Eastern Nights (eBook)

- Sapphic Romance
- Travel Romance
- Thailand
- New Orleans
- Steamy

Chapter 1
Bangkok, Thailand


“Could I have an extra olive please?” Kate handed her martini back to the bartender and scanned the bar area and the lobby, a little disappointed with the kind of people she’d be holed up with for the coming days. She’d only just arrived but she had an idea of the hotel’s clientele already.
A group of black suits congregated on the couches around one of the corner tables, still working, by the looks of the paperwork in their hands. Two other suited men were ordering drinks at the bar, both with a much younger woman on their arm, who, judging by their eagerness to please, weren’t their wives. Nothing surprising there, it was Bangkok after all.
There was a party of five, going through something that looked like a briefing, and another two men at the bar, who she was pretty sure were salesmen. Her interest piqued when another group walked through the bar and headed for the outside seating area. That’s better. Four men and six women, casually dressed. Designers. Kate was almost sure of that.
She travelled a lot for her job, and by now she was pretty good at reading people’s professions, just from their attire. Designers stood out because they were usually casually dressed on business class flights. They also tended to dress in line with the brand they worked for, and these guys all looked the same in their own cool and unique way. Kate checked out their shoes and clothes. They weren’t in high fashion – none of them wore expensive brands. They weren’t in denim either, by the looks of their outfits. Most of the women were wearing running tights and loose tops, but that didn’t mean they’d just returned from the gym. They were carrying heavy bags with files and garments instead of gym bags. Sportswear. That’s it. They’re sportswear designers.
She thanked the bartender and stirred the olive through her martini as she observed them while they sat down. They didn’t wait for a member of the bar staff to come out. Instead, one of them cleared the empty glasses from the table that the previous guests had left behind and headed for the bar with their drinks order. They were the kind of people Kate’s employer wanted to attract as guests for the new hotel she was working on. She made a mental note to talk to Lek, who ran the project, about attracting brands.
Designers were always keen to stay in inspirational hotels during their factory visits. Kate took a sip of her martini and checked the bar stools. They weren’t anything special, and neither were the couches and the chairs in the lounge areas. Apparently, all hotels needed to do to call themselves a ‘design hotel’ nowadays, was put some crazy graffiti on the walls, adjust the lighting, hire a DJ to play some funky tunes and make sure the rooms looked interesting enough to attract attention when surfing the online booking sites. It was way too pricey for what it was, but Kate had wanted to check out the competition while she was in Bangkok, and so here she was on a Tuesday night, sitting at a hotel bar instead of scanning the markets or the street carts for amazing Thai food.
She hadn’t visited Bangkok very often, but the new project she’d taken on meant she’d be spending a lot of time here over the coming months, and so she told herself there would be plenty of time for that later. First, she needed to clear her head for her meeting with the project manager tomorrow, in which she’d talk her through her interior design plan that had been signed off two months ago. Kate was sure that if everything worked out, and all her plans were executed to the right standards, the hotel would be the new place to be in Bangkok five months from now. There was even a good chance it might reach the top ten on the global design hotel list. It was her biggest project so far, and although the huge budget excited her, it was also terrifying, and there was no room for mistakes.
“Can I buy you a drink?” Kate flinched at the sound of a voice way too close to her ear. She turned to find a handsome dark-haired man in a dark-gray suit, shamelessly ogling her. That was the problem with hotel bars. Men.
“No thank you,” she said, barely managing to suppress an eye roll.
“But a beautiful lady like yourself shouldn’t be drinking on her own, it’s…”
“I said no, thank you,” Kate repeated, a little louder this time. She made sure to stay polite though. After all, he was only doing what she herself was guilty of at least two nights a week, which was hitting on women. She sighed when his Italian accent sounded in her ear yet again. Jesus.
“My name is Roberto. I think you have the wrong impression of me.” He leaned in a little closer until a woman pulled him back by his collar and wedged herself between Kate and him.
“The lady said no. What part of ‘no’ do you not understand?” The tall, dark-haired woman who had come to Kate’s rescue stared down at him with a fierce look in her eyes. “Well?” She continued to glare at him. “Shoot. Go.”
“Okay, okay.” Roberto said, adjusting his collar as he slunk off. “Have a good night, ladies.”
Kate turned to the woman, too surprised to speak. She was smoking hot. How did I not see her come in? Her long, dark hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail. Her eyes were almost black, with a fire behind them that instantly stirred something inside Kate. She was dressed in sporty attire, the loose tank top showing off her impressive biceps and the running tights her equally impressive legs. Fuck… She swallowed hard and composed herself, a little embarrassed that a beautiful woman had come to her rescue.
“Thank you,” she finally said. “But I can look after myself.” She couldn’t suppress the small smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth, though.
“I know you can,” the woman said. “But then I wouldn’t have an excuse to talk to you.” She held out her hand. “I’m Felicia. Felicia Perez.”
“Kate Simmons.” Kate shook the strong hand, tightening her own grip. She wasn’t used to being hit on. She was the one who chased women, not the other way around. People never guessed she was gay, and she didn’t care if the women she slept with were gay either. They all went home with her at some point. Well, maybe not all, but most of them did. Having someone walk up to her and talk to her with the confidence she normally displayed herself was confusing to say the least, but she couldn’t deny that it turned her on. Oh my God, she’s like me.
“So, Kate, what are you doing here all by yourself? A beautiful woman like you shouldn’t be drinking on her own.” Felicia shot her a smug look as she repeated Roberto’s words.
Kate couldn’t help but laugh. “Are you and Roberto some kind of tag team?” She looked around to make sure he was gone. “Is this a prank?”
“No, it’s not a prank. Just perfect timing. Lucky for you, huh? Can I buy you a drink?”
Kate bit her lip as she studied Felicia. This was uncharted territory to her, but the woman intrigued her to no end, so she nodded. “Sure. Vodka martini, two olives.”
“Coming up.” Felicia ordered a martini for Kate and a watermelon juice for herself.
“You don’t drink?” Kate asked curiously.
“Not tonight.” Felicia gestured to the group outside. “I’m with my employer, so I have to be on my best behavior. That, and I have to stand for eight hours tomorrow after hitting the gym at seven, so it’s best if I don’t drink.”
“What do you do that requires you to stand for eight hours?” Kate asked, arching her brow curiously. “Do you work as a living statue?”
Felicia grinned. “No. I’m a fitting model.”
“A fitting model? Hmm…” Kate took a sip of her drink and looked up at her. “What does that involve?”
“It means designers and pattern specialists fit clothes on me all day long. I’m the perfect size for sportswear, you see.”
Kate let her eyes roam over Felicia’s body. It seemed perfect indeed. “I can see that.” She smiled and decided she was having fun with this woman. “So, Felicia… How do you like working as a fitting model?” It was a lame question, but it was all she could think of.
Felicia glanced quickly at the group outside to make sure they couldn’t hear her.
“Honestly, it’s incredibly boring, but it pays well and serves a greater purpose.”
“Oh yeah? What’s this greater purpose?” Kate made sure to hold her gaze. Felicia was not going to win this flirting game. She had always been the hunter, and she intended to keep it that way.
“It’s going to pay for my first run of samples. I’m expanding my clothing label.”
“That’s very cool.” Kate’s interest was spiked now. Not just a pretty face. She wanted to know more, but Felicia held up a hand as she was about to ask her next question. Kate was still sitting on the barstool and she could feel Felicia’s breath on her face as she stepped in between her legs, looking down at her with a killer smile.
“Yeah, it’s great, but I didn’t approach you to talk about me, Kate. I want to know about you.” Felicia placed a casual hand on Kate’s thigh as she leaned against the bar, sipping her drink as if they were talking about the weather. The light touch hit Kate’s core like lightning, and for the first time in her adult years, she had no idea what to say. This woman was smooth, and it seemed she had finally met her match.
“Hey Fe, we’re going for dinner. Are you coming?” One of the people from the group outside yelled. “We’ve just called a couple of taxis.”
“Yeah, I’ll be right there,” Felicia said before turning back to Kate. She looked disappointed that she had to end their game. “I’m sorry, duty calls. Client bonding and all that stuff. They’ll keep me on for longer if they get to know me and realize how awesome I am.” She gave Kate a playful wink. “How long are you going to be here for?”
“One or two nights, depending on how my meetings go,” Kate said, returning Felicia’s flirty gaze after pulling herself together.
“Great, I’ll see you around then, Kate Simmons.” Felicia turned to join her group, who had already passed them, and with that, she was gone. Kate watched her walk towards the lift without looking back and fought the urge to run after her and ask for her phone number, or her room number. Anything to make sure she would see the beautiful and flirtatious dark-haired woman again. She had a great walk, Kate noticed. Felicia scratched her back, lifting her top in the process, giving Kate a great view of her perfectly formed ass. Did she do that on purpose? Once the lift doors had closed, Kate took her drink outside and crossed the roof towards the concrete wall at the end of the terrace and looked over the edge to see Felicia and the designers get into three taxis. As if she could feel Kate’s eyes on her, Felicia looked up just before she got into the car. Fuck. She saw me. Kate didn’t jump back though. She was already busted, so she held up her drink in a toast instead and smiled when Felicia waved at her.