Free Alicia's Folly by C A Vincent Page A

on the door. The noise was as effective as a bucket of ice water. All of a sudden, Alicia found herself feeling suddenly guilty for being where she was.  
    “Son of a – ” Nate swore. “Expecting someone?” She shook her head and tried to adjust her shirt. He still had a hold of it and refused to let go. “Then we’ll wait whoever it is out. When you don’t answer, they’ll leave.”  
    A guilty blush stole up into her face as she actually considered doing this. Unfortunately, it didn’t sound like the person on the other side of the door would be giving up any time soon. As though reading her thoughts, her unexpected visitor called out.  
    “Alicia! Answer the door. I know you’re in there.” Nate’s expression turned dark as her eyes widened and her jaw dropped.  
    “Phillip?” she squeaked incredulously. Confusion reigned as she wracked her brain for a plausible reason for him to be in Trinidad, let alone hammering on her door so angrily. There was none. Furious now herself, she glared at the door and didn’t budge. She was just about to tell Nate she’d be more than happy to wait her former boss out when there was a deep groan, followed by a loud crash. The instant before these sounds occurred, the pounding stopped.  
    “Oh my God! Movemovemove!” she yelled, practically shoving Nate away. She barely remembered to fix her shirt before throwing open the door and dropping to the floor beside Phillip.  

Chapter 10
    Alicia fought the empty feeling washing over her as she watched Nate’s retreating back. He’d barely said a handful words as she explained who Phillip was. She didn’t know what was more upsetting, having her former boss show up at the hotel he’d booked for her, along with everything his sudden appearance implied, or seeing the look of disapproval on Nate’s face when he learned she was unemployed. She knew he was bothered by this fact when he said incredulously, “Unemployed and on vacation on a tropical island? That makes perfect sense.”  
    “He’s a piece of work,” Phillip offered sarcastically. “What the hell business is it of his if you’re taking a quick break before finding yourself another job?” Alicia turned on him, her hackles up. At that exact moment, she didn’t give a rat’s ass how sick he was. She wanted answers and was damn well going to get them.  
    “What the hell are you doing here, Phillip? And just who the hell do you think you are, coming to my hotel room, pounding on the door and yelling like you own me?” she seethed.  
    “Glad to hear you’re thinking clearly after what you were doing. He’s obviously not a very good lover if you can be so rational so soon after being with him. Exactly how far did he get, by the way, your new toy?” Phillip’s face was a mask of hatred as he spoke. When all she could do was stare down at him in shock, his expression faltered and he began to fidget.  
    Alicia had half a mind to throw insults herself. Luckily, the other half of her mind, the slightly more rational one, realized doing so would get her absolutely nowhere. She eyed him over from head to feet, seeing exactly how pale and haggard he looked. The accusation that he’d not been taking care of himself nearly flew from her mouth. Only the gleam in his eyes kept it locked behind her teeth. That little, snarky light told her everything from his comments to his appearance were tactics to either throw her off or garner sympathy. He was handling her.  
    “Why are you here?” she asked, repeating herself. This time, there were no follow-up questions. She’d wait to see if he answered first. If he didn’t, she would throw him the hell out, regardless of his condition.  
    “To see you,” Phillip said simply. The corners of his mouth went up ever so slightly, telling her he was proud of himself. He knew damn well his non-answer would force her to ask more questions, which would invariably throw her off. When severely stressed as she was now,