.

“You are unreal,” I said with a smile. We had been on a plane for twelve hours and this was what he managed.

“I only politely chatted with her,” Hayden said defensively. “I can’t help it. I didn’t ask for this. Although I very much appreciate it.”

I dismissed him, enjoying the lively music of three local Fijians who wore straw skirts and brightly-colored shirts. One played a small guitar while the others sung along in greeting to those who disembarked.

“Clover,” Hayden exclaimed, grabbing my hand and pulling me into him. My head hit against his hard chest. I looked up at him, startled. Behind me a gentleman who had a large trolley of boxes walked past. “Don’t walk in front of trolleys,” he smiled.

Hayden’s hand was so tight around mine, and his other hand around my waist made me realise how manly he actually was.

Realising this, I pushed him away with a shy smile. “Thank you.” I focused again on the music being played. My heart was pounding. I had never looked at Hayden as ‘manly’ before.

We showed our passports to the staff before heading for our luggage. Hayden grabbed both his and mine. His muscles noticeably flexed beneath the white long-sleeved shirt he wore. I looked away, disgusted in myself.

Why shouldn’t I, though?
The pain of Damon’s betrayal shot through me, but I quickly pushed it away.
No, I am working now
.
I have to remain calm and happy to get the job done
, I reminded myself.

We walked through the airport before noticing a sign that read ‘Zilch.’ Hayden had organised to be at the same resort as me.

“Bula Bula!” The dark skinned man waved us over happily. “Welcome to Fiji. I hope you’re flight was okay and you both had plenty of rest.” He beamed with happiness, much like the singers who greeted us.

“We did. Thank you so much for collecting us,” I said, returning the smile.

“Ah, if I didn’t know this was a business trip, I would have thought you two were honeymooners,” he said cheekily.

He politely took my luggage and walked us out of the doors and into the bright sunshine of Fiji. Buses and cars were parked everywhere. “My name is Akin and I will be taking you to your resort. If you wish to stop anywhere on the drive, please do let me know and I will pull over. Please come,” he said, leading us to a small bus. He placed both our luggage in the boot before hoping in the driver’s seat.

After leaving the airport, we were greeted by vivid green foliage and rough dirt roads. I got the feeling that the people were not well-off in this area. There were many bright-colored brick homes. Some were small, some abandoned.

The drivers were, well, scary. It astonished me the difference between our road rules and regulations and theirs, which seemed far more casual. Luckily there were plenty of distractions. We even drove through a town where there was a large gold temple.

After an hour’s drive, finally we arrived at the resort, which looked stunning. It was very open-plan, and on my left there was a small convenience shop. Hayden and I sat in front of the shop for a moment while Akin went to get one of the staff for us.

The lobby was a large open space with a marble floor. There were comfy-looking couches with tables, where already a few other tourists sat. Further past that was a small veranda, where day beds and outside lounges were occupied. Children ran past us laughing as their mother chased them angrily, telling them to come back.

“Hey, are you okay? You have been quiet since we got on the bus,” Hayden said, looking at me worriedly.

Obviously my façade wasn’t as clever as I had thought. I smiled brightly at him. “Of course I am,” I lied, my fingers curling against my jeans.

“Good morning Mr. Zilch and Miss. Granture,” a beautiful receptionist greeted us with a small flower. “My name is Teru. I will be your representative, so if you need anything, please come to me. I will be at reception.” She began making suggestions for us about activities.

“Please follow me to the receptionist now where we will check you in and I will then guide you both to your separate rooms.”

After finishing her reception she gave us both a flower. I admired the purple flower she handed to us.
Remember, this is work, business, and I am happy
.
I will do a fantastic piece on this
, I thought to myself when the painful spike of pain came to mind. Still my phone was turned off. I hadn’t turned it on again since I’d first turned it off. Although I should’ve turned it on by now, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

I
was sitting at a small table in my hotel room, looking outside at the beautiful trees, flowers, and green grass that covered the grounds.

Outside looked so beautiful and yet I took more notice of the inside. I wanted to stay indoors today. I had a very comfy queen bed, which I had already checked out by throwing myself on it and enjoying its lush pillows. There was a television and a mini-bar in the main room. I also had a small bathroom with a marble shower. There was a small ‘welcome basket’ which had various things in it such as wine, chocolate, chips, and a few other items of food I didn’t recognise but would soon try.

I lightly tapped my finger on my laptop, not wanting to hit the send button. Complying with what needed to be done, I completed a very short email to Damon to let him know that I had arrived in Fiji. After hitting send I left my laptop, not wanting to look at the screen nor his name anymore. I threw myself onto my bed in defeat. I was so tired, but thankfully I didn’t start activities until tomorrow. Although I wanted to take photos and notes of the resort today, I was far too drained. That alone made me realise that my personal life and issues was affecting my job. And yet I couldn’t will my body to get up. I simply laid there, tears streaming down my face until I fell asleep.

*

A knock on my door woke me. I grumbled to myself, rubbing my sore eyes. Instantly I tried to look bright and happy, no matter how difficult it was. I opened the door. Hayden stood there, looking me up and down. With my tear-stained face and messy hair, I must have looked as bad as I felt.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you were sleeping. I tried to call you, but your phone was turned off,” he said, looking at his own phone for no particular reason. I nodded for him to enter the room. I glanced outside and realised it was already night. I looked at my gold watch, noticing that I had slept for most of the day.

“I felt a bit jetlagged as well,” Hayden said tactfully, walking over to where my laptop was. The screen was still on and visible. “Wow, that is a lot of emails.”

I followed him and saw that there were now eight emails from Damon. The subject lines didn’t vary much:
Why aren’t you picking up your phone?
;
Where have you been?
;
Why are you avoiding me?
;
Clover Granture, you call me right this instant
. I closed the laptop, trying to push down the taste of vomit.

“You’re not going to reply?” Hayden asked. After I was silent for a long time he walked over to the welcome basket. “I didn’t receive one of these.” He grabbed the wine and pulled two long-stemmed glasses from the cupboard. He offered a glass of red to me before taking a seat again. I took a sip of the bitter red, enjoying it.
Ahh that very bitter taste of red wine, which right now feels like punishment.
I wasn’t the biggest fan of red wine, but I could’ve mindlessly drunk the whole bottle.

“Tidy yourself up and get dressed. The dinner buffet’s been open for a while. There is also a bar and nightclub. Interested?” He raised an eyebrow as if to tease me. “Let us drown our sorrows together. We are in Fiji. Let us forget everything.” He raised his glass in the air in toast. I thought of it for a moment. I was trying my hardest to forget about Damon.

“I’m not hungry, but the nightclub sounds fantastic.” I polished off my glass, giving it to Hayden to refill. “Cheers to forgetting,” I said, wiping away a drop of red which rested on the edge of my lips.