CHAPTER 3 ~ HELP

MAXIMILIAN’S POV

I sat in the dark leather booth located in the far corner of my hotel lounge. I held a heavy crystal glass filled with expensive amber scotch in my right hand. The square ice cubes clinked softly against the thick glass sides as I took a slow, methodical drink. The strong alcohol burned slightly on its way down my throat, but it did very little to ease my physical exhaustion.

I had spent the entire twelve-hour workday sitting in the executive boardroom of Volkov Industries. I spent my morning arguing aggressively with my board of directors about our quarterly profit margins, and I spent my afternoon finalizing a massive corporate acquisition.

The constant demands of running a billion-dollar financial empire always left me feeling drained, irritated, and completely devoid of patience. I wanted nothing more than to finish my alcoholic drink, ride the private elevator up to my secure penthouse suite, and sleep for the next eight uninterrupted hours.

The heavy wooden double doors at the front entrance of the lounge suddenly swung open. A massive gust of freezing winter wind and heavy Chicago rain blew into the warm, quiet room. I looked up from my glass of scotch and watched a young woman step inside.

She pushed the heavy doors shut behind her and stood dripping wet on the expensive woven rug near the entrance. I narrowed my eyes and stared directly at her from the shadows of my booth. She wore a completely soaked, oversized wool coat that clung tightly to her body because of the heavy rainwater.

The wet fabric pressed firmly against her figure, revealing exactly what the bulky coat was designed to hide. I looked intently at the soft, wide curve of her hips and the generous fullness of her thighs. Her waist was thick and beautifully shaped, and her heavy chest rose and fell rapidly as she gasped for breath.

I felt an immediate, intense physical reaction in my lower part. I had spent my entire adult life surrounded by very thin, artificially enhanced women who only ate small salads and spent hours performing cardio at the luxury gym.

The woman standing by the door possessed a completely natural, plump, and incredibly soft body. I found her thick curves absolutely gorgeous. I wanted to walk across the room, pull her against my chest, and feel her softness pressed against me.

I forced myself to look up from her beautiful body and focus on her face. Her thick dark hair was completely plastered to her cheeks by the rain. She was shivering violently, wrapping her arms tightly across her chest to preserve her fading body heat.

I noticed that her dark brown eyes were wide, bloodshot, and filled with heavy tears. She looked completely devastated and utterly heartbroken. She was actively crying, though she tried to hide it by wiping her wet cheeks with the back of her cold hand.

Water dripped rapidly from the hem of her wool coat, forming a large, dirty puddle around her wet leather boots. She took a slow, hesitant step toward an empty table located near the front of the room.

Before she could reach the empty table, my employee stepped out from behind the polished wooden bar.

The tall bartender walked directly toward the shivering woman with a deep scowl firmly planted on his face. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at her. I set my crystal glass down on the wooden table very slowly. I leaned forward in my leather seat and listened closely to their interaction.

"Excuse me, miss," the bartender said loudly, his sharp, angry voice completely interrupting the soft jazz music playing from the ceiling speakers. "This is an exclusive, five-star hotel lounge. We do not allow people to walk in off the street and drip dirty rainwater all over our expensive floors. You need to turn around and walk back out that door right now."

The young curvy woman stared at the bartender with wide, terrified eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, but her teeth were chattering too aggressively from the freezing cold temperatures to form a coherent sentence.

She took a frightened step backward toward the exit doors, clearly intending to obey his cruel command and walk back out into the freezing storm.

I felt a massive surge of protective anger explode inside my chest. I hated seeing her look so defeated and humiliated. I did not care that she was dripping rainwater onto my expensive floors. I owned the entire building, and I wanted her to stay exactly where she was.

I stood up from my leather booth and stepped out of the dark corner. "The lady is sitting with me," I said in a deep, terrifyingly calm voice.

The bartender froze in place and turned his head to look at me in absolute shock.

"And if you ever speak to my guest in that disrespectful tone of voice again, I will personally ensure you never work in this city for the rest of your life," I added, staring directly into the bartender's panicked eyes.

The bartender immediately lowered his head and took a quick step backward. I ignored him completely and walked directly toward the beautiful, shivering woman. She looked up at me with absolute shock written across her face.

Up close, she was even more breathtaking. Her plump lips were slightly parted, and her dark brown eyes searched my face for any sign of anger or deception.

I reached up and quickly unbuttoned my bespoke suit jacket. I pulled the heavy, dry garment off my broad shoulders and stepped completely into her personal space.

"You are freezing cold," I said softly, keeping my deep voice very gentle so I did not frighten her any further. I draped my warm suit jacket over her wet shoulders and pulled the thick lapels together across her chest. "Keep this on your shoulders. It will help warm you up, and it smells much better than the rain."

She grabbed the edges of my jacket with her shaking hands and pulled the warm fabric closer to her neck. She inhaled deeply, breathing in the scent of my expensive cedar cologne. I turned my head and glared directly at the terrified bartender who was still standing nearby.

"Go to the hotel kitchen right now. Bring a pot of boiling hot chamomile tea, a bowl of hot soup, and a stack of dry, clean towels to my private booth. Do not make us wait more than three minutes," I commanded strictly.

The bartender nodded quickly and practically ran toward the kitchen doors. I looked back down at the curvy woman standing in front of me. I raised my right hand and gently placed my wide palm against the center of her lower back. Even through the thick, wet layers of her wool coat, I could feel the soft, generous curve of her spine. I applied a very light pressure to physically guide her forward.

"Walk with me to my table. You need to sit down before your freezing legs completely give out on you," I instructed her calmly.

She did not argue with me and allowed me to guide her across the quiet room. We reached my dark leather booth in the far corner. I waited patiently for her to slide into the comfortable leather seat before I sat down directly across from her. I kept my eyes focused entirely on her face. She pulled my large suit jacket tighter around her plump body and continued to shiver.

Less than two minutes later, the bartender returned holding a large silver tray. He placed a steaming ceramic teapot, two white teacups, and a stack of thick white towels on the wooden table between us.

He quickly walked away without saying a single word. I picked up the heavy teapot and poured the hot liquid into her teacup. I pushed the warm cup across the table toward her shaking hands.

"Drink the tea slowly so you do not burn your throat," I instructed her, leaning forward and resting my elbows on the table.

She picked up the teacup with both of her hands and took a small, careful sip. I watched the warm liquid bring a tiny bit of healthy color back to her pale, soft cheeks.

I reached across the table and picked up one of the dry white towels and gently pressed the towel against her wet hair, slowly absorbing the freezing rainwater from her dark strands. She closed her eyes and let out a long, exhausted breath, finally relaxing her shoulders.

I set the damp towel down on the table and looked directly into her beautiful brown eyes. "My name is Maximilian. Now, I want you to tell me exactly who forced you out into the freezing rain tonight, because I am going to make sure they regret hurting you for the rest of their miserable lives. Who did this to you?”