His Naughty Lessons
Chapter 139: A Hard Time

Chapter 139: A Hard Time

** Harper **

They started the kiss standing next to the dinner cart. Soon they were both swaying on their feet and started leaning against the couch. Soon they fell into it, him on top of her, and as the kiss deepend, Harper felt the temperature of the room rising fast. Especially fast when his hands began to roam all over her, making her burn even through the fabric of her dress.

She sighed into his mouth, her own hands slipping deftly under his shirt. With a small part of her brain that was somehow still clear enough to think distracting thoughts, she wondered how anyone could possibly cast any doubt on this maddening attraction between them. The chemistry was too real, and if others could simply see it—

All too quickly, she realized she shouldn’t have been thinking about other people while making out passionately on the couch. Because the next moment, her phone rang on the coffee table as if summoned by the thought, ending the heated moment.

"... Aaargh." Eli groaned into her mouth. Lifting his head and pulling away reluctantly, he glanced over to the lit up screen. "I hope that’s not from who I think it’s from."

"..." Harper followed his gaze. Surely it couldn’t be that ironic. The thought of proving their chemistry to Tyler had barely grazed the edge of her mind, and yet—

She let out a groan of her own when she saw the name displayed on the incoming call.

"Should I pick it up?" She straightened as Eli moved off of her, and she wanted to whimper in protest at the loss of delicious contact from his body. Disappointedly, she stared at the phone. "Why is he calling me now of all times? If he’s suspicious, shouldn’t he have done it immediately after hanging up with you?"

"Who knows why Tyler does anything?" Eli shrugged. "Anyway, I’ll go sit at the bar table if you do feel like answering ... Unless you want me here to explain what he has just interrupted."

Harper wanted to chuckle and groan at the same time. Eli smiled and dropped a quick peck on her cheek before getting up, disappearing behind the foyer mirrors, leaving her on her own to glare at the untimely intrusion on the phone.

Fine. Might as well get this over with. Besides, it would probably seem too suspicious if she kept missing the call two days in a row.

Harper took a deep breath. Without too much time left for planning, she decided simply that she would save the news of the day for Eli to explain. The dudes could have it their way, and big surprises like this were better discussed in person anyway. She’d just play along for now and make it credible that they were truly on a "work trip", no complications involved. No intimate moments interrupted either, not at all.

With that in mind, she answered.

~ ~

** Tyler **

Tyler was getting a bit worried about how long it took to get a hold of his sister.

Granted, Hawaii was a safe place, and Harper wasn’t so sheltered that she couldn’t handle some standard business travel. But as a game designer whose job responsibility consisted primarily of sitting in front of a computer, since when had she started traveling for work? And to Hawaii out of all the places? And with Eli??

The whole situation sounded weird. Especially considering it had been years since the two of them last saw each other or even talked. Tyler had a hunch that Harper had intentionally shunned Eli out of her life ever since she started college, though no one knew why. Now that they were suddenly working together ... How did it even start? What if there were still unresolved grudges lingering between them? What if they couldn’t get along while being stuck together on a far, far away island almost on the other side of the world?

Tyler drummed his fingers on his desk as the phone continued to beep. He had been too busy job hunting this summer to keep up with either his sister or his old friend, and now, the latest developments in their lives had turned into a mysterious puzzle. No big deal though, he told himself. He’d find out soon enough what Harper’s side of the story was, and if it turned out that a certain someone dared to make things difficult for her, he would have no qualms teaching the guy a lesson well deserved.

Finally, after another long series of beeps, Harper picked up. "Hello?" The voice on the other end sounded a bit raspy.

Tyler frowned at that strangeness in the timber. "Hey Harp. Got you at a better time today?" He paused for a second. "You sound ... tired."

"... Oh, do I?" Somehow, that comment seemed to have rendered her briefly tongue-tied. "Ah, well, I just ... um, got back from the meetings not long ago. It was a pretty intense day."

Tyler frowned some more. Who the hell went all the way to Hawaii to have intense meetings all day? On their earlier call, Eli had explained that he was leading the investment group sponsoring Harper’s company in a joint venture, and the trip was a kickoff to the new partnership. Shouldn’t that mean Eli was the one calling the shots for all meeting schedules? Was he intentionally cramming up Harper’s calendar to give her a hard time?

"Was Eli in the same meetings with you?" Tyler asked, internally adding a strike for his friend already. "I just talked to him earlier. He told me about the work trip, though he certainly didn’t sound like he was in a meeting." Nor did he sound raspy and breathless like she did.

"What? No, of course we weren’t in the same meetings!" Harper clarified a bit too eagerly. "Did he not tell you that he’s the big boss of this program? He meets with all the executives, not little minions like me. I bet he was back to his presidential suite long ago."

There was an odd edge to her tone ... especially when she said the words "presidential suite". Tyler wondered if she was jealous of it. "Where are you staying then, if he’s in the presidential suite?" he asked.

"... Um, why, just another room, nothing too special about it ... But I do get a pretty nice view. I’ll show you pictures when you come visit in a couple of weeks." She chuckled a little. "Speaking of which, when is your interview? Where are you planning to stay while you’re in town?"

She was obviously trying to change the subject ... But why the evasion? Were the meetings really so bad that she didn’t even want to talk about them?

Tyler imagined his poor little sister stuck in a boring hotel, buried in endless and tiring meetings, whereas the asshole she used to call a friend lounged lazily on the beach with a Mai Tai in hand. The protective brother instinct snapped immediately into place.

She might not want to talk about it now ... but in two weeks, Tyler was definitely going to find out why the asshole was giving her such a hard time, and he would pay for it.

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