Morning sunlight stabbed through the gap in the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Carli groaned. She rubbed her pounding temples. Her head felt like it was splitting open. She opened her eyes and looked at the unfamiliar ceiling.
The silk sheets felt cold against her bare legs. Her muscles ached. A sharp pain shot through her lower back. The memories of last night crashed into her brain.
She turned her head.
A man was sleeping next to her. He was lying on his stomach, his face buried in the dark gray pillow. His broad, muscular back was exposed. Three long, red scratch marks trailed down his shoulder blades. She had put them there.
The black Venetian mask sat on the nightstand.
Carli sat up. Panic tightened her chest. She didn't know his name. She didn't know his face. She only knew the smell of cedar and the heavy weight of his body.
She threw off the covers and stepped onto the thick carpet. She grabbed her clothes from the floor. She dressed quickly, her hands shaking slightly as she buttoned her blouse.
She needed to leave. She needed to cut this off before it became real.
Carli opened her wallet. She pulled out five crisp one-hundred-dollar bills. She walked over to the nightstand and slammed the money down under the mask.
She grabbed a hotel notepad and a red lipstick from her bag.
She wrote quickly. A fair price for a forgettable night.
She stuck the note to the money. She grabbed her bag, walked to the heavy mahogany door, and pulled it open. She stepped out and let the door click shut behind her.
The second the lock clicked, the man on the bed opened his eyes.
Fletcher Gutierrez sat up. The sheets fell to his waist. His dark eyes were wide awake. There was no trace of sleep in them.
He reached out with a thick, muscular arm and picked up the note. He looked at the red lipstick and the five hundred dollars.
A low, dark laugh rumbled in his chest. His eyes turned dangerous.
He picked up the room phone and pressed a button.
"Security," a voice answered.
"Track the woman who just left the penthouse," Fletcher ordered. His voice was cold and sharp. "Make sure she gets out of the building safely."
Carli took the elevator straight to the underground garage. She got into a waiting cab and gave the driver her address in Chelsea.
She leaned her head against the window. She forced herself to push the masked man out of her mind. It was a mistake. A one-time escape.
She unlocked the door to her small apartment. The air inside was stale and cold. She dropped her bag on the floor and walked straight into the bathroom.
She turned the shower on as hot as it would go. She stepped under the water. She scrubbed her skin until it turned red. She wanted to wash off Vaughn. She wanted to wash off the cedar scent of the stranger.
She stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her body.
Her phone was buzzing on the bed. The screen flashed with her mother's name. Keri.
Carli's jaw tightened. She picked up the phone and pressed answer.
"You need to come back to the house today," Keri's sharp voice barked through the speaker. There was no greeting.
"I'm busy," Carli said flatly.
"You will bring your sister Lilah to the Gutierrez family gala tonight," Keri commanded. "You will introduce her to the right people."
Carli let out a bitter laugh. "I'm not babysitting your daughter so she can gold-dig."
She went to press end.
"If you do this," Keri said quickly, "we can talk about Edna's trust fund."
Carli froze. Her thumb hovered over the screen. Aunt Edna. The only person in the family who had ever loved her. The woman who died in a suspicious avalanche in Switzerland.
Carli walked over to her desk. She pulled open the bottom drawer. She took out a copy of the trust documents.
"Fine," Carli said. Her voice was ice cold. "I'll bring her. But you sign the papers transferring full control of Edna's trust to me today. Or Lilah stays home."
"You ungrateful little bitch-" Keri started screaming.
"Sign it, or she doesn't go," Carli interrupted. "I'll be there at three."
She hung up the phone. She walked over to the full-length mirror. Her face was pale, but her eyes were hard. She opened her closet. She reached past her everyday clothes and pulled out a heavy garment bag. Inside was the emerald velvet gown Edna had designed for her.
Carli sat down at her laptop. She opened her email and started typing a message to her lawyer in Los Angeles. It was time to take her money back.
