Virginie rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Alex. For a woman who tried to claim Alex every moment she could, Stephanie never seemed to want to help him in his time of need. Virginie knelt next to him and stroked his hair. It was best if he woke up to a friendly face and a soothing touch. She had a lot of experience dealing with drunk men since many of her assignments liked to indulge in liquor.

She felt awful though. He was only like this because someone had finally come to reap their revenge on her. She knew that it would've come eventually but not this soon.

"Get off me," Alex murmured, his green eyes lazily opening. He shook himself as if to try to fend them off.

Virginie smiled, pulling her hand away. "Those women are gone, Alex. I brought you back to your villa."

With his eyes fully open, he grinned at her with such a warmth that Virginie had to try her best to hide her embarrassment. "There's my beautiful girl."

His what? "Princess, how drunk are you? It's Virginie, not Stephanie. She's asleep in the next room."

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Huh? I know what I said, Virginie." He paused, letting that glittering smile spread back on his face. "You're my beautiful girl."

Me? A beautiful girl? In the eyes of this masterpiece? No. Impossible. It's just the liquor and the drugs talking. He would never say any of this sober. He only says things like this when he's drunk. Virginie cleared her throat. "How are you feeling? Do you want some water or something to eat? I'll make you a grilled cheese." She rose quickly, keeping her face down.

"Why do you―" Alex was cut off by a stream of vomit. He leaned into the trash can and luckily, not a single drop hit the hardwood floor.

Virginie ran to the kitchen and removed one of her earrings. Within it was a drug called fresh that was used by agents to sober themselves up if they were drunk but needed all of their senses for an emergency situation. She had never needed to use it herself because she didn't drink but always carried it with her in case someone else needed it. She took off the clasp from her earring and put two drops of it into a glass of ice water. It was tasteless and invisible so Alex wouldn't even know she did anything to make him better. She doubted that it would have an immediate effect because of the drugs that were put in his drink earlier but they would help ease his symptoms one he woke up in the morning. Once the drops disappeared, Virginie ran to his side with the water and paper towels. She rubbed his back as he continued to heave.

"That's it, let it all out," Virginie encouraged, occasionally wiping his mouth.

When there was a lull, Virginie handed him the water and Alex swallowed it all gratefully. She wasn't interested in what he had to say earlier. It was probably all drunken babble anyway.

She returned the kitchen where she took cheddar and butter out of the fridge and took a sourdough loaf from the pantry. She cut the bread and buttered it, periodically checking to see if Alex was okay. When she finished making the grilled cheese, she returned to her spot next to him where his vomiting seemed to have ceased. He laid on the couch, silent, as Virginie placed his meal on the table.

"Here you go, princess," she said, handing him one of the sandwiches. "Eat."

Alex did not move to grab the sandwich in front of his face as Virginie had originally thought. Instead, he pushed her hand down and looked right into her eyes. "You try to deflect or change the subject when someone brings up your looks. Why is that? Why don't you think that you're beautiful?" His words were slurred and his eyes weren't focusing but he seemed sincere.

Virginie struggled to keep her composure as she placed the sandwich back on the plate. "I don't see why you think that or why it's relevant. You're my boss, why do you care about my self esteem?" Her voice came out colder than she had intended. She tried to make her voice light but her heart was thudding in her chest. Alex wasn't buying it. His nose flared as he snorted. The tension in the room was palpable as her blue eyes darted away from Alex, trying to hide the years of insecurity from him.

"You're so gorgeous, Virginie. Why do you think all those guys stare at you all the time? I'd beat them up if they tried anything, don't worry about that. No one should look at you like you're anything less than a goddess. You are a work of art and I don't understand how you can't see that." Even though his eyes were earnest, Virginie struggled to find any truth in his words.

She picked up the sandwich again and put it in his face, her expression unreadable. "You're drunk. You wouldn't be saying this if you were sober." She dropped her voice to a whisper. "I don't know if you've forgotten but your girlfriend's asleep in the next room!"

Alex grabbed the grilled cheese and took a huge bite, relaxing as the flavors hit his tongue. "You're right, I wouldn't be saying these things if I was sober." He continued, his voice muffled from all of the bread and cheese in his mouth.

She kept her face neutral but her heart fell. Alex was only confirming what she thought of herself already.

He noticed the touch of hurt in her eyes. He sat up, grabbing Virginie's chin to make her look at him. Her skin melted into his hands like it was made to be there. "Because when I'm sober, I'm too afraid to say these things out loud. When I wake up in the morning, sober as the day I was born, you'll still be the most ethereal woman that I've ever seen and will ever see." He released her chin.

Virginie stared at him, stunned at his words. His eyes were so soft and kind, she almost believed him. For a second, her eyes darted to his lips. They were partially parted and moist with grease. She wondered if they would have the same effects of the pill that she almost took at the club. Would she lose herself in them and forget her inhibitions? Would she forget the pain that haunted her every day? There was so much that she wanted to forget.

But if she was to be with him, that would be something that she wanted to remember. She wanted to memorize the taste of his lips and the feel of his tongue slipping into her mouth. She wanted to suck it so hard that he would moan. She wanted him to bite his lip, his eyes hungry for her touch. That would be enough to satiate her thirst for this man.

She still wanted to be selfish and test his statement. She wanted to pull him into her arms and devour every inch of his skin, Stephanie be damned. But she could wait. This wasn't the time. He was vulnerable this way and she didn't want to take advantage of that. If they were to have relations, she wanted it to be real. He was drunk now, his mind muddled with pills and alcohol and she didn't want to second guess anything. She didn't want him to regret being with her. She wanted his sober consent.

"Aren't you going to say something?" He inquired after a long silence, reaching for another sandwich.

I have no idea how to even begin to formulate a response to that. "Do you need any more water? I noticed that you finished your other bottle." She asked, getting up to retrieve a cup.

Alex groaned and flopped back on the couch. "I spill my guts out and it's still not enough for you. How can I convince you? When will you understand how I feel?"

Virginie ignored his questioning as she got some more ice water for him. He only says this kind of bullshit when he's drunk. It was the same damn thing at the gala. He called me sexy and then barely looked at me for months. I don't know why I'm even wasting time thinking about this. He's not going to remember this conversation in the morning anyway.

She wished she could say the same for herself. She was somewhat regretting not taking the pill with her lemonade. Her intoxicated self would be tongue deep in Alex's mouth, tasting the remnants of rum on his lips. Because then the heat pooling in her belly would go away.

❦

Alex blinked, his eyes trying to adjust to the sunlight flooding the living room. He raised his hands to protect himself from the blinding brightness. His head was pounding.

His vision was swimming with the lights and he could taste leftover vomit in his mouth and he gagged at the taste. The room smelled like lemon Pine Sol.

Wait...the living room? Why am I in here? His head shot up and he immediately felt queasy. His mouth was dry. He struggled to keep his balance as he got up but he noticed that there were five water bottles on the coffee table, chilled and ready for drinking.

Oh, the butler must've put these here. He drank some of the cold water greedily as he searched for the man to thank him but he was nowhere to be found. He checked his wrist and it was only 7:34 AM. The butler wouldn't be there for over four more hours.

He looked down at himself. He was still in last night's clothes. The person who had taken care of him didn't undress him which he was thankful for. The idea of someone touching him while he was unconscious made him uncomfortable.

After finishing his water, he felt a lot better. He got up, but not before almost tripping on the large trash can at his bedside. He smiled. Whoever had watched over him last night had been thorough. He then went into the master bedroom where Stephanie was fast asleep, cuddled up on her side of the bed. Alex climbed in next to her, careful as to not disturb her. He wasn't in the mood for talking right now. He had to figure out what happened last night. He tried to picture the club or remember what Virginie was wearing but there was nothing but endless, empty darkness.

After searching his mind for what seemed like hours, he closed his eyes and fell into an uneasy sleep.

✕

Alex felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around him as he yawned. He turned to look at Stephanie who was sleepily staring at him with a smile. "Good morning." She poked his nose. "How are you feeling?"

"A little bit dazed and confused, but okay." He tried searching his brain for memories of last night but there were none. The last thing he remembered was leaving the villa on the resort bus. Damn, I hope I didn't try to make a move on Virginie. That would be embarrassing, to say the least. "Why did I wake up on the couch?"

Stephanie tensed at his words but it was barely for a second. "Oh, that."

Alex's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean 'oh, that'? I woke up on a couch with no recollection as to how I got there and that's all you have to say?"

"Baby," she murmured, "let's not fight. We're on vacation on this beautiful island."

Alex groaned. Why did Stephanie make out every serious conversation to be a fight? "This isn't a fight. I'm just asking you about my actions last night. It's a simple question. One I would think you would be able to answer."

"I took care of you," she blurted out shyly, looking down at her legs.

This woman does not have a maternal bone in her body. How could she possibly have the patience to do that? "You did? What happened? Why did you even need to do so?"

"I got a call from the club that you went to that you were about to get into a fight with someone and you were―"

Alex shook his head. "Wait, I was about to fight someone? Where was Virginie in all this? Wasn't she there to stop me? How did they know to call you?"

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "I don't know where that bitch was. I'll get to that later. Don't interrupt me."

Alex sighed and nodded for her to continue. Her story didn't make much sense but he would entertain it for now.

"Where was I? Oh yes, so I put on my robe, jumped into a taxi, picked you up, and brought you back here. You could barely stand you were so drunk. You vomited a couple of times, I gave you some crackers and water, and left you on the couch to sleep." She gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "I'm glad you're feeling better."

Alex was stunned. He couldn't believe that Virginie would just leave him alone and allow him to almost get into a bar fight. He had not known her to be so irresponsible. He needed to question her about it the next time he saw her. "I'm glad that I had someone like you taking care of me."

Stephanie smiled. "It was my pleasure. You were an excellent patient." She playfully nudged his shoulder. "What do you want to do today? I was thinking of hitting the beach. I remember that you were telling me that the butler can bring us lunch on the beach. Wouldn't that be relaxing?"

"Yeah, that sounds like fun. I'll call Virginie and ask her if she and Robert would want to go too."

"Why do you always want to include her?" Stephanie whined, pouting like a three-year-old.

"Because she's my friend and I enjoy her company? Besides, what's the point of inviting someone to come on a vacation with you and then not hang out with them?"

Stephanie couldn't argue with that logic. But she still tried. "I certainly wouldn't want to call on a friend like that to hang out with me. Do you want to hang out with someone that abandoned you during your hour of need? What kind of friend is that?"

Alex gritted his teeth. "We don't know her side of the story. You didn't even see her. Maybe she got into some trouble too."

She tried again with different reasoning. "How do you know that she even wants to hang out with us? Maybe she and Robert want the day to themselves."

"You're right, I don't know. And I won't know until I call so stop bothering me about it." Stephanie groaned and rolled over to the other side of the bed so that her back was facing him. Alex couldn't care less.