by Natalie Ann
“Of course you do,” she said, wrapping her arms around his waist and holding on tight while he ravished her mouth. What he would like to do is pick her up and toss her on his bed. It might be a long time before that happened though.
“If you don’t want to take the elevator, let’s go down the stairs.”
“What?” she asked, gathering her trash.
“Leave it,” he said. “Follow me.” He led her to the back of the penthouse that most thought was a closet, which it was, but he walked through it to another door and punched in the code. “This will take you to each floor, it’s for service staff.”
“So I can get off on any floor?” she asked.
“You can. Just take the stairs down one or two and then you can grab an elevator there. Unless you want to go all the way down the stairs to the first floor. Your choice.”
“I think I will. I’m pretty sure my hair is a mess from your fingers and if I run down and then dash back to the desk Tiffany will ask where I was and I can say I was exploring and found the service stairs.”
He kissed her one more time. “You’re pretty smart and it’s not even a lie.”
“No, it’s not. I’m not good at lying. I was exploring...with you up here. And you showed me these stairs so it’s the same as finding them. Any cameras here?” she asked.
“Not until you get to the tenth floor. The way the camera is angled it will look like you just opened the door and started to use the stairs.”
“I’ll have to remember that and now I do need to run.”
He stood at the top of the stairs and heard her moving quickly once she was out of sight. It really wasn’t a date tonight, but it kind of felt like that. Which was pretty pathetic from his standpoint and he was going to have to do much better to completely win her over. She wasn’t someone gifts and trips would work on, he was sure.
Once he was back in his penthouse, he started to shut the lights off and get ready for bed. He found he was beat and hoped he’d be able to get some sleep since his body was reminding him how long it’d been since he’d had a naked woman under him.
He climbed into bed and laid his phone on the nightstand, shut his eyes and was fast asleep.
Morning came earlier than he wished when his alarm went off at five thirty. Five hours of sleep, if that, but that was his norm.
He threw the covers back, went to the bathroom, then grabbed some workout clothes. Before he climbed on the treadmill, he sent a text off to Kayla. Morning. Or night for you. Either way, sleep well. I’ll talk to you later.
There, maybe now she wouldn’t think he was avoiding her.
12
Get Left Behind
When Kayla had gotten out of work on Wednesday morning and seen that text from Hunter she wasn’t sure what to think of it.
Spending time in his penthouse felt both right and wrong to her.
Right because, as awkward as it was to be surrounded by that kind of wealth, she felt comfortable in Hunter’s presence.
And wrong because he was her boss and she shouldn’t have been up there. She was terrified of being caught by someone, rumors spread about her, or worse yet, fired.
She liked her job a lot. She liked Hunter more. But would she let a man she’d been on one date with have that much influence on her decisions?
The sad truth was, she was afraid she might. But she wasn’t an idiot and she’d keep her eyes and ears open to make sure she didn’t get left behind like she had so much in her life.
The few relationships she’d been in, they never lasted. Most were with guys just barely making it like her. Lack of money to do anything or having to always share housing with others tended to put a strain on relationships.
So when she was leaving work and read that message, she sent him back a quick one saying, “Good morning,” and adding a smiley face.
She drove home and parked her car, the sound it was making reminding her to call the garage when she woke up, but she was too tired to do more than let herself in the house, get ready for bed, and climb under the sheets.
She started to blink her eyes, feeling like she needed to go to the bathroom like she always did halfway through sleep. Slowly she stretched and rolled over to look at the clock in her room and realized she’d overslept and jumped out of bed. It’s not like she was going to be late for work, but it was past four and she always got up around three. She had to have been more exhausted than she realized.
Grabbing her clothes, she went to the bathroom and showered, then made her way to the kitchen. The house was quiet, which was why she liked getting up earlier. Bri and Amanda were at work and Sidney normally left around four for work so they missed each other today.
Kayla was reading the news on her tablet when Amanda walked in the door and said, “I’m starving. How about chicken parm tonight? I’m dying for it.”
“If you’re cooking, then I’m eating it,” Kayla said. She’d only had a piece of fruit when she woke up, getting into the habit of eating a big dinner before work and then on her break eating her lunch.
“So how are things going with the hot hunky boss?” Amanda asked her.
“Pretty good. He asked me up to his penthouse on my break last night.”
Amanda stopped and wiggled her eyebrows. “Man, I hate that we don’t get enough time to chat. You should have texted me.”
“I was working,” Kayla said with a grin, enjoying the talks with Amanda. She was like a big sister to her, something she’d never had and never thought she’d want.
“When you got home you could have told me.”
“Your bedroom door was closed and I was ready to crash.”
“Is that what your feeling happy note on your Facebook page last night was all about?”
Kayla was never one to post much on social media. She only joined in hopes of finding her mother or any other family, then when she did, it didn’t matter. But she had some friends and old foster siblings that she could read about...more like stalk since she rarely posted.
When Amanda, Bri, and Sidney found her, they friended her, but she’d completely forgotten about that.
“It could be.”
“Was it anything juicy?” Amanda asked as she started to pull out the ingredients for dinner. “If it’s juicy and I had to wait until now to find out, I’ll be ticked.”
“Nothing juicy. It’s not like we had a quickie or anything. Matter of fact I was pretty clear that wasn’t going to happen.”
“You’re no fun.”
“I’m fun. I just don’t want to be used and I don’t want to lose my job.”
“I’m sorry,” Amanda said. “I was just teasing. If I were in your shoes I’d be the same way. So tell me what the place looks like.”
“Beautiful,” Kayla said. “Like something out of a travel magazine with the decor and the view.” She didn’t want to say it looked like he was rich because that was a given.
“I bet it’s huge.”
“It’s a lot of space for him. He has like secret back entrances that he showed me so I could leave without getting on the main elevator where I might be seen on camera.”
“Do the cameras bother you?” Amanda asked.
“Why?”
“It’s the way you scrunched your nose up when you said it.”
“Oh. I guess they do a little. Hunter said that he shut the camera off on the tenth floor before I got on his private elevator and then flipped it on again. Security is used to him doing that and would never say a word.”
Amanda reached over and laid her hand on Kayla’s. “And that bothered you thinking he has a lot of women in his place, doesn’t it?”
“It did. But I don’t think he does. I’ve heard rumors that no one ever sees him with anyone, but it could be because he’s sneaky.”
“Do you think he’s a sneaky person?”
“No. I don’t. I think I’m a good judge of character too.”
“Then go with your gut.”
And that was what Kayla was goi
ng to do. She went to work, hadn’t heard anything from Hunter until around eleven when she got a text asking if she wanted to come up, but she said no, that she couldn’t leave the desk. Bob was working with her and he wasn’t feeling that well and she didn’t want to go far in case he needed to use the bathroom. It was probably too much information, but she was being honest.
When her shift ended on Thursday morning, she went out to her car and started it up, or tried to and remembered she forgot to call the garage yesterday. She held her breath and tried one more time and it turned over so she drove home and told herself she’d call the garage before work later.
Of course she didn’t because she overslept again and completely forgot. So it shouldn’t have come as any surprise that when she went to start her car, it wouldn’t even grumble. Not one bit.
She looked under the hood and saw nothing. Sidney was at work, Bri was on a date, and it was Amanda’s late night to work. She was stuck and she was going to be late.
First thing she did was call an Uber. They said they’d be there in twenty minutes or less. Kayla was due to work in ten at this point. She wondered if she could run the less than two miles quicker but knew she couldn’t so she had to wait.
She called work and let them know her car wouldn’t start and she was waiting for a ride. She hoped she didn’t get in trouble but knew she’d get a mark against her for this. They had a system there for people coming in late or calling in sick in the first six months.
Dang it all. It was the last thing she needed and she was trying not to beat herself up over the fact she forgot to call a garage.
Why? Because she was sidetracked thinking of Hunter and she had to stop doing that. Her job had to come first. She needed to have money to stay where she was and she couldn’t jeopardize being able to pay her rent.
When she finally got to work twenty minutes late, it was to find Nikki giving her shit. “I’ve got a date tonight and now I’m late.”
“You didn’t have to wait for me. I said I was on my way. Tiffany is here and Bob is scheduled.” She looked around. “Where is Bob?”
“Out sick and I couldn’t leave Tiffany here alone. It’s been busy.”
“I told her I could handle it,” Tiffany said. “She wants to play the martyr.”
“See if I help you again,” Nikki said and walked away to get her purse.
Kayla took a deep breath and turned to Tiffany. “I’m so sorry. I’ve got to call the garage tomorrow. It’s just hard because they don’t open until eight and I’m sleeping by then. I forgot to do it the last few days.”
“I understand. It’s hard working the night shift. My husband is good with cars. He could check it out for you tonight if you want. Since Bob is out sick I’m covering his full shift so you aren’t alone.”
Kayla felt her eyes start to fill. “Could he really? I doubt it’s something simple, but it would give me a heads up of what to expect. If I should fix it or if I need a new car. I don’t want a new car, but what I’ve got isn’t worth much either.”
“Let me call him if you can handle the desk. He’ll come over and get your keys and go check it out.”
Tiffany walked in the back to make the call and Kayla waited on a couple that walked in. “Hi, welcome to Bond’s Retreat. Checking in tonight?”
“We are,” the older woman said. She looked like she was in a mood even though she should be thrilled to be staying in this hotel on the island. “Maynard and Lucille Smith.”
Kayla pulled up their reservation, took their credit card information, and went through her routine while the woman tapped her foot. The husband was looking at brochures a few feet away. Kayla thought she was pretty fast at checking people in, faster than Bob who’d been employed for a few years. But Mrs. Smith wouldn’t know that and probably wouldn’t believe her if she said it.
“Here are your keycards, if you can just sign here. There is a phone in your room with numbers for the front desk, housekeeping, and the restaurant if you need anything, along with the times they are available. We are at the front desk twenty-four-seven though.”
Mrs. Smith nodded her head, reached for the cards after she scribbled her name and walked away.
Tiffany came back out and said, “Joe is on his way.”
“Thanks again.”
Not ten minutes later, Mrs. Smith came back to the front desk. “I’d like another room.”
“Is there something wrong?” Kayla asked.
“It doesn’t have a water view. I want a water view.”
“Just a minute and let me look up your reservation.” She started to type into the computer. “Did you make it online or call?” She’d know when she got to the reservation but was told to always ask.
“I did it online.”
“Here it is,” Kayla said. “It doesn’t look like you reserved waterfront.”
“I just assumed since I was on an island all the rooms were waterfront,” Mrs. Smith said with a huff.
Kayla wanted to laugh over that assumption but knew better. “That isn’t the case. I’m sorry about that.”
“Just give me another room.”
“I can’t do that. We are booked up solid. There aren’t any rooms to give you.”
And even if there was, she didn’t have the authority to switch rooms for something like this. There were always one to two rooms available in case there was a legitimate problem and someone had to be moved for the night, but not liking their view wasn’t cause enough to authorize the move.
“There has to be a manager here I can talk to about this,” Mrs. Smith said.
Tiffany walked over having heard the conversation. “I’m sorry. Kayla is right, there isn’t a room. When our manager comes in in the morning, I’ll be sure to let her know about your situation and you can speak with her to see if there is anything that can be done.”
“So I’m stuck there for tonight?” Mrs. Smith said.
This woman didn’t know what stuck meant if she was complaining about a gorgeous room in this resort. “I’m afraid so,” Kayla said. “If there is anything else we can do for you, please let me know.”
“You can get me a manager right now.”
Kayla turned to Tiffany, not knowing what to do. Surely this wasn’t a case of calling Hunter.
“The managers on site currently are for the grounds and the restaurant,” Tiffany said. “I am sorry.”
“Then call someone.”
Kayla couldn’t believe this. It was almost dark out, what could be the big deal for one night? “Mrs. Smith. You’ve got a very lovely room and I’m sure you’ve had a long day. In the morning, hopefully they can work something out for you.”
“Don’t you tell me what I can do. I want to speak with a manager and I want one right now.”
“Is there a problem here?”
Kayla’s shoulders dropped when she heard Hunter’s voice behind her. He never showed up at the front desk and she was curious why he was here now. She hoped it wasn’t to see her, but then she hated that he witnessed her not being able to do her job.
“Are you the manager?” Mrs. Smith asked.
“I’m the owner. What happens to be the problem?”
Hunter moved Mrs. Smith to the other side of the lobby and talked to her for a few minutes, then came back over and said, “It’s taken care of.”
“Do I need to move her?” Kayla asked.
“No. Not today or at all during her visit. I explained there wasn’t anywhere to move her, but we want everyone to be pleased with their stay. I comped her a night and dinner in the restaurant.”
“Which is probably what she wanted all along,” Kayla said, crossing her arms.
“Most likely. It happens. It’s best to just let it go rather than get a bad review or cause a scene. Only Patrice or Carol can do that though.”
“And you,” Kayla said.
“Of course. So please, adjust her rate for the night and I’ll let the restaurant know they will be down for dinner in a few minutes free of
charge.”
Hunter walked away and she made the adjustment to the account all the while grinding her teeth. This night was turning out just great and it hadn’t even been an hour yet.
13
Read Between The Lines
Hunter hated dealing with guests like that, but learned the best way was to sweet talk and give them something for free.
Kayla was right, Mrs. Smith most likely was a regular at this scheme, but he wasn’t going to let it ruin his night.
He’d gone down in hopes of catching Kayla’s eye and seeing if he could get her to come up tonight but then noticed only two people were at the desk instead of three. That told him there was no shot in hell he’d get his hands on her tonight.
It didn’t stop him from trying though and he sent her a text a few hours later.
Sorry, short staffed. I’ll take a break but need to stay here.
You could call me, he typed back.
He didn’t think she would, but she said she’d try. It was the best she could do.
But when he noticed she wasn’t at the desk around midnight and hadn’t been for twenty minutes, he figured she was on break and blowing him off.
He knew it smacked of desperation, but for some reason he was feeling it and decided to call her. If she couldn’t talk, she’d send it to voicemail and he’d just go to bed.
She answered. “Hi. Sorry. I just walked outside. I need air.”
“You’re outside alone?” he asked.
“It’s fine. There are people around, but I’m far enough away to have some privacy.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to say he was going to pull her up on the camera to see, but if calling her smacked of desperation, then watching her on camera while they talked bordered on creepy. He only knew she wasn’t at the desk because he did pull that camera up quick.
“Having a bad night?” he asked her. He could tell by the sound of her voice that she wasn’t her normal friendly self. “Don’t let that guest get to you. You’ll come across worse than that at times.”
She sighed. “I know. Tiffany said the same thing. I thought I was handling it well and she still wanted a manager. Tiffany even said I did good.”