He nodded as she turned to the women and held out her hand. “Hello, and welcome to McKendrick’s. If you need anything at all, I hope you’ll let me know.”
“Actually, I do need something,” one woman said. “I have to know…where did you get that fantastic outfit?” She gestured toward Alex’s pale lemon knee-length suit.
Alex grimaced inside. She wanted to be helpful, and yet… “I’m afraid I got it in San Diego.”
“Wonderful! I’ve been wanting to go there. Now I can schedule a shopping trip as an excuse. I have a luncheon in a month, and that’s just what I was looking for. You wouldn’t happen to have the address of the shop, would you?”
“As a matter of fact, I do,” Alex said, writing down the information for her friend’s shop. “Tell Elaine, the owner, that Alexandra Lowell sent you. She’ll treat you right.”
“Fantastic! Now, I better let you get to Seth. He’s certainly in demand this morning.”
Alex smiled. “Yes. Seth, I need the name of your hairdresser? Barber? Whoever gave you that great cut?”
Seth blinked.
“It’s for a customer,” she explained. “You have just the right look, I think.”
The women agreed that Seth had great hair, and chuckled as he blushed and smiled and scribbled an address down.
“Thanks, Seth. You’re a lifesaver. I’m sure Mr. Toliver will thank you, too.” She flashed the women a smile. “I hope you find something nice at Elaine’s.”
“Even if I don’t, I’ll enjoy looking. It was great meeting someone who takes her job personally. By the way, Alex, I’m Joanne. Wyatt runs a great hotel, and even though we’re local, Meredith and I come here often, so it’s good to meet you.”
“Thank you. I’ll do my best to make your stay special.”
Then, because Mr. Toliver had been waiting too long, Alex practically flew across the room.
“I’m sorry I took so long, Mr. Toliver. Thank you, Randy. I was just getting some expert advice on hairstylists from Seth.”
“Alex,” Randy said in a low voice, “Seth is a waiter.”
“Yes, and he has gorgeous hair, doesn’t he? Both of those ladies love it, too. I think you’ll be in good hands at—” she glanced at the piece of paper “—Gregory’s, Mr. Toliver. If women as stylish as Joanne and Meredith admire Seth’s hair, that’s a stellar recommendation.”
Mr. Toliver glanced toward the middle-aged attractive women. One of them smiled at him. “Well, Gregory’s it is, then,” he said. “Thank you, young lady.”
“It was a pleasure. Come back if you need anything else.”
When the man had gone, Randy shook his head. “You’re supposed to look in the files. We have lists of places you can recommend.”
“But I don’t know anything about those places.”
“Alex, you were lucky this time. Frank Toliver is a frequent and valued customer here, but he could have been anybody. McKendrick’s is having its fifth anniversary, so it’s in the crosshairs of every reviewer, most of whom work incognito. Not only that, but this is the first time that the hotel is a finalist for a National Travel Award. We’re up against some fierce competition, including Champagne just down the road, so we have to be careful and make sure that every customer goes away satisfied. Most of our clients won’t want to pattern themselves after people like Seth.”
Alex felt a twinge. Was Randy right? Had she hit a wrong note in her first few minutes on the job?
“Seth the waiter?”
The deep voice came from behind Alex. She didn’t have to turn around to know who it was, but she did. Time to face the music. Maybe it really had been a mistake not to fly back to San Diego with her friends.
To his credit, Randy merely looked sheepish and didn’t try to discredit her. Alex opened her mouth, wondering if she should apologize, and yet…
“I like Seth’s hair,” she said. “But I really didn’t even think about the fact that Mr. Toliver might not want to frequent the same establishments that our employees do. Actually, I don’t even know what kind of neighborhood I sent him to.”
And she didn’t have the address on her any longer, either.
“I’m sure Seth wouldn’t have led a customer into a dark alley,” Wyatt assured her. “So…you like Seth’s hair, do you?”
She pushed her chin up. “I do.”
He frowned. “I’m not criticizing, Alex. I’m just waiting.”
“For what?”
“To see what Frank Toliver looks like when he gets back, and to see how he feels about how he looks. If it goes well, we’ll add Gregory’s to our list of recommended shops.”
Alex couldn’t help wondering what Mr. Toliver would do or say if he didn’t like how he looked. Would it affect his opinion of McKendrick’s service?
She could tell Randy was thinking the same thing. He was practically leaning over, listening to see if Wyatt was going to say more.
Wyatt frowned at him. “The desk,” he said. That was all. Randy left for his post and the customers headed that way.
“I suppose I should stick to what Belinda has on her list,” Alex said. “Winging it might not be the best idea until I know more about the city and the best places to go.”
“You saw a need. You took care of it. That’s why I hired you, Alex,” Wyatt said. “Every customer is important, but our reputation won’t rise or fall on one customer’s opinion. If, by some chance, Frank Toliver is less than happy with your recommendation, then I’ll take care of the situation. He’ll be given a few extras courtesy of the hotel. By the time he leaves, he’ll be pampered and smiling.”
“And you’ll have had extra work because of me.”
“That’s my call to make.”
“But you didn’t hire me so that you could clean up my messes. If I’m to be useful, I have to get things right.”
That was, Alex thought, a version of what she had told herself as a child, and later as an adult. If she just did things right, her father would come home, her stepfather would visit her, Robert or Leo or Michael would be blown away by what a difference she’d made in their lives. She hated the fact that she’d even remembered that right now, but at least this time her concern wasn’t about winning love. It was about the job she’d been hired to do and about the National Travel Awards. As a finalist in the competition, the hotel was under the microscope, and she intended to help it shine.
“I hired you to help the customers, Alex. I’m the only one who gets to decide how you’re progressing.”
The only one. He really was a lone wolf—the nickname she’d heard him called. Alex couldn’t help thinking that she had spent her life wanting companionship while Wyatt appeared to wrap himself in his solitary status.
“You heard Randy criticize me. I hope you won’t hold it against him. He was just trying to give me good advice.”
“Randy sometimes gets carried away, but as I said earlier he’s good at what he does.”
“I see that,” Alex said, watching Randy smile at a woman who appeared to be complaining loudly about something. The woman’s voice rose, but Randy kept his expression calm, the low tones of his response soothing, until finally the woman nodded and walked away. “I fully intend to get along with Randy. Maybe I’ll ask him for some suggestions.”
“I’m sure he’d like that. But remember what I said. I hired you because of your ability to take control of a situation and connect with the patrons. A minor mistake or two won’t topple McKendrick’s.”
Maybe not, but Alex had tangled others up in her mistakes more than once. While she’d been fooling herself into thinking shy Leo would fall in love with her, the heart of the equally shy girl who’d loved him from afar for years had been breaking. Far worse than that, though, was what she’d inadvertently done to little Mia. Assuming that she and her most recent ex, Michael, had a future, she’d allowed herself to get close to Michael’s daughter, and the child had been heartbroken when things had fallen apart. The fact that she’d harmed a child in much the
same way she had been harmed, scalded her. It was something she couldn’t forgive herself for. It was a reminder that there was a high price for some mistakes.
“Randy says you’re competing against another Las Vegas hotel for the award.”
He maintained an expression that told her nothing. “Champagne will be tough to beat. They’ll keep upping the ante right until the end.”
So the competition was a big deal. “What are the odds that you’ll win?”
“Winning isn’t guaranteed,” Wyatt said, his tone cool. But she could tell by the way his jaw tightened that the award meant something to him.
And why not? He’d designed the hotel himself. That made the award important, whether he wanted to admit it or not. It seemed he didn’t want to admit it to her. And why should he? She was an employee. A stranger.
“You’re the boss,” she said. “I’ll do my best to be as mistake-free as possible while I get acclimated.”
“I’m not anticipating lots of mistakes.”
She shrugged. “Neither am I, but everyone makes them. I’ve made my share.”
“Are we talking about the film crew and the CPR incident?”
“Among other things.”
Wyatt raised an eyebrow. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
“That I might go through some rough patches the first few days?”
He studied her, his expression unreadable. “That you know CPR. And that you didn’t hesitate to help.” He held her gaze to make his point. There was something fierce and commanding about the man. Heat seemed to radiate off him, despite the fact that he seemed so outwardly cool.
Disregarding her warnings to behave, Alex’s heart-rate sped up. Warmth spread through her. She tried to ignore it, even though the man had eyes that could make a woman forget to be smart. “Well…” Somehow she managed to find her voice. “As embarrassing as it was, I’d do it again. But for now I’d better start learning the ropes if we’re going to win that award. I’ll just read the reference material that Randy tells me is in the cabinets, and surf the Internet for interesting factoids about Las Vegas.”
“Wyatt, there you are! I’ve been looking everywhere.”
The husky female voice came from Alex’s right, and she turned to see a gorgeous blonde woman moving toward them. She wore a sand-colored sheath dress that fit her perfectly. Her bare legs and arms were smoothly toned and tanned, and her megawatt smile was focused on Wyatt.
Alex instinctively took a step back. The woman knew Wyatt, and Wyatt was Alex’s boss, not her friend.
Wyatt, however, drew her forward. “Katrina, this is Alexandra, my new concierge. Alex, Katrina owns Gendarmes, a restaurant down the street.”
“Ah, one of your colleagues,” Alex said with a smile.
The woman’s smile dimmed. “Oh, yes,” she said, her tone clear. Alex didn’t rank. “We both have a shared interest in Las Vegas and…other things. Come on, Wyatt, we’re going to be late.”
A frown line appeared between his brows. “Alex, I’ll be at a meeting of some of the local hoteliers and restaurants most of the rest of the day. We’re coordinating some functions and we’ll be at Gendarmes, but if there’s an emergency I can be interrupted.”
Alex almost thought she heard Katrina hiss.
“Thank you, but I’m not expecting any emergencies,” Alex said.
Still, after the two of them had gone Alex admitted that she’d felt the telling sting of jealousy when Katrina had walked away with Wyatt at her side. Allowing herself to feel that way would rank as an emergency. Not to mention how incredibly stupid it would be. Developing an infatuation for one’s boss was such a cliché and just…wrong. Besides, while she’d pursued love with reckless abandon and lost before, she’d at least had good reason to expect success in those cases. Wyatt McKendrick was a sure ticket to heartbreak. She just couldn’t allow herself to fall for someone incapable of loving her. Never again.
Love, Alex had discovered, was a lethal weapon in the hands of the wrong person. She was the wrong person and always had been. Her current dreams were within reach, and she wouldn’t cheapen them by setting them aside to covet the impossible. Fantasizing about Wyatt wasn’t allowed, and she was just going to have to nip that trip to Jealous Town in the bud.
So she devoted herself to learning the ropes. She read everything on the desk, thumbing through pamphlets and cruising Internet travel sites. She answered basic questions, made reservations for people and directed them to where they wanted to go. In a slow moment she wandered over to Randy’s desk and picked his brain.
He looked at her suspiciously, but then told her what she needed to know. “You’re really throwing yourself into this, aren’t you?” he asked.
“I agreed to take the job. I’m going to do it right.”
“Could I give you a word of advice?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t do it to please Wyatt. Women always fall in love with him, but he’s a guy who likes his personal space. He doesn’t get close to anyone, male or female. And while he occasionally escorts a woman for both business and…other obvious reasons, he doesn’t stay.”
“Grr.”
“Don’t tell me you’ve already fallen?”
“No, but you must be the tenth person who’s told me that. So, for the tenth time, I’m never going to fall in love with Wyatt. I’m safe.”
“You say that as if you’re trying to convince yourself, but I’ve seen it happen before.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Good. But if the unexpected should happen and your ‘never ever’ turns to ‘maybe’, will Wyatt be fine?”
She blinked.
“Look, none of us know Wyatt that well. He keeps his personal life to himself. But he treats his employees well, even if he asks a lot in return. I know that better than anyone. I’m here today because Wyatt caught me trying to pick his pocket when my mother died and left me and my younger brother destitute. He grabbed me by my shirt, lectured me, and then gave me a job with the understanding that I would keep out of trouble. Because he’s fair, those of us who work for him pay attention, and what we’ve seen is that he takes everything that concerns McKendrick’s seriously. If he chose you to work here and you somehow got hurt, he would brood over that.
“The truth is that whenever a woman shows up here with stars in her eyes, and he has to tell her no, he retreats into himself even more than usual. His past’s a secret, but something must have happened, because even if he’d never admit it, hurting people seems to affect him almost as much as it does them. Unless they deserve it, of course. Then he can be ruthless.”
“So you want me to protect Wyatt’s psyche by agreeing not to fall in love with him?”
“It sounds stupid, but, yes, something like that.”
“Not a problem. You’ve got it.” She hoped her voice didn’t wobble with uncertainty when she said that.
“Good, because people are already taking bets on how long it will be before you go down for the count.”
“Randy!”
“I’m just saying…”
“Well, stop saying. I’m here to do a good job. That’s all.”
With that, Alex returned to her desk, more prepared than ever to keep a safe distance from Wyatt. And that meant concentrating harder on her job.
She dug out more of the guides from Belinda’s desk and began to study them. She had to. Unlike someone who’d lived in the city, she didn’t know anything about the layout other than the world famous Las Vegas Strip. That would have to change, something that became clear when several people asked her questions she didn’t know the answers to. Fortunately they were nice enough to wait while she quizzed Randy. But Randy had his own duties, and her stalling techniques wouldn’t bode well for McKendrick’s if a reviewer for the competition showed up.
For two seconds Alex allowed self-doubt to creep in, but she battled it back. She had the ability to do this job, didn’t she? Or if she didn’t have it yet, she would. Knowledge was king in thi
s position, but there had to be a better way to educate herself than sitting around reading tour guides. As soon as she got off work she planned to do her homework. The Alex way.
But for now…
“The elevators to the karaoke bar are that way,” she told one young man, and, “The shuttle to the airport will be here in ten minutes,” she told another.
She was searching through a drawer she hadn’t had time to explore yet when she looked up and saw Mr. Toliver coming in through the main doors. Automatically she glanced up at his hair, which…mostly wasn’t there.
Okay, this is so not what I expected, she thought. His hair looked nothing like Seth’s sweeping blond mane. Still, she had sent him to the stylist; it was only right to follow up.
“Mr. Toliver,” she called.
To her surprise, he smiled and turned her way. “What do you think?” he asked.
“I think…”
“It’s short, I know,” he said, rubbing his hand over the top of his head. “But Gregory told me that my head was shaped perfectly for the almost shaved look, and since I was starting to thin on the top I thought I’d try it. It’s not for everybody, of course, but it’s very freeing,” he said, smiling. “Much cooler in this heat, too.”
Alex sent a silent thank-you to Gregory, the hairdresser she’d never met. It seemed that McKendrick’s had a happy customer. And the style did suit the man. “It looks right on you,” she said. “Awesome.”
He walked away, his smile even broader, and Alex followed his progress. Her gaze snagged on Wyatt, who had entered the building while she hadn’t been watching. He was staring at Mr. Toliver, who had his back turned toward Wyatt.
Almost without thinking she stood up and moved toward the door. “It might look a little drastic,” she began, “but—”
“He likes it. I know. I ran into him outside,” Wyatt said. “Nice job.” Something close to pleasure lurked in his green eyes and sent her heartbeat racing ten times faster than it had when she’d seen Frank Toliver’s bald head.
Don’t even consider wondering what he would look like if he ever flashed a full smile, she ordered herself. “Weren’t you even a little worried when you saw his head?”
Saving Cinderella! Page 5