by Unknown
“I owe you for that,” Sam entered the quiet kitchen, a part of him making more mental notes on how very different Bella was from Linda. A shallow part of him had found that type appealing. But it was as if they too were now relegated to the past with his former careers.
Bella moved toward the lights and the exit. “She doesn’t strike me as the sort to give up easily. I have a long day tomorrow. Good night, Sam.”
He stayed in the background, watching as she went through rituals of making certain the night shift was in place, the gates secured and the front desk covered. He walked toward his room in quiet thought. He had been right. This was the kind of life a guy could get used to. Certainly a lot of changes on the horizon, for him as well as for the lodge.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Sam stood poised over the seat of his bike, cell phone against his ear. Jerry answered on the second ring. He was a good personal assistant and he enjoyed his job. That was key.
“Hey boss…where are you?” Jerry was a content twenty something with a partner who was in school finishing up some business courses to open her own floral shop sometime in the future.
“At the base of some really nice mountains, just outside Seattle. Got some work for you.”
“Okay…shoot…”
“The Lodge at Sammamish…get me business reports, the lot. Find out, very discretely if the owner is looking for capital for improvements or a partner. Go to my place and send me some suits, ties and shirts….and a couple pair of shoes. Biker boots are comfortable, but don’t go with everything. I’ll shoot you the address when we finish here. After you ship me some clothes, arrange for my place to be packed and held in storage until I have an address to give you. Now…the question of the day…would you still want the job if you have to relocate to this area?”
Sam heard the long, slow exhale. “I need to talk to Amy. But I think so. We’ve been talking about getting out of this area. Someplace with real air to breathe,” Jerry leaned back in his chair. “Nice area?”
“Lots of fresh air. Snow covered mountains. Beach less than an hour or two from here. Nice housing developments around the lake,” Sam reached back for his helmet, setting it on his lap. “You get back to me. I’m going shopping.”
“Shopping? You hate shopping?” But Jerry noticed the line had gone dead. He gathered his car keys and tapped in a number as he walked. “Amy…have I got a deal for you…”
Sam Franklin did hate shopping and therefore made quick business of it. He pulled back around behind the lodge where the entrance was for the staff rooms and parked the bike. Carrying his helmet and several bags, he went to his room and changed for the evening.
When he entered the massive entryway, it didn’t surprise him that Bella was sporting a frazzled and somewhat stunned expression.
“Chloe…this is nuts.” Bella lowered her voice, gripped Chloe’s arm and dragged her out of earshot of the arriving guests. “I can’t wear this!”
“Why not? It’s perfect with your hair and I even found a pair of very comfortable white shoes…” Chloe was digging in her backpack with a happy grin.
“Problem, ladies?”
“No!”
“Yes.”
Pale brows went up, his eyes going from one to the other. “One more time?”
“It is not something you need to be…”
“She thinks the costume I brought her for the night is too risqué,” Chloe told him simply. “I think she’ll make a fantastic Marilyn Monroe.”
“Mar…oh, yeah…I agree completely, Chloe.”
“No one has asked for your input….” Pale lashes blinked and blinked again. She had heard jingling. She was positive she heard jingling. It finally registered what he was wearing. He looked like Doc Holiday, complete with little string tie and spurs. Her mind was slowly abandoning her. “I…this is gonna be a long weekend…”
“Why don’t you go supervise the kitchen, Bella? As your new acting manager, I will take care of things on this side of the swinging doors,” Sam assured her, a confident air about him that made her nod before she realized what she was doing. Bella wandered off to the safety of the kitchen, head shaking.
“That…was a very slick move, Mr. Franklin,” Chloe leaned against the registration desk, head tilted in thought.
“What are you dressing her in?”
“The white dress from the famous photo with the wind blown skirt. And I’m not quite as easily distracted as Bella is at the moment. When she finally realizes what you said, she’ll be looking for a strip off your hide,” Chloe said quietly. “After seeing your resume, I personally think it might be a very good idea. If you hurt her, you will be very, very sorry,” she pushed off from the desk with a tip of two fingers off her make-believe hat and wandered around to the staircase with a soft cowboy movie whistle.
“Yes, ma’am,” he countered with a tip of the black hat on his head. “My first call out,” he mused, straightened his tie and found the clip board he had been using the day before. Many departments to oversee and preparations to be completed before the appointed hour of six.
Sam wasn’t surprised that things were going smoothly. When you pay five hundred a ticket, it tends to rule out most problems. The costumes for the event were supposed to be based, loosely, on some movie or television personality. He helped out in registration when a swarm of people seemed to all appear at the same time, shortly before the dinner and dancing began, of course.
Some of the staff had chosen to wear costumes, some not. Bella was among the not. Wearing her simple white blouse with a round collar and nicely fit pencil skirt in navy. She wore shoes that looked comfortable, despite the small heel.
When there was a lull in the rush, Sam wandered into Bella’s office. He saw a cluster of name plates in here when he filled out paperwork. He scratched his head, trying to recall where when the door opened behind him.
“This does not breed trust, Mr. Franklin,” Bella said softly.
“I was looking for a name tag so people don’t look at me like I’m a real gunslinger,” he returned dryly, stepping back as she came around the desk and opened the second drawer. A collection of nicely embossed identification tags were in a white box.
“That really was a slick move on your part,” she said, fingers deftly looking through the collection to pull out the one she wanted.
“You’ve been talking to Chloe,” he pinned the brass plate proclaiming him manager onto his lapel. “You have protective friends. I like them.”
She studied him for a long, silent minute. “I’ve watched you with my staff. They’re learning from you, things I missed or didn’t know,” she admitted quietly. “Thank you.”
Sam wasn’t sure why, but for a moment he was speechless. It was funny. All the places he’d managed and no one had ever offered such simple, honest appreciation before. It was always about the bottom line. Never about the people. But he’d known Bella was different from the first.
“You’re welcome,” his hand came up when she reached for the doorknob. He thought he had things under control. He thought he had himself under control, he amended. A control he felt slip away when she paused and looked expectantly at him.
Bella expected him to say something. Isn’t that why his palm came up? To get her attention because he wanted to say something. She felt caught in the pale blue of his eyes, unable to move when the backs of his fingers brushed her cheek. It was only for a second. Just a second before his palm closed and went beneath her chin, tipping her head back for his kiss.
Everything around her seemed to fall into a slow motion vortex. His palm opened and he seemed to move closer to her. She felt his thumbs beneath her chin, his fingers
spread out over each cheek at the same time the searing warmth of his mouth captured hers. It began soft and teasing, drawing her into the kiss. He had nice, full lips, a part of her decided, her tongue out to trace a sensuous line around his lower lip before nipping it gently. That was where Bella knew she lost track of things.
Somehow her fingers were pressed firmly against his chest. Somehow the simple kiss had heated up considerably and his hands had never left her face! She heard her name whispered against her own lips, tasted the undisguised passion in his voice. She wasn’t sure when the room tilted but it was a wildly exciting feeling that had she hadn’t allowed into her life for many years.
“Excuse me? Is the manager…” Linda Prescot had pushed the door open, staring from one to the other.
Bella felt like she was going to trip, she moved very quickly to take a step back, only Sam’s hand on her elbow stopping her from tumbling to the ground.
“Sam? You’re the manager? Fraternizing with the chef?”
“I am not…” Bella caught herself up sharply, pulling in a long, slow breath.
Sam dragged his hand over his neck. “What do you want, Linda?”
“You…are the manager…here? Here, for god’s sake? Sam, you’ve run five star hotels around the globe!” She gaped at him in disbelief.
“Miss Prescot, if the Lodge is so much not to your taste, why exactly are you here?” Bella demanded curtly, acute frustration in her voice.
“I’ll discuss my issue with the manager, thank you.”
“I am not only the chef, I am the owner,” Bella met her gaze coldly. “And in my book, that trumps manager. Now exactly what is your issue?”
“Bella, let me handle this,” Sam used his hand on her elbow to guide her to the door. “Trust me, okay?”
Bella went to the registration desk, checking paperwork and watching the door to her office. It wasn’t closed very long, she thought. Less than two minutes in fact. Linda Prescot went into the dining area without glancing toward her while Sam came striding to the front desk.
“How about some dinner?”
“What is she after, Sam?” Bella waited until they were out of ear shot of the receptionist, applying a social smile to people passing them.
“She’s here for the fundraiser with her father,” Sam sighed heavily. “Coincidence. Like Chloe says, it’s damned annoying.”
Bella ignored the buffet and went toward the room set aside for entertainment. The karaoke machine was set in place and people were slowly drifting into the room, drawn by the powerful voice on the stage.
“Chloe?” Sam stared at the singer in the costume of Alice from Wonderland.
“Chloe likes songs that stretch her voice,” Bella said softly, listening to the powerful strains of the Celine Dion song. “She’s also very good at getting people involved. That’s why I asked for her help.”
“Thank you…thank you very much,” Chloe spoke into the microphone, a smile in her words. “So you can see it’s not so tough to sing. I don’t mess about with popular ones…but I do love music,” her fingers moved over the keypad on the stand before her. “How about…a fairy tale song,” Chloe stepped back and listened to the beat, her voice blending with the music as if they were one from the beginning.
Bella laughed. How does she know…
She walked up behind Simon and leaned next to his ear. “You’re drooling…”
Dark eyes never left the prancing Alice on the stage. “Every time I think I have her figured out…” his head shook, arms crossed over his chest.
“You’ll get old and waste your time…just accept,” Kate patted him on the arm and moved toward the dance floor in the other room, a very sharply dressed Dylan at her side.
“Opted out of the costumes?” Bella asked.
“Not at all…Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” Kate smiled broadly. “International spies…”
She was still chuckling as she made her way to the kitchen. Some were still dining but the food portion was slowly coming to a close. Her people were efficiently clearing away and loading the dishwashers. Bella did a walk through to check on the food. Low, but there weren’t many people still eating. When the music began in the three large chambers, people began to migrate to the various bars and musical interests. Just as she planned.
Bella leaned against the stainless steel counter, shaking her head slightly. Maybe she did miss more than dinner, she thought, seconds before coincidence danced over her existence.
“Hey, Bella!” Chloe entered and saw the pale features. “You okay? Sam says you didn’t eat anything.”
“I’m okay…I’ll get something now.”
“You’re looking a little pale,” Chloe walked up and bent over, putting her ear to Bella’s stomach. “Your stomach is growling.”
“My stomach is fine.”
At that same moment, the swinging doors came inward. “Oh, my god! She’s pregnant?” Linda Prescot stared from the bent over Chloe to the groaning Bella.
Sam had entered and burst out laughing as Linda beat a hasty retreat. He remained still when the blonde stormed past him, muttering loudly. He raised a hand at the departing figure and glanced at Chloe, silently asking for an explanation.
“Well…as a former linguist…I can tell you it was Italian. And it was extremely not nice,” Chloe cleared her throat and left the kitchen in search of Simon.
“I can only imagine,” Sam said, wandering into the dining area to find Bella at a corner table with her dinner.
“Is she going to the luau tomorrow night?” Bella asked flatly. “Because I am finding it harder and harder to mind my manners. Why is she nosing around my lodge?"
“I think she was looking for me,” he said with a shrug. “Linda doesn’t listen well.”
“No kidding.”
“For what it’s worth, the look on her face was…okay, you didn’t find it amusing.”
“I’m sure somewhere in the distant future, it will make me laugh,” Bella told him sarcastically. “Excuse me…I have over four hundred people here and there’s a lot to do before bedtime.”
She was right. But Sam could still feel the power of that kiss as he went around making sure people were having fun. He had always prided himself on being a manager who knew what was happening and when.
Up until the flashing red lights appeared in the parking area. The valets looked lost and immediately turned to him when he stepped off the porch and into the driveway.
And in the middle of the fray, stood a very young, very innocent looking Alice in Wonderland.
Now why was he not surprised.
Next to her, in the form fitting red evening gown was Kate, gun drawn and aimed. The police obviously recognized her, addressing her by name. He watched as she set the safety and slid the gun into a very nicely concealed holster on her thigh.
He watched Bella stride from out of the darkness, bent down and pull the ski mask from his face. “Timothy Turner.”
Two men lie on the gravel. There was no blood, so that was good. Kate was busy rattling off a list of charges to the attending officer and handed him the weapon that Chloe kicked to her.
“Never leave him unattended,” she said flatly. “I’ll be in first thing in the morning and handle the paperwork from the prosecutor’s office. There won’t be plea bargaining this time, not if I can help it. Take them in. Make sure the night judge knows of all the previous charges and that I want bail set as high as possible, or none at all because he is a serious flight risk.”
“You really know how to make a new manager feel welcome, ladies,” Sam approached after the police cars left. “I think we should go to Bella’s office a
nd talk.”
“They never mean talk when they say it like that,” Chloe muttered, heeled toes shuffling and kicking a stone petulantly. “They really mean, c'mon, let me lecture you for an hour…” she mimicked childishly.
“That is my job and it will happen,” Simon whispered in her ear.
“Yeah well…as long as the police don’t lose him, it’s over. Kate and I aren’t novices, gentlemen.” Chloe glared from one to the other. “You see Alice in sexy undies, but I’m really a well-trained officer of the law. Well, I was before I quit and took up programming full time.”