Around the World in 80 Men Series: Boxed Set 21-30 (38 page)

“You
need to leave, now.” He pointed at the front door and stood
his ground.

“Oh,
I'm not going anywhere. You see, he's so hellbent on getting your
approval, and I... well,” she snorted out a loud laugh in his
direction, “I need something stable.” She looked around
the large building and smiled. “Yeah, I'm going to own half of
this one day... and all I have to do is have sex once or twice with a
gay guy. Pretty sweet deal for someone like me, don't ya think?”
She boldly walked over to Kekoa and put her arm around his waist.
“But the good news is, I have this sweet hunk of meat to play
with, and Te won't even care.” She looked up at the man like
he was a play thing, and licked her lips. “So, everyone is
happy now, yes?” She dropped her hand to Kekoa's ass and gave
him a squeeze in front of her audience.

“You
filthy slut! Get out of here! Leave my son alone! I swear, if you
as much as..”
“Oh no, you're not going to blow this
for me! I'm giving him what he wants, he's giving you what you want,
and that's the end of it!” Morgan put her finger in Te's
mother's face, and stepped forward to square off with the matriarch.
“You don't even care about him! He's gay! Gay, gay, gay! I
deserve your pity! Everything that you hate about him.... I have to
deal with!” The store went silent, and Te's mother backed
away, wiping the tears from her eyes. “That's better. I
deserve a little respect around here. Damn.. if you only knew what I
have to do when I get back to the house.” Morgan shook her
head again and walked toward a small display of earrings.

Kara
was the first one that spoke, and all eyes moved in her direction.
“You're really a... a hooker?” Morgan hated that word,
but if the heel fits..

“I
am.”

“And..
he paid you to... you know?”

“He
did.” Morgan still didn't turn to look at her.

“Please..
don't do it.” Morgan turned around and looked at Kara.
“Leave, just go. He deserves better than this. Morgan shook
her head quickly.

“Hell
no, I'm not leaving. And in time, you'll see that we're so much
alike. I don't like gay people, you don't like gay people, and
together.... we can all hide his silly little gay side. Now, can you
wrap up this whole display of earrings for me? Te said I could have
anything here, as long as I did my little duty later today.”
Morgan made a yuck face, and shivered at the thought. “Seriously..
eww.”

Te's
father took Morgan's arm and pulled her across the store, and to the
front door. “Get out of here!” He shoved her hard into
the door, and she fell on the sidewalk in front of the store. Morgan
stood, and tried to hide the grimace from an obviously sprained
ankle. “My son deserves better than the likes of you! I'd
rather he be with a man than a filthy gold digging slut!”
Morgan took one step in his direction, trying not to limp.

“I'd
rather he find someone to love, and who loves him back. It's what
life is about, isn't it?” Morgan nodded behind him, at the
wife that he'd had by his side for nearly thirty-five years. The old
man's mouth opened at the realization that he'd just been played.

*****

“I
just got off the phone with my parents... what did you do?” At
first, Morgan couldn't tell if he was happy or sad or even angry, but
when he laughed, she knew he was relieved. Everything had worked out
as planned. “My dad...he...” Te wiped a tear from his eye
and stood, then walked slowly to Morgan and Kekoa, meeting them
halfway. “He said that he doesn't care who I love, as long as
they love me. Morgan...I don't know what you did... but... thank
you.” She took his hands in hers and smiled, then walked him
back to the couch to explain everything. The next few minutes were
spent recapping, with much help of Kekoa's loud reenactments.

“You
should have heard her! Gay! Gay, gay, gay!” Kekoa was mocking
Morgan, showing his boss what she had sounded like, and his
impression was actually decent. All three of them laughed, but Te
shook his head.

“I'm
glad I wasn't there to see it. You know... I paid you to come here
and let me fulfill a ridiculous promise that I shouldn't have made...
but you.... ” Te wiped another tear from his eye. She'd made
his parents so mad that they actually fell in love with their son all
over again. What Morgan had done was above and beyond anything
expected. Te always assumed that he'd win his parents acceptance, he
just thought it would take years to do so. He also knew that it was
just a small step, and the whole world hadn't suddenly changed, but
it was a step that wouldn't have happened without her.

Morgan
spent the rest of the day with her gorgeous client and his butler,
but by nightfall, she had her bags packed and reservations made for a
nearby hotel room. Of course, it was more of a Tahitian Hut on the
water, but she'd call it a room either way. Te had offered for Morgan
to stay with him for the rest of the week, but she politely declined.
She didn't want to stay and be a constant reminder of what his family
wanted of him. They all needed to move along and that wouldn't happen
if she were there, trotting around town with him.

“Thank
you, again, Morgan.” She gave Te one final hug, then turned to
leave with Kekoa, but then she realized there was one more thing that
needed to be done. Morgan dug into her bag and pulled out her camera,
then got about a dozen photos of Te and Kekoa, together and separate.
Even though they'd only spent a short time together, they'd always
hold a place in her heart.

“Don't
ever change who you are, Te.” Morgan kissed his cheek, then
followed Kekoa outside, to Te's massive red truck. She climbed inside
while Kekoa packed her things into the back and she couldn't help but
smile as she looked up at the stars. She couldn't wait to get settled
in her room and tell Angel all about her day... she was also looking
forward to having the whole week to herself. A part of her wanted to
feel guilty for taking advantage of the opportunity, but the new and
mature part of her said that she wasn't wrong for wanting time for
her. After everything that had happened recently, a few days to
decompress was exactly what she needed and there was no better place
to do that than the tropical paradise she was in.
First thing I'm
going to do is run a hot bath, then call Angel. Oh, and Sean! I have
to call Sean and tell him that everything worked out.

She
jumped when Kekoa slammed the driver's side door and she realized
she'd been lost in thought once again. Morgan gave him a quick smile,
then looked forward. The short trip to her room was spent in near
silence, aside from the occasional commentary on where good food
could be found or neat things to do, but Morgan didn't mind the
quietness. She was already mentally planning her whole agenda for the
week and was going to see everything she possibly could in five days.
Fifteen minutes after leaving Te's home, they were pulling up to a
sandy parking lot and Morgan's breath was taken away.

“Wow!”
She opened the door and jumped to the ground with no help of the
ladder, but was instantly reminded of her ankle. “Shit!”

“What's
wrong?” Kekoa was at her side and his arm slid behind her back
as she hopped back to the truck with one leg in the air.

“I,
uh...I'm fine, thank you. Just landed on it weird.” She laughed
nervously, then set her foot back down. The last thing she wanted was
for Kekoa to feel like he had to take care of her and she could tell,
if she said her ankle was injured, he'd want to help. Morgan almost
laughed as she tried to walk it off and waited for the handsome
butler to gather her bags.
If it's not one thing, then it's
another.

Fifteen
minutes later, she was unlocking the door to her private little
getaway hut. “Holy shit!” Morgan stepped onto a glass
plate that should have been a welcome mat. Under her was a lit
window, showing her the ocean floor, right beneath her feet. “This
is amazing!” Morgan looked around the room and saw another
large
rug
that showed her the sea. She dropped her carry on
bag by the white canopy bed and fell to hands and knees to get a good
look. “There's fish! Right there!”

Kekoa
laughed and nodded. “Wait until you see a shark go by.”

“Sharks?
Really?” She didn't know if she was excited or scared.

“Small
ones.” He winked at her, then dragged her bags toward the one
dresser on the far side of the room. “I... guess this is
goodbye.”

Morgan
nodded slowly. “Thank you for your help.” She could tell
by the look in his eye that he wanted to say more.
Please don't.

“Okay.
I'll...see you...around.” Morgan nodded again.

“Bye.”

“Bye,
Morgan.” He gave her another smile, then left her room. Kekoa
was sweet and he was sexy, but she had no room for that in her
life... not right then. She had to figure out what the hell she
wanted with the men that were already in her life, not add new ones
to the mix.

Morgan
sighed into her empty room, then went over to her zebra print bag and
pulled it up onto the bed with her. She unzipped it and dug through
until she found what she was looking for. “Yes.” Morgan
held up her shirt from her Gran and smiled. “You got me through
it all, Gran.” She held the shirt tightly to her chest before
putting it back. She settled on black sleep shorts and a white tank,
and carried the clothes along with her beauty bag into the bathroom
with her.

The
bathroom was small, but beautiful. It would have been incredibly
romantic if she weren't alone, but the fact she was alone made her
appreciate it even more. She started the water for the large tub,
then lit several of the supplied candles and set them around the
stones that encased the water. It almost felt like she was outside,
with it's rustic feel, but it was private and cozy. Morgan poured in
her bubble bath, then sat on the side of the tub and swished the
water around until it started to foam. She had to admit, it felt good
to not worry about anything.

Five
minutes later, Morgan was sinking into her bubbly bliss. “Oh,
my Angel. You'd love this.” She knew her best friend could
appreciate a nice tub as much as anyone. The thought of him made her
remember her phone and she reached over the side of the tub to
retrieve it from her bag.

“
Oh.”
Morgan realized a call to Angel would have to wait as she did the
quick math of a time difference in her head. It was seven forty-two
her time, which meant it was nearly four in the morning, Angel
time...if he was even back to Brazil by then. “But there's so
much to tell you!” She thought of calling Sean too, but
realized it was nearly six in the morning in Ireland. “Shit!
Who am I supposed to talk to?”

She
wasn't able to call any of her friends, but she did send a quick text
to Julianne, telling her not to charge Te for the week and that she'd
explain it all later. “You're going to love this story.”
Morgan giggled and reached over to set her phone back on the floor,
but her thought of Julianne brought her yet another idea. She was
going to pick her next client and get it over with so there would be
absolutely nothing to think about for the week.

She
thought about it for a moment as the database loaded. “I'm
close to Australia...” Which meant, she was close to Tanner.
Morgan smiled as she thought of the Aussie. She was absolutely crazy
about the man, but only one thing was preventing her from tapping her
finger on the continent...Finlay. She'd just spent a few days with
him and he was still fresh in her mind. The thought of his voice and
his touch made her heart beat quickly and her heart is what made the
ultimate decision.

Morgan
skipped over Australia and tapped Europe. She wanted somewhere new,
but still close enough to where she might be able to stop by and see
Finlay again. “Maybe I can sneak an afternoon if I choose
another close place,” Morgan giggled, convincing herself of the
plan she was already hatching. “Spain. Now, that sounds nice.”

She
tapped it and laughed as the little dots appeared, one after another.
Of course, Madrid had the largest dot, and that's where she poked her
finger next. “Damn, there's a lot of you!” Morgan
scrolled through three pages, looking at all of the available men in
the area. For once, she was taking her time with the choice. She
clicked on nearly twenty of the men, not liking something about them
and moving on, until she found one that seemed like her
type...whatever that was.