003. Mallorca
2013
"And what name is the reservation on?" a woman with a subtle Spanish accent asked them, looking at the list of names on her computer screen.
"Miller," Whiskey told her kindly. That was the first time Juniper had ever seen him be nice to anyone.
"Alright, Mr. and Mrs. Miller, these are your keys, don't lose them," the woman joked, handing the pair a key each.
"Thank you." Juniper's fake American accent sounded foreign to her own ears, but when they got to the door of their own room, she got confirmation that she was doing better than she expected.
"Your American accent isn't that bad, where'd you learn it?" Whiskey whispered to her.
"Vodka taught me," Juniper simply said, turning the key in the lock and opening the door.
Agent Gin rolled two of her suitcases in, seeing as Agent Whiskey had taken the other out of politeness and to convince people that they were indeed married. Besides that, they had received wedding bands from the pilot, which they'd slipped around their ring fingers reluctantly.
Coming into the room, the first thing that caught Juniper's eye was the bed.
There was only one.
"Fuck," Juniper cursed, slipping back into her usual British accent. Placing her suitcases by the wall, Whiskey following her actions and spotting what she was looking at.
"Oh for fucks sake, I ain't sharing a bed with you." It seemed like the only thing Whiskey could do was complain about everything.
"What, you think I'm jumping up and down at the opportunity to share a bed with you?" Juniper retorted.
"I'll go back and ask if we can get two separate beds," Whiskey decided, already moving towards the door.
"Wait," Juniper called after him, making him stop in his tracks. "You can't, they think we're married. If you ask them for another room or two separate beds, they might get suspicious."
"First time you've made a decent point," he said, throwing his own bag next to Juniper's suitcases.
"Wow, thanks," she sarcastically muttered back.
"You can take the bed," Whiskey assured her as he unpacked his own bag, hanging a few of his things in the closet.
"And what, you'll take the non-existent couch? Just take the bed, I can sleep on the floor or something," Juniper countered, while she, too, unpacked her suitcases, leaving a few things in them and hanging up the necessities. Indeed, there was no couch in the room, just two luxurious one-seaters, with rich gold decorations. They looked comfortable enough to sit in, but a tad small to have a good nights sleep in.
"I'm not in the mood to argue," he sternly told her. "You're taking the bed."
"My mother told met to respect my elders, so take the bed for god's sake," she argued back, walking into the bathroom to store her toiletries.
"I'm not ancient, I'm 38," Whiskey bit back, obviously offended, resulting in a small chuckle from Juniper. "Ladies first. You're taking the bed, end of discussion. As long as I get at least a pillow, I'll be fine."
The two stayed quiet for a while, unpacking the last things from their bags. As soon as Juniper was done, she slipped the folder titled 'Mrs. Miller' out of her backpack and plopped down on the bed to read it.
Mrs. Miller was the same age as her, so that wouldn't be too much of an effort remembering. The only thing that slightly worried Juniper was the fact that Cassie was an American woman, meaning that as soon as she'd leave the room, she'd have to fake an American accent, and never, ever slip out of it, unless they were in a safe environment.
On the last page of the folder was a small schedule. It had a few events for the first few days, but after that, the whole calendar was empty.
"Did you know we have a charity gala to go to tonight?" Agent Gin glanced up at her partner, who had also taken a seat on the bed, and saw him frown at his own file.
"Well, now I know," Agent Whiskey sighed , tossing the folder to the side and walking over to the door. "I'm gonna get something to eat."
"Can you get-"
Juniper was cut off by their hotel room door slamming shut. Scoffing, she glared at the door, as if that would magically make him appear again.
"Would you like anything to eat? Oh, yeah, I'd love some pasta, how nice of you to ask! Sure, no problem!" the woman mocked Whiskey's voice.
"Fucking wanker," she muttered, strolling over to the closet and pulling out a beautiful dark green floor-length gown. After that, she pulled out the white bathrobe that the hotel provided out the closet, and quickly changed into it.
Moving over to the bathroom, Juniper mindlessly started on her makeup, happy to have a couple moments to herself. Humming a tune to herself, she blended her gold eyeshadow onto her eyelids with ease.
Surprisingly, by the time Juniper was done, Whiskey still hadn't returned. She would never dare to admit it, but she started to worry a bit, even though she knew he could protect himself.
Ignoring her worries, she slipped out of her bathrobe, exchanging it for her dress. The woman pulled the straps over her shoulders, adjusting it a little, before reaching behind her to zip it up.
"Shit," Juniper grunted, struggling with the zipper. While she was trying her hardest, the door behind her opened, and Whiskey strolled back into the room.
"Fantastic, can you zip me up?" The woman turned around to face him for a second, gesturing over to the zipper on her back.
Whiskey let out a reluctant sigh. "Sure."
He put whatever he was holding down on the bed, and signalled for Juniper to turn around. She obliged, gathering her hair and laying it over her shoulder so it wouldn't be in the way. As soon as Whiskey's fingers grasped the zipper, goosebumps went up Juniper's arms and a shiver up her spine.
"By the way, I've brought you some pasta," he told her, his voice a little breathy as he took a step away from her, taking the pasta he'd placed on the bed and handing it to her.
"So I'm assuming you heard me then?" she asked, her cheeks turning a little pink when he nodded at her.
"Thanks," she muttered, taking the plastic takeaway box out of his hands. It was still warm. The gesture of him getting her food made her feel a little fluttery inside.
In silence, she took small bites of pasta, while Whiskey had retreated into the bathroom. After a couple minutes, Juniper heard the water start running. As if the water running was a sign to let her guard down, she sat down on the bed with a sigh.
Never in a million years would she have expected to be spending weeks, maybe months, with a man she'd met about a week ago, a man that clearly didn't like her. She had experience with men that didn't like her though, but she had more experience with men that did like her.
Back home, she'd had her brother. He was 7 years younger, but Charlie and Juniper always got along just fine. However, whenever Charlie brought his friends over, Juniper would feel uncomfortable by the comments they made, every damn time. The fact that they were at least 5 years younger than her, didn't stop them from trying to get her attention, by saying the vilest things.
Luckily, when her brother was around, he tried his absolute best to keep them away from her or to shut them up, because Charlie knew how she felt about his friends, and he did care for his sister. When he wasn't there however...
Juniper shook her head to get rid of the memory. She shovelled the last bites of pasta into her mouth, disposing of the box and utensils. In the meantime, Whiskey had gotten out of the shower and changed.
When he stepped out of the bathroom, in a full suit and his cowboy hat still on his head, Juniper rushed past him, and locked the door behind her.
"What the fuck?" he called after her, knocking on the door. "We gotta go. We don't have time for your bullshit."
"Give me a minute, I'm almost ready," she yelled at him. Juniper looked in the mirror while she brushed her teeth, fixing her hair a little. She had decided to leave it down. Something with a ponytail would be too easy to grab, and she didn't want to risk it.
Juniper emerged a couple minutes later, smoothing down her dress as she stepped over to Whiskey. He subtly checked her out, his eyes going from top to bottom, and back up to the top, slightly lingering over the low cut of her dress. The woman swore she'd been imagining things when she saw where his eyes lingered.
"Ready to go, Joel?" she purred, her newly adapted American accent breaking the tension.
"Always, sweetheart," he said, a small amount of disgust hidden in his eyes as he used the nickname.
The pair walked down to the lobby, first using the elevator, which was luckily empty, and then being forced to use the grand staircase, because the elevator only went down so far. As they walked down, Whiskey's hand had settled on Juniper's lower back, making her glance up at him for a second. When he caught her gaze, he smiled at her. The smile didn't reach his eyes, signalling to Juniper that he was possibly still planning to kill her in his head, but nonetheless she played the act and smiled back at him.
Whiskey was scanning the crowd when they reached the lobby. It was already filled with people, but the real event was happening a little further down in the hotel. So, that was exactly where they were going. He guided Juniper through the crowds, softly pulling her with him as she held onto his arm.
When they reached the doors of the ballroom, Whiskey pulled Juniper close enough so he could whisper something in her ear.
"Don't fuck this up," was all he said.
Stunned, Juniper glared at the man, who returned the look.
"I'm going to get a drink," she grumbled, detaching herself from Whiskey's grip and strolling over to the bar. Whiskey reluctantly followed her, and took a seat next to her.
"A whiskey and a..." he trailed off, not knowing what to order for Juniper.
"A gin and tonic, please," she filled in, smiling sweetly at the bartender.
The drinks arrived, and while they took their first sips, another couple walked over to them.
"Hola, no creo que te hayamos visto aquí antes. [Hello, I don't think we've seen you here before.]" The man took a quick glance at Whiskey, before looking Juniper up and down.
"Oh, sorry, we don't speak Spanish," Juniper excused, chuckling a little.
"I'm so sorry, I don't think we've seen you before. Besides, I would have remembered a beautiful woman like you," he said, this time in English with a small Spanish accent, glancing over at Juniper again.
"Yes, it's our first time here," Whiskey spoke, "I'm Joel Miller, and this is my wife, Cassie."
"We're delighted to meet some new American friends," the woman to the right of the man affirmed that Juniper's accent was working.
"Alejandro Moreno." He shook hands with Whiskey, and then moved to Juniper, giving her a kiss on the hand. "This is my wife, Valeria Moreno."
"So, are you planning on staying here long?" Alejandro asked the pair. Juniper sipped on her gin and tonic while Whiskey did the talking.
"We're planning on growing our business, maybe find a place to settle," Whiskey told Alejandro as he lovingly glanced over at Juniper. She had to refrain herself from falling in love with him, right then and there, because that one look nearly convinced her too that they were a happily married couple. Internally, she cursed at herself, reminding herself of how much of an ass this man really was, and how fake their marriage was.
Instead, she smiled behind her glass, grabbing Whiskey's hand with her free hand.
"You know what?" Alejandro smiled at Whiskey with a devious look in his eyes. "Valeria, why don't you go and get to know señorita Miller here, and I'll have a talk with Joel about some business."
"Alright," Whiskey sent a slightly anxious glance over at Juniper, but Alejandro and Valeria didn't seem to notice. "You go and make some friends, sweetheart."
Juniper stood up from her seat, straightening out her dress, when she felt an arm wrap around her waist and pull her close. Her eyes widened as she came face to face with Whiskey, but she quickly changed her expression to look more in love with him than scared of him.
"I'll see you in a bit, okay?" he whispered at her, putting his finger under her chin to make her look up at him more. Juniper nodded at him, and he smiled at her, though it was more of a mischievous smirk than a smile. Swiftly, he pressed his lips against hers, shocking her and making her put her hand on his chest. However, instead of pushing him away, she found herself kissing him back.
As soon as it started, it ended. Whiskey pulled away from her, unravelling his arm from her waist and handing her the gin and tonic.
"Have fun," he told her, but behind his carefree demeanor, she received the message that she should watch out.
Jokingly, Juniper blew him a kiss, before strolling after Valeria to the other side of the room. She glanced behind her, keeping eye contact with Whiskey, who winked at her, until she vanished into the crowd.