THE JOB

Don't set yourself alight to keep other people warm, sweetheart.

***

CHAPTER XLV

*****

The warm wind tickled my face, making a smile lift to my lips as both Anna and I stepped off the plane. There were two guards in front of us, and two behind and Pablo had ended up accompanying us too making me feel like a celebrity.

“Wow,” Anna said from behind me, making me whip around to look at her. “It's warmer than I thought it would be.”

I eyed her long sleeve white top and frowned. “Yeah. It does tend to be warm in Spain.”

Noticing my dig at her for her stupid outfit choice, she rolled her eyes and shoved past me, bringing her hand carry along with her.

Most of the passengers that we were on the plane with us were all filing onto a shuttle bus, but Pablo and the guards walked the opposite direction, making Anna and I follow them unsurely.

Not too far away from where we got off the plane were two sleek black cars with tinted windows. They were parked parallel each other, idly waiting to drive off.

“Anna, you get in that car,” Pablo said, pointing at the car farthest away from us. “A driver will betaking you to the hotel.”

Both Anna and I shared a look before turning back to him.

“Where am I going?” I asked, peering up at him as he held the door of the other car open for me to get in.

Pablo rolled his eyes, not responding to my question. He instead waited impatiently for me to get into the car.

Without a word, I cast one last look towards Anna before stepping into the car. She waved at me from outside and then got into her car too.

Pablo got in with me, sitting on the other side of the backseat as the driver started the car and drove off the airport runway. I looked out the back window, watching how the other black car followed behind us up until we reached an intersection. We turned left, driving off the motorway whereas they continued straight ahead.

I turned back around and stared out the side window with eyes wider than watermelons and my jaw dropped in awe.

Even though the motorway exit was littered with other cars, vans and trucks, beyond the tarred roads were fields of the greenest grass that stretched on for miles. The panels of the few windmills on the field spun lazily in the warm heat, almost like a labourer fatigued after a long day in the sun.

A part of me wondered why they didn't use solar panels, but I kept my concerns to myself. Instead, I rolled down the window, letting the warm wind whip through my blown out hair.

It smelt and tasted different. Like sea salt.

That's when realisation had finally dawned on me and I turned around to Pablo, my eyes wide as the view of the horizon over a large body of water came into sight. We were on a large hill, driving into a small seaside town and the fields were being replaced with small, colourful beach homes.

“What are we doing here, Pablo?”

He looked up, his eyes wide as if only just realising I was with him. I raised an eyebrow, but he ignored the questioning look and answered me.

“Daniel is meeting someone here.” My stomach flipped at the sound of Daniel's name, but I kept quiet and let him finish speaking. “He needs you to help him with... His business partner.”

I didn't know why my stomach dropped at that. It wasn't the first time it was happening, and being with Daniel meant it clearly wouldn't be the last. But I had spent the past how many hours on a plane I didn't like just to see him. And those hours, I spent worrying about seeing him as well only to find out that the reason he wanted me with him was to do business.

I didn't know what I expected from him. I mean, I knew Daniel. In my own complicated way, I knew Daniel enough to know that I would never know him. The affection I got from him was probably temporary; probably just to keep me around for moments like this. He didn't actually need me.

Or want me most likely.

But what could I do? In his own twisted way, he was giving me exactly what I spent five years of my life yearning after and this was the price it came at. I didn't care, though; I couldn't. There was no price too high for his affection.

“You don't have to worry about a thing,” Pablo said, fixing up his tie and his suit as I raised an eyebrow at him. He didn't seem as carefree as he wanted me to be, so he wasn't one to talk. “Daniel and I are going to be with you every step of the way.”

“Remember how well that worked the last time?”

He cringed, letting go of his tie and closing his eyes before opening them again and looking at me. “It won't happen again. I assure you.”

I rolled my eyes and turned back to look out the window, trying to gulp down the ball that had lodged itself in my throat. Why did I want to cry? It wasn't that deep. I didn't need to cry about it. Ever since I met Daniel, I became more emotional than I had ever experienced. It seemed to get worse with time.

“Do I have the option to back out?”

“You might, but I think it's a bit too late for that.”

I stared out the window after Pablo's words settled in my mind. We rolled up in front of a huge, white villa-style hotel with large windows and doors. It overlooked the beach which was only a walk away, introducing us to vast blue oceans that sparkled like diamonds underneath the warm sun. I could imagine myself stepping onto the balcony and watching the sunset.

“Araceli,” Pablo called for my attention again. I swiftly turned around to look at him, holding back my praises with the place. “We're going to put a microphone on you.”

I rolled my eyes and scoffed, sinking into my seat as the driver stepped out of the car to do whatever he needed to do. Pablo ignored me and continued on.

“You're going to see him at the bar, lure him towards you and then let him take you to his room.” I continued staring straight ahead, not giving him any indication that I was listening to what he was saying. “He'll get called out for something and you'll take that opportunity to snoop through his things and bring back as much information as possible.”

I frowned, feeling my brows furrow as I looked at him. “You don't want me to seduce him or sleep with him or anything?”

Pablo smirked and shook his head. “Of course not. Your Daniel's.”

If that was really the case then I wouldn't have been in the position I was in but there we were anyway. I kept my mouth shut and stayed put in the car while Pablo got out and jogged around it. He stopped at my door and opened it so I could step out. As I did he held my hand in his as if I couldn't stand on my own and walked closely behind me when I began walking towards the hotel.

Breezing past the large, glass doors, I was met with a huge, spacious reception. Cool air swarmed around me, cooling my clammy skin as the sound of people conversing filled the large room.

I could see my reflection in the shiny, porcelain floors and the windows were clean and spotless. Without saying anything to the receptionist at the front desk, Pablo took my hand and led me towards the elevator. We were on the ground floor, according to the sign above the loft.

Pablo pressed the button for the lift to come down to our floor, seeming to know the place better than he let on. It pinged open almost immediately and we stepped on. Before the doors closed, he had already pressed the button for the fifth floor and soon we were ascending the many storeys of the hotel building.

The elevator pinged open again, allowing us access to a large hallway with different doors littered here and there. We walked up to the second door on the right and without even knocking, he opened the door for me to go in.

The hotel room looked spectacular, but the thing that really stole my breath away was Daniel. He was sitting in the corner, completely engrossed in his laptop as we allowed ourselves in without him noticing. He was still in a white shirt and suit pants, but they were both crumpled up. He's sleeves were rolled up past his elbows and the first three buttons were undone. It wasn't tucked and his tie rested around his neck.

“Daniel,” Pablo called, alerting him of our presence.

He snapped his head up, his eyes meeting Pablo's before meeting mine. Slowly, he got up and walked towards us. I stayed by Pablo's side, not knowing whether I should run to him or run away.

Luckily, I didn't have to decide. Once he reached us, he grabbed my waist and pulled me into his chest. I pressed my face into his shirt, missing everything about him as he wrapped an arm around me and squeezed my side.

“When did you come in?” he asked, his chest vibrating with his deep voice. I pressed myself into him more, finding that I missed him more than I thought I did.

“Just now.” Pablo sounded like he was on the verge of laughter, but I was too busy getting my feel of Daniel. I had to make the most of our moment together before he suddenly went off on another business trip again.

At that thought, I only managed to suppress the whimper that begged to climb out of my throat. I grabbed a hold of his shirt and pressed my cheek into material.

God, I loved him.

“Did you brief her?”

I tensed up at that question, already knowing what they were talking about before they said anything. My reaction gave the answer away, yet Pablo still replied.

“I did.”

Daniel pulled away from me slightly, holding me a couple inches away so he could see my face. “Are you going to do it?”

Do I have a choice? I bit back that retort, finding that Emma was right and I really was starting to act like him. Instead, I nodded my head.

“I am.”

His eyes searched mine, uncertainty flashing in them before he looked away from me and to Pablo. With one small nod, Pablo had gripped my arm and pulled me away from Daniel gently.

I turned away from him, following Pablo so I didn't bump into anything. He led me down two flights of stairs and stopped walking just outside a small bar. He then turned to me.

"He's in here right now," he said, digging through his pocket for something. He pulled out a small photo of a man with long dark hair in a high bun and smoldering blue eyes. I stared at the picture for a couple seconds before looking back up at him expectantly.

“Is that him?”

He nodded his head and pulled something else out of his pocket. He held two large, black tear drop earrings into view.

“These are microphones,” he said lowly. “We'll be able to hear everything that's being said.”

“Why do you need to hear what's being said if I'm just going to walk out with the information I need?” I asked as I took out my modest stud earrings and put his in.

“Just another way to make sure you're safe.”

“Okay,” I said. “What kind of information am I looking for?”

“Any kind. Preferably who he works for.” Pablo checked the time on his watch before grabbing my shoulders and turning me towards the entrance of the bar. “He's already in there so just lure him in. He'll most likely come to you anyway.”

I had so many questions I wanted to ask him before I went in, but before I could let the first 'why' escape my lips he was zooming up the stairs. He was acting odd and it scared me a little.

With a deep breath, I pushed open the door and walked in. My hips swung from side to side, my heels clicking against the tiled floor as I slowly made my way over to the bar.

“What can I get you, beautiful?” the bar worker asked after he had spent a couple seconds checking me out.

I would have been flattered any other time if I wasn't a hair's breadth away from throwing up my own intestines from nerves.

Despite the way my stomach raged, I still plastered on a seductive smile and leaned.

“What do you recommend?” I asked, bringing my voice down so it was nothing above a sultry whisper. In all honesty, I just didn't know what to order. The only thing I had experience with was beer and the bar seemed way too fancy to serve beer.

Plus, I was still under the age. The reason he hadn't asked for my ID was obvious and for once, I was thankful.

“How about a Marguerita to start the night off?”

I giggled like a school girl and nodded. “Sure, I would like that.”

He smiled back at me before turning around to prepare my drink. That was when I let the smile slip off my face. I wanted to puke. I wanted to hide under my covers and never come out. I wanted to hug Anna. I didn't want to be there.

There was a bad feeling in my gut and I wanted to listen to it so bad.

The bartender came back with a colourful drink and placed it right in front of me. I reached into my bag to pull out some notes from the wad of cash in it (courtesy of Daniel) but he stopped me.

“Don't worry, beautiful. It's on the house.”

I looked up at him, making my eyes look bigger in the way I knew most men liked as I smiled. “Thank you.”

His eyes followed the movement of my lips and I could almost hear what he was thinking in his head. Before the pointless flirting could go on, I felt a hand on my back and I whipped around to see who it was.

I was ready to tell the stranger off when I met smoldering blue eyes and long, dark hair in a loose bun.

“How are you doing, beautiful?” he asked in a thick Spanish accent.

I let my eyes trail over his full physique before taking a sip of my drink to calm my head. With a quiet exhale, I lifted my lips into a small smile and answered.

“Better now that you're here.”

*****

Okay, so... That happened.

If you hate Daniel for this, you'll hate him more for what's about to come. But don't worry, you'll love him again soon.

No, I swear you'll actually love him in the near future. I'm not even joking this time.

Anyway raisins or no? Because if it's a no we can't be friends. I'm sorry, I don't make the rules.