Breaking Free

Mina stared at his hand for a moment, not used to human contact. Back at home, it was inappropriate for a woman to be touched by a man that was it her husband or her father. Still, this country was a completely different experience and for some odd reason Mina felt as though she could turn this very large man with a very large name. She tentatively placed her hand in his, and walked his eyes carefully. He was even more handsome than she recalled from the previous day, and she hastily looked to the side, trying not to look at him too long.

"I am sorry to be inconveniencing you," she mumbled faintly, long lashes batting at him, "I do not know why that man said what I did. I surely did not bother him... prehaps he had too much to drunk this morning!"
 
"Well, at the Fischer Brewing Company we do urge our customers to drink responsibly...it's up to them to listen." He smiled and shrugged. She had such beautiful eyes...He straightened and let go of her hand with a smile. "All the same, if anyone bothers you again..." He gave her a nod and turned towards the doors.

"Tighernan! You're making us late!" His sister called from just inside the door. Her cigarette was finished by that point and now all she wanted to do was go to church and get it over with.

He gave Jasmine an apologetic smile. "Duty calls." He said, flipping his hat onto his head. He ran his fingers across the brow sharply, winked at her, and turned to leave. He shouted something at his sister in Gaelic, throwing his arms up a bit.

She responded, throwing her arms up right back. Though, when he walked up, she took his arm and smiled, walking out the door with him.
 
Jasmine stood a little stunned after the entire ordeal, completely unsure of what to do with herself. She was startled that Mr. O'Connor had stood up for her; they knew little of one another, and she had already bothered him the previous day. The young woman tried not to dwell on it too much though as she went on to usual duties of cleaning up the main floor. Her head was always perking up, either to see that foul man coming back to her taunt her again or even O'Connor.
She was rather relieved when her shift finally ended at three that afternoon and she saw no sign of either. She really was not sure which of them she feared more...
 
Tighearnan and his sister returned shortly after mass and retired to his room where they had lunch together. Afterwards, Tighearnan took a nap while his sister went out to paint the town red, or whatever she was doing.

Shortly after three, he walked down, dressed in his casual clothes, chewing on the stem of his pipe. He was tired of sitting in his room alone and was thinking about finding a bar and getting into a fight, but...alas...he knew he couldn't do that. Instead, bored out of his mind, he walked around the hotel and the hotel's grounds, admiring the usual scenery especially around the pool. Not that he made any moves with the women there, he just admired from a distance before moving on to wander around somewhere else. He didn't have anything to do until Monday, so he was going to enjoy his time off.

He did, however, keep an eye open for the maid he had helped earlier that day. Mostly, he wanted to know that she was alright...but there was a bit of intrigue for him, wanting to know what was under her scarves. She danced around in his mind all afternoon...
 
Jasmine had been retrieving her dinner from the main restaurant when she saw Mr. O'Connor in the main lobby. Guests were not allowed to smoke, especially in the public areas, but Mina imagined that Mr. Moody was cutting him some slack because he and his sister were paying handsome prices for their over-the-top, luxury suites. She watched him for a moment as he surveyed the room, looking a little bored and perhaps even a little lonely.
Sighed softly to herself, Jasmine mustered up what little courage she had and crossed the room to him. She approached slowly, her brow sweating a bit and her cheeks flushing. Yet another reason why she liked her niqab; it concealed her deepest emotions, which she did not usually enjoy showing.
Once she was standing beside him she cleared her throat slightly and with smiling eyes, she spoke softly, "thank you, Mr. O'Connor... for... for fending off that man for me. You can imagine that it happens often, but rarely do they corner me. I appreciate that you stood for me. Some people can be rather heartless."
 
As she got close, she'd notice his pipe wasn't lit. He just chewed on it when he wasn't able to smoke it.

Tig turned around and actually gave a rather bright smile when he saw it was her clearing her throat. "Ah. Don't worry about it, lass." He said, standing a bit straighter. One hand stayed on his pipe while the other slid casually into his pocket. "I've a problem with bigots and, unfortunately, my brewing company does nothin' to quiet 'em down."

He looked down at his pipe, then just switched it to the other hand. He held his right hand out again. "I never got yer name, lass. And, I feel ye have a bit o' an unfair advantage, knowin' mine." Good lord he was a charmer...his confidence made it even worse.
 
The young lady stared down at his hand, recalling the last name and how he had kissed it. The mere memory made her cheeks flame a bit, and again, she was thankful for the barrier. She did not want to be rude however - especially after everything that had happened - and gladly slipped it into his large palm. She was also glad that he was not smoking, as she was not partial to that sort of think. Smoking was common back in Oman, and men often used it as a stupid excuse for their awful behaviour and habits.

"My name is Jasmine," she told him softly, eyes darting about, trying not too look too long at him, "but you may call me Mina, if you would like. That is what I go by while I am here."

(I'm off to class so posts might be a little slow until 10!)
 
(Roger that! Thanks for the heads up!)

"In that case, you can call me Tighearnan. Or Tig." In pronouncing his full name, the G was actually silent, but his nickname came from how his name was actually spelled. And he preferred that greatly over Nanny, which is sisters teased him with. "It has been a complete pleasure to meet you, Miss Mina. I did notice it was someone else tidying my room this morning. I was honestly a little sad. Though, Miss Rachelle did a wonderful job."

When he took her hand, he gave the backs of her fingers another gentle kiss. He held her hand for a moment longer than he had before, then let it go. He took his pipe back into his right hand and chewed on the stem. He was trying to think up an excuse for the girl to come up to his room again. He took the pipe from his mouth and smiled. "Maybe tomorrow, you will take the top floor again?"
 
The young woman felt bad that she had been caught avoiding his room. It was like she did not like Mr. O'Connor or even find him appealing, but she was afraid that he had not liked her service. At the time she had been running behind and after they had collided, a little frazzled from their meeting. She looked up at him once more when he requested that he service her floor again. She blushed at that, not used to the man attention. Now that they were closer and had no just ran into each other like the previous day, she could take note of his handsome complexion and burly figure. He was wide across the shoulders but not overly muscular, just toned and strong looking. He could probably take her out with one blow; Jasmine cringed at the thought.

"Ummm," she murmured, "I have never has someone ask me to service their room specifically, but if that is what you would like, I will be sure to get there while you are out. Normally I am, I was just running behind a few days ago..."
 
He waved a hand at that. "We checked in early. Don't worry about it. And don't worry about it if I'm there either. I have a business meeting tomorrow afternoon, but I know the rooms are usually cleaned between 10 and 3 or 4..." He waved his hand again and gave her a smile. "I'm used to having maids rush about, in and out of my room. Please don't feel like you are intruding."

It was true. He had a few maids at his house. It was large enough to need a full staff. Since he grew up around it, he didn't mind having maids coming in and out of his bedroom unless he had company over. But they knew to stay out then. And it wasn't too often, anyway. Not lately...
 
"I will talk to the other maids, as well as Mr. Moody," she nodded her head slowly, butterflies fluttering in her belly. She wasn't sure what it was about Mr. O'Connor that made her uneasy, perhaps it was just his confidence and want for her to clean his room specifically. She wasn't completely aware of his intentions and was not sure that she wanted to be. She prayed that he would merely dismiss her, the silly girl that covered herself in a long headscarf.
Self consciously, Jasmine reached up and adjusted the garment, ensuring that it concealed her nose and mouth silly. No man had ever paid her this much attention, and she wasn't sure how she felt about it. She regarded him once more, "is there anything more I can get you?"
 
He thought a moment. "More of those little seashell shaped soaps." He smiled. "I like those. And see if the windows in my room open, please? I've hardly been able to enjoy my pipe this entire weekend..." He laughed softly and smiled at her. "Thank you, Miss Mina."

And with that, he turned around and walked off, headed towards the elevators. He really wanted to go for a swim in the pool now, but it wasn't proper for him to be showing off his tattoos and scars. Sometimes, he hated his job. He sighed heavily and hit the button for the elevator, glancing back towards the lobby to see if he could see this maid he was so fascinated with.
 
When Mina went to tend to Mr. O'Connor's room the next day, she made sure that she waited until he said he was going to be out. There was something rather offsetting about him; he wasn't suggestive or even rude, he just looked at her as though he could see through her niqab, perhaps even the rest of her clothing, and the thought made Jasmine shiver slightly.
She took some of the extra soaps he had requested as well as some plush white towels. She brought the cart inside and smiled when she noticed that he had not touched much in the room. The bed was still half made, an indication he had slept alone.
The young woman quickly got to work, hoping to be out and onto the next floor before he arrived back. She wanted to avoid him, as much as she could.
 
If only life worked out that way. His door flung open suddenly and he walked in. He threw his suit jacket aside, followed by his tie. He stormed over, kicking his shoes off as he went, and dropped down into one of the chairs in the living area. He sank down into the chair, putting his pipe into his mouth and starting to unbutton his shirt. He got fed up after two buttons and just pulled it off over his head. The whole time, he was muttering to himself in Gaelic, but none of it sounded happy. He threw his shirt over with the rest of his haphazardly discarded clothes and sank back into his chair. He pulled his rosary out from under his undershirt and pressed the cross to his forehead.

He shut his eyes, breathing heavily, trying to calm down. Apparently his business meeting hadn't gone well. He hadn't even notice the cart or anything else, and now just sat, half-dressed, in the chair, trying to calm himself down.
 
Jasmine watched him for a moment, unsure how to proceed. Considering how he had stormed in and haphazardly thrown his clothing all around, the young woman doubted that he had acknowledged her presence. She completed putting the towels and soaps into the bathroom, hoping that he would see her and let her finish, but when she was done he was still pressing that cross against his forehead.
She attempted to shuffle out of the room unnoticed, but when she noticed how distraught he looked, so slowly moved over to the kitchenette and got a small glass of water. Then she placed it on the table in front of him and murmured "is everything alright? I can come back later, if you are unwell, Mr. O'Connor."
 
He jumped slightly and dropped the rosary to his chest. He looked up at her, then around. "...I'm sorry, Miss Mina. I hadn't realized..." He picked up the water and took a drink. "Thank you." He set it back down and sighed. "Please, don't let me interrupt your work..." He heaved himself up out of the chair and started collecting the clothes he had thrown around. Well, someone's mother taught him well...

He sighed. "I'm fine. My business meeting didn't go exactly as I had planned it. There are more negotiations throughout the week, but I don't have high hopes for them now..." He stood up, his clothes bundled up in his arms.
 
Mina cocked her head to the side and watched him for a moment. She knew very little about what busiessmen did on these lengthy trips but whatever happened behind closed doors today seemed to really upset him. She did not know what to say, either, so she simply turned and back to finish cleaning up the room. After he had saved her from that foul man the previous did, she wished she could at least offer him some advice, even a word of comfort... but what did a simple maid say to a wealthy businessman? She surely did not know!

The young woman continued to scrub down the bathroom, leaning over the tub and washing it down quickly, being little thorough as she pondered what to say. She continued to adjust her niqab over her face as well, hoping to hide her worry and fear.
 
He watched her lean over the tub and stood there for a brief moment before walking into the bedroom to put his clothes away. "Being born here...I can't imagine what it would take to leave your homeland." He said, just sort of...conversationally as he hung up his clothes. He pulled off his undershirt and unfastened his belt. "To pick up like my great-great grandfather did...pick up the whole family and just move...I couldn't imagine doing it alone." He dropped his pants and picked them up, hanging them up as well. He grabbed a pair of slacks, sighed, tossed them back into the drawer, and dug around a little. He pulled out a pair of jeans instead and pulled them on. "I hope you're finding America to be...well...what you wanted it to be."

He didn't want to imply she had a horrible life before that, but he could really sense it about her. He just wanted her to open up a little more. he was used to being able to joke with the maids and get them to smile.
 
Why couldn't he just leave her to her devices? She was a maid, meant to clean his room, not give him company. But the young woman was not about to be rude so when she was finished cleaning out the tub and the toilet, she ventured into the main room and returned to the maid to put away her cloth and grab a few more supplies.

"What makes you believe that I have come here, and was not born here?" she asked softly. She supposed he had assumed; here in Missouri, it wasn't long Muslim families were all that common. Sometimes she wished that she would have gone to LA or New York, just to fit in, though she wasn't sure she would have been able to live that lifestyle.

Mina sighed softly as she took out the mop to do the hardwood floors. "It is nice here. For the most part, the people are good to me, such as Mr. Moody or the other maids. I like it, though at times, I do miss my home."
 
"Yer accent." He said, fastened his jeans and walked out so he could look at her. He was just in the jeans, too, a hint of his boxers showing around the waistband of his jeans. Well, his jeans and his rosary. "Though, I suppose I'm one ta talk." He winked at her and smiled, going over to pick up the glass of water. She'd notice a four-leaf clover tattoo on the inside of his right forearm now that he wasn't as dressed as he usually was. "I was born here and I have an accent."

He looked over at her, thinking nothing about the way he was dressed. His scars showed, too, as well as his other tattoos. They were all Celtic in influence, knotwork, a clan symbol, things like that, sprawled across his chest and upper arms. "But tha way ya hold yerself. Like yer waitin' fer a snake ta bite." He turned away from her to walk over to the window, looking out at the view. As she spoke, he took a drink of her water.

"I'm glad. This hotel is where I stay every time I come here. In this very room. I'm glad they treat you well here."
 
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