Around the World in 80 Men Series: Boxed Set 21-30 (66 page)

His
moment was interrupted by Loraine, the only woman in his life for the
past several years. “Dinner is ready, if you are?”
Robbie nodded, and followed her through the door, then sat at the
table to await his meal. Loraine shuffled quickly through the
kitchen, filling her small hands with the few plates that were
needed, and eventually joined her boss at the small wooden table.
She had something on her mind, he knew her far too well, and he
braced himself for what she would surely try to bring up over dinner.
He was working on his second bite of bread when she began. Her deep
intake of breath was the warning, then, “Robbie, do you really
think it's best to spend time with... with....,” he let her
struggle, and his smile made her even more uncomfortable, “a
woman who... well, does
that
for a living?” His soft
laughter didn't help with her nerves, it was hard enough to try to
convince her boss of anything, let alone affairs of the more personal
nature. She wanted to tell him that it wasn't funny, but a part of
her understood his need.

Robbie
wiped a crumb from his lip, and looked across the table to his loyal
housekeeper. He could still see her, and he was grateful for that,
the white streaks that swirled through her red hair was something
that he would have missed if his vision would have gone before then.
The room was too dim to see them at the moment, but they were there,
and he smiled again at how she would react if he told her that he was
happy to have seen her graying hair. He wouldn't, and he didn't, he
instead told her the truth about the woman who they would meet soon.

“
I
told you, I didn't want to bring you in the middle of it, but I can't
see the damn screen anymore. I needed... help.” His face
dropped at admitting to something that he never thought he would, but
she deserved to know she had to arrange a woman for him through an
escort service in the States. “I wanted an American girl,
and.... fuck... I just want a girl that won't feel sorry for me, a
girl that does what she does and moves on. I get what I want, she
gets what she wants, end of story. And don't start with the
nice
girls around here lecture... I don't want a nice girl.” He
reached for the bread again, and Loraine knew that the conversation
had ended. He needed to feel loved, he needed closeness, and to her
sorrow, she knew that he felt as if he were barely half a man, and
would never be good enough. Not for anyone.

*****

Morgan
walked along a long row of restaurants in front of the water, hoping
to find one that offered a large selection of American cuisine. It
was the first time that she wasn't excited about the local food, and
her search for something other than a plate filled with meat was
turning into a near desperate situation. It wasn't meat in itself
that she was opposed to, but large sausages on a bed of something
that she couldn't identify would not be on the menu that day, nor any
other day.

“
Italian?
Indian? Chinese? Anything?” She whispered to herself as she
held her stomach that had barely stopped growling one time in the
last two and a half days. Pancakes, or something like them, had been
the only thing she'd eaten since her first morning in Hamburg, and
waiting for breakfast the following day was also not an option. The
leftover pizza that she'd savored was wiped out, and her options were
slimming with each place that she passed.

After
walking for nearly five more minutes, Morgan heard something that
stopped her search. She stood near a couple, who were obviously
tourists, and pretended to be digging in her purse so she could
listen to their conversation.

“
It
says here that
hummer
is lobster,” the man spoke to the
woman and as Morgan took a glance, he was pointing at a place called
Hummer Bistro. It wasn't much to look at from the outside, but if the
place was serving lobster, that meant she was getting close to
finding something she could actually eat. “This site says they
have other seafood,” he went on to explain.

Perfect.
Seafood it is.
Morgan stood upright and flipped her hair over her
shoulder casually, hoping it wasn't so obvious she'd been
eavesdropping, and walked toward the red and white building. The
place that didn't look much to be desired from the outside, was
something entirely different on the inside.

There
was a tall podium in front of her, one that several people were
crowded around and it appeared as if they were confirming
reservations. When she heard names being called, she let out a long
sigh. Of course she didn't have a reservation and she certainly
wasn't going to make one.
What's a bitch have to do for a shrimp?

As
she looked around, with a small hope there would be an empty table,
she realized her lack of planning ahead wasn't the only problem.
Morgan looked at the small group of people, dressed in suits and
beautiful gowns, then to herself. She was wearing a light pair of low
rise jeans with knee high boots and a deep blue sweater.
Fuck me.

Morgan
turned right back around and walked out of the restaurant. She'd had
bites of leftover pizza for days, but she was getting close to the
point of having pizza for the rest of the week. If that's what it
took to avoid any meat that resembled the male repro.... “No.”
She shook her head and stomped over to a wooden bench on the other
side of the road, overlooking the water. “I'm in Germany, and
that means...” Her hand went to her back pocket and she
retrieved her phone before sitting down. The sun was setting, so she
couldn't avoid taking one quick photo, but soon, she was back on
track. “And that means...” she spoke again, repeating
herself, “Robbie might be here too.”

He'd
know where the good food was and if he was willing to meet her out,
that was even better. Short notice, she knew that he could be
anywhere in the world since they weren't supposed to meet for another
four days, but there was a chance he might only be a few minutes
away. “And if not, he can still tell me where to get some damn
food!” Those were her words as she dialed the number Julianne
had sent her.

*****

“
It's
the American girl,” Loraine whispered as she held her palm over
the bottom of the phone.

“
Let
me talk to her,” Robbie held his hand out, but Loraine shook
her head.

“
I'm
not sure that's such a good idea, Robbie. Maybe you should just tell
her that this was all a bad idea and...” Loraine still had to
give it a try. She wanted what was the best for her boss and bringing
in a woman in
that
profession still didn't seem like a good
idea. “I just don't...” She couldn't finish her sentence.
I don't want her taking advantage of you.

“
Loraine,
I'm a big boy. Give me the phone, woman!” He laughed and held
his hand out again, and moved along the side of the table with his
other hand, moving closer to Loraine. She sighed and brought the
phone up to her ear.

“
Here
he is.” She put the phone in his hand and bit her lip as he
brought it to his own ear.

“
Hello...Morgan?”

“
Robbie...I....uh...”
Maybe this wasn't a good idea. Yes, yes it was. He's American, he
knows where the food is!
She laughed nervously, in what sounded
like a snort, then continued, “are you home?”

“
Yes,
why?” Loraine leaned in close, toward Robbie's shoulder and he
shrugged her off, then turned the other way.

Morgan
cleared her throat and grabbed a lock of her hair, then gave it a
good twirl around her finger. “Do you want to get dinner?”

“
Tonight?”
Loraine leaned in again, her ear actually rubbed against the back of
Robbie's fingers. “Stop it,” he whispered through his
teeth, trying not to laugh at his employee's behavior.

“
You
want me to stop? Stop what?”

“
No,
not you..uh...my...cat.” He narrowed his eyes at Loraine and
she finally shuffled to the living room after a loud huff. She knew
she wasn't going to get her way.

“
Oh,”
Morgan laughed, relieved. “Yes, to answer your question.
Tonight. Is that alright? I completely understand if it's not. I know
it's short notice and it's not our time yet, but I don't know where
any food is. I mean, I found food, but it's not really good food. I
don't mean it's bad...just....” She realized she was rambling,
even worse than usual. “Sorry.”

“
Yes,
I'd love to.”

“
Really?”
She could hear a smile in his voice and it instantly calmed her
nerves. “Great. Where do you want to meet?” He asked her
what hotel she was staying in and agreed on meeting in one hour. That
gave Morgan time to get ready and Robbie time to convince Loraine to
take him. His task was going to be more difficult.

“
You
didn't just agree to meeting her? Tonight? Robbie!”

“
Loraine,
no need to be jealous, my love!” Robbie teased and reached for
a roll from the middle of the table.

“
I
am
not
jealous!” she snapped, then could he heard her
feet moving back across the room. “We best get you ready,”
Loraine told him, in a softer, defeated tone. “Stop eating!”
She slapped the roll from his hand and wrapped her hand around his
elbow, then pulled.

“
Fine,”
he sighed and walked with her. He didn't need the help to the other
room, but it was nice knowing she cared so much. “But I'm
eating it later.”

*****

Morgan
flipped her hair as she bent forward, and gave it a quick spray
before flinging it back. Her curls were large and hung all the way
down her back, which is the look she was going for since she'd chosen
her favorite red sweater to wear for her date. The rest of her
outfit, lowrise jeans and boots, would have to do since she'd ran out
of primping time. “Okay, Robbie... show me the real food.”
One quick touch of lip gloss, and a check over the room later, she
was out the door and on her way to the elevator.

Loraine
and Robbie were already in the lobby, and the man was trying his best
to get her out of there before Morgan joined him. “Go... I'll
call you when we're done with dinner.” He nodded towards the
lounge doors and gave her a stern look, one that she was quite used
to, but rarely paid attention to.

“
You
have trouble with the phone, and you can't drive anywhere. I'll just
go to the back of the room and wait, I'll take you home when...,”

“
Loraine,
I love you like my own mother, but if you don't get out of here right
now...,”

“
Fine.
I'll go. But have that girl call me if you need anything.”
Loraine gave the man one more look, willing him to change his mind,
but it was clear that he wasn't going to budge. “You could
have just dated one of the girls from around here and ….”
she mumbled, mostly to herself, as she walked through the doors, and
through the lobby. She gave him one last look before leaving, and
she knew that he couldn't see her. “I pray that the girl has a
heart. Please, don't hurt my Robbie.”

Morgan
quickly left the elevator and reminded herself to walk slowly before
she got to the double wooden doors of the lounge. It was another one
of her faults that she'd need to work on, walking too fast, but at
least it was a small one and not one that would take a lifetime like
the rest.
No.. no more worrying about all the shit I do wrong.
It's time to be happy about the things that I do right.
Slowly,
she pushed the doors open. Robbie sat at the back of the lounge at a
small table for two, and Morgan's feet stopped moving.

Holy
shit! Holy shit! He's so... fucking... hot. Calm down.. Oh my god..
breathe... walk Morgan.
It took
a few seconds for her to move, but she finally did, and slowly walked
to her client's table. He looked up and smiled, then stood to greet
her. “Hi, you're Robbie, right?” The man that stopped
Morgan in her tracks smiled, and put his hand out.

“
Yes,
I am. Nice to meet you, Morgan.” She took his hand and he
gave her a gentle squeeze, then reached around the side of the table
and pulled her chair out. “Please, sit.” As if in a
trance that she had been shaken from, Morgan giggled nervously and
quickly took her seat.

“
Thanks.
Uh.. yeah.. sorry again for the short notice.. I just.. I can't..,”