Chapter 9 Open The Door

• Eating fried chicken behind her father's back made Rory elated. On the way back to the hotel room, Rory stuck close to Avery and hugged her thigh.
• With the little girl's arms around her leg, Avery found it difficult to walk freely.
• Despite so, they managed to make it back to the hotel room.
• “It's getting late. Let me walk you back to your rooms so you can go to bed,” Avery suggested while the children were watching cartoons on the television.
• Tearing his eyes away from the screen, Zachary shrugged. “We don't have our keycard.”
• Meanwhile, Rory was hugging Avery's arms with her eyes half closed. She was dozing off.
• How are they going to get back to their rooms without their keycard?
• Avery was caught in a dilemma.
• She did not know how long it would take for Cayden to finish his business and return to the hotel.
• “Let me call Mr. Dartsley.” As Rory was drifting off to sleep in her arms, Avery could not move. Therefore, she asked Zachary to get her phone.
• Zachary obediently passed her phone to her.
• Then, Avery tried to ask her colleagues for Xavier's number.
• It did not take long for Xavier to pick up. “Sorry to bother you, Ms. Rumpley. Mr. Moore is having dinner with a few people from the upper management. I'm afraid he can't leave here for a while. Could you let the two children sleep in your room for tonight?”
• His answer rendered Avery speechless as she could not reject him.
• After much persuasion, the siblings finally fell into a deep slumber.
• Zachary slept on the left side of the bed, while Rory slept on the right.
• They looked like they were sleeping peacefully.
• As quietly as possible, Avery tidied up the restroom and neatly placed the children's clothes on the couch. After she covered the children with the blanket, she climbed onto the middle of the bed.
• Fortunately, the bed was big enough for the three of them.
• Tired out from babysitting the children, Avery did not take more than five minutes to fall asleep.
• Halfway through the night, Avery felt her phone vibrating under her pillow.
• She tiredly tried to open her eyes and reach for her phone.
• While in a daze, she stared at the unknown number on her phone screen.
• 139-090-9999.
• It is a nice number for a spam call harassing me at an ungodly hour.
• Avery picked up the call and rudely stated, “Who are you?”
• “Open the door. It's me.” A man's deep voice sounded from the other end of the line. Perhaps, it was because Avery was still groggy, but his voice sounded attractive to her.
• “Open the door? Who are you?”
• Worn out from taking care of the children, Avery could not process what the man meant.
• For the next few seconds, she only heard breathing on the phone.
• Glancing at the two children beside her, Avery suddenly regained her senses. Zachary and Rory.
• “M-Mr. Moore?” she cautiously asked.
• “Open the door!” the man growled.
• Frightened by his tone, Avery hurriedly scrambled out of bed. She tried to straighten out her pajamas before heading to the door.
• I can't believe I was sleeping like a dead log while my boss came to get his children! Ugh.
• Avery was annoyed.
• While she fussed, Zachary and Rory were still fast asleep, unaffected by what was happening.
• When Avery opened the door, she saw Cayden standing in front of her room. With his eyes closed, he leaned against the door frame with his jacket and phone in his other hand. It seemed like he had waited for a long time there.
• “M-Mr. Moore,” Avery muttered, afraid of his reaction.
• At the sound of her voice, Cayden raised his head to stare at her. Although he reeked of alcohol, he still seemed sober and alert. Nothing could cover up the noble aura that radiated from his bones.
• Avery felt like he was staring at her for a long time.
• They did not exchange any other words.
• Awkwardly, Avery stepped aside to let him enter the room and carry his children out.
• When he walked past her, Avery smelled alcohol mixed with nicotine from his clothes.
• Without moving or looking around, Avery stood by the door stoically.
• The light above the door was so bright that she no longer felt sleepy.
• Like a guardian at the door, she kept the door open for her boss to carry his children out.
• Time ticked by, but Avery did not hear any other movements, not the sound of the children waking up.
• Confused, she softly shut the door and padded over to the bedroom.
• There was a light that emitted from the lamp by the bedside table, and it was not as bright as where Avery stood earlier.
• It seemed like a heartwarming setting under the dim lights.
• The family of three had occupied the big bed that was hers. After a day of work, the father had fallen asleep beside his children.
• Should I wake him up or leave him here? If I wake him up, will he fire me in a fit of anger? However, if I let him sleep here, where will I sleep?
• After much deliberation, Avery thought the man had probably mistaken this for his room. If she woke him up, she would likely face serious consequences.
• Grabbing a coat, Avery headed out of the door.
• She took her keycard and dialed her other female colleague's number.
• “Sorry, but the number you have dialed is currently unavailable...” An automated voice sounded.
• Avery listlessly leaned against the wall.
• She forgot to ask which room her colleague was in.
• After pondering for a long time, she decided to call Xavier.
• No one answered even after it rang for some time. Xavier must be drunk too.
• As there was nothing else Avery could do, she decided to go to the lobby and get another room for herself.
• Yet, the hotel staff told her, “I apologize, Ms. Rumpley. There are currently no rooms available. You will have to book the rooms here a week in advance.”
• “I see. Thank you.” Avery returned upstairs at a loss.
• Should I stand outside my room door for the whole night?
• It was about one after midnight when the elevator doors opened.
• A man and two women stepped out from it.
• Both women had heavy makeup on their faces, and the man was in a cowboy fit. With a few scars on his face, the man looked intimidating. He threw his arms around the two women and happily planted kisses on them.
• When he spotted Avery, the man loosened his grip around the two women beside him. His eyes were filled with lust as he snickered, “What is a beauty like you doing outside your room? Why do you look so pitiful? Come here and have some fun with me. Are you interested? I assure you that it would be fun!”
• “Crazy!” Avery cursed, and she quickly used her keycard to enter her room. She closed her room door and leaned against it like a terrified bunny.
• She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down.
• However, the man started to bang against her door. Intimidated by it, Avery moved away and leaned against the restroom door instead.
• She felt her heart pounding in her chest.
• Before she could process what happened, she suddenly felt a pair of warm hands under her jacket, reaching upward.
• Alarmed, she turned around.
• She did not know when the door behind her had slid open, and she lost her balance. In the end, she fell into a man's embrace.
• “Ah...” She lowered her head and screeched but stopped halfway.
• The restroom was dark, and there was steam coming from it.
• The only man in the hotel room was Cayden. Therefore, it was not hard to figure out who was pressing her against the wall at that moment.
• Avery frowned and tried to push him away but to no avail.
• Suddenly, the contact between them made Avery feel hot.
• Without warning, the man grabbed her tighter and pressed his lips onto hers. Electricity coursed through his veins as he exerted more force. It felt like their lips were on fire.
• Startled and scared, Avery could not push him away.
• In the dark room, things were getting more erotic. Avery held her breath and tried to tell him to stop. However, her whimper turned into a soft hum against his lips.
• To Cayden, it sounded like music to his ears.