by AJ Riley
She slid her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply hoping that he would get the message that she felt something for him without her having to say the words. She pulled back slightly. “You really should get to work otherwise I’m not going to let you go.” She said teasingly.
“Trust me if it wasn’t important I’d let you keep me for as long as you wanted.” He gave her one last brief kiss and ushered her through her hotel room door.
The moment she entered the room the bright flashing light on the phone caught her attention. She glared at it knowing that it would intrude on the peace she had found. Very few people knew where she was staying and even fewer would be allowed to call according to her grandfather. Not ready to let this day go she stood staring at the light wishing that it would stop blinking and that she wouldn’t feel so guilty for not running right over and retrieving whatever message had been left.
Dropping her bag and kicking off her shoes she rolled her eyes at the still flashing light. “Yes, I see you, I’ll get to you in a minute”. Walking over she poured a drink and walked as slowly as she could over to the bed and sat down. Finally, lifting the receiver with a sigh of frustration to retrieve the message.
“Hi Amanda, its Ann. Listen I know you’re on vacation, but we have a problem.” Amanda chuckled, her grandfather must have explained her absence by saying she took vacation instead of saying she screw up and he sent her there to fix it. “That client you were working on before you left. What was the name...?” Hearing rustling papers in the background had her smiling. Ann was not the most organized person. “.. Oh, here it is, the Bassett Hotel group. Well there seems to be some problem with the ads that you had drawn up. They want to go over them with you. I told them you were out of town, but they were adamant that they would only work with you. Something about how they didn’t want to start over with someone else. So, give me a call as soon as you can. Thanks.”
It was old news that the client wasn’t happy with her so why was Ann freaking out now? Had something else happened? Stacy was handling all of her accounts shouldn’t she be the one dealing with the latest issue? Amanda sighed she didn’t want to hand this client over, it was her screw up and with the new background she had regarding the hotel she knew that this was too important to trust to anyone else. She had to make this right, after Russ’ story about how the owner fought for this hotel she felt like she knew him, and she was determined to do this hotel proud.
She was torn between wanting to do the hotel justice and saying forget it she didn’t want to leave Russ. Since she met Russ her priorities had shifted, and it shocked her. What the hell did that mean? Maybe getting off the island for a day or two would help put things in to perspective for her.
When the message ended Amanda flopped back onto the bed and let the crazy thoughts swirl in her head. She wanted these few days with Russ to be distraction free, hadn’t that been what she kept telling herself. She snorted, when had work become the distraction and not Russ? There was no way around it she would have to head home and get this fixed. She needed this account to prove that she could handle the bigger responsibility. This might be her only chance to prove herself and she couldn’t afford to waste it.
Amanda had to find Russ and explain that she had been called home early for work. She need to tell Janice, oh my God Janice. The thought of leaving Russ alone with her made Amanda’s stomach hurt. She knew that Janice would pull out all the stops to prove a point. She looked up at the ceiling and prayed that Russ would not fall for Janice’s lies.
Rolling over Amanda reached for her cell phone to call Russ and felt her face crumble. She didn’t have a number for him. The man just seemed to appear out of nowhere. Think, think, she told herself. Ok first things first she had to get out of this bed and get packed. She would leave him a note at reception, hopefully they would be able to get it to him. That was the best she could hope for until she made it back here.
She was packed and ready to go. Flight reservations had been made, a car service was set to pick her up, and a message left for Ann that she was on her way back. The only thing left to do was call Janice and she had put that off for as long as possible. Groaning Amanda picked up the phone and dialed her hotel room.
After the phone rang six times Janice finally picked it up. “Hello?” she asked breathlessly
“Listen its Amanda. There was a problem at the office. I have to be on the next flight out of here.”
“No! I’m not ready to leave.” Janice huffed.
“I don’t expect you to be. You still have your flight booked for the end of the week. I just have to get back to the office.”
Amanda could hear the smile in Janice’s voice when she responded, “So did you tell Russ you’re leaving? How did that go? Don’t worry I’ll take good care of him for you.” She almost purred.
That’s what I’m afraid of. “That’s not your concern. I’ll deal with Russ. I just wanted to let you know that I had to leave. I’ll see you when you get back to Los Angeles.” Without giving her a chance to respond Amanda hung up the phone.
She could feel the tears building, just the thought that Janice would try and make a move with Russ made her chest ache. Hell, she expected it, but it hurt to think of the two of them together. She shook her head; no Russ had told her time and time again that he didn’t want Janice. That he only wanted her, so she had to believe him, believe in him. She picked her phone back up and dialed for a bell hop to come grab her bags.
When Amanda reached the checkout desk she noticed that the same woman from earlier was still there. The same woman that had seen her kiss, and then leave with Russ, perfect, what were the chances? Never mind she had to get a note to him her awkwardness couldn’t stand in the way of that right now. “Excuse me, do you happen to know Russ?”
“Of course, everyone does.” She replied.
Of course, everyone does. Yuck, she wanted to throw up at the woman’s sugary response. For a brief moment she was tempted to ask just how well she knew Russ but bit back her question. “Fantastic could you make sure he gets this note? We were supposed to meet, and I didn’t want to miss him.”
“Sure, no problem.” The woman smiled.
Amanda turned on her heel and strode out of the hotel toward the waiting shuttle and felt the knots in her stomach grow. How could it feel like this was the worst thing in the world that could happen to her? How was it possible to feel like she was leaving half of her behind? She tried to convince herself that she was being stupid, that it was impossible to be in love with a man after only knowing him a few days, but she was.
The guilt that she didn’t try harder to find him gnawed at her. She hated that she only left him a note, that she wasn’t able to wrap her arms around him one last time. She knew what she had to do. She had to push Russ to the back of her mind and get through this meeting. When she arrived at the office she would tell Ann to extend her stay here at the hotel and she would forget about work and concentrate solely on Russ.
Having a plan made her feel slightly better. Resting her head back she let her eyes drift closed. Maybe a little nap on the way to the airport would help settle her stomach.
It felt like the longest night of his life, but he was about to be put out of his misery. Russ lifted his hand to knock on Amanda’s door. He couldn’t wait to see her. He waited but there was no answer, so he knocked again. When she still didn’t answer his brow furrowed. Maybe she went downstairs for breakfast. If he hurried maybe he could catch her in the restaurant. Turing to leave he noticed Janice coming out of her room across the hall. Great, maybe he could pretend he didn’t see her and make it to the elevator before she did. The last thing he wanted was to be stuck on the elevator with her.
Seems his luck was not going well, just as he had feared she reached the elevator before the doors had closed. He could have hit the close door button but even he wasn’t that rude.
“Well good morning.” Janice purred as she stepped into the elevator next to him.
�
��Good morning.” Russ said politely.
“Looking for someone?”
“Actually, I was looking for your sister.” Shit why had he said anything. Not wanting to prolong the conversation he left his comment at that.
“Oh you’re a few hours too late then.” She replied with a smirk.
He didn’t want anything she had to say to matter but that comment got his attention. He slowly turned to face her. The look on her face told him that she was enjoying having information that he wanted. Putting on his best business face he glared at her waiting for her to get tired of the game and get to the damn point.
He almost pulled his arm away from her touch as she laid her hand on his bicep.
“Oh, now don’t look at me like that. You knew it was bound to happen. I told you that her work would always come first, she has always been more interested in work than in pleasure. Unlike me, she doesn’t know how to have a good time.”
“Just tell me whatever it is that you know.”
“I just hate to see you wasting your time on someone that is clearly not available.”
Janice looked at him expectantly, but he wouldn’t give her the satisfaction. Luckily, he had perfected his poker face so while it remained blank his heart was beating a mile a minute. What the hell did she mean unavailable? Amanda had told him she wasn’t seeing anyone, and he had believed her.
“Look, she’s gone. Checked out early this morning or late last night. Depends how you look at it. Work called, and she ran.”
Shocked didn’t begin to cover what he was feeling. He couldn’t believe that she would just cut and run like that without a word to him. He had thought they were both feeling what he felt. How had he been so wrong? He could feel the anger start to swell inside of him and he flexed his hands that had turned into fists at Janice’s words. Maybe she was lying but what would that get her? It would be easy enough to find out.
“Well I have to go back to work.” He was never so happy to have the elevator reach the lobby in his life. Stepping out into the bustle of activity in the lobby he had never felt so alone. He hadn’t gotten more than a few steps from the elevator when Janice called out to him. “If you want to get a drink you know where to find me.” He didn’t even turn around.
Once safely inside his office he pulled up the registration screen and sure enough, it showed that she had checked out shortly after they got back yesterday evening. His hand slammed down on the desk. Damn, she couldn’t even have said goodbye. Maybe she didn’t feel the connection that he had felt. Maybe she was just playing with him.
CHAPTER 19
Pacing the conference room did not help dissipate Amanda’s anger. Lack of sleep and thoughts of Russ plagued her mind. She needed to hurry up and get this meeting over with. It ate at her that she didn’t get to see Russ before she left, that she had to leave him a note that she wasn’t even sure that he would get. She clenched and unclenched her fingers in hopes of getting the shaking to stop. She needed to be there, with him, not stuck here.
She turned as the conference room doors opened and Ann entered followed by a good-looking man in his thirties. She had met him once before at their initial consultation for the hotel. “Mr. Miller.” Reaching out to shake his hand she smiled trying not let her inner turmoil shine through.
He took her outstretched hand in his and gave her an assessing gaze, “Miss Garret.”
“I’m sorry is there a problem Mr. Miller?” She withdrew her hand and stepped toward the conference table. She wanted to put some space between them and the awkwardness. She watched as he seemed to gather himself.
“No, I’m sorry I was staring. It was rude please forgive me; you just seemed familiar for a moment. Please call me Greg.” He said as he took a seat across from her and slid a folder across the table to her.
She rested her hand on it and looked at him, “Well I should hope so” she replied with a smile “We have met before.” He seemed to stiffen at her words, so she continued, “I have been working on this campaign since your company came here. You and I sat down for the initial consult a few months ago. I assumed that was why you insisted I attend this meeting.”
He seemed to relax. “I meant that you seemed familiar as if we had met outside of business. Must be over tired, I just flew in.”
Amanda still felt the awkwardness but that seemed to be the end of it for him.
“Why the need for the urgent face to face? I already sent all this information and the samples to your office.”
“I did receive your samples and I sent them to the owner, but he was unsatisfied.” He nodded to the folder that he had slid to her, indicating that she should open it.
She opened the folder and froze, “What the hell is this?” she demanded. Staring at the pictures of swaying palm trees and couples kissing at sunset, she thought she was going to be sick. Looking up at Greg for clarification his face remained blank. “Again, I ask you, what is this?”
“This is what we received. I thought I had made it clear that he didn’t want the normal swaying palm trees and beach shots. He wanted something that would set this hotel apart. That was part of the deal and depending if we received what we wanted would determine if we brought the other hotels and future business to you. He was severely disappointed in what we received from you.” He nodded toward the folder.
“This wasn’t what I sent over to your office. I’m not even sure what this is. Give me a moment to pull the file. There must have been a mix up but I’m sure that we can get this fixed. I rushed back from out of town for this meeting but please be assured I will get to the bottom of this.”
Okay no problem there was probably just a mix up. She took a deep breath, opened her laptop and pulled up the Bassett Hotels Group file. When the file opened she gasped. It was filled with the same crap that sat in front of her on the table. What the hell had happened to her beautiful designs? Was this why her grandfather had sent her to the hotel. Was this what he had seen, if so he was right that this was nowhere good enough, especially not now.
Her heart was hammering in her chest. This was the last thing she needed. She needed to show him the real designs and get her ass back to Russ. “Bear with me just a moment I seem to be having an issue. I know there is a hard copy on my desk. Let me just run and grab it.” She walked out not even waiting for him to acknowledge her request. Practically running to her desk, she barely noticed a startled Ann and a perplexed looking Stacy. She finally acknowledged Stacy when she fell into step beside her.
“Girl what lit a fire under your ass? Shouldn’t you be on your vacation still?”
“Where the hell is the Bassett hotels file folder? What was sent over to his office is not the right stuff. I don’t understand how this could have happened. I emailed that file over myself after I triple checked it.” She was growing agitated slamming desk and file cabinet drawers. “It’s not here.” Then she turned to look at Stacy. “Do you have it? You took over my clients, is it on your desk?” She asked hopefully.
Not waiting for an answer, she marched toward Stacy’s desk. Searching through the files she felt Stacy grab her shoulders and set her aside.
“You know you are my best friend but if you touch another file on my desk you’re going to lose some fingers.”
The smile on Stacy’s face took some of the sting from her words but Amanda’s agitation only grew as she watched helplessly as Stacy combed through the files on her desk then moved toward the filing cabinets. “Sorry honey it’s not here. I haven’t touched that file. I have everyone but that one.”
“Oh, thanks.”
Amanda couldn’t shake the feeling of defeat as she walked back toward the conference room. How would she explain this to him? Would he understand, or would he pull his account without giving her the time to fix what ever had happened? Pushing through the conference room doors she pasted a smile on her face and tried to bluff the best she could. “Mr. Miller, I apologize for the mix up, but it seems that the mock ups for the relaunch of the hotel have
been misplaced. I really don’t know what happened, as I explained earlier I have been out of town and flew in just to take this meeting. I assure you, this,” holding up the offending palm trees, “was not even close to how I was going to launch this campaign.”
She dropped the file on the table and tried not to glare at the offending pictures. “If you could give me a few weeks, I can put the correct information together for you and get it sent over as soon as possible. Your account has been my main focus and I would hate to lose it over a misunderstanding.”
“I also would hate for you to lose this account. I recommended this company to the owner and I have faith you can get this all straightened out. Don’t worry, I have a meeting with him in a few hours and will explain the mix up. I’m confident I can get him to give you the time you need to get the corrected ads to us.”
With that, Amanda watched him stand, extend his hand to her, and then walk out of the room. She tracked his movements out of the conference room windows and the minute Mr. Miller disappeared from sight she sank down into the chair and pulled the file folder closer to her. She flipped it open and gaped at what sat in front of her. She had spent so much time and energy working on creating something different for this hotel and it seemed that at every turn she was being undermined. How could something like this happen?
The magnitude of her defeat was overwhelming, and she felt the first tear drop slide down her face. She had to fix this and fast. Thoughts of Russ spun back in her mind. The story he told her about the private villas crossed her mind again. Maybe what she had put together the first time wasn’t enough, even if she could find them. Maybe this was a gift, a second chance to do the ads right.