I darted into the store. Ralph Lauren was probably too fancy for what Kiegan wanted, but I didn’t care. I grabbed a stylishly faded t-shirt in his size that I hoped looked rebellious and yet fancy enough, and a pair of dark blue jeans, and some black shoes to go with them. I also grabbed him a trenchcoat, after all it was getting cold out, and I figured Kiegan was the kind of guy who could pull off the trenchcoat-and-jeans look without looking like a total jerk. And if he did, well, whatever, he was a total jerk, so what did I care? At the counter I saw some black socks for sale and quickly threw those in as well, not wanting to end up scolded for forgetting the socks.
I flew back out of the store and breathed a huge sigh of relief when the cabbie was still there. I had taken almost exactly ten minutes in the store, I was going to make it back in time!
With two minutes to spare, I ran triumphantly into the lobby. I had done it! I had made it! I stopped, put down the bag and put my hands on my knees to catch my breath as I looked around for Kiegan. My eyes scanned the room, but that delicious blonde hair was nowhere to be seen.
I began to panic. Had I checked the time wrong? Was I late? There was no way I was early. Where the hell was he?
I looked around again, in case I’d missed him the first time, but no, I definitely hadn’t. Kiegan wasn’t here. I had no idea how to contact him.
Collapsing into one of the chairs, it suddenly came to me. I pulled out the new phone and checked the contacts list. ‘Kiegan – cell’ was one of three numbers pre-programmed by Leanne into the phone. I pressed his name and Kiegan picked up on the third ring.
“Where are you?” I asked.
“I’m the boss, I’m wherever I want to be. Did you get the clothes?”
“Yes! I’m here, I have them, where do you want me to bring them?”
“Just hang tight at the hotel, I’ll be done here in a couple hours and I’ll come and get them then.”
“What? But then why did you say I had to take forty minutes?”
“You know… just to put the pressure on a bit. I really didn’t need them in forty minutes.”
“You’re impossible. Fine. I’ll be in my room, waiting for you.”
“Thank you, sis,” he replied in a sing song voice, and I pressed “end call” without replying.
It had all been a prank. And the worst part was, I knew he would do it again, and I knew I would stress out and panic again. Because this was my job, and as much as I hated my brother, I wanted to keep it.
God, how I hated him.
Chapter Eleven
Going back up to my room and seeing the total opulence I got to live in helped me soothe my anger. If I was going to be teased and tormented all the time, well at least I was getting to do it in style. I had to give him that much. When Kiegan knocked on my door two hours later, I’d mostly cooled down, but I still practically threw the clothes at him.
“Awesome, I have to be downstairs five minutes ago,” he told me, looking at my choices. “Ralph Lauren is a bit uptight for my tastes, but you did ok with this,” he told me as he stood in the living room of my hotel room and began unzipping his pants.
“Wait, what are you doing?” I asked as he let the slacks he was wearing fall to the floor. I tried, I really tried not to look, but I couldn’t help but take a peek. It wasn’t the sculpted quads or the calf muscles that I noticed, but instead a different bulge, covered by his black briefs. I quickly turned away as a blush began to crawl up my face, and the rest of my body began to feel hot. I couldn’t let him catch me looking at him. After all, he was my brother!
“I need to be downstairs like, now. The car to take me to the boxing match is waiting.” He ripped the tags off the jeans and slipped them on, Then slipped off his shirt. While he had his shirt over his head I glanced at his body. Those were chiselled abs; I don’t think I’d ever seen a six pack in person before. His whole body was just so lean and toned, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he got a modelling contract based on his body alone.
I quickly pretended I was looking elsewhere as Kiegan pulled the shirt down over his head.
“Are you coming to the match?”
“Am I invited?”
“Sure, why not?”
“Well… is there space for me?”
Kiegan smiled at me, that same smug look he always gave me. “I’m Kiegan Hunt, if I say you want to watch with me, you’re going to be let in.”
God, he’s arrogant. I was still a bit pissed off about the arbitrary forty minute deadline, but decided I actually did want to watch the boxing match more. Besides, maybe this was an olive branch Kiegan was extending.
Yeah, right. Guys like Kiegan don’t do olive branches, I reminded myself. Once an ass, always an ass.
“Ok, I’ll come,” I replied.
“Good. Find something to wear and get ready, we’re leaving basically now.”
“Actually now this time?”
“Actually now.”
Five minutes later I’d hastily changed into something a bit more casual, and put my hair up to hide the fact that I hadn’t actually really done anything with it, and joined Kiegan in the lobby.
His ‘entourage’ in the lobby, a group of about fifteen people, of whom I forgot everyone’s name basically immediately, all piled into giant SUVs and we drove off down the strip towards the hotel where the boxing match was taking place.