The Romance Challenge, Complete Series Box Set: BBW Hot Alpha Billionaire Romance

by Sterling, Arlanna

  I headed toward Nathan, who had moved to the back of the room while I'd been talking. This argument was not over. "Please, stay out of my business. I don't need your help."

  "Fine. If that's what you want." He shut the laptop.

  "It is." But not really. I wanted to see that screen again, to know who else showed an interest in the case. Nathan said he had friends with skills. Could they find out?

  My face must have given away my curiosity. Nathan's mouth turned up slightly.

  "If you change your mind, you know how to reach me."

  Another employee entered, and I stepped back a pace from Nathan, suddenly aware how close I stood.

  He gestured up front. "I'll let you say hello before I approach and scare them off. In between talking to people today, we can go over the notes and suggestions you've made so far."

  "Works for me." I went to the front of the room, anxious to get away from that damn pull Nathan had on me.

  We stayed busy with people visiting off and on, sometimes more than once, bringing in a co-worker and snagging another sandwich. All of them seemed happy to have food and a chance to win a hundred dollars. Nathan and I both relaxed and enjoyed talking to people.

  At least I did. He still maintained a slightly standoffish attitude, like he didn't know how to make small talk. Maybe he didn't. He probably hired administrative people to take care of all his interactions with workers. The people he normally talked to were on a way different level than these employees. Points to him for showing up and being here, on the ground floor, making the effort.

  After their initial hesitation, most of the staff chatted with him at least a few minutes. And it might be my wicked imagination, but I could swear, the women eyed Nathan with longing. He looked hot, as usual, in a short-sleeve button down shirt tucked into khaki pants. A weird possessiveness made me want to reach out and curl my arm through his, pulling him next to me tight. I resisted and kept my distance. Bad enough one employee already figured out I'd been to bed with the boss.

  We kept conversation between the two of us business only, the way I wanted it to stay, and the day moved along fast. At three forty-five, we started to pack up the food to take to the café's refrigerator. We'd leave at four, then return at nine o'clock for a short time, to catch the few night-shift staff.

  "Hey, are you the new owner?"

  I was at the back of the room, turning off the stereo. Nathan stood at the front and greeted the man walking in with an outstretched hand.

  "Yes, I'm Nathan Cameron. And you are?"

  "I hear you've got a suggestion box. I got one for you. Stop treating your employees like shit."

  I stared. Who the heck was this? A tall guy, mid-twenties maybe, someone I'd never seen before. I hurried up near Nathan.

  "And you." He turned toward me and I smelled whiskey on his breath. He weaved slightly and my mind pulled up a sudden memory of my father, coming home some nights, reeking and moving the same way. Then the arguments that followed, with him and my mom.

  "You're the bitch going around asking questions. Shit that's none of your concern. Stay out of our business, you got it? That's my suggestion."

  Nathan's hand formed a fist at his side. "What's your name?"

  "Not going to fuckin' tell you. Where's the food, bitch?" He came toward me.

  Nathan stepped in front of him. "Get out. And you're fired."

  The guy raised his hand and so fast I barely saw him move, Nathan grabbed it, twisted his arm, and brought it up behind the guy's back.

  "Mother fuck! Let go of me."

  "First, you tell me your name. Then, you apologize to my associate. After that, I'm going to escort you off the property."

  "Robert, my name's Robert. Let go of my arm."

  "I haven't heard an apology."

  "Nathan." I moved into his line of sight. "I overheard one of the other employees talking. I think Robert lost his mother today, is that right?" I looked at the young man, who suddenly burst into tears.

  Nathan lowered his arm and Robert crumbled to the floor.

  "She wasn't supposed to die so soon," he sobbed. "Doctor said she had another couple of years. We have plane tickets for a trip to New York for Christmas." He buried his head in his hands.

  I knelt with him and put my hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Robert. Do you have other family, someone you can be with right now?"

  "Naw, it's just me and her down here. All my other people are up North. Shit, I got to call them."

  I took his hand. "Why are you still here? Why didn't you go home?"

  He sniffed. "I ride with a buddy. He's not off his shift yet. My supervisor let me go early, so I went to a bar, had a few drinks."

  "I'll take you home." Nathan stood over us and held out his hand. "Come on."

  The man looked up at him, hesitated a moment, then took it and allowed Nathan to pull him up. "I live in Homestead."

  "No problem. Amber, please pack up food for Robert. Can you get the room cleaned up by yourself?"

  "Yes." I quickly grabbed several sandwiches, sodas, and a big bag of pretzels and stuffed them all into an empty grocery bag.

  "Are you going to contact his supervisor?" I handed Nathan the bag.

  "You contact her. I'll follow up later."

  "Call me when you're back, okay?"

  "Will do."

  I waited till they left the room before I blew out a huge sigh and wiped my damp palms down my shaky legs. Holy crap. That scared the spit out of me, more than I'd thought. Poor Robert. I'd heard a whispered conversation with his name, but didn't know he was working today. I couldn't imagine how awful he must feel.

  Why didn't he ask someone to take him home? Did he really feel he was being treated poorly at the hotel? Probably not. Probably, it was the booze and grief making him crazy. I texted myself a quick note, to see what kind of bereavement policy Bay Paradise Resort had, then called Elena, Robert's supervisor. She wasn't at the hotel, but answered her cell phone.

  "Yeah, he told me, late in the day. He'd just got the call. I told him to go home. Shit, he stuck around? I didn't know he needed a ride. I wasn't there; it's my day off. I would have come in, taken him home myself. He okay?"

  I mentioned nothing about him coming into the Reef room, or his drinking. I'd let Nathan decide what to do with that.

  "Nathan gave him a ride home. He'll contact you later. Let us know if we can do anything."

  The staff needed to realize, when something so horrible happened, they could ask for help. I hoped Nathan would be on board with making everyone aware of that. I knew he wouldn't be the one actually managing the hotel, but hoped he would make sure good benefit policies existed. Bay Paradise and the employees were starting to leave an imprint on my heart.

  I loaded up the cart housekeeping had left, locked up the room, and wheeled the cart to the Water's Edge Café. We'd pull it back out for our late shift tonight. Both of us would be tired by the time this weekend was over, for sure. I went back to my room and knowing it wasn't the best idea, poured myself a glass of wine anyway. My pulse still raced a little too fast. Having a man come at me was far out of my comfort zone. Watching Nathan jump in to protect me… I smiled, and a warm, fuzzy feeling wrapped around my heart.

  I called Michelle and left her a message, along with another picture for her to guess what her surprise was, and texted my cat-sitting neighbor. I was rewarded with a return text and a picture of Pumpkin, curled up on her couch. I touched the phone screen.

  Stay warm, little buddy. I'll be home soon. Much as I loved this place, I'd be happy to see my cat, to enjoy his soft, purring body snuggled up next to me. I grabbed a chunk of cheese from the refrigerator and splashed another portion of wine into my glass.

  How would I feel if something happened to my mom? We weren't on the best of terms, but I still loved her. Though she was the one to pull away from me after Michelle's attack, I never put much effort into keeping us close. I could do better.

  I took out my sparkly notebook
and on my Things To Do page wrote in giant letters, Call Mom. Talk. It would take work and maybe Mom would still reject me, but I had the feeling, she might be ready to bridge the gap. Thinking of Robert's tear-stained face, I vowed to keep trying until she did.

  Then I remembered. The statue. It should have been delivered today. I got so wrapped up in resort business, I totally forgot. I called to the front desk and they said the delivery service hadn't been there yet. Deciding to rest for a few minutes, I flopped onto my bed. A knock at the door startled me awake.

  Crap. Eight o'clock. How had I slept for so long? "Who is it?" I called, then peeked out the window. Nathan, holding a package. I opened the door.

  "This came for you. I picked it up at the front desk."

  I took the box. "Thanks. You got Robert home okay?"

  "Yes. Can I come in?"

  Ohhhh. Bad idea. As the cobwebs cleared from my brain, I felt that usual magnetic pull to Nathan. I didn't want to let him in, but it would be pretty rude not to. I stepped back, and he entered.

  "Thanks for picking this up for me." I cut the box open with a knife from the kitchen, dug through the packing paper, and pulled out the statue.

  Just like I remembered. A bronze woman, with angel wings, standing on a rock that formed the base. A flood of memories rushed over me. Dad, Michelle and me, laughing as we tried to put it on the Christmas tree one year. Our plan didn't work, and we nearly toppled the tree over. I ran my hands over the surface, then shuddered slightly. This was most likely the object the attacker used to hit Michelle. Nathan put his hand on my shoulder and I let it stay there.

  "That's the statue?"

  "Yes."

  "Is it damaged?"

  I turned it over. Like Chuck said, the felt covering on the bottom was pulled away, and the base was loose.

  "Not really, not much. I can't imagine why anyone would want to take this. I looked up the value after it was stolen. Dad only paid about one-hundred dollars new. No way would it be worth much more used."

  "May I?"

  I passed it to Nathan. He examined the figurine and ran his finger over the bottom. "The base might have been removed, then reattached. Any idea why?"

  "Not a clue."

  He held it up to the light. "If the base was hollow, it would make a good hiding place. Judging by the weight, that might be possible. Do you want me to take the base off? I'll be careful."

  A sudden image flashed in my mind. Michelle, lying in the hospital bed, her face pale as the moon on a cloudy night. I shuddered slightly. Much as I wanted Nathan to step away, part of me needed his strength right now.

  He must have sensed my hesitation. "Whatever we find, I'll keep confidential, I swear."

  What if it was horrible? What if my dad wasn't one of the good guys? Did I want to know?

  I had to. "Have at it."

  He pulled a knife from his pocket and using the screwdriver attachment, loosened the bottom. I held my breath as he pulled it off.

  A part of the base was hollow. We both peered inside but saw nothing. Something small, the size of a key, might have fit in there. The angel itself was solid.

  "Why do you think anyone would take this? Did your father hide something inside?"

  I took the statue back. Could I trust Nathan, to tell him more of my life? "My dad, he gave this to Michelle. He said it was special. And he told my mom that this angel would take care of us." I put it on the table. I'd worry more about the mysterious statue later. When Nathan wasn't around. "How is Robert?"

  "Let's take a walk. Get a blast of energy going for our second shift tonight." He looked around the suite and his gaze fell on the open wine bottle and empty glass on the table.

  I almost said something, then remembered him telling me not to apologize. This time, I wouldn't. I picked up my light jacket and we went out, walking the same path we had before, using our phones as flashlights.

  "Robert is doing as well as can be expected. I called Elena and she let his friend go home early to stay with him. Robert's going to take time off, get with his family, make funeral arrangements. He apologized profusely for his behavior, said he didn't drink much and the whiskey he slammed hit him hard. Between that and the news about his mom, he went kind of crazy."

  "Is he in trouble?" I didn't want the poor guy to suffer any more.

  "I'll write him a warning, to go in his file. But that's all. Unless you want to press further."

  "No, I don't. And hey, thanks for jumping in, back there, protecting me. I don't think Robert would have really hurt me, but you never know."

  A chilled nipped at my spine when I remembered Robert's face. My dad never got violent when he drank as far as I knew. He and mom used to argue, but at least they'd go to their bedroom and close the door. Michelle and I would put in our ear buds and listen to music when they bickered.

  "I used to fight a lot, as a kid. My automatic reaction, when I see violence directed at someone I care about, is to return it. I shouldn't have grabbed him."

  I hesitated on the next sentence. "Most of these people, they're just like you and me. They have a story, problems, crap going on in their lives. Those of us who are more fortunate, we should help them, you know?"

  A sigh. "I know. I'm working on that, trying to remember."

  We stopped, in one of the secluded areas near the front parking lot. This one contained a wooden bench and a birdbath, and backed up to a vine-covered fence. Several concealed solar lights provided slight illumination, and the muted noise of the road traffic almost sounded like waves. We sat down, and tucked in this alcove, the rest of the world disappeared.

  "Being with the staff, one-on-one, I'm not so good at that. I'm used to dealing with high-powered men and women, where we send emails and texts and don't talk much. Our fighting and deal-making goes on behind the scenes. When we meet in person, we've all got on our corporate masks. There's no real emotion. I've got so that behavior seems normal now." Nathan leaned back and rested his hands on his thighs.

  He looked, tired, I realized. He'd been keeping long hours down here.

  "You, you're so good at it, at talking to people, all kinds. Connecting with them."

  I shrugged, aware of his closeness, as always. "I like people. I don't mind talking to anyone."

  "That's true. You've always dealt with me in an honest, respectful manner, the same way I watch you deal with everyone here. You don't put on a mask. One of the many traits I admire about you."

  Nathan stroked my cheek and though I longed to lean into his caress, I drew back. My pulse raced, and the wind brought his scent to me, almost making me whimper out loud. I wanted him so bad.

  He knew it, too. I looked him in the eyes and saw longing, with that slight touch of cockiness I'd begun to find incredibly appealing. When he scooted closer to me, so close his breath warmed my skin, I didn't move. Big mistake. He bent and kissed me, his mouth searching and hard. My tongue met his before I could stop myself.

  Instantly, I wanted him. Wanted to be back in bed with him, naked. To feel our bodies touching, to taste his skin. He wrapped his arms around me, one hand reaching up my neck and tangling in my hair. With a low growl, he pulled my head back slightly and trailed his lips over my throat, biting gently, then harder, at that tender spot above my collarbone.

  I barely noticed as he unbuttoned my shirt, cupping one breast in his hand, pushing it out of my bra. He moved his mouth further down, raining kisses along the way, until he reached my nipple. I should stop him, should push him away. Heat flared through my blood and I let my head fall back, swimming in the sensations rolling over me.

  Desire, right at the top. I wanted to surrender, to let my heart go and give myself totally to Nathan. Wanted to let my guard down and enjoy making love with this man, whose hand now traveled to the v between my legs and stroked me, right through my pants. I pushed against his hand, wanting to feel the warmth of him.

  He moaned, a sound so full of need I responded automatically. I leaned back into the arm he had around
my waist and dug my fist into his hair, his head still bent over my breast. I trailed the other hand up his thigh until I reached his cock. Hard, throbbing, right through his jeans. I rubbed it, delighting in the gasp of pleasure that movement brought from him.

  How easy it would be to fall under Nathan's spell, to let his skilled hands take where I so desperately wanted to be. And then what? Back to reality. Nathan in his world, me in mine. Each time I experienced this perfect bliss, the return would be so much harder.

  I pushed away from him. "Stop."

  He looked at me, eyes heavy-lidded with need. "Don't pull away. Please. Let me."

  "I can't." My voice choked. "This will only lead to pain. I can't take any more pain." I stood.

  "Amber, I wish you would trust me, believe that I want to be with you." I heard the longing in his voice. "I'm not going to hurt you." He rose as well.

  Suddenly, the pressure of the day boiled over. The fear and sorrow from dealing with Robert, my sister's situation, and my mind going crazy with hunger for Nathan. I pushed him in the chest, hard. His mouth fell open, and he stepped back.

  "How can you say that? How can you stand there and tell me you won't hurt me? You don't know. You don't know anything. We have sex, once, and you act like we should start dating, like we could be this happy couple. We can't."

  He moved closer, but I held out my arm, palm straight up. "Stop. After we leave here, we go back to the real world. You'll pick up your high-flying life and I'll resume mine. There's no way the two can work together. We're from different realities. I'm an ugly duckling and you're a handsome prince and life isn't a fairy tale that ends happily ever after. I can find my own way back."

  I whirled and fled down the path toward the hotel before he could see the tears running over my cheeks. My vision blurred, and I stumbled once or twice but I hurried on, desperate to get away from Nathan. Safely in my room, I caught my breath. Damn, how did I let that outburst escape? There must be something in the air here, making me act wild. I should be able to control myself better. All those crazy hormones I'd stirred up, letting my heart fall for Nathan, were turning me into a tangle of messy emotions. And I could not let my emotions rule.