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Chapter Two
Watchingthe sexiest man she had ever seen stripping right in front of her made one thing clear: this was definitely going to get her in deep trouble. In fact, she was probably going to be grounded for life, but it was going to be so worth it. Her mom might even applaud her for her initiative and creativity—or she was going to kick her out of the family.
Whichever happens, Beatrix Lovely had no way out of the situation now. She was already in the closet, and there was no coming out of it now. Well, she could hide in it all night, but then she would be fired, and her career as a reporter would be over.
Tonight, she was getting the scoop on her mom’s fiancé’s newest client. Harrison had let it slip that his college buddy, Jonas Raiden, was going to blow the whistle on his boss for embezzling from their company. Buzz had spent two days researching Raiden & Son’s Financial and everyone involved, and now she was going to pounce on the man for an interview—an interview that was going to make her a household name.
Well, not her actual name, but her pen name: Bea Bradford. Bea Lovely just wasn’t going to cut it with hard-hitting news like this.
Jonas had been staying at the hotel for days in order to stay away from his uncle and anyone his uncle knew. Once federal agents raid the company, the reporters would be there. Instead of waiting for that to happen, she was going to be first in line. Bea Bradford was going to get the scoop. She would be famous.
Sure, she knew she shouldn’t ambush him in his hotel room, but Sera had told her that Harrison had said, “no questions and no snooping,” so under no circumstances was she going to get an interview with the man. What Harrison didn’t know was that when Mom says no, you sneak around her back. It had been that way forever.
Harrison might not know the rule, but he should have suspected it. After all, he had been dating the woman for a few months and was marrying her. By now, he had to know that her daughters didn’t exactly listen to her. It wasn’t something they actually hid from him, or from her for that matter.
Not that Sera Lovely was Buzz’s real mom; she was her stepmom. Her real mom had skipped out on her five girls years before Sera had shown up in their lives, and now when any of them said, “mom,” they were talking about Sera.
It was just a coincidence that Sera was marrying Jonas’s lawyer and that they’d had a private whispered conversation about what was happening where Buzz could hear them. That was pure luck on Buzz’s part, and Buzz was going to get the scoop on him before everything happened because she was the best reporter for the best paper in town. However, she was going to be fired if she didn’t come through with the article. She had to get this interview.
Since she never got any good assignment, she had lied to her editor and said she already knew the man and that she knew that there was something brewing. Not that she shared what it was, just that it was going to be big. Besides that, she should already know the man since he was her near-stepdad’s best friend or something. She should’ve been able to get an interview and not be barred by Sera’s no questions rule. Maddening.
It had been by luck that she had gotten into the room when the maid was there five hours before. So, for the last five hours, she had been hiding in the closet, waiting. Minutes before Jonas had walked in, she had been bored because her phone had only twenty percent of its battery left, and she needed that to record her interview—an interview she was in no way not getting now. The rest of her phone’s battery had been wasted on addictive games to keep her mind off her mom’s impending anger and her own boredom.
The sun had set hours ago when her phone had buzzed in her hand, and she answered it, bored as hell in the closet. And at that point, she was about to give up on the man ever coming back.
“Buzz,” she barked at her oldest sister. If it had been anyone else, she would’ve answered nicely with, “Bea Bradford,” but her sister didn’t deserve nice.
“Where the fuck are you? You were supposed to be here an hour ago!” Harper yelled at her.
Rolling her eyes, she remembered that she had promised her sister she would help her out today. Harper and Lucy owned a catering company, and Buzz usually helped out in the evenings when she could. Today she had to put her career in front of her sisters’. Recently, Lucy had started a new job as a personal assistant and had less time for catering than before, which was leaving Harper short-staffed a lot more than usual.
Not remembering where “here” was and not caring, she answered, “Working. I have a job, you know.”
“Barely, Buzz. You should be more focused on helping me,” the oldest Lovely sister complained as she always did.
“You’re saying I need to focus on waitressing?” Buzz questioned. She usually helped her sister two to three times a week at best. Was that what she should be focusing on? Buzz could tell Lucy wasn’t there and that Harper was a little stressed, something that Harper rarely showed.
“Or something that pays and doesn’t take all your time, and something you are good at.”
“I can’t help you tonight. Another time,” she said. Being a waitress for a catering company wasn’t what she wanted to do with her life, especially one that was run by Harper.
“You better remember that I need you tomorrow night. No pretending to work.” Harper hung up on her, and Buzz scowled at her phone. No way was she helping her with her event tomorrow.
Turning her phone off, she closed her eyes in the dark closet. Yes, she’d work for Harper tomorrow; her sister needed her, so she’d go. Harper was doing fantastic with her catering business, and even if her fiancé was requesting that she cut back, she was still busy and needed her other sisters even more. At least there were three other sisters to help her out.
The closet was hot, or maybe just a woman sitting in the closet for five hours had made the closet hot. A few hours ago, she had unbuttoned the white blouse she wore, happy she had worn a tank top this morning. Both of which might not be salvageable after a night in a steam closet. Good thing both had been borrowed from her sister, so she didn’t have to care that they were ruined.
Resting her eyes, she blew a wayward strand of red hair from her face as she tried to ignore the sweat running down her back. It was a good thing that it wasn’t a video interview because she was sure she looked like garbage.
Not for the first time did she think she was making a mistake; maybe just getting his number and giving him a call would have worked. She should have ignored Sera and just asked, especially if Harrison put in a good word for her, which he would. She was, after all, his favorite almost stepdaughter. She was sure of it.
She tapped the bifold doors open a tiny bit with her foot to get some air in the little closet. She could swear she could feel the cool tufts of air teasing her. This had been a big mistake. Huge.
Just then, the door to the hotel suite opened and closed. Buzz heard jingling change and footsteps on the carpet—nothing to indicate the man wasn’t alone. What would she do if he has company? That had never crossed her mind.
It seemed like he was in the living room area of the suite for a lifetime, and Buzz had no idea what he was doing. But it was probably time to get out of the closet and get her interview. Either get it done or get kicked out. With any luck, she wouldn’t get arrested.
Except she froze when he came into view. He had already taken off his gray shirt. Buzz had seen a few pictures of Jonas, but in person, the man was worth remembering. Tall and lean, his dark hair and dark eyes were simply gorgeous. Jonas was mouth-wateringly handsome.
