Around the World in 80 Men Series: Boxed Set 21-30 (64 page)

“
Hi,
I was wondering what time my flight was. I won't keep you long.”

“
Oh,
no worries, Child. I have work to do, he's just been...entertaining
himself. You're flight, yes, I was about to call you. I'm having
internet trouble right now, but I should have it to you by morning.
Your flight is at one-thirty-two, don't be late.” Morgan said
she wouldn't, and thanked her boss. “I'll assume Vaughn was
good for you?”

“
Oh,
you sneaky woman! You knew!”

“
I
did.”

“
I
was leery at first, but...then I got used to it. He was exactly what
I needed,” Morgan explained.

“
I
knew he would be. Before I forget, there will be a package coming for
you early morning. I don't imagine you'll be up and moving at dawn,
Sleeping Beauty, but the front desk should have that for you before
your flight.”

“
A...package?
From who? Do you know?”

“
Luis,”
Julianne answered. “I've got to go, one of the girls just
missed her flight. Call when you're in Germany!” With that,
Julianne hung up.

“
A
pimp's work is never done!” Morgan giggled. She was happy her
flight was in the afternoon, but extremely curious as to what Luis
had sent to her. “You're such a sweetheart.” That was
Morgan's last thought before she fell asleep.

*****

The
following morning, Morgan awoke to a loud series of knocks at the
door, but at first, she thought it was an alarm clock. She felt her
hand blindly around the dresser, but found nothing but her cell
phone. More knocks. She threw the blanket off her body and stared at
the door, daring it to make another sound. “Miss Holland, you
have mail.” She sat up quickly and shut her eyes hard, then
looked at the door again. After a few seconds, the words finally
registered in her mind.

“
Oh!
My package!” She got up, with no regard to the see-through
white tank and tiny shorts she was wearing, and ran to the door. When
she opened it, she was hit with a very familiar feeling upon seeing
the man. “Do..I know you from somewhere?” Morgan crossed
her arms over her chest when she realized he was staring. The cool
temperature of her room hadn't helped either.

“
We
met the other night.” He sounded bothered by the information
and Morgan wondered where she'd met him and then it started to come
back.

She
felt the heat rise from her neck to her face. “I'm sorry...I
wasn't really myself...”

He
smiled, just a bit. “I suspect our spirits are stronger than
America?” Morgan wasn't going to tell him that it didn't really
have much to do with the wine than it did with the pain meds Haghen
had given her, but she nodded anyway.

“
Yeah.
Guess I have a low tolerance. I...uh...my,” she pointed at the
large envelope in the man's hand. Seeing it had reminded her why she
was standing in the doorway in the first place and she was more
curious as to what was in that than she was wanting to talk to the
viking
in the hallway. He handed it to her and she thanked him
and quickly shut the door behind her.

She
didn't even make it halfway through the room before she had the
package open. Slowly, she slid the item from within, then dropped the
envelope and brought the painting up to her face.

“
Its...me.”
Morgan's eyes welled with tears which quickly turned into quiet sobs
as she stared at
herself
. It was a perfectly painted portrait
of the picture Luis, her client, had taken of her their first day
together. The painting though, it was from elder Luis. Morgan was
sure the whole thing had been schemed by the two of them though. It
was the perfect size for her scrapbook, which was where it was going
to go. She put it back into it's protective shield, then slid it into
the front of her pink book. “Thank you.” She ran her
finger over the glossy image, feeling each brush stroke along the
way. It was unbelievable and meant more to her than words could even
say. “Thank you, so, so, so much.”

Her
first order of business, when she landed in Germany, was to call Luis
and thank him. A quick call while she had to get ready would never
do, and she looked forward to talking to the man very soon.

Morgan
got her things together and called for Haghen to pick her up at noon.
She'd slept longer than intended, and as usual, she was running on a
tight schedule. There was just one thing she needed to do before she
said goodbye to the old man.

*****

During
her layover in Munich, Germany, Morgan made a quick call to her
friend in Holland.

“
Morgan,
weren't you leaving?” Haghen's tired voice asked.

“
Yep,
I'm already in Germany. Are you home?” He told her that he was.
“Have you checked your mail today?” Haghen thought it was
a really odd question, but he told her that he had checked the mail
that morning. “Check it again. It was a pleasure meeting you,
Haghen. You've made a place in my heart that I'll never forget.”
Morgan smiled as she brought her phone down and ended the call.

In
Rotterdam, the confused man stood from his old, beat up, recliner and
he, with his beer, walked to the tiny front porch of his home. The
metal mailbox creaked loudly as he lifted the top hinge and he
reminded himself that he'd have to oil it down soon. Inside the black
box, his hand found an envelope with his name on it. He carried it
back into his home, shaking his head back and forth.

Haghen
knew was what inside before he opened it, and as he did so, tears
freely streamed down his face. “Morgan...”

Inside
of the envelope was five thousand dollars and a short note:
May
all your dreams come true.
The gesture from the woman, who had
been no more than a tourist in his cab two weeks prior, had just
changed his life. He finally had the money to go see his daughter.
Haghen continued to weep as he sat down with his phone again to call
his baby girl.
I'll see you soon.

*****

Nine
thirty that evening, Morgan was pulling her luggage through the lobby
after landing safely in Hamburg. She had a room booked already, so
all she had to do was call for a cab, and she'd be neck deep in a hot
bath in no time.

“
I
need the number for a cab, please.” Morgan spoke to a young
man behind the counter, and he nodded quickly then handed her a paper
with all the necessary numbers that a tourist such as Morgan would
need. “Thank you.” He nodded again before walking away.
She quickly called the first one on the list, and was told that it
would be at least thirty minutes until one arrived, so she went to
the front of the airport and waited, inside of course.

Morgan
sat and thought of her time with Vaughn, thoughts that brought a
pretty pink hue to her warm cheeks. Control. That was something
that he was extremely comfortable with, and something that Morgan
wished she had more of in her life. “But it's something that I
can change.” She smiled and whispered the words to herself as
she took her phone out again.

She
wanted the chance to speak to her client before meeting him. Morgan
had no idea why that suddenly became important to her, other than the
fact that it was a small slice of control that she could bring to
herself. She clicked Julianne's picture, and left a message on her
boss' voice mail.
Julianne, could you send me Robbie's number, or
give him mine? Have fun with Felix. Morgan.

Her
phone was just about to be dropped in her bag, when Julianne called
back. “Hey, that was quick!” Morgan leaned back in her
chair and propped her feet up on one of her bags.

“
I'll
text you in a bit with his number. Have a wonderful week, Dear.”
Morgan thanked her, and their called ended, with a text that
followed shortly after.

“
You're
the best.” Morgan spoke to her phone, and looked out at the
crowd of people that were coming and going. She once again was about
to drop her phone, when it rang out in her hand. “What did you
forget, Julianne? Oh... Fin?” She hesitated, still not sure
if she wanted to hear from him right then, but her mind was made up
when her finger clicked the answer button.

“
Love?
Are ye there?” His deep voice was low, and almost shy, a tone
that she had never heard from him before. She cleared her throat,
and answered the Scot.

“
Yeah..
I'm here. What's.. what's going on?” She sat up, taking her
foot from her bag, and closed her eyes as he began to speak.

“
I...
I 'ave something to tell ye. I....”

*****

Robbie
Edwards had just walked in from a stroll around his property when
Loraine, his housekeeper, handed him his phone. “It's an
American. Miss Marks.” Robbie took the phone and thanked the
woman, then took a few steps to his sofa. Sitting down, he began to
speak.

“Mister
Edwards, this is Miss Marks. Morgan will meet with you next week,
and she has requested an exchange in numbers. I've given her yours,
and would like to text hers to you as well.” Robbie nodded
against the phone, and wet his dry lips with his tongue before
speaking. He had only used Julianne's service once in the past, so
he was still quite new in the world of International escorts.

“That
would be fine, thank you for calling.” Julianne thanked him as
well, and told him to expect the number shortly.

Robbie
stood, and walked closer to the large bay window in his living room.
“I can't.. where is that...?”

“I'll
do it.” Loraine gently took the phone from Robbie's hand, and
turned it off.

“There
will be a number coming through, in a text. Write it down for me,
will ya?” Loraine said that she would, then took the phone
into the kitchen with her while she began dinner. Robbie ran his
hands through his short black hair, letting out a sigh of frustration
at what was happening to him.

“Two
months.” Those words were spoken in a whisper, meant only for
the silence around him.

Robbie
Edwards was going blind. According to the diagnosis, he would be
there in a few months, and nothing could be done to stop it. He had
gone from squinting at road signs, to not being able to turn his own
phone off in a few short months.

A
woman could help, at least, with forgetting what was happening to
him. Not a girlfriend, and certainly not a wife, but a woman who
could treat him like a man, and most importantly, allow him to feel
like one again.

Germany

Book
Twenty-six

Chapter
One

She
knew what was going on. In fact, she scolded herself mentally for
even asking in the first place.
I know everything, Fin.
Suddenly,
just like that, she didn't want to hear it. She
did
already
know. She had already known for more than a week, and finally, when
he was about to tell her, about to spill everything, about to risk
all that they had between them, she couldn't hear him say it.

“
I
already know. What else do you want to talk about?” Her tone
came out colder than she'd intended, but she hadn't exactly meant to
come off inviting and bubbly either. Morgan lifted her gaze from her
feet to the window. It was the wrong timing, because just then, a
strong gust of wind came through and lifted the skirt of an elderly
woman, showing the whole world her lacy bloomers. As quickly as the
silver-haired lady could move, she flattened her clothing back over
her bottom and tried to look casual, hoping nobody had seen her
undergarments. Unfortunately for Morgan, she wasn't able to react as
quickly and a single snort of laughter escaped before she was able to
cover her mouth and stifle her giggles.

On
the other end of the phone, Finlay didn't know what was funny, but
what startled him even more was how Morgan already knew what he had
called to tell her. His mind went to Sean first. No, his best mate
wouldn't do that...then again, Finlay had just told Sean that Morgan
didn't know. Still...he wouldn't do that. Finlay continued to argue
with himself as he fumbled with his words. “How...how do ye
know?”