Eliza groaned when the annoying alarm woke her from a sound sleep. Why a clock manufacturer would choose the same alarm used in a nuclear plant emergency was beyond her understanding. Stretching her arm across the pillows she slapped at the small machine until it became silent. Whether she hit the snooze or off button she couldn't guess, but silence was now her favorite sound.
In her foggy mind she struggled to understand why she felt so tired. A rough start to a new job had left her exhausted. Remembering the series of events, Eliza tried to differentiate between reality and dreams. Long trip, confrontations with the staff, and sleeping in a different bed would all be culprits for physical fatigue. But the strange dreams had drained her energy.
In the solitary darkness of her room Eliza could feel the blush warming her face as she remembered. Seeing him at the door, feeling his hands on her body, and everything that followed was a dream she would not forget any time soon. She considered how he would react if he had a clue. Well of course Michael Westwright would snarl, sneer, growl and then tell her what he really thought of her.
Acknowledging her failure to make a good first impression, Eliza stretched her limbs and froze. In a panic she held her breath and tried to process the reality of her actions. There had been no dream.
She contemplated calling someone for help. Police? Nurse? Mom? That one made her laugh. Maybe her former roommate would be able to walk her through the next phase. Eliza tried to imagine the conversation.
"Hey it's me. Eliza. Eliza Wallen? Your roommate last year? Slept across the room from you and whoever the hell made you pant and scream through most of the night? Still don't remember? Oh well, never mind. Anyway just had sex and needed some advice. What? You can't help? Oh, I see. Too many years and even more guys since your first time. Oh well, thanks anyway."
Eliza pulled the blanket over her head and groaned. One day in the real world and she had managed to screw up. Just like Michael said, she should have asked some questions before the sex. Now, she was drowning in guilt from her actions. Yeah, she may not have been alone but she would be the sole owner of the consequences. If living with her mother had taught her anything it was that she would be responsible for anything that happened.
Turning on her side, Eliza pulled her knees to her chest and tried to assess the damage. Her body was sore but not injured. Women did this every day but with better planning. She was stuck here for five more days so immediate remedies were out of the question. She had no other choice but to wait until returning home to see a doctor.
It was just one time. Or was it two? Did it count as two for him? What were the odds of anything happening from one night? Too many people were unable to have children. Certainly she wouldn't get pregnant the first time. She doubted he had any diseases because guys like that didn't just sleep with anybody, right?
"Damn," she whispered in the dark room. "He did with you. And that's all that matters right now."
The questions continued pounding in her mind, most were focused on her failures, until she finally took a deep breath and tossed the covers aside. Rising from the bed, Eliza took a moment to find her balance before heading to the shower. She avoided glancing in the mirror as she turned on the water and found a clean towel.
"Learn from your mistakes," she mumbled before stepping under the warm spray of water.
Her shower was thorough and efficient. When she felt as clean as humanly possible, she shut off the water and reached for the towel. Rubbing the thick terrycloth across her skin, Eliza then squeezed the excess water from her hair and reached for her robe.
Flipping the satin material around, she froze when the dark stain caught her eye. Staring at another reminder of her mistake, she slowly turned to look in the mirror. Prepared to find some signs of the event, she was surprised at the sight of her reflection.
Her skin, flushed pink from the warm water, had no signs of trauma. Not even a bruise was left on her pale flesh. She looked at the eyes staring back at her and wondered where she had lost control. Years of keeping her knees together had ended, forgotten, within seconds of being alone with him. And yet she stood here completely naked with nothing to show for it.
There was no physical evidence but all sorts of sensations. Eliza watched in silence as her hands moved to her breasts. The simple contact instantly reminded her of another's touch that had sent her out of control. Tracing her fingers down, over her flat stomach, she stopped when her conscience reminded her how last night had started. Frustrated, she wrapped a towel around her body and left the bathroom.
Checking the time, Eliza decided to review her files and prepare for the day. Now that she had met most of the people on her list, she needed to interview them and begin a process of elimination. In two hours she would make an appearance with the staff of Arliss-Randall Technologies and she needed to be ready.
One day was lost and the only thing she could do about it was avoid repeating the same mistake. As she sat on the bed, Eliza opened her folio and watched the offending schedule slide to the floor. Tempted to let it lie, she grumbled as she leaned forward to snatch the sheet of paper. A quick glance under the bed revealed the paperback that she had been reading earlier and a wrapper of some sort.
Snatching the three items, Eliza sat back on the bed and surveyed her findings. The paperback, now blamed as the source of her downfall, was tossed in the trash. The schedule was returned to the leather binder that she would use throughout the day. But the wrapper held her attention. Was it too much to hope that Michael had been the previous owner of this little foil pack?
Kneeling on the floor, she searched under the bed. Clean. Not one single dust bunny was hiding on the carpet. Obviously the room had been thoroughly prepared for her arrival. And yet, she had no idea how to ask him if had been responsible enough to use the former contents of this wrapper.
She paced the floor, trying to regain control of her emotions but struggled against her guilt. Yesterday had been bad. She had failed to use the time wisely and now she needed to work harder on her assignment. Last night, well, last night was an experience that she needed to forget and never repeat.
Glancing at the table, she decided to order some breakfast. Maybe she would function better on a full stomach. She grabbed the phone, placed the order and started clearing away last night's dinner dishes. When she had placed the tray outside her door, she began separating and organizing her files according to priority.
With her public binder complete with the damn schedule ready to go, Eliza began reading the content of her client's dossier. Words that she had skimmed across earlier now popped from the page. Apparently, Arliss-Randall had been experiencing a run of bad luck. Her assignment was hardly their first claim, she learned as she read their experience history. In less than a year the company had filed a claim for a house fire, car accident, death of a member and several other losses.
According to KGA's findings, all claims had received the same verdict: Denied. Copies of the denials were included in Eliza's file and included a summary of findings that supported the decision. The presence of accelerants had been a key piece of evidence in ruling the house fire as arson. The car accident had been denied because the owner had neglected to provide certified maintenance for the vintage model, bragging to everyone that he had restored and maintained the car himself. And the wrongful death had been "regrettably denied because no evidence could be found refuting the original cause as suicide".
Eliza read the findings again, engrossed in the history that she had neglected earlier. Flipping through the file in search of police reports, she nearly fell out of her chair when someone knocked on the door.
"Just a sec," she called as she closed the file and raced to the bathroom for her robe. Walking to the door, she said, "Wow that was fast. I thought it would take at least..."
"Good morning,"
"Good morning," she returned. "I, uh, thought you were breakfast. I mean, I thought you were delivering breakfast."
"I'm escorting you to breakfast," he explained. "You didn't read the schedule."
"I, uh, yeah, I thought, I know I did." Eliza turned away to retrieve the stupid sheet of paper and have one moment away from his scrutiny. "Here it is. Breakfast, Blue Room, 8:00. There's nothing here that says I'm supposed to attend."
"It's your schedule," he said moving to stand behind her. "Why would I give you someone else's schedule?"
"Well it doesn't say anything about your escort service. Wait. That didn't sound right. I meant..."
