by Calista King
"Don't thank me yet," his uncle said. "Meet me in my office after lunch and I'll show you around and introduce you to some of the people you'll be working with."
His uncle picked up the scattered papers before him and stuffed them in his leather portfolio and clapped Andreas on the shoulder before heading out. Andreas remained seated with his hands clasped in front of him on the table. His eyes were looking out the windows, but they were unfocused. There were too many things on his mind. His uncle had given him a lot to think about.
Henriks was a punk, but perhaps it was unwise to show so much open hostility, Andreas thought. The man provoked him into losing his temper. But then, that might have been his plan. That way the other board members would see a loose cannon--the irresponsible playboy he'd been portrayed as all these years.
It was a devious and effective ploy and Andreas could've kicked himself for playing right into his hands. Now that he had been warned by his uncle, Andreas would know how to act next time. He wouldn't let a sniveling fool like Bradley Henriks get to him. He would be one step ahead.
The ring of his cell phone brought Andreas out of his musings. He fished the phone out of his pants pockets and looked at the caller ID--Frederick. He sighed and ran his hands through his hair before picking up.
"Hello Freddy," he answered cheerily. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your phone call?"
"Oh shove it Andreas. How did the meeting go?" Frederick said.
"You are a ray of sunshine, you know that?" Andreas quipped.
Frederick remained silent waiting for Andreas to answer his question. He was too used to Andreas' stall tactics to be fooled or distracted.
"Oh all right, you stick in the mud. The meeting went no worse and no better than I expected," Andreas said.
"What does that mean?"
"It means that I was neither laughed out of the building nor embraced with open arms."
"Hmm..."
"Hmm? Care to elaborate, brother?"
"Was it Henriks?" Frederick asked.
"Wha--? How did you know?"
"Bradley Henriks has been trying to gain control of the company for years. He has approached several members of our family hoping to buy up enough shares so he can own the majority stake. Most likely he sees your appointment as some sort of threat to himself and will try to run you out of the company."
"Thank you for the warning after the fact," Andreas remarked dryly.
"Yes, well I actually didn't think Henriks would have the effrontery to try and pull anything with the whole board there."
"You underestimate him, brother."
"See that you don't," Frederick answered.
"Oh you can rest assured on that point."
Andreas hung up the phone a moment later with even more on his mind. It seemed everyone but him knew Henriks was a devious son of a bitch. He would have to watch his back. But there was no more point thinking about it now, Andreas thought. It was already noon and his stomach was rumbling.
Andreas left the meeting room and went straight for the elevators, giving a smile to the receptionist seated at a long rectangular desk by the elevators. He just noticed her and wondered if she'd been there when he first arrived. She smiled wide at him and seemed to perk up, giving him a coy smile in invitation. The elevator arrived just in time and he gave her a small shrug before stepping in and taking a deep breath.
It seemed like everywhere he went, women were throwing themselves at him. It wasn't like Andreas was cocky, but it was just fact. Something about him attracted women like a bee to honey. If it were a year ago, he wouldn't have any qualms about taking them back to his hotel room for a one night stand. But that was the old Andreas. He found out a long time ago that those types of relationships always left him feeling empty the morning after. He was done with that life.
CHAPTER 5
"Finally!" Laila muttered, tilting her head back and closing her eyes.
"What? What happened?" Corinne asked.
"Nothing. Just happy this day is finally over, thank Jesus," Laila answered.
"It's only 4pm. You got plans tonight or something?"
"Nope. I've been here since 5 am, and I was here last night too, so I'm ready to go home and just relax."
"Damn, I didn't know you'd been working so much."
"Well, I don't mind. I've just been picking up extra hours and covering for Theresa. I've got bills to pay and every little bit helps, but standing on my feet all day does get tiring."
"You don't have to convince me. How's it going on the audition front?" Corinne asked.
Corinne was an aspiring actress like Laila, though she was still in acting school. They had often gone on the same auditions, but it never got competitive or nasty between them. They both knew how hard it was to get roles in the city, so far from trying to tear each other down, they were happy for each other's little successes.
"Not good at all. I haven't landed a gig in months and my agent quit on me," Laila answered.
"What? Why did he do that?" Corinne asked.
Laila shrugged not wanting to get into it. "Beats me. I guess I wasn't making him any money."
"That's cold, but did you know there's an open call for the new Peter Travis movie?"
"Really? Where'd you hear about that?"
"I've got my sources. Anyway, let me write down the address for you. It's on Friday starting at 10am." Corinne jotted down an address in Greenwich Village on a note pad ripped it off, handing the sheet over to Laila. "I'm not sure what part it's for, but it's a Peter Travis movie. Who cares, right?"
"You got that right. I'd take any role just be in it. Thanks so much, C. You're a real life saver," Laila said, taking the address and stuffing it in her purse. "Are you gonna try out for the part?"
"Hell yeah," Corinne answered. "It could be my big break."
"Wait! What day did you say it was on?" Laila asked.
"Friday. Why? What's wrong?"
"I gotta work early that day," Laila answered, chewing on her bottom lip in thought.
"Can't you get someone to cover for you? These opportunities don't happen every day."
"You don't have to tell me that. But who can I ask?"
"What about Theresa? Didn't you just cover for her? She owes you one."
"You're right, maybe I can swap shifts with her. I'll give her a call later," Laila said looking at her watch. "Hey thanks again for the heads up C. I gotta get going now but I'll see you on Friday."
"Night, enjoy your evening."
Laila walked out toward the revolving doors towards the exit. She had already changed out of her work uniform and was wearing a pair of dark jeans, gray scooped neck t-shirt and black leather motorcycle jacket. She exchanged a quick goodbye with Gary and headed out the door. The night was a little chilly so she zipped up her jacket as she stepped outside and bumped into someone.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she said looking up. She took an involuntary step back when she realized it was Andreas. He smiled down at her and the corners of his eyes were crinkled in amusement.
"Not at all. It was my fault," he said. There was an amused glint in his eyes as he looked at her from head to toe. "But I can't say that I'm sorry."
"Okay," Laila said, pulling her lips together in a frown. She started to walk past him, but he reached out and touched her arm impulsively. Laila turned back to look at him, raising a brow in question.
"Are you headed home now?" he asked.
"Uh...yeah. Why do you ask?"
"Oh I just...I was wondering if you might like to have a drink with me?" he asked.
Laila was surprised he seemed so nervous and unsure of himself where a minute before he'd been all charm and confidence.
"You want to have a drink with me?" she asked, disbelievingly. "Why?"
"Pardon?" Andreas asked.
"Why do you want to have a drink with me?" Laila repeated.
"I...that is...why wouldn't I want to have a drink with you?" he shot back.
Laila blew out her cheek
s in frustration and put her hands on her hips as she looked up at Andreas. "Are you just playing around here? You know I work at the hotel, right? Why would you ask me to have a drink with you?"
Andreas put up his hands as if holding off her verbal accusations.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. I just thought you seemed like a smart beautiful woman and I wanted to get to know you better."
Laila eyed him speculatively for a moment, her head tilted to the side as she took stock of him. The soft waves of his hair were messy, there was a shadow on his jaw and his tie was loosened around his neck. He looked vulnerable, like he'd had a rough day but that didn't take away from his sexiness.
A part of her wanted to say yes and jump at the opportunity to have some one-on-one time with him, but the other part of her was warning her to run the other way. Nothing good could come of this, she tried to tell herself. But the other side of her won and she found herself slowly nodding her head at his invitation.
"We can't go in the bar in there," she said, as he made to step into the hotel. "It's against company policy to uh...socialize with guests," she answered at his questioning look.
"I see. Do you have any recommendations then? I must admit I'm not too familiar with the local watering holes."
"The what?"
"You know, the uh...local bars around here.
"Oh OK, gotcha," Laila said giving her head a small shake and just barely rolling her eyes. It wasn't like she was ignorant or didn't know what he meant. But who talks like that? she thought. It all sounded so stuffy and corny.
Laila looked up at Andreas and nodded her head for him to follow her. They walked up the block to a small little restaurant called McMillan's. She'd been here many times before with some of the girls from work. It wasn't anything fancy, but the drinks were cheap and they had to-die-for potato skins with bacon, and cheddar cheese.
They were seated immediately at a little table by the window. It was still a little early for the dinner rush so they practically had the whole restaurant to themselves. The upbeat rhythm of a jazz standard was playing in the background and drowned out the awkward silence.
Laila could tell Andreas wasn't used to going to places like McMillan's. He looked around in wonder at the sports memorabilia and random things nailed to the walls, like an old 1900s wooden sled, and a pair of worn leather boxing gloves. The black and white checkered floors cemented the whole retro vibe. Laila watched as Andreas took it all in. She wondered what he thought of the place, and then wondered why she cared what he thought.
A young man wearing a green apron approached their table with a notepad in his hand.
"Hey Laila," he said, smiling at her. "Haven't seen you around in a while."
"Hey Paul. I've just been busy with work and stuff. How you been?"
"Oh you know," he said and shrugged his shoulders as if that explained everything.
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Laila said.
Andreas watched their interaction with a bemused smile. Laila could feel his eyes on her and she felt uncomfortable and looked back at him glaring.
"So what can I get for you?" Paul said, looking back between Laila and Andreas.
"I'll have the potato skins and a glass of red wine," Laila said, not bothering to look at the menu.
"Did you have a specific red wine in mind?" Paul asked.
"The cheapest you got," she said, giving him a wink.
Paul then turned to Andreas. "And you, sir?"
"I'll just have a bottle of sparkling water, Badoit if you have it," he said.
Paul took their orders and left them alone. Laila sat stiff and formal and looked around the restaurant staring anywhere but at him. She felt awkward, and nervous around him, but most of all she felt confused. She didn't know why she felt so conflicted over a guy she didn't even know.
There was just something about Andreas that set her on edge. Whenever she felt nervous, she'd resort to pushing people away and being sarcastic as a defense mechanism. It had never bothered her before, but she made an effort to control her sassy tongue in front of Andreas in case she said something she regretted.
"I don't think I've ever had a potato skin before," Andreas said, breaking into her thoughts. "What exactly are they?"
"You're being serious right now?" Laila asked.
"Yes, absolutely," he replied.
Laila was about to say something sarcastic, but remembered the promise she just made. Besides, he seemed genuinely curious so she took pity on him.
"They're just a snack. Like potato skins and topped with bacon, cheddar cheese, chives and sour cream," she explained.
"Sounds delicious."
"They're pretty damn good, and they make them the best here," she said.
Paul came back a moment later with their drinks and set it on the table in front of them. "I'm sorry we don't have any Badoit. We've only got Perrier."
"That's fine," Andreas said, taking a sip.
"So you invite me out for drinks and all you're having is sparkling water?" Laila asked once Paul had left.
Andreas looked sheepish for a moment and shot her an embarrassed smile before saying, "Yes, well I didn't say it had to be an alcoholic drink."
"Mmm hmm," Laila said taking a sip of her red wine.
"So tell me something about you," Andreas said, steering the conversation onto safer topics.
"What do you want to know?" Laila asked.
"Anything. What do you do for fun? How long have you worked at the hotel? What's your passion?"
"You sure you want to know all that?" Laila said, laughing at his eagerness.
"Absolutely. You seem like a fascinating woman, so I am prepared to be fascinated."
Laila couldn't help but smile at his boyish charm. He seemed so worldly and jaded one moment, and the next he was all sincerity and passion. He definitely wasn't like any other guy she'd ever been on a date with, if you could even call it a date. For one thing, he wasn't all up in her face, feeding her corny lines about how sexy she looked and trying to cop a feel.
No, he was every bit the gentleman. He sat a proper distance apart and kept his hands to himself and had a pleasant smile on his face. The only inkling that she got that there might be more to his feelings was the look in his eyes. Maybe she was seeing things, but she had caught him looking at her several times with a smoldering look. Whenever she caught him, he'd quickly mask his face back into a neutral expression.
"I don't even know what to say," she began. "You know, no one's ever asked me that before."
"Well now, I feel honored to be the first," he said, giving her a dazzling smile. "So tell me, everything about you. Start at the beginning."
Laila almost choked on her wine and set it back on the table gingerly before patting her lips with the folded linen napkin on her lap. "OK first you want me to tell you anything about myself, and now you want to know everything? You are getting greedy."
"Guilty as charged, now quit delaying."
Laila mumbled under her breath about pushy guys who never got told no in their lives, but Andreas ignored her. He sat with his hands clasped in front of him on the table, the picture of polite interest. Laila didn't even know why she was even agreeing to his demands. She was normally a very private person, but somehow Andreas was able to melt down her defenses. She felt that she actually wanted to tell him about herself and to let him in. If she thought about it, it would probably scare her, but she was so caught up in the moment, she just went along with it.
"All right, you asked for it," Laila began. "Don't say I didn't warn you."
"I'm duly warned," he answered smiling.
"So, let's see, I've been working at The Standard for about three years now. I got the job after I dropped out of college, and I've been there since. In my spare time, when I'm not checking guests in and out of the hotel, I'm an actress."
Andreas perked up and he leaned in closer. "Really? That's amazing. Have you been in anything I'd be familiar with?"
"
Probably not. I'm actually closer to a struggling actress than a real actress. I mean, I haven't had my big break yet or anything."
"Ahh I see. Please continue," Andreas said.
"Well there's not much else. When I'm not auditioning for every and any role out there, I'm working at the hotel. My life is pretty boring."
"I somehow doubt that. What kind of parts have you auditioned for recently?" Andreas asked.
Laila felt the heat rise to her cheeks and took a sip of her wine nervously. Outside of Gary, there was no way she was ever going to tell anyone about her disastrous audition for that porn movie. That was a secret that would go with her to her grave, she had vowed. It made her feel all dirty and violated just thinking about it, and if she could've wiped the entire thing from her memory she would have in a heartbeat.
"Uh...not...not much," Laila said.
"Really? I can't believe you're not a big star already. No I really mean it," he said, seeing that Laila was about to roll her eyes at him. "You've got that certain something, a je nais se quoi, if you will. I predict great things in your future."
"From your mouth to God's ears," Laila joked.
"All you need is one person to say yes," he said.
"True. I wish it'd happen already," Laila muttered under her breath.
"Your day will come," Andreas said.
Laila looked up at him embarrassed she had been caught, but it touched her that he believed in her. In all her 23 years, no one besides her mother ever believed in her talents. Sure, they'd say nice things to her face, but as soon as her back was turned, the knives would come out. It didn't help that show business was so competitive and cut throat, but that didn't excuse the people closest to her for not supporting her.
Marc had always told her to give up her dreams. "Be realistic, Lai," he'd said. "You've got to go get a real job and stop wasting all this time at these auditions. It's not like anyone's ever called you back. We've got expenses and acting isn't paying the bills."
So what if he didn't even have a job himself, and that Laila was supporting the both of them on her meager pay. So what that he wasn't even looking for a job and spent all day in front of the TV playing video games, or out doing God knows what. He was the one always criticizing her and putting her down. She almost thanked her lucky stars the day she came home early from work and caught him in their bed with another woman. It was the wakeup call she needed to kick him to the curb and she hadn't looked back since.