The start of a headache pounded against the side of his skull as Brett listened not so patiently to the men on the other side of his video call.

“You’re only at forty percent capacity this week. That is not enough to keep that place open.”

“It’s a hazard to our brand. We need to shut it down before-”

“The reviews are coming out, talking about how modern and youthful the decor is. That is not what Moore Hotels is about. We are an upscale-”

“That’ll be enough gentlemen.” Brett interrupted their tirade, gritting his teeth against their incessant chatter. As the current CEO of Moore Hotels, Brett knew his decision to expand their market to The United States had been a risky one. The board had been doing everything they could to stop the expansion since he announced it over a year and a half ago. Now, the inaugural hotel had been opened for three weeks, was doing well in the press, and in it’s occupancy but the idiots still wouldn’t bloody well shut up.

“I’m keeping my eyes on the numbers and they will increase after our official opening party in two weeks time. We have events lined up for weddings and parties starting next week. Yes, this hotel is more youthful but it’s time we start heading in that direction with some of our hotels.”

“Brett this is-

“I don’t think-”

“We really ought to-

“Enough!” Brett growled, smacking his hand on the desk in front of him and the men on the screen quieted, their faces tinted red with both anger and embarrassment. “I am aware of your concerns. You all have voiced them very loudly over the last two years. I will keep you apprised of the numbers and progress here. Good day.” He ended the call before they could try to continue their yelling. Brett slumped back in his chair, rubbing the back of his neck as he screwed his eyes shut and wished for a little less burden on his shoulders.

“Thought you might need this.” A voice to his left made his blue eyes ease open. His assistant, Susan, stood next to his desk with a water and two aspirin held in her other hand.

“Have I mentioned lately that I love you?” Brett threw back the medicine and drank half the water before leaning back and closing his eyes again to let the combination do it’s work on his head. He craved the burn of alcohol down his throat to ease the tumbling in his mind, but Brett knew better than to dip into that addiction.

“I’m too old for you, dear.” Susan replied in her serious manner and Brett chuckled softly in response. One because she was only in her mid-fifties and two because he saw her as more of a mother figure than anything else. She kept him sane, kept his days organized, and handled the hotel business like a pro, which she was. She had been at it longer than he had and he was thankful for her mentor-ship over the years.

“I feel just as old these days,” He finished off his drink and stood, stretching his tired muscles out from sitting for so long.

“It’ll get better. Once they see how well this place is going to do.” She patted him on the shoulder before turning to put away a stack of files in the cabinet behind him. Brett took his empty glass to his private bathroom and rinsed it out before returning it to the small bar cart in the sitting area of his office. He wanted nothing more than to take the elevator up to his large apartments, watch football, and pass out. But it was Saturday, not even six pm. Worst of all, he had promised a friend he would go to his party.

“You think I could just courier over Sam’s gift and stay the night in?” Brett asked aloud, rubbing the back of his neck again as he gazed out the large windows at the back of his office.

“You will do no such thing, Brett!” Susan scolded him, shutting, and locking his files before turning to glare at him. Her motherly stare made him shrink down on himself, not a reaction anyone else in his life could elicit from him. But Susan was…Susan. She had been around since he was a young boy and her displeasure wasn’t something he wanted to bring upon himself. “You have barely left this hotel since we got here a month ago. Go out, have some fun with your friends. And don’t even think of coming in to the office tomorrow. I won’t be here.”

Brett groaned in response but knew she was right. He was working himself to the bone with the launch of the newest hotel. He didn’t sleep much, he hadn’t socialized in longer than he cared to admit, and he couldn’t remember the last time he had fun. Brett wasn’t even sure what the word meant anymore.

“Okay, you’re right.” He heaved a sigh and headed across the room to the elevator that went directly to his rooms three floors above.

“Of course I’m right. I’ll lock up here and see you on Monday.” Susan remarked behind him.

“Thanks, Suz. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” He smiled at her as he entered the elevator and she rolled her eyes in response as the door closed.

Brett made his way through the large apartment. It took up half the floor, with the other half an apartment of the same size. There were four of the large apartments in the hotel, all rent-able by the week except for the one he occupied. In the month since moving in, Brett had yet to personalize the space despite Susan encouraging him by throwing designers cards at him every few days.

His space was filled with soft furnishings, neutral colors, and all the amenities one would expect in a high end hotel. Except on a larger scale. His apartment boasted three bedrooms, three full bathrooms, a large kitchen with full appliances and any cooking instrument you could want. There was a small den that could be used as an office or library as well as a theater room with three love seats and four reclining chairs. There was also a large patio which housed a grill, large seating area, small lap pool, and hot tub.

As Brett walked through the living room, down the hall, and into the primary bedroom to his large bathroom, he tried to pick out any signs of himself in the place. A book on the coffee table, a laundry basket next to his dresser, and his shampoo in the shower was the extent of the evidence that he lived there. It wasn’t home, it was just were he slept. And he didn’t do much of that these days anyway.

He stripped down, consciously ignoring the full length mirror on the wall of the bathroom as he entered the shower sized for multiple people. Brett didn’t like looking at himself, avoided it as often as he could in fact. The raised bumps under his fingers as he rinsed clean under the hot water and soaped up with forest scented body wash was enough to turn his mind to dark places. Places he shouldn’t go, especially when he was meant to be on his way to meet friends. Brett furrowed his brow, washing his brown hair, wiry chest, and scruffy face as fast as he could.

Within ten minutes, Brett was dressed in slacks, and an untucked blue button up shirt, his wet hair combed back, and Sam’s wrapped present in hand. Down in the garage, he powered up his BMW, and punched the address for Sam’s apartment into the GPS before smoothly navigating his way through the busy city streets. It took him nearly thirty minutes to reach the place on the other side of town but the ride gave Brett time to relax from his long meeting with the board and the tension to ease slightly from his shoulders.

He’d only been in charge of the Moore Hotels company for about five years now. He knew the business pretty well by the time he stepped in to take over for his Uncle after his second stroke. Brett had worked in many positions in the hotel since he was young. From cleaning rooms, maintenance, reception, valet parking, waiter in the restaurants or bartender in some hotels. He even worked in the mail room at the head office, grunt worker to Susan, and shadowed different people from every department from marketing to finance. Brett knew the Moore company front to back, better than any of the stuffy board members.

And despite the complete backing of his Uncle, and currently controlling 56% of company shares, the board still felt he was too young to be making large decisions as the CEO. The men had grumbled for the first few years while Brett settled in as CEO, got used to the day to day work as head of the company. The last 2 years, he had started slowly announcing his plans to update and move the Moore Hotel brand forward. The pushback from the board, including forced delays as long as they could manage, kept him up way too late most nights.

Susan was right, he needed to get out and have fun. With his headache faded to almost nothing and a slight eagerness to his step, Brett finally arrived at his destination.
“Brett! Get in here, man!” Sam answered the door and ushered Brett into the crowded loft apartment. The visibly tipsy birthday boy gave him a tight hug and set his present on a table to the side filled with mostly envelops and small packages. “I’m so glad you could make it. I can’t believe you’ve been in town for weeks and we haven’t had the time to see each other.” Sam showed him over to the drink table in the living room, where Brett grabbed himself a soda.

“Ah I know. Sorry, mate. I’ve been so busy with the new hotel, I’ve barely even left the building.” Brett downed some of his drink, the sight of one of his oldest friends helping him release the rest of the tension inside of his muscles.

“That’s no way to live, man. I’m going to hound you now. You can join me at the bar or even on a run once in a while.” Sam told him, clapping him on the back.

“We’ll see.” Brett replied with a bit of a forced smile. He knew Sam, and Susan, were right and he needed to get out more but it wasn’t always that easy. He had responsibilities, now. A whole empire to run and if he failed…well it wasn’t something he liked to think about.

“I have to go greet some more people, so you go mingle, make some new friends. Find someone to spend the night with.” Sam advised with a wink him before turning to hand out hugs to a group of new arrivals. Brett sighed and grabbed a small bowl of pretzels before making his way to the patio.

A large party filled with people he didn’t know wasn’t really his scene. It once was, in college when he was young and daft. But he grew up fast due to certain circumstances and had learned that it wasn’t the type of place he liked to hang out. At least it was a party of older twenty and thirty somethings, not a rager from a frat. Despite the copious amount of drink and even the smell of weed in the air, Brett didn’t see anything out of control happening as he crossed the space.

Brett did as instructed and mingled, it took a lot of patience he didn’t feel he possessed. He chatted with a few people about sports, unfortunately not football. It’s called soccer here, he reminded himself for the fifth time in a row. He knew a bit about basketball and followed the conversation as best as he could before moving on. A few tipsy girls surrounded him, attempting to flirt their way into his bed for the night but he managed to brush them off as politely as he could.

After what felt like hours, Brett edged away from people and leaned against a wooden table near the middle of the deck. The sound of the patio door opening drew his attention and he saw Sam coming toward him, but the words of his good friend faded out as the couple behind him came into view. Sam introduced his friends and Brett stared for a moment, suddenly forgetting how to breath.

It had been a long time since his attraction for someone had been so instantaneous let alone so gut wrenching. The woman before him was curvy in all the right places, probably more than she liked but he already felt the urge to spread her on his bed, cuffed to the posts, and lick each and every curve on her body. But it wasn’t just her body that caught his eye. Even in the darkness that permeated the deck, he could see her face. Soft and beautiful. Her lips were stained with a color he couldn’t quite see but the lips that tugged on her puffy lower lip were bright in contrast.

“Brett.” He finally pulled himself from his stare and held out a hand to say hello.

“Jamie.” She smiled and her small hand landed in his own. Brett saw the shiver that raced through her and saw the dip of her eyes away from his. Her bashfulness at his attention and her own innate submission making his cock harden in his pants. He reluctantly let go and turned his gaze to the man just a step behind her. Brett felt his pants tighten further as he the man spoke in a husky voice.

“Jake.” He was slightly taller than Brett with short blonde hair that Brett wanted to grasp tight in his fist so he could tilt the mans head back and bite the delicious muscles that corded across his shoulders and neck. After shaking his hand, Jake settled his arm around Jamie’s waist, pulling her against his side. The pair were clearly a couple and Brett was so fucked.

“Jake and I have been best friends since middle school.” Sam explained, a fond smile on his face. “Remember my year abroad?” He asked Jake and continued talking without waiting for a response from his friend, “Brett was my roommate in London.”

“Ah, heard a lot about you, man.” Jake flashed him a smile and Brett was sure his heart skipped a beat at the sight.

“Nothing too humiliating, I hope.” Brett responded, running a hand through his hair before taking a drink. Brett and Sam had made fast friends in college. It felt like a lifetime ago to Brett. Before he took over Moore Hotels, before his uncles multiple strokes. Before…Brett felt his thumb rubbing back and forth over the scars on the outside of his thigh and forced his hand and mind away from the memories.

Brett was different now.

Jake chuckled softly, letting go of Jamie to light a cigarette he grabbed from his pocket. “All good ones, your reputation is safe.”

“Angie’s here, I’m going to meet her and get a drink.” Jamie interrupted, typing away on her phone without looking up. She turned and walked away, not waiting for a response from the three men. Jake blew smoke out of his mouth as he turned his head to watch her walk away. Once she made it inside the sliding door, Brett felt his face warm from the man’s stare. He had surely caught Brett watching her walk away, too. He wasn’t usually like that, especially with someone in a relationship. But her ass was just begging for a spanking. Brett could picture it staring up at him as she laid over his lap and felt his cock twitch in his pants under the gaze of her boyfriend.

“So what brings you to town?” Jake finally spoke, pulling Brett’s gaze back. Sam had wandered away while Brett wasn’t paying attention.

“Work.” Brett replied with a shrug, keeping it short. He didn’t want to talk about who he was or what he did right then. The Moore Hotels might be just getting a physical location on this side of the pond, but it was a large European company, well known across the world. Brett did his best to keep his face and life away from the paparazzi so he usually got away with anonymity but if he shared his full name or what he did for work, it would be all over.

Brett watched Jake’s lips as they sucked on his cigarette, the cherry flaring red in front of him. Why was that so sexy? Maybe Brett needed to get laid more than he thought he did. The temptation of this couple was wreaking havoc on his blood flow.

Blog About Ch2: Who's POV Should Be Next?

In the original book, I think the whole thing was told through Jamie’s POV (as 3rd person). At the very least, the first serial was just from her POV. When I decided to re-write it, I knew I wanted to add in the boys’ POVs as well.

Original first 3 chapters:

Chapter 1: We got the introduction to Jamie and Jake and a peak at their rocky relationship.

Chapter 2: Angie and Jamie going shopping.

Chapter 3: Jamie finishing getting ready for the party while Jake comes home ready to go. They arrive at Sam’s house and get introduced to Brett, very briefly.

Re-Write first 2 chapters:

Chapter 1 (2700 words): Jamie’s POV, this now combines ch 1-2 from the original.

The re-write has similar scenes but what they were doing and how everything is introduced is different.

The scene with Angie and Jamie in the re-write is very similar, I tried to tone down Angie’s character a bit and give them more to talk about than just Jake. – Should I expand this scene more? What more do you want to know about Angie here?

Chapter 2 (2900 words): Brett’s POV

We learn a bit about his life and job from his own perspective very early on. Brett arrives at the Sam’s for the party and we get the threesomes introduction scene from his perspective now.

Poll time!