by Renea Porter
Conceited
Concierge
RENEA PORTER
Copyright © 2020 by Renea Porter and Cocky Hero Club, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the authors’ imaginations. Any resemblance to actual persons, things, living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.
Editor: Genevieve A. Scholl
Photo Credit: T.E. Black Designs
Formatted by: Genevieve A. Scholl
About the Book
Conceited Concierge is a standalone story inspired by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward’s Cocky Bastard. It's published as part of the Cocky Hero Club world, a series of original works, written by various authors, and inspired by Keeland and Ward's New York Times bestselling series.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Cocky World Information
BIOGRAPHY
Chapter One
RYLEE
The sound of a door slamming shut woke me up before the sun even made an appearance. My one-night stand from last night must have already left. It took me a second to realize that after two or three drinks, I picked a guy up at a bar last night. I’d been traveling for nearly ten hours straight, barely stopping for pee breaks when I decided it was best to stop in Las Vegas for a night. Last night was only about sex.
No names.
No strings.
Easy peasy.
I needed a shower, but I didn’t really have time. Instead, I rushed to grab my things which were strewn everywhere and I did a quick wash in the bathroom. With my suitcase on the bed, I grabbed a set of clean clothes quickly, slipped them on, locked the case, and walked out the door.
I still had a good four or five-hour drive ahead of me. My destination was Temecula California. Before getting on the highway, I pulled into the closest gas station for gas and snacks. After pumping gas, I parked my car, and grabbed my phone to check for messages.
Nothing.
Figures.
I should have known not to expect to hear from Callie. Break ups were hard. Guess we were done for good this time. When I was offered a job to design a hotel, I asked her to come with me. But she said no; that she was about to break up with me anyway. She was already seeing someone else. What a bitch.
So, this new job offer was perfect timing for me. It would help me not to think about her. I was a sucker for dark hair and light eyes on women and men. I was an equal opportunist. I liked both genders or however they identified themselves. I didn’t consider myself bi or straight. I liked people and if we clicked, great.
But spending the last three years with Callie had been amazing, and I thought we would be together for a long time. I took a deep breath, shaking my head from my thought. Tossing my phone in my purse, I headed inside the convenience store. After last night, I needed a water and a snack. Mindlessly walking down each aisle, I grabbed a water, a pre-packaged sandwich, a pack of ho-hos, and some starburst candy. Ho-ho’s and starburst both used to be my favorite as a kid.
As I was walking to pay for my treats, I overheard a young man asking to use the convenience store guy’s phone. But he was refusing. My curiosity was peaked. “What’s the problem?”
A guy in front of me turned toward me. Then he smiled. “Fancy meeting you again.” I was face to face with my ‘one-night-stand’. “My piece of shit car won’t start and my phone died, so I can’t call anyone.”
“I can lend you my phone.” I fished my phone out and handed it to him as we stepped aside for the other patrons to pass.
Taking my phone, he thought for a moment and paused, shaking his head. “I don’t know any numbers by heart, everything was programmed in my phone.” He was bummed and handed my phone back to me.
Hesitantly, I asked, “Where you headed?”
“Temecula.”
I swallowed a hard lump and took in his features. It was dark last night, but looking at him in the light of day, light gray-blue eyes, a prominent nose, perfectly shaped lips, and high cheek bones created quite the appealing image. He also had dark brown hair. Fuck, light eyes and dark hair were my weakness. I guess I was seeing correctly last night after all.
“I’m heading there, too.” Those words slipped from my lips before I could stop them.
His smile grew wide. “Guess you’re giving me a ride, cupcake.”
“Cupcake? Who are you calling cupcake?”
“What would you like me to call you?” That smile was wicked and he knew it.
“My name is Rylee Raegan.”
“Shall we, Rylee? I’m Levi.” He held his hand out for me to shake it. And I did, right as my palm started to sweat. He then snatched my snacks from my arms to buy them.
“You didn’t need to do that. I can pay for my own stuff.”
“You’re giving me a ride, so it’s the least I can do.”
“Doesn’t sound like I had much of a choice.” I snatched my snacks from his hand and tore into a ho-ho as my stomach rumbled. At least he was nice to look at.
“Looks like we won’t be strangers before long. I’m sure we can get to know one another on the way to Temecula. We’ll be BFFs by the time we get there.”
I laughed sarcastically as we walked to my car. “Not likely.”
“Aw, you’re breaking my heart already, Cupcake.”
“Stop calling me that. I told you my name, Levi.”
“I’ll try but I can’t promise anything, Rylee.”
I rolled my eyes at him and pulled my driver side door open and sat behind the wheel. I could feel Levi’s eyes on me like he was checking me out or trying to figure me out. There wasn’t much to figure out, though. I traveled a lot, designing hotels. When I met Callie, it was the first time I had settled down in one place. But with that behind me now, California was going to be my new temporary home.
“So, what do you do, Rylee?” He put the emphasis on my name.
“I do interior design. What do you do?”
“I am starting a new job as a concierge. I’m getting out of my PR bus
iness because I don’t like all the travel it requires. I’d like to settle down in one place. This job seemed like a good move for me.”
“That’s awesome.”
Levi turned to me. “Can you pull over? I gotta take a piss.”
“Are you serious? We’ve only been on the road ten damn minutes.”
“I didn’t have to piss at that moment. Pull over anywhere.”
“Fine,” I huffed, shaking my head. I pulled over and Levi hopped out of the car. He walked farther into the wooded area so no one would see him.
A few moments later he wandered back to the car and got in. “You were looking at my ass, weren’t ya?”
“Please. Don’t flatter yourself.” Even though he did have a nice, slap-worthy ass.
“Come on, admit it.”
“No. You need to tell me where to drop you off in Temecula.
“I’ll tell you if you admit you were looking at my ass.”
“I will not admit to such.” I felt my cheeks heat up.
“Fine. I’m staying in a suite at Cotton House Hotel.”
I whipped my head to look at him. “That’s where I’m headed. The new owners hired me as a designer.”
“I guess we’ll be seeing each other a lot then.”
“I guess so.”
Looks like I wasn’t getting rid of Levi anytime soon. Maybe a part of me was glad.
Chapter Two
RYLEE
“Do you pick up guys a lot during your travels?” Levi asked about an hour into our trip.
“No. I made an exception just for you.”
“Liar.”
“I’m not lying. Do you go to random girls’ rooms on a nightly basis?” I realized I didn’t want to know his response. “Never mind. Don’t answer that. And what happened last night, that was a one-time thing.”
“If you say so, Cupcake.” He smirked and I didn’t know why it made my heart skip a beat.
We were two and a half hours away from Temecula. And I was ready to get out of this car. Being confined to a small space, Levi was making me think thoughts I shouldn’t be thinking.
“How old are you?” I finally asked.
“I’m twenty-five.”
I laughed. “You’re a baby.”
“How old are you?”
“I’m thirty-seven.”
“You look like you’re twenty-five.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that.”
“And, I’m no baby. I’m all man. Actually, I think I proved that last night. But I’d be happy to show you again.” He grinned.
“Oh my god. You don’t stop, do you?”
My phone buzzed from its spot in the cup holder. Saved by the bell. Looking at my phone screen, I saw a familiar name.
“Hey, girl.”
“Hey. How far away are you?” Aubrey asked.
“I’m a little over two hours away.”
“Okay. You’ll have to let me know what you think of Chance’s cousin Levi. Beware, he’s a huge flirt.”
I quickly looked over to my passenger, and moved the phone so I could ask, “Is your last name Bateman?”
He smiled wide. “It is.”
Rolling my eyes, I got back to my call with Aubrey. “We’ve met.” Glancing over at Levi, it all made sense. Because I could make the connection now.
Aubrey laughed. “Oh no. You’ll have to fill me in later. I just pulled up to the animal shelter. I’ll let you go. I wanted to wish you luck on your new venture.”
“Thank you. And kiss all the animals for me.”
“Will do. And stop by when you get a free moment.”
“Okay. See you later.”
“Later.”
“You know Aubrey?” Levi asked.
“I knew Aubrey back in college. We have always kept in contact since we graduated. But now that I’m transplanting my life in Temecula, CA, I was able to re-connect with her.” After realizing that I met Chance, I knew if Levi was anything like Chance, I was going to be in big trouble.
“She’s a good girl for my cousin. Keeps him in line.”
“Well, he only has eyes for her, that’s for sure. And you are Chance’s cousin, right?”
“Yeah. We didn’t grow up together. But we got closer when he moved to the states. Now we’re best friends.” Levi changed the subject when he spotted something ahead. “How about we make a pit stop up ahead?” Levi suggested as he pointed to a huge golf ball that was high in the sky. “It’s the best miniature golfing around.” His eyes twinkled with delight.
“I guess you would know.”
“I got all the connections from California to New York, baby.”
Trying not to smile, I pulled off the exit while Levi instructed where to go. We arrived five minutes later. “Wow! This place is amazing,” I said in awe, looking around. There was a huge maze that went in all different directions and there were different states and statues that surrounded the course.
I followed Levi to buy our passes. “I can buy mine.”
“Don’t worry, I got it.”
“Thanks.”
I followed him as we made our way to the first hole. “Ladies first,” Levi gestured.
I hit the ball, and it went past the hole it was meant to go in.
“Don’t tell me you’re a pro at this.” Levi seemed like he was good in anything he did.
“I’m not. I promise.”
By the time we were halfway through the game, my putting sucked majorly and I was getting frustrated. “What am I doing wrong?” I hadn’t realized I said that out loud.
“Here…” Levi came over, pressing his body into mine, and placing his hands over mine while I positioned the club. I felt myself holding my breath. He guided me on how to hit the ball.
“I think I got it,” I said because I needed a minute to breath normally. He smelled so damn delicious and I wouldn’t be responsible for my actions. He wore a blue tee shirt that hugged his chest just right, and the veins in his arms were visible whenever he would flex and hit the ball.
“Good game. You improved after I showed you.” He held a hand up for me to high five. “Now I’m hungry. Let’s grab a bite before we head back on the road,” he suggested.
“Sounds good. Did you shower this morning?”
“I did. You were sleeping like a baby.”
“I drove a lot of hours the day before so I must have zonked out.”
We walked to a pub across the street. It was semi dark inside and I liked the vibe of it. The hostess greeted us, then seated us in a booth by a window. And instead of Levi sitting across from me like a normal person, he sat next to me, with an arm across the back of the booth.
“Wow. You obviously don’t know about personal space, do you?” I joked, trying not to look at him directly. His face would be too close to mine.
“We’re half way through our trip, which means we’re halfway to being BFFs.”
I laughed. There was no beating around the bush with Levi.
“Did you have fun golfing?” he asked before the waitress came over to ask us what we would like.
I only had a minute to glance over the menu. “A cheeseburger and fries, and a diet coke to drink.”
“Same for me, too.”
“Coming right up,” the waitress said before leaving.
“I did have fun. I can’t remember the last time I did that, actually.”
“Really? What do you do for fun?” Levi asked. He was giving me his full attention and it made me nervous. One wrong move and we would be nose to nose.
“I work a lot. But I do like to tour cities that I visit or live in. I love going to carnivals, fairs, and the circus whenever I can. I like to shop, and I have a slight turquoise jewelry addiction. What about you?”
“I consider myself a kid at heart. I like to do anything fun and I’ll try anything once. I enjoy doing anything active like riding a bike, hiking, walking, I’m a mean griller, and I’m very much into wine. And the Cotton House Hotel has a winery.”
“There’s a winery? Somehow, I must have missed that when I talked to the owners.”
“There is. And the owners, Sheryl and Bud have been working hard to get that going. Once they start allowing people to come in for the wine tastings, it’ll be a good to get some income coming in for them.”
Our burgers arrived, and we continued talking as we added condiments-ketchup for me and mustard for him.
“This food is great.”
“It is.”
“So, what were you doing in Las Vegas?”
“I was handing over my clients to a buddy of mine. Getting everything squared away so I could start the new venture. And he resides in Las Vegas within all the action. So, I met him there. Plus, I had a buddy that came into town for a night. Two birds, one stone.”
“And then your car broke down.”
“No. First I met you. Then my car broke down.”
“Exactly.” We laughed.
Chapter Three
LEVI
I didn’t know what it was about Rylee that made me like her so much. She was easy to talk to and definitely easy on the eyes. And the sex… that was amazing. She had long rich auburn hair that was a cross between red and brown, light hazel colored eyes, gorgeous full lips, a tiny diamond that was pierced in her nose, and she also had a dimple in her chin. She looked sexy in her jean capris and white tee shirt.
We were an hour away from Temecula. And I wanted to get to know Rylee more.
“Are you dating or married?”
“Um. Neither. My girlfriend and I broke up when I was offered this job.”
That threw me for a loop. “You’re a lesbian?”
I was really confused because I was pretty sure she had sex with a man last night.
“No. I’m actually attracted to both sexes.” She smiled. “I don’t discriminate. Callie and I were together for three years. I asked her to come out to California with me. But she broke up with me instead, saying she had found someone else.”
“Bummer. Sorry. Actually, I’m not sorry.”
She slapped me on my arm. “Hey.”