The Suite Life (The Family Stone Book 1)

by Brooke St. James

  "Sounds kind of unnerving."

  Josh shook his head. "Not really, actually. You met him, he's nice. He's cool. It seems like he's trying to help everybody. He was asking me what my goals in life were, if I liked being here, what I'd change about my job, what things would make me more comfortable at work. Everybody likes him. I don't know what he's doing, but it's like you can already feel the difference around here."

  "Like what?"

  "I don't know. It's hard to explain. It's like he connects everybody. He introduced me to people I'd seen here for a year and still didn't know their name."

  The elevator dinged, stopping on the eleventh floor, and we stood there while the doors opened. I glanced at Josh as we started down the hall.

  "So, you're saying all that cookie and white noise stuff… that wasn't just because I’m Blue Stone?"

  "I really don't think he knew who you were. I mean, he probably does now that I told him you were staying in the main penthouse, but that wasn't what all the attention was about. He's just always like that."

  Chapter 2

  Taylor Patterson

  Taylor was on day two of a four-day consulting job at The Birmingham, one of Boston's oldest and finest hotels. Yesterday, he met the staff and walked through the hotel from top to bottom.

  He carried around a digital notepad with a stylus, and he would make handwritten notes about things he noticed. Periodically, he would organize his notes and make a list of priorities. When he was at his own hotel, he did this at lunch time and again at 5pm or so, but he was in a new place, and he was making note after note. He had to sit and organize his thoughts on a more regular basis.

  Taylor was staying in a room on the first floor of The Birmingham, and that's where he set up his makeshift office. He could have easily reserved something bigger, nicer (in fact, the owners had insisted on it) but Taylor wanted to be down on the first floor where the action was.

  He had been up and around since 5am, so in spite of it being only 8am, it was already time for him to go back to his room and organize his notes. He was planning on heading there right when he got downstairs, but he met a tired young woman in the elevator who was just checking in, and he found himself checking one last thing off of his list.

  "How many cookies?" Tiffany, the head pastry chef was in the kitchen when Taylor went in there, and she was the one asking.

  "Remind me how big they are," Taylor said.

  Tiffany held up her gloved hand that had a cookie resting on the end of it.

  "Five," Taylor said. "Just arrange them in a little circle, please."

  Tiffany gave him a nod. "They just came out of the oven. They're still warm."

  "Perfect. Thanks so much, Tiffany. Also, include this note with the plate, if you don't mind. Someone from room service will pick them up in just a minute. They should have milk and a little container of oil. Make sure that gets arranged on the tray, with the cookies and this note, please."

  Taylor handed Tiffany a small place card with the words, "Sweet dreams!" printed in neat block letters. Next to the words was a simple drawing of a smiley face, complete with closed eyes and a few 'Zzz's' coming out of the top.

  Tiffany smiled at it as she positioned it next to the plate. She couldn’t help but think what a nice touch it was. She briefly wondered why Taylor would write such a thing at 8am, but she didn't ask.

  "Thanks, Tiffany," Taylor said, knocking a time or two on the counter as a way of saying goodbye. She glanced at him, and he smiled and waved as he walked away.

  Taylor needed to get back to his office but he decided to go into the lobby first. "Hey, Josh. You're just the man I was looking for," he said. He looked around, gauging their busyness at the door. "I'm headed to my room. Once Garret gets back, do you think you could come by there and talk to me for a few minutes?"

  "Sure," Josh said with a smile and nod. He felt slightly nervous, but he could tell by Taylor's countenance that he wasn't upset.

  "You know which room I'm in, right?"

  Josh nodded. "Yes sir."

  It was five minutes later when Josh knocked on Taylor's room.

  "It's open!" Taylor called.

  Josh walked in to find Taylor sitting at the desk with a laptop and stacks of paper everywhere. He had been in the room before, but that was yesterday, and Taylor had done quite a bit of moving in since then. He had a larger desk brought in… or maybe it was just a second desk or piece of furniture placed next to the other desk. It was so covered with stacks of paper that Josh couldn't tell. There was also a professional office chair. This was not the desk and chair combination that were normally in the rooms; and there was stuff everywhere—papers and pictures.

  Josh tried not to stare at the organized chaos as Taylor stood up and shook his hand.

  "Thanks for coming," Taylor said. He gestured around him. "Please excuse all this. I had to come back here and get some things organized, but I wanted to tell you something while I was thinking about it."

  "All right," Josh said, nodding with a curious smile.

  "The young woman who you showed up to the penthouse a few minutes ago…" Taylor paused, and Josh nodded. "I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for how you were with her."

  Josh tilted his head curiously, wondering what Taylor was talking about.

  "She trusted you," Taylor explained. "I could tell by her body language that she liked you—respected and trusted you. I just wanted to thank you for that. That's exactly what we're shooting for. Personal connection, you know?"

  Josh nodded. "Miss Blue's awesome. They stay here quite a bit because Mr. Stone really likes the Patriots."

  "I met Alec and his assistants yesterday," Taylor said, nodding. "He's a really cool guy." He shrugged. "I didn't know he was expecting a lady friend."

  Josh grinned and chuckled at that. "You mean Blue?"

  "Is that her first name?" Taylor asked. "Blue?"

  Josh nodded.

  "The young woman on the elevator?"

  "Yes sir. Miss Blue is Alec Stone's daughter."

  Taylor flashed back to a magazine he had seen on the newsstand years before. "I remember seeing something about him having daughters."

  Josh nodded. "Blue's got two older sisters. Violet's the oldest, then Indigo. Blue's the baby. She's the main one who travels with her dad. The other two have only stayed here a time or two. One's an actress and the other one's married with a family."

  "I think I know some of this," Taylor said, nodding.

  He couldn't avoid hearing tidbits of entertainment news over the years, and some of what Josh was saying seemed familiar. He racked his brain trying to remember that photo on the newsstand. He thought he remembered seeing the girls on the cover with their dad. He was trying to recall the photograph when Josh spoke again, drawing him from his thoughts. "Thank goodness they didn’t have another daughter, or they would have had to name her Green."

  Taylor had already thought of that when he first heard the rainbow-theme names of Blue and her sisters. "They could call her Verde." Taylor was quick with that reply since it was a chain of thoughts that had already crossed his mind.

  Josh laughed. "Ha! That's good. Verde." He was still smiling as he shook his head and pointed at Taylor. "It's really funny that you thought Blue was Mr. Stone's date."

  "Obviously, don't tell either of them I said that," Taylor said.

  "I would never," Josh promised. "But it's funny. She thought you were just being so nice to her because you knew who she was."

  "She said that?"

  Josh nodded. "She just said you must really like her dad if you were so anxious to take up a white noise machine and everything. She's used to people trying to get a glimpse of her dad any way they can. She assumed you were offering all that stuff because you wanted to take it up to their room."

  "I'm sure that kind of thing happens to her all the time," Taylor said.

  "All the time," Josh agreed.

  "I take it you encountered her before today…" Taylor kne
w the answer, but he was trying to draw more out of Josh.

  "Yes sir. Like I said, she travels with her dad quite a bit. They like to come to football games sometimes. He doesn't sing the anthem every time, but he's singing it tomorrow. Blue told me that. She's awesome. So sweet and down to earth."

  "I have to admit, I'm glad I was wrong in assuming she was something else to Alec Stone. She's so young. But I've definitely seen stranger things, working in a hotel."

  "Oh, me too," Josh said grinning and shaking his head. "And, you can't put anything past rock stars."

  Taylor thought of the young woman he encountered in the elevator. He had so much on his mind when he saw her that he had a hard time remembering her features. He recalled her being in the category of young and beautiful, but he couldn’t remember what color eyes she had or what she was wearing. He knew she had dark hair.

  "Anyway," Taylor said, snapping himself out of his daydream. "I just wanted to get you to come in here and talk to me while I was thinking about it. I really liked seeing how comfortable she was around you. I can tell you were making her feel at home here, and that's exactly what we're going for. That's what sets us apart. So, thank you, great job."

  "You're welcome," Josh said, feeling humbled by Taylor's sincerity.

  Taylor took something out of his pocket and looked at it before handing it to Josh. It was a hundred-dollar-bill.

  "What's this?"

  "Money," Taylor said. "Just to say thanks and good job."

  Josh instantly tried to give it back, grinning as he shook his head. "Oh, no, no sir. I can't."

  "Sure, you can. It's just a tip—just a thank you. You're doing good stuff here, Josh. Just try to make all the customers feel as comfortable as you make Ms. Stone."

  "Yes sir, I will," Josh said, with a huge smile. He put that money into his pocket, thinking about what perfect timing it was. He made a living wage as a doorman at The Birmingham, but he was a single dad with a young daughter who had recently started kindergarten, and he had just been wiped out by purchasing all of her supplies.

  "What were you thinking?" Taylor asked, noticing the nostalgic smile on Josh's face.

  Josh was taken off-guard by the question, so without thinking, he told the truth. "I was thinking about what a blessing this was. My little girl had a bunch of school supplies she needed last month." He patted his pocket and nodded thankfully, shifting and taking a step back to walk away. "Thank you, sir."

  Taylor was probably the same age or younger than Josh, but Josh instinctually addressed him as 'sir'. Taylor was used to it, so he didn't think twice. "Here then," Taylor said. He reached into his pocket and handed Josh another bill.

  "Oh, no, no, sir." Josh said, with a palm facing out. "I was just doing my job."

  "And a great job it was." Taylor's eyes met Josh's, and without saying a word, Taylor conveyed to Josh that he wanted him to take the money. He looked him in the eye, man-to-man, and gently pushed the bill toward Josh once again. Josh reluctantly took it, and instantly Taylor gestured around him.

  "I'm not paying for this room," he said. "In fact, I'm getting paid to sleep here. To top it off, everyone's trying to impress me with their cooking skills and their service. I'm single, and I never go out. I have no expenses, and it would honestly make me feel good to chip in on your little girl's school supplies. Please, it's the least I can do. I'm sure that's just a drop in the bucket, anyway."

  Josh could not comprehend that this guy was giving him his own personal money, but he thought that's what he was saying.

  "Oh, no, it actually helps a lot," Josh said. "But I feel bad."

  "Please don't. Really. I want to."

  Josh sighed. "Thank you."

  "You're very welcome. Thanks for caring about your job. People like you make my work a lot easier."

  Josh smiled and was almost out the door when Taylor called to him again. "What'd you say to her?" Taylor asked.

  "Sir?"

  "Miss Stone. What'd you tell her when she said she thought I was just being friendly because I wanted to see her dad?"

  "Oh, I set her straight on that," Josh said. "I said you were that nice to all the customers."

  Taylor smiled, and the two men gave each other a nod as Josh walked out, letting the door close behind him. Taylor let out a long breath. It had been such a busy morning that he needed to take a few seconds to stare at the wall and space out blankly. He had so much to think about—so many things to keep straight in his mind. There were things in the hotel that needed to be addressed sooner than later. Most of the hot water heaters needed to be adjusted, the dishwasher needed to be moved, the booking software was behind on three updates, and the list went on and on.

  For whatever reason, though, all he could think about, at the moment, was the woman in the elevator and the exchange he had with her. He tried to picture her, doing his best to remember if she looked like her dad.

  That made him call to mind a song called Reckless and he grinned at the thought of it. It was one of The Kick's biggest hits—a rock love ballad that Taylor used to belt in the shower when he was in middle school. He knew every single lyric of that song by heart, and he continued to smile absentmindedly as the music and lyrics came back to him easily.

  His mind drifted back to the girl.

  Brown. Her eyes. They were dark. She had dark eyes. He hadn't been certain about it a few minutes ago, but now he was. He remembered looking at them under the lights of the chandelier. He remembered thinking about how warm she looked—slightly cautious and tired, but warm hearted and sweet by default. Her gaze was focused and engaged, which was odd in a generation of people who were increasingly flighty and disengaged. He remembered decisively putting her in the category of people he liked.

  Usually, Taylor was very good at reading people. He often knew within the first few seconds if he connected with a person or not, and Blue instantly went into the mental compartment with people he liked.

  Taylor smiled when he thought about their exchange. He thought back to their conversation about cookies, and then he imagined her mentioning him to Josh once he walked away. He thought about all the times she must have been offered things by people who were just trying to get a glimpse of her dad. It gave Taylor an odd satisfaction that Josh said he treated everyone at the hotel the same.

  Taylor squeezed his eyes shut when he realized he had been sitting there thinking about this girl for what must have been five minutes. He shifted in his chair and leaned his head back, staring at the ceiling and rubbing his face as if to erase his thoughts and start with a clean slate.

  He was just about to focus on a plan for the hot water heaters when his cell phone rang.

  He had two cell phones, plus his room phone, plus email and texting. He knew by the sound of the ring that it was his 'good' cell phone, his home number, the one he always answered. It was a call from an unknown Los Angeles number, and Taylor answered right away.

  "This is Taylor."

  "Taylor, this is Alec Stone."

  Taylor knew by the sound of the man's voice that it was indeed Alec Stone. He had given Alec his number when they met the day before, but he honestly didn't expect him to use it—not when his agent usually took care of hotel business.

  "Yes, sir. Good morning. I hope you rested well."

  "I did. I always sleep the best on these pillows. I'm gonna take a couple with me when I go—as long as I have room in my luggage. You can just charge them to my room."

  "Absolutely. If you'd like new ones, I can arrange them to be brought up… or, better yet, we can just ship them to your house. I believe we use two different kinds here. I'll have to find out which ones you like."

  "It's the flat ones," Alec said.

  "Ah, yes. I know exactly which ones you mean. Well, I'll send a couple of new ones to your room. If they're still there when you check out, I'll assume you didn't have room for them, and I'll have them shipped to you."

  "Thank you," Alec said. "You're the man."

  "I
try to be," Taylor said with a smile that could be heard in his voice. "Sometimes, I just smile and fake it a little bit."

  Alec laughed. "I'm glad I'm not the only one," he said. "Hey, that's not why I called, though."

  "It's not?"

  "No, I didn't call to tell you about the pillows. I just thought about them when you picked up the phone, and I wanted to mention it."

  "Oh, okay. What else can I help you with?"

  "My baby girl," Alec said. "She just arrived from London."

  "Yes, sir. I believe I had the pleasure of meeting her in the elevator a few minutes ago."

  Chapter 3

  Blue

  Within moments of getting to my room, an attendant showed up with a tray full of goodies. I set it aside, feeling only a little disappointed that it hadn't been Taylor who brought it up.

  My dad must have heard our exchange from his bedroom because he began stirring. He yelled for me to come to his room, which was still really dark. He turned on the lamp and asked me to crack the window. I did as he asked, squinting as light came spilling into the dark room. Dad threw his covers off, stretching his pajama-clad leg out of the comforter and all the way across the bed. He motioned for me to come to him, and I fell onto the bed beside him, causing him to laugh and tickle me. This got us both laughing.

  "You smell good," he said. "Like the airport."

  "Oh, thanks a lot, Dad."

  "What? Airports smell good."

  "No, they don't." I sat up, smelling my own armpit as my dad swung his legs around the edge of the bed so that he could sit next to me. "I just met a hot guy in the lobby, and I look and smell like a big hot mess."

  "You met someone in this lobby? This hotel?" He asked sleepily.

  "Yes," I replied, looking at him seriously.

  I was delirious, or I probably would have never been so frank.

  Dad gave me a stunned expression like he was confused and didn't know where to begin. I never talked about guys with my dad, and I could tell he didn’t know if I was serious or joking.