Chapter 43 - Alexander

**ALEXANDER**

Alexander Fitzpatrick sat in the elegant lobby of the Hotel Excelsior and took in the room. The warm, subdued light from the chandeliers was reflected in the gleaming marble floors, while the velvety upholstery of the armchairs and the heavy curtains of dark burgundy conveyed a sense of exquisite luxury. The atmosphere was calm, almost subdued, and the soft background music blended perfectly with the luxurious surroundings.
His eyes wandered to the gold-framed clock above the reception desk. 6:45 p.m. Fifteen minutes to the arranged meeting with Emily. He was way too early. In a way, he was angry with himself. *Why did I come so early?* He was not the type of man to wait for anyone. Certainly not for a woman who obviously had no great significance in his life. It was just business. Or was it?
He leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest, trying to suppress his growing restlessness. The minutes ticked by and he kept looking at his watch. 6:55. Five minutes to go. Will she come? he wondered, fiddling with his silver-blue tie. Even when it was perfectly in place, he felt he had to do something with his hands. He wasn’t used to waiting. Susanne Enders had assured him on Wednesday that Emily would come today, and Oliver Daron had confirmed it again yesterday - but he still doubted it. Until the lovely young woman stood before him, he suspected that she would stand him up.
19:05: No sign of Emily. His uneasiness turned to annoyance. *How dare she?* He was Alexander Fitzpatrick. He took it for granted that the world ran according to his rules, that people fit into his schedule. Especially when it came to someone like Emily, who was contractually bound. She was his companion, not just any friend. Other women might be allowed to be late, but not a booked woman!
He stood up, walked a few steps to the front desk and nodded to the concierge. „Excuse me, is there a message for me? Alexander Fitzpatrick.“
The man behind the desk glanced at the list in front of him and shook his head. „No, sir, unfortunately not.“
Alexander felt a wave of frustration rise in him. *No message? Nothing at all?* He had imagined this differently. What was it about this woman that made her disobey? The dominant part of him seethed with anger, even though he appeared cool and calm on the outside.
He walked back into the lobby and sat down in one of the velvet chairs. His jaw was set and his dark brown eyes glittered. He was a billionaire, a man who was usually in control of any situation - and here he was, sitting and waiting. He looked at his watch again when he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye. He couldn’t say exactly why it caught his attention. He looked up - and there she was: Emily.
She was wearing a dark blue pantsuit that didn’t look sexy at all, but feminine. He wasn’t sure if he liked it. Slowly he stood up to greet her. But before he could say a word, she approached him, stood on tiptoe and kissed him.
Alexander was stunned. He had been waiting for this meeting for days, she was his first thought when he woke up in the morning. And before he went to bed at night, he jerked off in the shower thinking about her. And now, not only was she late for her appointment, she didn’t even greet him, she just kissed him! She didn’t even wait to see if he wanted to kiss her, but pressed her full, soft lips to his mouth without being asked. Her breasts pressed against his torso and her fingers began to ruffle his hair. Damn it! What was wrong with this woman?
Quickly, he grabbed her shoulders and pushed her away. He wasn’t interested in her indignant look.
„Emily, this isn’t going to work.“
„What?“
„You can’t just kiss me.“
„You’re right,“ she said, beaming, and before he could understand why she was smiling, her lips were on his again, and this time she even brought her tongue into play!
Groaning, he pushed her away again. „Emily!“
„But what is it?“ She looked at him, pouting. „I didn’t just kiss you this time. It was with tongue, that’s special.“
He moaned again and shook his head. „Emily! I meant something completely different and you know it!“
Instead of answering, she fluttered her eyelids.
„You’re late,“ he continued angrily, „and I don’t like it. Besides, I’m the man, and I greet my girlfriend with a kiss, not the other way around.“
She was still fluttering her eyelids. Was that some kind of mechanism that couldn’t be turned off? It made him nervous, that was for sure.
„Emily, stop it!“ he snapped at her, confused to see her gray-blue eyes begin to glow. At least she stopped her tinkle. „Why are you glowing now?“
„Oh, honeymoon, this is so special. You’re scolding me. That means we’re having our very first quarrel!“
Alexander wasn’t sure if he had heard right. She was happy that they were arguing? That couldn’t be true. He must have misheard. At their last meeting, he hadn’t gotten the impression that she was mentally deficient, so she couldn’t appreciate a quarrel.
„Were you even listening to me, Emily?“ he asked, just in case.
„Of course I was, my darling. I kissed you. Then I kissed you especially because you don’t want a simple kiss. But you don’t want a kiss at all. And that’s why you’re scolding me now, because I should want what you want and not what I want.“ She made a face and started tapping her lower lip with her index finger. „Oops, that sounds complicated. I’m not sure I understood me just now.“
Alexander swallowed hard. Something was wrong here. Completely, utterly wrong. „Do you have a twin sister?“
She started giggling like an idiot and slapped his chest playfully with her hand. „Oh, honey moon. Do you like being in the middle? I don’t have a twin sister, but...“ She put her mouth close to his ear and whispered, „The agency can get you another girlfriend, so we’ll be three.“
Alexander took a step back from her, annoyed. The woman standing before him had absolutely nothing in common with the erotic siren of Tuesday. This Emily was an annoying blonde who could kill any excitement with her mindless chatter. He didn’t have to worry about getting a hard-on with her; he had no desire to dominate her or let her touch his cock.
„You look ravishing today,“ he said tonelessly, holding out his arm with a cool expression. Whatever was going on, he would find out. An erotically intelligent woman might be able to play a fool, but a fool could never play an erotically intelligent woman. He was sure that Emily was playing a role. But why?