NOAH.
I woke to a crazy ass pounding in my head. The force of it felt like someone had resorted to cracking my skull open with a sledgehammer while I slept. Rolling on my side, the room was dimly lit since the heavy curtains were hellbent on choking out most of the morning light. That was my luck, because the migraine I felt in my head got worse with even the faint glow seeping through and made me wince in intense pain. My mouth tasted awfully dry, and every bone in my body ached like I had been in a fight all night. Except I was in a sexual tango? The sheets on my side of the bed were tangled around my legs, and when I sniffed the air, I noted it carried a faint trace of jasmine. Then I recalled her name. Lila. It hit me like a stray bullet sharply to the guts.
I sat up to scan the room. It was empty. No trace of her. The space beside me was cold, and barely dented, just like it hadn't been sleeping all night. I pressed my hand towards the mattress, half-expecting it to hold some lingering warmth and proof she had been real and my night wasn't a dream. Nothing. Just the faint hum of the air conditioner. My gut twisted with emptiness. She was gone.
I swung my legs over the side of the bed. The room wasn't mine, but hers, or so she said while we chatted at Club Eden's. I wiped my forehead like it could magically remind me of what had happened between then and that moment, but all I got was a haze flickering in my memory of her silhouette as she moved through the crowd with all her curves and confidence. Lila.
"Fuck!" I yelled, sinking my fist into the mattress. I had been so drunk that I had broken my own damn rule...no one-night stands...and now here I was, alone in a stranger's hotel room with a foggy recollection of her lips, her moans, and the way her nails had dug into my back.
I stumbled to the bathroom, splashing cold water on my face. The mirror showed me my bloodshot eyes, stubble creeping across my jaw, and a hickey blooming on my collarbone.
"Hickey?" I leaned closer, staring at the mark. The mark irked me, but then it meant she wasn't made-up. Lila was Real. She was real. But where in the fucking hell was she?
I went back to check the room again, desperate for something she had left behind. No purse, no clothes, no phone. Not even a damn hairpin. I tore through the drawers, the closet, even the trash can. Nothing. My pulse kicked up in frustration and deep curiosity. To a hacker like me, Lila was a puzzle, and I had always been great at solving those puzzles.
Knowing there was nothing left in the room, I grabbed my stuff and walked out. Down at the front desk, the receptionist's bored expression lit up the second she recognized me. She was a young woman with a tight bun, "Mr Bennet? Is that really you?" She said in a singsong voice, breaking into a charming smile.
"Hey, I need you to look up Lila in the Pineapple suit for me." I said, dismissing her awe-stricken vibe. The last thing I needed was being seen out there by some happy-go-lucky paparazzi crew.
The lady's expression dropped as she hastily turned her attention to the laptop before her. In five seconds, her eyes were glaring back at me. "We have no record of a Lila staying here," she said, her voice flat as she tapped at the keyboard. "Are you sure about the name, Mr Bennett?"
"I'm sure," I snapped, my patience fraying. "She booked this room. I was with her last night."
The woman's eyes flicked to me, then back to her screen. "No Lila. No reservation under that name. You want me to check again?"
I clenched my jaw, nodding. She typed, sighed, and shook her head. "Nothing. Maybe she used a different name?"
"Never mind. Thanks" I said as I walked away before I said something I would regret. A different name. Of course. Why hadn't I thought of that? Because I'd been too busy drowning in whiskey and her scent to ask questions. My hands balled into fists as I pushed through the hotel's glass doors and into the blinding morning sun. My car was parked in the lot, a sleek black Audi that felt like the only thing grounding me right now. I slid behind the wheel, the leather creaking under my weight, and gripped the steering wheel so hard.
As I drove back to my place, my mind wasn't on the road, though. It was on her. Lila. She had high cheekbones, full lips, and eyes that seemed to see right through you. And that body... Christ, I could still feel the way her hips had pressed against mine, the way her breath had hitched when I had kissed her neck. But it wasn't just lust clawing at me. There was something about the way she'd moved, like she was playing a game.
I turned onto the highway, the hum of the engine steadying my thoughts. The Atlas Cartel mess was waiting for me back home, and I couldn't afford to be distracted. The loss of the previous day's shipment still hung in the air. It was worth a fortune in product, and somewhere between the pickup and delivery location, it was gone, probably lost to a raid or a double-cross; we didn't know yet. As COO, I had taken the heat, and Zane hadn't held back. I could still hear his words echoing in my head. "Five years without a hitch, Noah, and you let this happen?" The rebuke had cut deeper than it should've, mostly because of Sienna.
Sienna. His fiancée. Co-leader of the cartel alongside Zane. I didn't begrudge her the position because she'd earned it, clawing her way up through sheer grit and sharper instincts than most of us combined. But Zane's favoritism of her was starting to grate. He had always had a soft spot for her, even before they'd fallen in love, and now it felt like she could do no wrong while the rest of us, me, Damian, Liam, and Ethan, were held to a different standard.
I had tried talking to Damian about it, but he'd just shrugged, too obsessed with turning Club Eden into the next big thing to care about cartel politics. Liam and Ethan were off in Europe, handling operations in London and Berlin, leaving me to stew in my own frustration. Now that frustrated move, I made about drinking that pushed me to meet Lila was starting to seem like I had made an even bigger mess of things.
I pulled into my driveway, the sleek architectural design of my house coming into view. It was too big for one person, all glass, but it was home. I killed the engine and sat there for a moment, staring at the dashboard. Lila's face flashed in my mind again. Who was she? Why had she vanished? And why did I care so damn much?
Inside, I tossed my keys on the counter and headed for the shower. The hot water didn't wash away the questions, though. If anything, it sharpened them. I leaned my forehead against the tile, letting the steam envelop me. My memory of last night was a patchwork of flashes of her laugh, her fingers trailing down my chest, the way she had whispered her moans. But there were gaps, too, moments lost to the haze of whiskey and lust. Had she said anything about herself? A last name? A job? The reason she was at Club Eden, of all places?
I dried off and threw on a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt, my mind still churning. The cartel's problems could wait a few hours because I needed answers about Lila. I grabbed my laptop and sank onto the couch, pulling up every database I had access to. Being COO of a cartel came with perks, including connections to less-than-legal systems for tracking people. I typed in "Lila," knowing it was a long shot. No last name, no address, just a first name and a face I couldn't shake. The search came up empty, as expected.
I leaned back, running a hand through my damp hair. My phone buzzed on the coffee table, and I glanced at the screen. Audrey, the PR lead for Atlas. My stomach tightened. I hadn't told her about my no-show for the conference scheduled for that morning and hadn't even thought about how to explain it. I let the call go to voicemail, guilt prickling at the edges of my thoughts.
I grabbed my jacket and headed back out, driving to Club Eden. If Lila had been there, someone had to have seen her. The club was quiet in the daylight, its neon signs dark, the parking lot nearly empty. I pushed through the front door, the faint smell of stale liquor and perfume hitting me like a memory. The bartender, Marco, whom I'd known for years, was wiping down the counter.
"Noah," he said, nodding. "Didn't expect to see you back so soon."
I slid onto a stool, keeping my tone casual. "Looking for someone. A woman I met here last night. Lila. You know her?"
Marco's hands paused on the rag, his brow furrowing. "Lila? I don't know any regulars by that name. Describe her."
I did everything I could remember. The curve of her jaw, the way her blonde hair fell in waves over her shoulders, the green flecks in her blue eyes. Marco listened, then shook his head. "Sounds like a dream, man, but I didn't see anyone like that. You sure she was here?"
"I'm sure," I said.
He shrugged. "Check with Damian. He's got eyes everywhere."
I found Damian in his office, surrounded by paperwork and a half-empty bottle of bourbon. He looked up, his usual smirk in place. "Rough night, brother?"
"Something like that," I said, leaning against the doorframe. "You clearly saw me with that woman named Lila last night, blonde hair, killer smile."
Damian's smirk faded slightly, his eyes narrowing. "Lila, huh? Doesn't ring a bell. Why?"
"Just need to find her," I said, keeping it vague. Damian didn't push, but I could tell he was curious. He had always been good at reading people, especially me.
"I'll ask around," he said finally. "But Noah, are you sure she's worth the trouble? Sex that good?"
I didn't answer. I wasn't sure of anything anymore.
By the time I got back home, the sun was starting to come out. I poured myself a drink, the whiskey burning my throat as I stood on my balcony, staring out at the city.
My phone buzzed again. Audrey. This time, I answered.
"Noah," she said. "Where have you been? I've been calling all day. You missed the conference, not a great look for the company".
I closed my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose. "I know. I'm sorry. It's been... a morning."
"Are you okay?" she asked, and I could hear the concern in her voice, the kind that made my chest ache because I didn't deserve it.
"Yeah," I lied. "Just dealing with some stuff."
There was a pause, then her voice softened further. "Come over. Please. We really need you to show up. I have talked with the producer to move things back a bit. We have to do this."
I hesitated, the weight of the previous night pressing down on me. But I couldn't say no to her, not when she sounded like that. "I'll be there in twenty."
"Great. Thank you, Noah."
In thirty minutes, I was at her office, which was filled with the fragrance of vanilla candles and the faint hum of jazz from her speakers. Audrey was curled up on the seat, her dark hair loose, her blue eyes searching for mine as I walked in. She stood, crossing the room to wrap her arms around me. I hugged her back, breathing her in, trying to anchor myself. She was our bridge between the truth about our operations and the world, and she took the role to heart. Audrey made sure we were spotlessly clean before the world and ensured she gave us each a prep before putting us in front of the camera. She was our media big sister in the empire.
"You look like hell," she said, pulling back to study my face. Her fingers brushed my jaw, and I fought the urge to flinch, remembering Lila's touch in that same spot.
"Feel like it too," I admitted, sinking onto the couch beside her.
She sat close, her knee almost brushing mine. "Talk to me, Noah. What's going on?"
I wanted to tell her everything about Lila, but that would mean telling Zane and the rest of the cartel we were in trouble. Instead, I took her hand, lacing my fingers through hers. "I'm just... off. The shipment, Zane, all of it. I don't know."
Her thumb traced circles in my palm, her touch grounding me. "Zane's hard on everyone, you know that. But he trusts you. We all do."
I looked at her, really looked at her, " We don't deserve you," I said quietly.
She smiled, soft and warm. "Yes, you do. And I'm not going anywhere, no firm is going to pay half as much as Atlas does anyway."
"Thank you," I said later, letting my head rest on the couch.
"No, thank you for showing up. If you excuse me, I have to inform the crew you are ready to start," she said.
"Do that. See you out there,"
"Make us proud," Audrey said, strolling out of the office. My eyes drifted to the window, to the city beyond, where Lila was out there somewhere, waiting to be found. And I knew, deep down, I wouldn't stop until I uncovered the truth about her, wherever and whomever she was.
