Page 20 of Have To Be Mine

I got up in my boxers and crossed the room, running a hand through my hair before rubbing the stubble on my jaw. I checked the peephole out of habit.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

I opened the door, not giving a shit I was close to naked. Let her look. I knew she had been checking me out last night. And she liked what she saw whether she’d admit it or not. I liked seeing her off-balance, and if my nearly naked body did it, I had no problem showing it.

She stood in the hallway looking pissed. She was in her cargo pants—different pair, same energy—and a fitted white T-shirt that showed off her perfect breasts. Her hair was pulled back, phone in hand, jaw set and eyes flashing with anger.

She glanced down at my boxers and the semi I was sporting. When her eyes met mine, her pupils were just a little bigger than they had been when I first opened the door.

“Good morning,” I said.

“It’s not,” she said. “It’s really not. I’ve called you six times.”

“That was you?”

“That was me. Adrian called you. The wardrobe team has been calling since six.” She held up her phone like it was evidence. “Today is the campaign launch event. There are pieces missing. Critical pieces. And we have less than four hours before the first reveal.”

I sighed. I understood this was her first rodeo, but it wasn’t mine. Nothing went smoothly. Nothing happened without a few hiccups. It was certainly not worthy of a freakout.

“We do not have the tops to several bathing suits.”

“Huh.”

“Huh,” she repeated. She threw her hands up. “Huh? That’s how you solve things? I can see why they put you in charge of logistics.”

“Give me a minute.”

“We don’t have a minute.”

“Should I go like this?” I asked dryly. “Five fucking minutes.”

“If you hadn’t had your head firmly wedged between two pairs of tits last night, you might have seen the emails in your inbox. You would already be dressed and hunting down these missing pieces.”

“I heard you.” I stepped back from the door. I left it open and walked back to the bedroom of my suite to find clothes.

“The car is already downstairs.” Her voice filled the space, which told me she’d followed me into the room. I had a feeling she would dress me if I didn’t move fast enough.

Instead of arguing, I grabbed some clothes and went into the bathroom.

“I’ll wait in the hall. Hurry the hell up!”

I ran water over my face in the bathroom and looked at my reflection. I wasn’t going to bother shaving. No time. Thank God I showered before I fell into bed last night. Or maybe that had been this morning. I brushed my teeth, rolled on some deodorant, and then added a layer of my favorite cologne.

Unlike my military babysitter, I dressed in casual khakis and a short sleeve shirt.

“Hurry up!” Krista shouted into the room.

“Do you think I’m going to personally find the missing pieces?” I called out.

“Someone has to.”

I opened the bathroom door. “That’s called staff. There are people hired to keep track of the wardrobe. They’ll do it.”

I heard what sounded like a growling noise. It almost made me laugh.

I stepped into the room and found her standing in the doorway to the hall, arms crossed and a scowl on her face. It was almost funny she’d decided not to wait in the room. Maybe she was worried she couldn’t keep her hands to herself. I grinned at the thought.

“Are you ready or would you like to primp some more?” she asked.