The Wrong Thing To Do Ch. 04

"Hey, Jenny, I'm Mark." She smiled at that. "How do I get to the Boom Boom Room?"

"Right up the elevator. It's the last stop although booking a room won't secure entry due to the club's exclusivity, I'm sure you'll get in either way. Booking a room still has much more to offer. We're offering drastically discounted minibars now. You can do a little pre-drink since it's just after ten, meaning the club will be pretty tame. Plus, later on after drinking, sleeping it off here instead of traveling is a great, safe idea." She had been smiling approvingly through her spiel but stopped as Mark's finger rose.

His right hand ventured into his pocket fishing out a black limitless credit card. Upon seeing the card, Jenny too smiled. "I thought I lost you when you put your finger up. Outside of class I've never seen anyone do that."

"No, you were great. You sold me."

"Really, you think?"

"I know so."

"Thanks," Jenny said. "It's my first night. I've been here a week, but it's my first night shift."

"I wouldn't have known. You're very good."

"You're just saying that."

"No, seriously, it's true."

"Thanks," she said, blushing. "I really appreciate that as I'm actually studying hotel management at..." She paused and looked at the last name on his credit card, but then she shook her head back into focus.

"What is it? he asked.

"Just a coincidence, really. It's just that Bryce is the same name as my university." Before Mark could confirm her observation, she started speaking again. "You don't want to hear about what I'm studying. Where were we? What kind of suite would you like?"

"Now I'm curious about what you're studying. In college, I was originally in Architecture where my main interest was actually hotels, but then my major shifted to Engineering and Economics. Hotels are magical. You're lucky; the world is going to come to your doorstep." Her elbows were on the desk, her light blue eyes following his lips, agreeing with every word. "Well, like you said, where were we? I don't know, so you pick."

"Are you sure you want me to pick? We may not have the same taste."

"I'm positive," Mark said.

"Really?"

"Absolutely!"

She smiled and whispered saying, "Okay, well, I'll add in a discount code." After processing the card, she handed Mark the room key. "Suite 1607...two floors below the club...all the closeness with none of the whatever."

"Thank you, Jenny," Mark said with a smile that she returned twofold.

"Well, you're more than welcome, Mark," she said, after which he took his room card and left.

Mark left, heading for the elevators with Jenny watching him leave with a keen focus.

He settled into his hotel room waiting for the prerequisite 11'o'clock, opening up the fridge and drinking the larger than expected bottles of vodka.

While sitting and watching the television from the leather couch, Mark heard knocking. He walked to the door, looked through the peephole, and saw Jenny. That surprised him. She brushed back her hair, licking at her upper lip, using her hands to push up her bust.

Mark smiled to himself, waiting a few seconds before opening up the door. He too took a breath to calm his nerves "Hi!" he said, looking at the five-six artificially five-nine dark-haired girl.

"Hey, how are you enjoying the room?" she asked, stepping in as Mark made way for her.

"It's great," he said, scratching his head.

"You forgot your credit card downstairs," Jenny said, bursting Mark's balloon slightly.

"Yeah, that makes sense," he said, accepting his card from her delicately extended fingers.

"Makes sense in regards to...?" she asked with her back now set towards the door.

Mark was going to try and translate his thoughts to words, but decided he had an extremely hot girl alone in a hotel room. He went for it, lowering his neck, his lips on top of hers. She didn't move to stop him, just the opposite.

Jenny's toes pressed down lifting her height upward. Mark's lips pressed forward as hers parted for his tongue, allowing entry into her accepting mouth. His hands moved under her white work blouse, moving toward her bra.

Her head suddenly turned as she let out, "Stop." Mark slowly backed off, easing to the side next to her.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"No."

"I'm sorry if I did."

No, it's me...I have a boyfriend."

"Oh?"

With her back to the door, Jenny snapped her head back. "Technically, we're on a break...his break."

Applying his hands to her sides, he blocked her exit. "I just went through a breakup too. Honestly, if he wants a break from you he's not even worth another glance."

"This was inappropriate. I'm sorry," she said, making her exit.

"Okay, no, I'm sorry," Mark said, backing away to allow her to leave.

When the door finally closed he looked into the large reflective window saying, "The fuck just happened?"

Jenny left the sixteenth floor, riding down in the elevator kicking herself. "Jenny, that was stupid. You're still going out with Marco," she mouthed aloud to herself.

She exited the elevator and headed to her post at the front desk. "Thanks for covering, Kim," Jenny said to the blonde girl.

"That was quick. Did he not measure up?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I saw and heard the way you two were going on and the way you looked at his ass when he left. On top of that come-on, I saw that you noticed the credit card after he was just a few feet away. I was just over there in concierge. I saw it all. You created the need for you to go upstairs."

"Okay," Jenny said, trying to drop the subject.

Soon, Kim was gone and Jenny was back to booking people. She smiled as she booked twenty different people from twenty different countries. This made her think of Mark.

Seeing a familiar man, her former man, broke Jenny from her daze. "Marco," she mouthed. 'I didn't tell him I got a job here,' she thought to herself.

Kim walked over to Jenny from her post in concierge. "Isn't that your ex?"

"We're still together—at least I think so," Jenny said as she and Kim watched him kissing an older beauty.

"Well, why's he kissing that old hag?" Kim said, exaggerating.

Jenny remained silent, not answering her co-worker.

"Kim, I don't want to talk about it," Jenny said, looking on as Marco, his companion, and entourage walked through the lobby to the elevators. Before reaching the elevators, Marco's eyes discovered Jenny.

"He's coming over," Kim said, and then he was there.

"Jenny, you work here?"

"Welcome to the Standard. Can I help you?" she said, grinding her teeth.

"You don't need to be like this. So, I forgot to make our breakup official before moving on."

"It's all okay, sir, enjoy your stay"

"Whatever, Jenny, you were always a crappy lay."

Marco left and Jenny was fuming. "You handled that a lot better than I would," Kim stated as Marco's elevator door closed.

"Did I?"

"You should be pissed. I sure would be."

"Go back to concierge, Kim."

"Your shift's over in ten minutes at 11:00, like me, right?"

"Yes, so?"

"So you and I should change and go up to the club and have some fun."

"I don't know."

"Your ex didn't go up there."

"It has nothing to do with him."

"I saw his elevator. It stopped at the sixteenth floor and then it came back down. So, he's in a hotel room getting some. You need to get out there too. Go after that cute guy you like."

"Okay, why not."

"Good," Kim said, leaving Jenny to deal with her next world traveler.

Back on the sixteenth floor, Mark was shooting back glasses of gin. He stood up and unzipped his leather jacket, letting it fall to the bed and then left his room ready to let loose.

Looking at the wall-sized windows, he viewed his reflection: the white-patterned Burberry shirt and coifed dark-brown hair. His confidence in himself was building for tonight. Still, he wished Jenny had stayed.

Exiting his room he looked at his Hublot watch. It was eight minutes to eleven. He looked down the hall, seeing the obvious presence of men in suits with white-streamed earpieces. 'Casper could at least have masked it better,' Mark thought.

Mark marched down to the opposite end from where he would enter the elevators. "What are you guys doing here?" he asked, approaching one of the four men with their Bryce security lapel pins.

The guard closest to Mark looked up and seemed to be thinking, then responded. "Sir, we're not here for you; we're here for Miss Porter."

"Yeah?"

"Yes, sir."

"Sure," Mark said, "she's in this room then?" Mark asked, not believing it. 'Why would she be here?' he thought, forgetting that she too was human, punching hard on the hotel room's door.

"Not lying to you, sir," the bodyguard said as the door opened. Catherine answered it with ruffled clothing and disheveled hair. She hadn't looked through the peephole.

"Mark?"

"Catherine, I'm surprised to see you here."

"Me, as well," she said, as Mark took notice of the caramel-skinned figure behind her.

"Oh...okay then...I should leave you two!" he said.

Catherine's eyes followed his, embarrassment washing over her. "You've received my updates about George and the other changes?" she asked, shifting the focus.

"Yeah, yes. I have complete confidence...I was actually headed upstairs to the club."

"See you later then," she said as Mark walked off.

Before Catherine closed the door she saw Allen standing across from her doorway with a cold, partial stare that made her uneasy." 'I should go,' she thought, deciding that seeing Mark was cause enough to leave the hotel.

Mark smiled awkwardly to himself all the way to the elevator. He thought about the age difference between Catherine and her guest and then his mind began to focus on Catherine's attractive figure.

He arrived on the top floor of the Standard to the sight of a large entryway that led to a long lit-up hallway lined with mirrors. The stunningly dressed line of girls and guys was long, but it whittled down with every continual rejection. Nines and tens that weren't on the list were sent packing like they had the plague.

Mark was in line standing behind three beauties, two of whom were so striking that they should have long been fast tracked inside. Both girls looked to be in their early twenties. One was an extremely tall blonde stunner who spoke with a European accent and the other was a tall busty brunette who appeared an inch or two shorter than the European. The third woman, a blonde, was average height.

When they made it to the front of the line where the two bouncers stood like unmoving giants, the short blonde took charge and to Mark's shock, the bouncer began to send the threesome away. The short blonde was not taking the rejection well at all. Mark didn't know that he could do anything, but he decided to step in. "Hey, I don't know if I'm on the list..."

The first bouncer spoke. "My man...hold your spot...push back."

The second bouncer chimed in. "What's your name, guy?" he asked, guiding the girls to the side.

"Mark Bryce."

The second bouncer thumbed through his ledger and stopped. "Can I see some ID, guy?" Mark went through his pockets and then realized that his wallet was in his jacket, which was in his room.

"I forgot my wallet. Can I go get it and keep my spot?" Mark asked, increasingly embarrassed in front of the girls he just displaced.

"Sorry, guy," said the second bouncer.

"Wait," Mark said, before they began to push him aside like the three beauties to his left. "I have this," he said, pulling out his limitless black card.

"No," said the first bouncer.

The second bouncer gave the first bouncer a look and proceeded to help Mark. "Full name Marcus Benjamin Bryce?"

"Yes," Mark said with a hidden blush.

"You're in," the second bouncer said, returning Mark's card to him. Then he turned his attention to the three girls.

"Wait. Can I bring in these girls as my guests?" The beauties began to brighten up as they heard Mark coming to their rescue.

The first bouncer once again was the bringer of death and taxes. "Dude, you're pushing your luck. They aren't on the list, so no. Right, Christopher?" the first bouncer said to the second.

"Phil, dude, chill," said Christopher to the first bouncer, Phil, before turning to Mark. "Look, the girls can come in. They're all over the TV and shit, so they should be on the list so no big deal. Usually, I'd force you to buy bottle service or give me a tip, but since you seem to be a buddy of Richie's, it's cool. You all can head in," Christopher said, pointing inside to the club.

"I'll make it up to you. I swear," Mark declared with a blank promise.

"Nah, don't worry about it."

The girls moved to the club's door, the tall blonde turning back to give Mark a whispered thank you as he needlessly chatted with the bouncer that had long given him free passage. "I could either come back with cash later..."

"Guy, don't worry. Go inside and make sure to put lots of drinks on your card."

"Are you a Jets or Giants fan?"

"Actually, I'm a Bears fan," Christopher said, causing Mark's face to break into a giddy smile.

"What did I say? Just head inside, or move, so I can check these other people," Phil muttered.

"That's great. I can get you visiting owner's Box tickets for any Bears game. Just call this number," Mark said, writing a phone number down on his ledger.

"How are you gonna manage all that? You know the owner or something?"

"You're looking at him," Mark said, before taking his place in the celeb-packed socialite club.

Not much in Christopher's four years at the Standard Hotel had surprised him. He'd been able to tell the fakes from those who were genuine, but now he wasn't so sure. "There's no way that kid's legit," Phil added.

"Who knows," Christopher said, brushing it off and calling up the next impatiently waiting club goers.

Inside the club Mark sat at the bar sipping away at his iced Jack Daniels when he felt a change in the force. "Holly fuck, you actually made it!"

"Shit, Edward. I owe you a hundred bucks," said another voice.

Mark turned around to see his three friends. "Well! The trust fund society," he declared.

"Look who's talking," stated Richie.

"It's good to see you, Mark. It's good to be around another sound mind," said blonde-haired Edward.

"Shut the fuck up, Edward," said the dark black-haired Enrique.

Richie pointed over to a table with a semi-circle couch, a clear marker of the club's 70's theme. The four of them walked, chatting and drinking, as they passed by the rare sight of celebs like Scarlett Johansson and Mila Kunis.

The four comrades finally reached the booth-like table.

"Tomorrow...where are we headed?" Mark asked.

"No shit, you're up for some traveling?" Enrique questioned.

"Why the hell not, it's time to have a little fun," Mark said in response, previous statements cracking his steadfast armor.

"We're going to need to use one of your planes, Mark, or should I say Marcus. The Brazilian piece of crap Embraer jet we were using is in for repairs," Richie said, looking at Enrique. Enrique stuck his middle finger at Richie in reply.

"That wasn't funny using my full name. I thought he got it off of my card at first," Mark fired back.

"Well, you know me; I've never been funny or cool," spoke Richie.

"I can agree with that, but I get to pick where we go."

"Fuck that!" Enrique interjected.

"Why the fuck not, if we're going to use one of my airplanes?" Mark snapped back.

"Because you're going to pick some boring educational piece of shit," Enrique said in objection.

"I'd actually be fine with a more slow-paced vacation, querido," Edward added.

"No one asked you. God, the two of you!" Richie said.

"I get a say too, Richie, so why don't you shut up," Edward said, throwing a verbal punch for once.

"Whatever, let's get some drinks over here," Richie said, getting up.

Enrique was visibly distracted as he shifted on the couch towards Mark. "You see those girls over there?"

Mark looked over at the girls that he had provided entry to. "Yeah."

"The tall short-haired blonde is a Swedish super model, Elsa, and the other tall girl, the brunette, is Caroline, also a super model. She's from somewhere here in America. God, I wouldn't mind putting my head in between those puppies. G cups, you think?"

"The shorter blonde, who is she?"

"Never was into midgets, but you can have her," Enrique stated with firm rude confidence, ignoring Mark's name question.

Richie returned with a waiter carrying bottles of Krug Champaign and multiple bottles of Louis XIII Cognac. "What are you two talking about? Where are you thinking of flying to tomorrow?"

Enrique nodded toward the table of three girls. "We should go over there after we have a good drink," Richie declared.

"Why don't we go now?" Mark asked, surprising his friends before taking a long sip of his Jack Daniels. He asked the waiter for another and then looked at his friends.

"You want to come with me? You suddenly think you have game?" Enrique asked.

"Edward, come over there with me," Mark stated.

"With no plan, I'm not going over there like that. Just to go blank mid-sentence? Those girls are like twelve's, not happening."

"So, that's a no?"

"Yes, but you aren't actually serious?"

With no reply Mark got up after pouring his glass of Jack, encouraging Edward with a waving hand, but Edward didn't budge.

Mark took a deep breath and sauntered over just as the short blonde-haired woman was getting up. She headed in the opposite direction and shot him an unpleased look as he approached the table.

"Hey, my name is Mark," he said, arriving at the supermodel table.

"Hello to you too," the large-breasted, brown-haired beauty said with a glowing smile. "I'm Caroline and this is Elsa," Caroline said, pointing to the blonde sitting next to her.

"I thought your name was Marcus," Elsa asked.

"Ha, it's Mark. May I sit down?" Mark asked.

"No," Caroline said. Mark raised his eyebrows as he slowly began to back up, confused.

"Jokes right?" he asked, feeling like he was on the other side of a joke.

Mark's facial expression brought laughter from the table across the way.

"We were just fucking with you. It sure took you a long time to come over."

"You wanted me to come over?"

Caroline and Elsa were all smiles, not replying.

Mark slid into the seat opposite the supermodels. "Your friend, she won't mind? She didn't look too happy."

"We're models and she's our agent. She's mad at you because you did her job better than she has, so forget her," Elsa added, with her smooth, gleaming face shining as she spoke.

"You're in Manhattan for work?"

"Yes, but Vivian hasn't really done the job we expected. Thanks for getting us in, by the way," said Caroline.

"No problem."

"Still, thank you. I appreciate it. We've had the crappiest day," Caroline confirmed.

"Thanks again," Elsa said, chiming in, adding, "You saved Vivian. She should suck your cock."

"He should get to fuck her up the ass," Caroline said, one upping Elsa's statement, making things increasingly uncomfortable.

Mark spat up his whiskey as Caroline laughed. "You two love jokes, don't you?" he asked.

"I had three older brothers growing up in my small Illinois farming town so I grew up around a lot of sick humor," Caroline said with a laugh that caused her large round mounds to bounce.

"Lucky you. I was an only child. I actually grew up in Illinois too, born here in Manhattan though."

"You're from Illinois, too? I should have gathered that from your crack about the Bears. I can't believe you lied to that bouncer so blatantly."

Mark didn't have time to correct Caroline before Elsa, who felt ignored, began to pull him away from her busty competition. Mark felt her foot rubbing against his leg from under the table. He gave her an approving smile but then Vivian returned to the table at which point he shifted over in his seat.