by Parker, Ali
Her tone bordered on flirtatious, which was worrying, but not entirely surprising. Danny and I both inherited the best physical traits of our parents. It wasn’t being immodest to say I was used to being hit on, even by our staff. Especially since most of the staff had no clue who I was when I first arrived. My reservations were always made under Mom’s maiden name, and all my credit cards had both.
Dad and I arranged it that way so I could observe the hotels before the staff found out I was coming. It was no use visiting the properties when we could never see what they were really like without the VIP treatment I got once they found out who I was.
“Yes, I’m checking in. I have a reservation under Carlton.”
The clerk, Tiffany, according to her name badge, smiled and started clacking away on her keyboard. “Okay, Mr. Carlton. I have you in a Superior Double Room for five nights. Is that correct?”
“Yeah, but I might be staying longer. Is that a problem?”
She narrowed her eyes in concentration, scrolling through the information on her screen. “It’s no problem. If you’re willing to pay for a sixth night up front, I can upgrade you to a suite at no extra charge. Interested?”
“Sure.” I handed her my credit card and was about to ask about the facilities when the door behind her opened. A woman I definitely hadn’t met before stepped through it, coming up to stand behind Tiffany.
From her uniform, I could tell she was the manager. She wore black instead of navy and had a soft smile on her face. Hers was very unlike the one Tiffany was wearing, which seemed almost predatory in comparison.
Long, dark brown hair was swept back from her face with those clip things women used to keep their hair from getting in their way. It tumbled past her shoulders in a wavy curtain and the ends caressed her waist.
“Good afternoon, sir. I’m Aston, the manager here. Let me show you to your room.” Her voice was smooth and velvety, like melted chocolate over creamy ice cream.
My mouth went dry when our eyes met. Hers were light green, almost the color of new blades of grass in spring. I shook off the physical reaction to the beautiful woman and forced my lips into a polite smile. “Thank you.”
Was she what Dad was thinking about when he said something might be different in California this time? Because she was certainly different than the last manager of the property. He was a brash mid-westerner who we fired for taking bribes from suppliers.
When Aston rounded the desk to escort me to my room, I extended my hand. “Blake. Nice to meet you.”
Her hand was small and warm, but her grip was firm. Another smile lit her eyes. “You too, Blake. We hope you’ll enjoy your stay with us. Please let me know if you need anything to make your stay more pleasant.”
My mind flew to the gutter. I could think of at least a dozen things she could do to make my stay more pleasurable, none of which involved performing the duties in her job description. I pushed the thought away. I was here to work, not play. And I was definitely not here to fuck the hot new manager.
Aston started walking to the elevators and I followed, but not before noticing the way her hips swayed slightly when she walked or how her ass looked in her skirt. I couldn’t help it. “Have you been working here long?”
She looked mildly surprised by the question, but handled it effortlessly. Of course, I could log onto my laptop and pull up her employee file. I would know everything there was to know about her in seconds, but I wanted to hear it from her.
“I’ve been at the hotel for a few years, but I’ve only been the manager for a couple of months.” She stopped in front of the elevators to press the call button. Her fingers were slender, her nails painted with an elegant French manicure. “Have you visited our hotel before?”
“A few times.” There was no need to tell her who I was just yet. It was better if she didn’t know for now. Once the staff found out, they usually huddled around me constantly. I enjoyed the part of my job where I was anonymous. Just another guest. “Are you enjoying your new position?”
A low ding signaled the arrival of the elevator car. Aston motioned for me to walk in ahead of her, but I stepped back and nodded for her to enter first. Again, she looked surprised. It made me wonder how other guests treated her. Strangely, the thought that they were rude or didn’t treat her well annoyed me.
She entered the car and pressed the button for the top floor. I paid so much attention to her from the minute I saw her that I didn’t even know which room Tiffany put me in. The fuck? I never got that distracted.
Aston folded her hands in front of her as we rode up and finally answered my question. “I love being the manager here. It’s a beautiful hotel and a great company to work for.”
It was a good answer. Aston impressed me. Everything about her was professional, yet warm. She was exactly what we looked for in a manager. Polite, kind. Not overbearing. She was different than the other managers I dealt with. And Danny wanted to promote Dustin over someone like her? He was insane if he thought I was letting that happen. Although, my brother had a tendency to get a little insane when it came to getting what he wanted.
“What brings you to California?” She asked as we arrived on my floor.
We walked down the carpeted corridor and stopped at a door on my left. An ocean view suite. “I’m here for business.”
An electronic beep sounded as Aston swiped the key card over the reader. “I heard you mention to Tiffany that you might be staying with us longer than planned. If you need any information about the area, restaurant suggestions or anything at all, I’ll be near the desk.”
“I appreciate that, thanks.” Wheeling my bag into the room, I noticed she didn’t follow me inside.
She stood at the threshold and peered inside, probably discreetly checking to ensure everything was in order. “Enjoy your stay, Blake.”
With a final smile, she pivoted and headed back to the elevator. I released a deep breath as I watched her walk away. The sway of those hips was mesmerizing. It made me wonder what it would feel like to have her on top of me, those hips moving in time with mine.
My dick liked the thought way too much. Reaching out, I shut the door firmly and loosened my tie. I left my bag standing near the door and tossed the tie onto the bed before planting my hands on my hips and walking out onto the balcony.
Breathing in deeply, I let the fresh, salty air clear my mind. The sun dipped low over the horizon, an orange ball of fire that made the ocean glow. California wasn’t so bad. I definitely wasn’t going to mind spending a couple of weeks here.
Chapter 6
Aston
Damn that man was hot. He was tons better looking than the arrogant frat guys, with none of their attitudes. He couldn’t be more than a few years older than they were, but compared to him they looked like adolescent boys. Blake, on the other hand, was all man.
Tall, well-spoken, confident. He radiated strength and power. A lot of times with men around my age, it looked to me like their suits wore them instead of the other way around. Almost like they hoped the suit made them look as powerful as they wanted to feel, as they hoped to be seen.
Blake was different, he wore the suit. The suit didn’t wear him. It seemed right on him, made especially for him, but more. Almost like the fabric itself clung to him, wanting to be in his presence.
The air of cool confidence he exuded was unmistakable. The magnetism of a man who knew who he was, what he wanted and how he was going to get it. And he probably got it all the time, whatever it might be.
His attitude alone would have made him one of the most attractive men I had come across in a long time, even without the tall, ripped body or the gorgeous eyes. Granted, I couldn’t be sure about the body given that it was covered in fabric, but from what I could tell, he definitely put in his hours at the gym. And those eyes—swoon!
Early in the mornings on cloudy days, a ray of sunshine would break through over the ocean to paint the water a silvery blue. That was the color of Blake’s eyes. A grey
blue hue that seemed almost inhuman, more like that of a demigod. The son of Poseidon.
Often, goods looks were accompanied by arrogance. Intolerable arrogance sometimes. Most of the businessmen who checked into the hotel were too self-important to even acknowledge the staff here as human. Blake, for all his obvious wealth and authority, wasn’t like that.
It had taken me by surprise that he seemed genuinely interested in me. Fine, he was only making small talk, but it was refreshing to have a guest take interest in my job and whether I enjoyed it or not. The only time I got asked about my job was typically when someone was yelling at me, asking if I wanted to lose it because they’d been put into the wrong room or had been served cold eggs.
Most people, men included, wouldn’t let me walk through doors ahead of them, always allowing me to step back since I worked here. Blake though, was ever the gentleman.
I had to clasp my hands in front of me during the ride up on the elevator to keep from poking him to see if he was really real. Especially after the door closed and his scent filled the elevator. It was an expensive, masculine scent. Spicy, but woodsy. Intoxicating.
He was the first man I’d met who I thought about as too dangerous to escort into his room. Not because I was afraid of him doing anything to me, but because I would be disappointed if he didn’t. I wasn’t the kind to fantasize about an attractive guest throwing me onto the bed and ravishing me, but the thought crossed my mind when we walked to his room. Although I had nothing to compare it to, I briefly wondered what it would feel like being underneath a man like him.
Shit, all I needed was cheesy music and I’d have constructed a bad porno in my imagination all in the time it took to walk the couple of yards between the elevator and his room.
I had to get a grip. Maybe Tiffany was right and I needed to get laid more badly than I realized. Taking a breath, I shook my head and walked back to the front desk. I had to get back to work.
Tiffany watched me like a hawk as I crossed the lobby. As soon as I reached her, the inquisition started. “So that’s what you like? I must say, you have fantastic taste. Expensive, but fantastic.”
I rolled my eyes, chuckling. “What are you talking about? He’s just another guest. A good looking one, sure. But that doesn’t change anything.”
He’s just another guest, I reminded myself. Thank God Tiffany couldn’t read my mind or she would’ve known my indecent thoughts about said guest not a moment before.
“Is he from around here?” I knew immediately where she was going with her question and knew I had to shut her down now or I’d be spending the next week telling her he wasn’t the one I was going to give it up to. No matter how alluring the thought of him ravishing me on that bed may be.
“No, he’s a traveling businessman, but don’t get any ideas. A man who looks like him probably has a girlfriend in every city he visits and a wife on each side of the country.”
Tiffany scoffed, then started giggling. “He probably could have, but I just don’t see him doing it. He was too polite for that. Plus, we’re only looking for someone for you to have sex with, remember? You said nobody from California, and he’s not from here.”
I lifted both eyebrows and crossed my arms. “I didn’t mean I was going to try and sleep with every guest not from California. That would take me from 0 to 1000 in one month flat.”
Tiffany laughed. “Well, I think he’s perfect. He’s definitely the hottest prospect around here.”
We lowered our voices as another guest entered the hotel. As she made her way to Tiffany, I muttered. “Oh please, I’ll probably never even see him again.”
She gave me a look that told me she disagreed, but turned to help our customer. While she was busy, I pulled up our statistics for the week and started going over any special requests when an awareness pricked the back of my neck. It was the strangest feeling, but not in an unpleasant way.
When I looked up from the computer, I saw Blake crossing the lobby. He’d taken off his waistcoat, jacket and tie and rolled his sleeves up to his elbows. If I were in a cartoon, my tongue probably would have rolled out of my head.
It was unfair for one person to be that beautiful. The crisp white shirt was unbuttoned at the collar and, now uninterrupted by the blue tie and black suit, contrasted perfectly with his tanned skin and pitch black hair.
I watched him walk up to us, admiring his perfect bone structure, angular jaw and the precisely measured way in which he moved. His gait was long but graceful, and his eyes, while seemingly focused on mine, still seemed alert to everything going on around him.
Whatever the man did for work, I doubted he ever missed a trick. The corners of his lips turned up into a smile when he got to the desk. “I was wondering if I could take you up on that offer of telling me where I could go grab a bite to eat.”
Despite his intimidatingly good looks, it was surprisingly easy to talk to him. “Sure, what are you in the mood for?”
I felt heat rising into my cheeks and felt like shoving my foot in my mouth when I realized how domestic that question sounded. It didn’t seem to bother Blake though. “Whatever you recommend. As long as it’s not vegetarian and doesn’t have too many foreign spices on it, I’ll eat it.”
“Okay, so you want meat?” Oh my God, what was wrong with my mouth?
One corner of his mouth pressed in like he was trying to stop himself from laughing. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”
My cheeks flushed again and I turned to get a city map from the rack behind me to hide my embarrassment. I unfolded the map slowly to allow the heat on my skin to die down before lifting my head to face him again.
I spread the map open on the counter and grabbed a marker to show him the route to take. “Dave’s makes an excellent steak. It’s only about a five minute walk from here.”
“Sounds good. I’ll give it a try.” For a heart stopping second, I thought he was going to ask me to have dinner with him. His eyes lingered on mine and it looked like he was about to ask but he didn’t. “Thanks for the recommendation.”
When he left, Tiffany bumped my shoulder with hers. “You two are so cute together. You should have offered to take him to dinner.”
Blake walked through the revolving doors and I watched him walk down the sidewalk with a pang. A part of me wished I had offered to take him to dinner, but there was probably almost no chance that he was single even though he wasn’t wearing a ring.
“Maybe you should follow him.” Tiffany said. Turning my head, I narrowed my eyes and tried to determine if she was being serious. She was smiling, but not in an ‘I was just kidding’ kind of way.
“Are you crazy? I can’t follow him.” Tiffany was a confident enough girl to pull off something like that, I wasn’t. To me, I would feel like I was stalking a random guest who only wanted a dinner recommendation. Come to think about it though, that was exactly what it would be if I did follow him. Stalking.
“Of course you can follow him. He wanted you to follow him.” Tiffany said, jerking her head towards the maps. “I saw the way he looked at you while you were getting that for him. That man wants you as much as you want him. Go on, I’ll cover for you.”
“No. No way. Thanks for trying, but I couldn’t do that.” As attractive as he was and as appealing as it sounded to have dinner with someone like him, following him and inviting myself to dinner just wasn’t me.
He was too hot for a virgin newbie like me anyway. He was probably used to girls who knew the kama sutra by heart and could suck like vacuum cleaners. Even if I somehow mustered the courage to ‘accidentally’ run into him at the restaurant, I would never be brave enough to get naked with him.
Hell, supermodels would probably be shy about exposing themselves to someone like him. Although, he was probably dating one of those supermodels.
Tiffany looked like she was expecting me to change my mind and run after him. Not happening. “Again, he probably has a girlfriend, and besides, he’s not interested in me at all.”
Yup, he wasn’t interested in me at all. I had to remember that. He’s just another guest.
Chapter 7
Blake
Sifting through thousands of unanswered emails, I waited for the conference call from my father and my brother to come in. It was a beautiful, typical California day outside with clear blue skies and warm weather. I, however, was cooped up in my hotel room waiting for our weekly briefing to begin.
It was day four of my weekly hostage situation, aka Thursday. I worked almost every weekend, but I was looking forward to taking this weekend off. Danny and I had been at loggerheads more often than not this week and I needed some space away from him, or away from my computer rather—which is where it seemed he lived when I wasn’t physically close by.
The call came through when it was supposed to, almost to the minute. My father was nothing if not punctual. His face popped up on my screen first, followed shortly by Danny’s, in its own window. As far as I knew, my brother was in Arizona this week.
“Blake. How’s California?” My father asked.
“Still standing. The hotel is doing well, but I’ve noticed a few things we need to talk about.”
Danny leaned forward, glare burning into me from thousands of miles away. “Like what?”
I returned his narrow eyed glare. “Some of the furniture is dated, for example. Nothing for you to worry about.”
His eyes slid to the ceiling before rolling back to his camera. “So deal with it. Our father doesn’t have time to deal with every tiny thing in every tiny branch.”
Dad cleared his throat loudly and looked between the two of us on his screen. “Your father is still here, listening. Cut it out. We have business to discuss. Blake, we’ll do the briefing and then you and I can talk about the branch. I have a couple of questions about it anyway.”