by Parker, Ali
“Just do it, Blake.” My brother seethed, his voice dropping an octave or two. “Fuck the numbers. I’m telling you it needs to be done, so do Dad a favor and get it done.”
“Don’t play that card with me. I wouldn’t be doing Dad a favor, I would be doing one for you. Now, usually I wouldn’t mind, but I’m not yanking people’s livelihoods away on a whim you can’t even justify with actual numbers showing that it’s necessary.”
Danny spat out a string of curses. “Could you just do this one fucking thing, or do I have to drop everything else and come over there to do it myself?”
“No.” It took everything I had to keep calm, but I managed it. Only just. “That won’t be necessary. I’m coming back to Florida to settle this. Today. I’ll see you later.”
“Don’t you dare come back here before you get it done, Blake. I’ll—” I didn’t listen to whatever threat he was about to make. I was done with him for now. Pulling the phone away from my ear, I punched down on the disconnect button and brought my phone to my forehead.
I wanted to slam the phone down on the floor or hurl it off the balcony, but I tossed it on the table next to me instead.
It was about time I stood up to my brother, I realized, as I stared out over the ocean and tried to lower my blood pressure after the call. I had let him use my empathy for my father to get me to do his bidding. I should’ve insisted on seeing the numbers again for all the branches.
But my head was all fucked up after spending three solid days at the hospital next to my comatose father. Better late than never.
After a few breaths, my blood wasn’t rushing in my ears anymore. I headed inside and packed up all my stuff. I didn’t know how long I was going to be away this time. I didn’t really want to leave Aston, but I had to go and she didn’t want to come with me. I understood her point of view, but that didn’t mean I didn’t wish she was coming to Florida.
When I was all packed up, I did a final sweep of my room and went downstairs. As soon as I hit the lobby, I scanned it until I found Aston. She was already at work, despite there being at least another hour before her shift technically started.
As if she could feel me watching her, she suddenly looked up and smiled when she saw me. I strode over to her, fighting the urge the pull her into my arms. Her smile froze on her lips when she saw my bags standing behind me. “You’re really going back to Florida?”
“I am.” I tried to ignore the disappointment that flashed in her eyes. If I didn’t, I was going to be tempted to cancel the flight I’d just booked and try to settle this with Danny over the phone. I was regretting my decision to send the corporate jet back when I’d arrived, because now I had to conform to the airline schedule. “I have to go catch my flight. It’ll be better if I talk to my brother in person, and I can check in with my dad while I’m there.”
“I understand,” she said quietly, then forced another smile. It didn’t quite reach her eyes. “You packed up all your things this time.”
It wasn’t a question, but I nodded anyway. “I’ll be back in about a week. We can talk about everything then, but there will be no cuts made at this branch.”
At least that put the real smile back on her beautiful lips. “Really?”
“Really.” I was done being pushed around by my brother. I wasn’t making any more cuts on his behalf, he just didn’t know it yet.
I watched as light crept into Aston’s eyes, genuine happiness shining from them. “Thank you.”
“There’s no need to thank me.” I leaned forward a little, just enough to whisper to her without the risk of anyone overhearing. “Come with me.”
I left my bags exactly where they were, knowing the doorman would get them and keep them for me. I already signaled to him as I was crossing the lobby. I pivoted and took off in the direction of the conference room we’d eaten in the other night.
On the way back to my room, I’d seen a supply closet off to one side. I remembered wanting to drag Aston into it that night, but it wasn’t the time. Now maybe it was.
I didn’t have a room to take her back to and I didn’t have time to say goodbye to her the way I wanted to anyway.
“Where are we going?” She hissed at me when I turned the last corner before the closet.
“You’ll see,” I said over my shoulder, slowing to check if there was anyone around before yanking open the closet and pulling her in after me.
As soon as the door shut behind us, I grabbed Aston’s hand and pulled her to me. My lips were crashing down onto hers before she could get another word in. She seemed surprised at first, freezing before a soft moan escaped her and she melted into my arms.
Her hands were in my hair a second after that, her fingernails dragging over my scalp. She was so soft against me, her lips eager and hungry. She tasted like coffee and mint, and the vanilla of her shampoo smelled heavenly.
My cock swelled until it was rock hard as I devoured her lips. Aston didn’t seem satisfied with only kissing either. She started grinding against me, her one hand at the nape of my neck and the other tugging at my hair.
I groaned, seriously considering pushing her up against the wall and taking her right here right now. But I had to stop. Now, before I lost control.
It nearly killed me to do it, but I broke off the kiss. Lifting my head away from hers, I cupped her cheeks in my hands. “I didn’t want to leave without giving you that.”
Chapter 35
Aston
My cheeks were hot and my lips stung a little. My heart was beating so wildly it felt like it was about to blow a hole in my chest. I pressed my hand to my heart, feeling it beat madly as I tried to calm it down.
Blake slipped out of the supply closet with a final, comparatively chaste kiss and was gone. I stared at the door, wishing he would decide to forget about his trip and come back to me instead. But I knew that wasn’t going to happen. It was too important to go to Florida, for his family’s sake as well as that of the company.
Meanwhile, my hair was probably a mess and my whole body felt hot. It would never fail to amaze me what Blake could do to me with just a kiss. If he wasn’t going to take care of the itch he caused, I wondered whether there was any way I could get away with doing it myself.
But I pushed that thought out of my mind. I was at freaking work. There was no way I could do something like that right now. It was just going to have to wait until later.
Before I went back out there though, I was going to have to pull myself together. My staff couldn’t find out I’d been off in a supply closet making out with a guest. I’d worked far too hard to get them to respect me.
The teasing that would go along with being found out would be insufferable. Plus, more than a few of them would take my involvement with a guest as a green light to do the same. Despite the risk of being hypocritical, I couldn’t let that happen.
There wasn’t a mirror in the closet, but I undid my ponytail and combed my fingers through my hair just in case my hair looked as messed up as I thought it did. My flushed cheeks were enough of a giveaway that I’d been up to something as it was. I didn’t need messed up hair as well.
Once I’d caught my breath and got my sea legs back, I peeked out of the closet and checked left and right. It looked like the coast was clear. Breathing a sigh of relief, I stepped out and closed the door behind me.
I jumped when I heard Tiffany’s voice ring out from nearby, swinging my head around. Tiffany laughed, leaning against the wall a couple of yards away. “My, my. Miss Manager has apparently been a naughty girl. I should remember to let Santa know.”
Rolling my eyes, I tried to hide my embarrassment about getting busted sneaking out of a supply closet at work. At least it was Tiffany waiting for me and not anyone else. Since she had already been sworn to secrecy about me and Blake, being busted by her was the best of the many worst-case scenarios that came to mind.
“I’ve been on the nice list for a long time, I’m sure Santa would understand. I’ve also got more than
enough time before Christmas to make up for it,” I said, sending her a coy smile.
“Oh, I hope you don’t. It’s so much more fun being on the naughty list,” Tiffany teased, pushing off the wall to walk beside me when I tried making a quick getaway by taking off in the opposite direction.
“Why were you waiting for me?” I asked. Tiffany probably wouldn’t be distracted by my lame attempt to change the topic, but a girl had to try. “Did you need anything other than a chance to bust my balls?”
“Nah, I was just wondering why you were in the closet. Interesting, considering that Blake just left,” she said, flippantly. “You know, your hair looks a little different than it did earlier.”
“I had to redo my ponytail,” I admitted. “But that’s all you’re getting from me. I don’t kiss and tell.”
She sighed heavily. “Where’s the fun in that? Besides, I’m willing to bet that kissing wasn’t the only thing going on in that closet. Your face looks like it’s on fire and last time I checked, hair doesn’t need to be redone after nothing but an innocent kiss.”
The burning heat on my cheeks intensified. It was only a kiss, but as soon as Blake’s lips hit mine, I was ready for so much more and was ready to beg for it. It definitely wasn’t an innocent kiss.
My body was practically addicted to the guy after just two hits. I wasn’t satisfied with only kissing when the person I was kissing was him. Tiffany was bound to understand, since she had far more experience with the topics of men, sex and boyfriends than I did. Not that Blake was my boyfriend, of course.
Suddenly, I wanted to tell her all about it. I could use a little advice and Tiffany loved dishing it out. Besides, she was my best friend. Wasn’t this what girlfriends were for? “There was nothing more than kissing unfortunately, but I wanted there to be. Is that normal? I’ve never thought about sex so much before. I’m starting to think there might be something wrong with me.”
Tiffany giggled and linked her arm with mine. “That’s because you’ve never thought about sex, period. There’s nothing wrong with you. Relax, thinking about it while kissing the guy you’re having it with is totally normal. It would have been weird if you hadn’t been thinking about it. Or it would’ve meant he was doing it wrong and that would have been tragic. A guy looking like him has to be at least decent in bed.”
“He’s definitely not doing anything wrong.” I smiled, remembering what it felt like to have him inside me. I had to stop that train of thought in its tracks though, otherwise I’d find myself wanting to step back into the closet to do something about it after all. Plus, what I really wanted to talk to her about wasn’t sex. “He’s just so different than I thought he was, you know?”
“He obviously did something right. I mean, I could tell by just looking at you, but I thought I’d make sure.” She bumped her hip into mine. “What’s going on between you two anyway? He practically ran out the front door like he was trying to get out before he changed his mind.”
“Did he? I kind of wish he would’ve stayed, but that’s selfish of me. What’s going on between us is a really good question, actually.” It was one I’d asked myself a few times now. I couldn’t avoid the truth about it anymore. Sleeping with Blake the first time may have been about getting my cherry popped by a nice, hot guy who I got along with, but it wasn’t just like that anymore. “We’ve never really talked about it. It’s weird, we’ve talked about pretty much everything else, but we’ve never talked about what’s going on between us. I honestly don’t think either of us really knows at this point.”
Tiffany’s expression sobered and she lowered her voice, her eyes darting from side to side before she spoke. “While you’ve been talking about pretty much everything else, did you happen to talk to him about the cuts?”
I gave her arm a reassuring squeeze. A shiver of excitement ran down my spine at the good news I could share. “I did, and we don’t have anything to worry about anymore. Everything is fine for now.”
She turned her head, giving me a long, incredulous look. “Are you sure? We’re safe?”
“We’re safe.” Saying it out loud made me smile. A huge weight lifted from my shoulders when I realized the words were true. I trusted Blake and I believed in him. If he said there weren’t going to be any cuts at our branch, there wouldn’t be any cuts at our branch. “We can stop worrying about it, it’s all okay.”
Tiffany’s lips curled into a slow smile that just kept growing. I knew the possibility of cuts had been weighing her down lately too. In the few moments she wasn’t running around trying to keep up with all the new guests, she wasn’t her usual, bubbly self. Finally, she hugged my side closer to hers.
“We’re safe. Thank God. My heart wouldn’t have been able to handle not knowing for much longer. It was terrible,” she whispered.
“It was,” I agreed. “But we can finally get back to work without wondering when the ax is going to come crashing down. We’ve been given a stay of execution for this round of cuts. Let’s hope we never have to worry about it again.”
She pretended to wipe her brow. “Phew. I’m so happy right now. How about we celebrate with a quick coffee break so you can tell me everything about you and Blake. I didn’t mean to change the topic earlier, I’m still dying to know about the two of you.”
“No way,” I said, laughing. “I said we can get back to work now without worrying, not blow off our jobs. Speaking of which, I really have to get to my office. I have a million things to get done today.”
“I’ll walk over there with you,” she said, keeping her arm hooked around mine. “I need to go to my locker back there anyway. We’re going to have to condense the gossip session though. We only have about four minutes before we’ll be at your office. So start talking, and make it snappy.”
“You have to be one of the most determined people I know,” I laughed.
“Only when it comes to gossip,” she winked. “So tell me, where was Blake going? I saw him get his bags and head out the door when I was looking for you.”
I paused, wondering how much to tell Tiffany about what was going on with Blake and his family. What was happening with Danny and Blake’s father was private though. I trusted Tiffany, but Blake told me what was going on in confidence. I wouldn’t betray that confidence by telling her about his father’s health and his brother’s douchey ways.
Eventually, I settled on the truth without the private details. “He had to go to Florida to talk to corporate. He’s been based out here for a couple of weeks now and had to go back to check in.”
Tiffany nodded thoughtfully before she gave me another wink and a final hip check. “Makes sense. I guess he’s been so busy here with—work that he had to go out of the state to get back on top of anything but you.”
“Tiffany!” I checked around us, making sure no one overheard her. No one was paying any attention to us though. “You can’t go around saying stuff like that at work, but since you have, it probably is better for both of our productivity levels that he isn’t here.”
She giggled. “Now those are the kind of details I want to hear, but since we can’t talk about it at work I guess I’m going to have to wait.”
Pouting, she took off to her locker. I chuckled under my breath and checked on a few things on my way back to my office. When I got there, the concierge was there to speak to me about a bunch of unruly students causing a racket on the third floor.
When he left, there was another staff member requiring my attention. The hotel being busier sure kept me a lot busier. I was knee deep in paperwork later on when my phone buzzed with a text from Blake.
Surprised, I felt a smile cross my lips. I didn’t know what was going on between us, but our relationship had elevated to the point where we were texting. I liked it.
I’m about to take off. The seat next to me is empty. Wishing you were in it.
A happy sigh escaped me along with another, even bigger smile. I reread the text, a warm feeling spreading from my stomach to my heart. There
was no doubt about it, I was really starting to care about this man. And I really, really liked it.
Chapter 36
Blake
The wheels touched down on the tarmac late in the afternoon. The pilot made the usual announcements, thanking the passengers for choosing the airline, then there was the crush and rush of people trying to be the first to grab their carry-on baggage and get off the plane.
I remained seated at first, knowing I would get off the plane when I got off of it. There was no point in joining the rush.
While I waited, I decided on my itinerary for the rest of the day. I had to talk to Danny, but I was going to go see my father first. I couldn’t wait any longer. I hadn’t even smelled the Florida air yet, but I was already more anxious to get to him, knowing just how close I was.
It was getting late and Danny probably wouldn’t still be at the office anyway. Despite his ranting about how busy he was, he’d never put in the kind of hours Dad and I did.
There was also no chance in hell he was waiting for me to get to the office since I’d told him I was coming. He made it plenty clear he didn’t want me to. He even texted after I hung up on him to tell me I was wasting my time. No. Danny could wait. Dad was more important than anything or anyone else.
I had plenty of time to track down my brother, but I hadn’t seen my dad for days and I needed to see with my own two eyes that he was still there. Still okay.
Pursing my lips, I gathered my things when the rush to disembark the plane was over. Following the tunnel into the airport, I merged with the crowds of fellow travelers and walked on autopilot to the luggage claim. I didn’t need to follow the signs, I knew this airport like the back of my hand.
After getting my luggage from the carousel, I rented a car and headed out. Traffic was heavy getting out of the airport.
My father was on my mind all the time. It had been almost a week since I left. Thinking logically, I knew Dad wasn’t awake yet. Whatever was going on between us, Danny would have let me know if he had regained consciousness. A part of me still naively hoped he would be awake when I got to the hospital though.