Page 15 of Lost Room Lawyer (Room #4)

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Hector

The time in St. Moritz had been almost too good to be true. I felt like I was in a dream. I had never in my life spent five consecutive days having sex with a man—yet even on Wednesday morning, we found ourselves in each other’s arms again before check-out.

Nico had something about him that captivated me.

He didn’t even have to do anything. that the feeling was simply there, natural and undeniable.

It didn’t matter whether he wore his hair loose or tied back, whether he wore the orange-red salmon sweater or whatever else, or nothing at all.

Just his resinous, lemony scent drove me crazy.

It was enough that he was in the same room.

Like rays of sunshine, his pheromones spread out, and mixed with his irresistible smile, it was an explosive cocktail.

Nico was the ultimate temptation, resisting his charm was impossible.

After all, I was his boss!

It should have been my job to set boundaries and keep a cool head.

It wasn’t as if I hadn’t tried. For almost two weeks, I had managed to stay rational, distant, and professional. Damn it! I should never have taken him to St. Moritz, but it was unavoidable. The prohibition, because Nico was the intern, had become a reason. What’s the point of having an intern?

Where is this going to lead? I wondered as I loaded the last cardboard box in the trunk.

I felt like a honeymooner. On one hand, I was elated by the wonderful days we had just spent, and on the other hand, I was deeply depressed that our time together was over.

Despite the Sisyphean tasks at Canonica’s villa, which at least hadn’t been in vain, we had managed to keep things interesting there with numerous breaks. Damn, it had been just an hour since we had used the last condom here.

The soft smile Nico gave me as I got into the car made my heart flutter again. His aura shone like the sun, and the sincerity in the way he looked at me erased all my doubts.

“Everything packed?” he asked while typing on his phone.

“Yes, last box is in the trunk.”

“Apartment door locked—uh, I mean, villa door.”

I laughed and placed Canonica’s house key in the cup holder. “Yes, all good. How about you?” I asked, nodding toward his phone.

“I was just texting my mom. She’s asking if we’re going to see each other today.”

“That’s nice,” I said, starting the car.

The idea of having dinner with the family today still hadn’t fully sunk in. If I had the choice, I would have taken Nico with me to my city apartment and had one more round with him. But the dream was clearly over.

It was shortly after noon when we set off. The traffic took longer than expected, so we didn’t get back to Zurich until evening. The drive was smooth. We talked about Canonica, meandered off-topic, and discussed everyday things.

I enjoyed the casual conversations with Nico.

Over the past few days, it had become obvious that he was a very multifaceted young man with interests in all sorts of things.

He wasn’t just a keen listener. He was someone who abruptly thought about things, formed opinions, and tried to view even the smallest details in the larger context.

“Should I drop you off at home? Or are you heading straight to your mom’s?”

“At home is fine,” he said. “I’ll cook today.”

Rush hour traffic in Zurich was a nightmare. Of course, I could have dropped Nico off at some train station, as I had no real reason to head back into the city myself, but I owed him this ride.

When we finally stopped in front of his house, I heard his stomach growl, but Nico just yawned and gave me a tired but contented smile.

“Take the day off tomorrow,” I said. “You’ve worked enough.”

“It didn’t feel like work.”

“No, neither did it for me,” I admitted. “It … was fun.”

“Yeah, I think so too.” Nico suddenly became serious and furrowed his brows. “Do we … uh … need to talk about it?”

I pressed my lips together, knowing it would have been the right thing to do, but I didn’t want to overanalyze what we had—whatever it was between us. It meant too much to me. Of course, I would never admit it, but I was fully aware of it. “No, I think we’ll just leave it as it is for now.”

A tentative smile spread across Nico’s face. “Okay, then … Friday again? There’s that hearing, right?”

“Yes, I’ll get everything ready. You’re coming, of course.”

“Cool.”

For a moment, we sat in silence. I had my head slightly tilted, looking at his folded hands in his lap, with his phone wedged between them.

Slowly, my gaze traveled over his body, his neck, his chin, his lips, and finally to his eyes.

By now, I knew him too well and could see that he wanted the same thing as I did: a kiss.

Damn it! I had lost count of how many times we had kissed over the past few days. Never before had I wanted it more than now. I was about to step out of my comfort zone—what was the big deal?—when someone tapped on the window.

“Holy!” Nico jumped in surprise.

“Yo! Dude!”

As far as I could see, it was his roommate outside; he was wearing a baseball cap and had the collar of his parka turned up. Nico opened the car door but remained seated.

“Hey, Dominic!”

“Hi! I bought everything you asked me to. Got to run an errand, but I’ll be back for dinner. Oh! Is that Corvo! Yo! Good to see you!”

I suddenly felt terribly old. “Hi, Mick,” I said, as nothing better came to mind.

“Thanks,” Nico said to Dominic, gesturing for him to hold on for a moment.

So much for the kiss.

“Sorry,” he said, forcing a smile. I watched warily as he slid a hand into his neck and scratched his skin with his nails. “See you on Friday?”

I nodded, but I wanted to rip his hand away so he would stop hurting himself. With Dominic right there, I forced myself to hold back. “Rest well,” I said simply.

“I will,” he replied in a sing-song voice as he stepped out of the car. He grabbed his bag from the back seat and shut the door.

I watched him chat with Dominic as they headed toward their building. As I started the car, Nico leaned in one last time and waved goodbye. I just raised my hand briefly, then drove off.

Damn it! I almost kissed him!

Seriously?

What if Dominic had knocked just three seconds later?

Oh … Or maybe Nico had told him about what happened after the poker game?

Why didn’t I ask him?

I got caught up in a whirlwind of thoughts that distracted me from the rush hour traffic.

When I finally arrived home, I was completely exhausted.

I sat in the car for a few minutes, gripping the steering wheel and trying to take deep breaths.

I stared at the wedding ring on my finger and felt a queasy sensation brewing in my stomach.

Okay. Act normal. It was just a somewhat unusual business trip, nothing more. Paperwork and receipts. The result and proof—three cardboard boxes—is in my trunk. So, let’s go!

But it wasn’t enough.

Only after a quick glance at the family photos on my phone did I find the strength to face my girls. It was just before six o’clock. Viktoria was in the kitchen, preparing dinner.

“Hello, sweetheart!” she said as she turned a few fish sticks in the pan. “You’re just in time. How was it?”

I placed the two boxes of Engadine nut cakes on the bar and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Good. Exhausting. But we found plenty of material.”

“Oh! You brought us something?”

I knew how much she loved nut cakes. Plus, it was a great gift for my in-laws, who always took such good care of Mina and Luna.

Since the fish sticks were almost done, there was no time for a shower. The table was already set, so I grabbed some drinks from the fridge. “And how did things go here?”

“All good,” she said, her attention focused on the sizzling pan as she added the salad to the bowl. “Luna no longer wants a cat; now she wants a dog. And Mina brought her boyfriend home on Saturday.”

My alarm bells went off. “Boyfriend? What kind of boyfriend? She’s fifteen.”

“Almost sixteen.”

“Why does she bring this guy home when I’m not here?”

“Guy?” Viktoria laughed. “He’s a fifteen-year-old boy. Not a guy. He’s sweet. Polite and decent. She’s still a bit embarrassed. Don’t hold it against her. You can call them down. I’ll be done here soon.”

When I fetched my daughters from their rooms, I slipped back into dad mode. Luna greeted me with a loud squeal and jumped into my arms, while Mina gave me the cold shoulder, very much in the style of a teenager.

I was surprised by how grateful I felt to embrace the role of father. I had always known it served as a hideout for me—but tonight it felt more important than ever.

At the table, I made sure the kids had their say, telling me everything they had experienced over the past few days, and asked questions whenever the opportunity arose.

But as much as I loved my daughters, ultimately, this was nothing more than a pathetic attempt to distract myself from thoughts of Nico.

Mina and Luna ate quickly and had no interest in sitting at the table longer than necessary.

“So, how did your intern do?” Viktoria asked unexpectedly as soon as the girls had gone to their rooms.

I nearly choked on my water. The fatherly facade had slipped away with the departure of my two girls. Now it was time to be the sensitive husband.

“Was it that bad?” Viktoria laughed as she carried the empty salad bowl to the kitchen.

Apparently, she interpreted my surprised reaction as a sign that Nico had turned out to be completely useless.

Oh, if only she knew how skilled he really was.

“No, he …” I felt an urge to do something, so I gathered the dishes and brought them to the kitchen. “He’s good. He was really a big help.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” she said as I finished clearing the table and she loaded the dishes into the dishwasher.

When my gaze drifted to the bookshelf in the living room, where various books were lined up, I remembered what Nico had told me.

“Do you know Nicola Rossi?”