Chapter 3: Bitch Please!

~BLAIR~

“As your father instructed, I’ll handle you,” Tristian assured him.

“Good. I knew I could count on you.” Daddy glanced at his wristwatch and frowned. “Shit, I need to get going. If I miss this flight, those Alphas will never let me hear the end of it.”

“Wait, you’re leaving already?” I asked, although between you and me, ladies, I was practically begging the universe to make his driver appear immediately.

Daddy turned to me. “Blair, I told you I wouldn’t be staying.”

“I know, Papa Bear, but can’t you at least have lunch with us? What if I get lonely?”

“You’ll survive, baby. Come here.”

I walked into his arms and hugged him tightly because, regardless of how excited I was about being here, I loved my father, okay? The man had raised me, spoiled me rotten, and somehow managed not to strangle me despite the number of headaches I’d given him over the years.

“Call me when you settle in,” he said, kissing my forehead.

“I will, Daddy. I love you.”

“I love you too, baby.”

He gave Tristian a handshake, promised to call when he landed, and finally headed towards the entrance. I waved after him with the saddest expression I could manage until he disappeared around the corner, and then I turned around to find Tristian watching me.

Well, well, well. Would you look at that? Papa Bear was gone, and I was finally alone with the man I’d spent almost a year having the most disgraceful thoughts about.

Unfortunately, Tristian didn’t seem particularly interested in celebrating this wonderful development with me. He was standing beside one of the loungers, drying his hair with a towel, and when he caught me looking, he raised an eyebrow.

“Something wrong, Blair?”

“Not at all, Alpha Tristian. I was just wondering whether you always receive your guests without a shirt.”

He stopped rubbing his hair and looked at me properly. “Are you complaining?”

Oh, fuck. Was I complaining? Honey, I would personally organize a protest if somebody tried to make this man put on a shirt, but obviously, I couldn’t tell him that without risking my father’s friendship with him.

“I’m just saying it’s a rather interesting welcome,” I replied, smiling.

“You’re not a guest, Blair. You’re here to work.”

Well, damn. Somebody certainly knew how to ruin a perfectly good conversation.

“I know that, Alpha Tristian. You don’t have to remind me every five minutes.”

His expression changed slightly, and I immediately wondered whether I’d just made a terrible mistake. He took his time folding the towel before placing it on the lounger, then looked back at me with those annoyingly beautiful eyes.

“Watch your tone.”

Excuse me?

I blinked at him, waiting for the smile that would tell me he was joking, but the bastard looked completely serious.

“But I wasn’t being rude,” I said.

“I’ll say it again. Watch your tone.”

Oh, this man was going to be a problem. A very handsome, broad-shouldered problem who thought he could order me around simply because he was an Alpha and owned the island. The worst part was that instead of being properly offended, I found myself wondering whether he sounded that commanding when he wasn’t giving somebody instructions.

Jesus Christ, Blair, could you please develop some self-respect?

Tristian picked up his phone from the table and glanced at the screen. “Your luggage has been taken to your accommodation. Someone will show you there shortly.”

“Okay, thank you.”

He nodded and started towards the building, satisfied that our conversation was over.

Now, ladies, I need you to understand that I hadn’t spent almost a year fantasizing about this man just to arrive on his island and have him dismiss me like a delivery driver. At the very least, I deserved a proper welcome.

“Alpha Tristian?”

He stopped and turned around. “Yes?”

I smiled sweetly. “Do you always look this angry, or am I getting special treatment?”

For a moment, he didn’t say anything. His eyes settled on my face, and I suddenly became very aware that I’d just asked a man who had already warned me about my tone whether he was naturally unpleasant.

Then he walked back towards me.

Oh, okay. Perhaps I should have kept my beautiful mouth shut.

He stopped close enough that I had to tilt my head to meet his eyes, and I caught the faint scent of chlorine on his skin. Up close, the difference in our heights was crazy, but I refused to step backwards because I had already embarrassed myself enough for one morning.

“Do you always ask this many questions, Blair?” he asked.

“Only when I’m curious.”

“And are you curious about me?”

I looked at his face, trying to work out whether he was teasing me, but his expression gave absolutely nothing away. He was watching me with the same calm, unreadable look he’d worn since Daddy left, and somehow that made the question even worse.

“A little,” I admitted, because my mouth had decided to start making decisions without consulting my brain.

His gaze held mine for another moment before he gave a small, almost imperceptible smile.

“Then you’ll have to learn to live with a little curiosity.”

And with that, he turned and walked away, leaving me standing beside his swimming pool with my mouth slightly open.

Oh, this arrogant, gorgeous bastard.

⸻

A few minutes later, a young woman from the resort staff came to escort me to my room, and I followed her through the building while trying to get that annoying conversation with Tristian out of my head.

I mean, what the fuck did he mean by asking whether I was curious about him? Of course I was curious about him! I’d been curious about that man for almost a year, and if curiosity actually killed cats, I would have died and resurrected at least seventeen times by now.

Anyway, the woman finally stopped in front of a door, handed me a key card, and explained that someone would bring my luggage up shortly.

“Thank you,” I said, stepping inside.

And oh my God, the room was gorgeous. There was an enormous bed, a balcony overlooking the ocean, a dressing area, and a bathroom that looked like something straight out of a luxury hotel advertisement.

Okay, Papa Bear. I see you.

For somebody who was supposedly trying to teach me the value of suffering, my father had certainly picked a very comfortable place for me to do it.

I spent the next few minutes exploring the room before kicking off my heels and heading into the bathroom. After spending most of the morning travelling, I desperately needed a shower, and I needed a little time to recover from seeing Tristian Harrington without a shirt.

Because that man had no business looking that good while simultaneously having the personality of somebody who enjoyed rejecting loan applications.

About twenty minutes later, I stepped out of the bathroom, wrapped a towel around myself, and started looking through my luggage for something comfortable to wear.

I had just pulled out a little pink dress when someone knocked on the door.

“Coming!” I called, quickly slipping into the dress before walking over.

I assumed it was another staff member bringing the rest of my luggage, so imagine my surprise when I opened the door and found a familiar-looking brunette standing outside.

For a second, we just stared at each other.

Then her mouth fell open.

“BLAIR FUCKING WILLOW?!”

I screamed. “PAIGE?! OH MY FUCKING GOD!”

She screamed too, and before I could say anything else, she threw her arms around me.

“BITCH! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE?”

“OH MY GOD, PAIGE! LOOK AT YOU!”

We hugged each other so tightly that I nearly lost my balance, and I swear, if anybody had been walking past my room at that moment, they probably would’ve thought we’d just reunited after surviving some terrible natural disaster.

“Girl, when did you get here?” Paige demanded as she finally pulled away. “And why the hell didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

“Because I didn’t even know you were here!”

She stared at me. “Blair, my father owns this place.”

“I KNOW THAT!” I laughed. “But how was I supposed to know you were staying here too? I thought you’d be somewhere in Europe spending your father’s money like a normal rich girl.”

Paige burst out laughing. “Please, don’t start with me. Come here, let me look at you!”

She grabbed my hands and stepped back, looking me up and down.

“Girl, what the fuck? You look so good!”

“Look who’s talking! Your body is giving, your hair is giving, everything is fucking giving!”

“Stop!” She laughed, pulling me into another hug. “Oh my God, I can’t believe you’re here!”

Now, ladies, let me explain something. Paige Harrington and I went to school together, and although we weren’t exactly attached at the hip, we’d always gotten along. She was one of those girls who could make you laugh until your stomach hurt, and whenever we ran into each other at parties, we’d somehow end up spending half the night gossiping.

We’d lost touch after school, which was ridiculous considering our fathers had been friends for years, but you know how life gets. One minute you’re promising somebody you’ll hang out next weekend, and the next thing you know, an entire year has passed.

“Come inside!” I said, pulling her into the room. “I have so much to tell you!”

Paige walked in and immediately spotted my open suitcases.

“Jesus Christ, Blair. Are you moving in?”

“Unfortunately.”

She turned around. “Wait, what?”

I sighed dramatically and sat on the edge of the bed.

“Girl, my father has decided that I’m a disgrace to the Willow family, so he sent me here to work for three months.”

Paige stared at me for a moment before bursting into laughter.

“WORK?”

“Paige, don’t fucking laugh!”

“YOU? Working?”

“BITCH!”

She collapsed onto the bed beside me, laughing so hard that she had to hold her stomach.

“Oh my God, Blair, I’m sorry, but what the hell happened?”

“My father woke up one morning and decided I needed discipline, responsibility, and a salary.”

“A salary?” Paige repeated, laughing even harder.

“YES! A fucking salary! Can you imagine?”

“Girl, what did you do?”

I told her about the argument with Daddy, how he’d decided to send me away, and how I was supposed to spend the next three months working in guest relations.

By the time I finished, Paige was practically crying with laughter.

“Your dad is actually serious?”

“Dead serious. And your father isn’t helping matters either.”

She lifted her head. “You’ve met Dad already?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“Unfortunately?” Paige repeated, grinning. “What did he do?”

“Nothing! He just has this annoying habit of speaking like everybody is supposed to be terrified of him.”

Paige laughed. “Oh, that’s Dad. You’ll get used to it.”

“Does he ever smile?”

“Of course he smiles!”

“At people?”

“BLAIR!”

“I’m asking a genuine question!”

She threw a pillow at me, and I caught it before it could hit my face.

“Please, my father isn’t that bad,” she said. “He’s just very particular about certain things, especially when it comes to work.”

“Well, that’s wonderful because I’m going to be working for him.”

“You’ll be fine. Besides, now that you’re here, we can actually hang out.”

I smiled because that was the first sensible thing anybody had said to me since Daddy announced my punishment.

“Exactly! We should go shopping sometime.”

We spent the next several minutes catching up, talking about people we’d gone to school with, laughing over old memories, and discussing what we’d both been doing since we last saw each other. Paige told me she’d been spending more time helping with events at the resort, although she still travelled whenever she got the chance.

Eventually, she sat up and checked her phone.

“Anyway, what are you doing tonight?”

“Nothing. Why?”

“Perfect! There’s a party tonight, and you’re coming with me.”

I immediately sat up. “A PARTY?”