by Mia Caldwell
“Yes, I am,” Raina said, noticing his legs muscles and rear end that were accentuated by his perfectly fitted pants.
She felt herself grow warm when her eyes wandered further up, resting momentarily on the bulge in his trousers. She turned away in shame. This wasn’t like her. She was not given to ogling at men, especially those that she worked with.
Raina had not lied to Pervy Roger. She always kept away from her coworkers, and especially her subordinates, which had saved her a lot of headaches in the past. She’d seen too many office romances turn sour and she strongly discouraged dating amongst her employees.
Still, Christopher, with his well-muscled body and a deep voice that seemed to come from the very base of his stomach, could make a woman question her principles.
“Can I help you with something?” His deep voice held a trace of laughter, almost as if he knew what she had been thinking. But that was, of course, impossible, she told herself. Still, she felt embarrassed at having been caught staring at him like a school girl with a crush.
“Are you settling in well?” Raina asked in what she hoped was a normal tone of voice. It sounded a bit strangled to her own ears. She wiped her damp palms against her skirt and hoped he wouldn’t notice.
“I am, thank you. Your friend Kelly is very … helpful.”
Christopher said the word “helpful” in a suggestive way, which meant that Kelly was trying her luck with him. As much as she liked Kelly, the information gave her a bad taste in her mouth.
“I just bet she is,” Raina muttered under her breath.
“What was that?” Christopher asked as he descended the ladder.
“I said I bet she’s very helpful!” Raina responded in an artificially chipper voice. He gave her a curious look.
“Ah, yes. Well, yes. Helpful.” He cleared his throat and then asked the question he had clearly been waiting to ask her. “Was that another of the bosses I saw leaving your office?” Christopher said.
Raina sighed aloud. “Yes, he’s the regional director.”
“I take it you don’t like him much?”
“He’s fine,” Raina said tightly. The last thing she needed was for Roger to hear she’d been bad-mouthing him. “Look I have to go; just wanted to check on you.”
With that she swung on her heels and left the room. No matter how much she despised Roger, she only spoke about him to Kelly, whom she trusted implicitly. It was unprofessional to discuss your boss with your colleagues, no matter how nasty those bosses were.
Before returning to her office, Raina took a peek into Kelly’s office and was glad to still find her there, going over timesheets. It was stupid, but she wanted to hear from Kelly herself what was going on between her and the new handyman.
It wasn’t like she was jealous or anything, she told herself, she just wanted to remind Kelly that it would be frowned upon to get involved with a coworker.… Raina sighed to herself and rolled her eyes. Even her inner voice sounded lame to her.
“God, Raina! Can you believe the gall of that man? I’m telling you, one day I’ll slap him so hard that his fake teeth will fall out,” Kelly said, her voice interrupting Raina’s reverie.
“Rog?” Raina asked in a dry tone. “I don’t even want to know what he said to you, after he was through with me.”
Kelly shuddered. “I managed to avoid him for the most part, but he had Ellie, in the kitchen, in absolute waterfalls of tears.”
Raina grimaced. She would have to make sure Ellie was okay. Maybe give her a day or two off to make up for it. “I’ll check on her in a bit.”
“Oh, but guess what else?” Kelly’s demeanor changed and she grinned widely. “I have juicier news. Christopher—the maintenance guy, I think he likes me.”
Raina kept her composure, smiling tightly at her friend. Her hands balled into fists at her side. Christopher sure did not waste time. Then again, neither did Kelly.
“Oh? Why? Did he ask you on a date?” Her tone was deliberately casual.
“Not yet, but I know that he will. I’ve caught him staring at me more than once. He’s so sexy, have you seen his ass, and the chest on that man? Yesterday he’d taken off his long sleeved shirt and his undershirt was clinging to him like a second skin. Mmm hmmm … I can just see myself in his arms all night.…”
Raina forced a laughed at Kelly’s dreamy expression and she swallowed the awful taste in her mouth. She admired the way Kelly went after what she wanted with no reservations. It had never been that way for her. Raina gave careful thought to everything that she did, never rushing headlong into situations that could prove to be sticky later on.
“Well, just remember—dating a co-worker is a bad idea. If things get messy …” Raina’s voice trailed off in warning.
“Don’t worry, hon. If I have to find a new job because I’m dating him, it would be worth it. Mmmm hmmmmm …” Her eyes got dreamy again and Kelly wrapped her arms around herself.
“Well … I would miss you,” Raina said, meaning it.
“What about you? Any potential boyfriend material on the horizon?”
Raina shook her head. “I can barely keep my head above water as it is.”
“What do you mean?” Kelly said, looking concerned.
Raina realized that she had said too much.
“You know the usual—juggling kids and work.” She said it in a casual tone, knowing that Kelly could pick up on any hint of anxiety, which Raina was feeling a lot of these days. She reached for the door handle, mentally swearing at herself for giving Kelly an opening to dig.
“Raina?” Kelly called out as Raina nearly sprinted out the door. “I’m your friend and you can talk to me about anything; you know that, don’t you?”
Raina turned, smiled brightly and nodded. She felt Kelly continuing to watch her as her long legs carried her down the hall.
It was not that she did not trust Kelly, but from a long time ago, Raina had learned to keep her biggest problems to herself. The issue of the mortgage hovered in her mind all the time, nudging and squeezing her brain. Not to mention the hospital bills that seemed to increase every month. She managed her days by not giving a thought to it at all, but it was always there. If something happened to upset the balance, like losing her job because she pissed off Pervy Rog, Raina could very well find herself on the streets, along with the kids.
Still feeling unsettled and afraid that Roger might corner her in her office once again, Raina headed for the security station, which was in a discreet room off the lobby.
“Hiya guys,” she said to the two uniformed men who monitored the security cameras. Being men of few words they merely grunted at her in acknowledgement.
Her eyes scanned the thirty or so cameras mounted on the wall, and then settled on a view of the banquet room, which had a conference going on. It appeared to be on a break, as the guests mingled, holding cups of coffee and tea. Her interest, however, was in Roger, who had walked into the room.
Though she could not hear what he was saying, she saw the reaction of the guests. The women smiled at him, and unconsciously angled their bodies towards him. The men clapped his back and pumped his hand. Raina shook her head. He was like a chameleon, changing colors depending on his environment.
If he was that friendly to the staff, he would be a wonderful boss; as it was, he treated “important” people one way and people like her another way. She wondered how she would deal with him in the days that he would be around. Usually he only stopped by for a couple of days. She hoped this visit would be a short one.
Raina’s attention was distracted from Roger, when she saw Christopher’s lean, muscled body stride quickly across the lobby, headed to the back exit.
She moved her eyes to the next camera and followed his movements as he left through the staff door. She checked her watch, noting that his shift was over.
As happy as she was for Kelly, a part of her envied her friend. There was something strong and solid about Christopher. He carried himself with a lot of dignity, especially for a wo
rking class guy, and he made you want to know him more.
And, he sure smelled good. Where that thought came from, she didn’t know, but she could feel the heat rising to her face.
With a sigh, she turned away from the cameras, resisting the urge to watch Christopher walk out of the hotel and down the street, up to where the security camera’s view ended. Feeling safe with Roger schmoozing in the banquet room, Raina returned to her office, where her computer flashed with new messages.
She kept up a steady stream of work over the next couple of hours, though her mind occasionally strayed to Christopher and Kelly. They would make a nice looking couple, though she did think that Kelly was too hyper for a mellow man like Christopher. Nonetheless, it wasn’t any of her business, other than to make sure their work wasn’t affected.
Resolutely, she returned her attention to her computer and replied to emails from all over the departments seeking her guidance or approval. The good thing about her job was that Raina could lose herself in it and push all her worries away, if only for a few hours.
4
Christian felt troubled by Raina’s behavior earlier in the week as he made his way to the service elevators. Since then, he had barely seen her. Both of them were busy with their jobs and there just wasn’t any free time. But he knew it had something to do with his Uncle Roger, and Christian felt murderous.
If the man so much as touched Raina … Realizing the depth of his reaction, Christian felt uneasy.
He had barely known Raina for a week and already he felt protective toward her. Hell, she had taken care of herself well enough before he came on to the scene. Despite that knowledge, her agitation earlier had left him feeling out of balance, and wanting to fix whatever it was that was wrong. Hell, he was the handyman, wasn’t he? He thought with a laugh.
He glanced at his work sheet with a list of tasks that he needed to work on. It seemed things were always falling apart someplace on the property. The elevator stopped on the first floor, and carrying his tool kit in one hand and the work sheet on the other, he went to the first room, a little apprehensive about whether or not the guests had checked out. To his relief, the door was wide open, an indicator that a housekeeper was inside or that they had just finished cleaning. A trio of laughing kids in bathing suits and carrying towels rushed past him in the hall, and he smiled at how care-free they were, envying them a bit.
Minutes later, Christian was in the bathroom, scrunched under the sink. His broad frame was too wide for the space underneath it and he could barely see in front of him. With a lot of difficulty, he located the shut off valves and he turned them off, stopping the water supply. Remembering the details from “The Handyman’s Guidebook,” Christian placed a strainer basket over the sink drain hole.
His whole concentration was on the task at hand, as he carefully disassembled the faucets, taking care to record in his mind where each part went. He’d messed it up a few days ago, much to his chagrin, and he’d had to spend a couple hours looking up the right way to do it on his phone.
It took him an hour to fix the leaking faucet and when he was done, he stood, arms at akimbo, admiring his work. He imagined that next time he could complete the task much quicker.
“You look mighty proud of yourself,” a voice quipped from the door.
Christian swung round and came face-to-face with Kelly. He grinned at her.
“It was a particularly difficult problem,” Christian responded. But the truth was, he was proud of himself. It had been a long time since he’d felt so useful.
Kelly looked at him pensively.
“Would you say that you’re gifted at solving problems?” she said in a soft voice as she rested her lovely body against the door frame. Then she ran her hand through her hair and cocked her head at him.
The atmosphere became charged with tension and Christian, who considered himself good at reading women, noticed the difference immediately. Kelly was flirting with him. The arch of her body told him so, as did the soft look on her face. She was a pretty girl, and perhaps another time, he would have been interested, but the last thing he wished to do was to wound her feelings.
“I got the job didn’t I?” Christian said in a light, business-like tone. He turned away from her deliberately and started packing up his tools.
He observed the disappointment in Kelly. She stood up straighter and took on a more professional demeanor.
“That’s great. By the way, Room 83 was not on your worksheet but the toilet has some kind of problem. It’s not flushing properly.”
“I’ll take a look at it; it’s probably clogged up,” Christian said, grateful she had taken the hint.
She left soon after, with a last regretful look at him. He hoped that would be the end of that. He had noticed her interest in him and pretended not to, with the hope that she would get over it.
He also knew the reason for his disinterest; it was Raina. He felt fascinated by her.
However, Raina had been completely professional with him. She hadn’t shown the slightest romantic interest, which he found slightly vexing; he was used to women flirting with him and trying to get his attention. But she treated him as one would any colleague—friendly but with a touch of reserve.
He wondered briefly if she was involved with someone else. He hadn’t noticed a ring, but that type of thing didn’t mean much these days. He consoled his wounded ego with the thought it was likely she had a boyfriend, but at the same time reminded himself he couldn’t be getting involved with an employee—especially while he was undercover! There were a million fish in the sea—he just had to go out and find one.
But none of them are like Raina, the traitorous voice inside his head whispered.
When she had crashed into him and his arms had wrapped instinctively to protect her, she had fit against him perfectly. For a brief moment the sweet, summery scent of her, the curves of her figure, the way she melted into him, had been overpowering. It was a moment and a feeling he had replayed in his mind for days, and one he just couldn’t shake.
Christian worked for the next four hours, getting a sense of accomplishment as he ticked off every room that he had fixed. As he worked he kept one ear always on the chatter in the hallways and in the rooms coming from the maids and busboys and other service staff. It would have been easy to lose himself in his work and forget why he was there, but he needed to recall the important task at hand—getting information.
The last room that Kelly had told him to look into was his final one for the day. His shift that day was supposed to have ended at two in the afternoon, but an hour later, Christian was still fiddling with the toilet in frustration.
Finally, he returned to the maintenance office to check out the manuals on the shelf, to see if there was a book that could give him any clues as to what was wrong with the damn toilet, since googling hadn’t yielded anything. Nothing appeared to be broken, but it wouldn’t flush. In the corridor that led to the offices, Christian froze and his step faltered when he spied his Uncle Roger striding down the hallway.
Christian’s legs moved forward stiffly and he kept his gaze focused to the floor on his right. A few more steps and the two men walked past each other. Christian heaved a sigh of relief. He grinned to himself. His uncle had not recognized him; in fact, he had not given him a second glance. It was funny how little attention people paid to you when you became a different person. Especially when you became a nobody.
He was beginning to enjoy being undercover. Christian was used to people hovering around him and trying to speak to him. To counter this, he had learned to walk in fast, long strides so that only the most persistent person would keep up with him. It was not that he did not enjoy speaking to his staff, because he did. The problem was that the managers who hovered around him usually had nothing important to discuss; it was more about sucking up, which Christian detested. Can I get you anything Mr. Del Mar? Are you comfortable Mr. Del Mar? It was exhausting.
If there had been a computer in the maint
enance office, it would have been easier to look up the problem on a larger computer screen than on his phone. He thought of borrowing Raina’s computer, then quickly dismissed that idea. A maintenance man would not ask the hotel manager if he could borrow her computer. Besides, she would know that he had been researching a repair problem that he ought to know how to fix.
It would also appear too forward. Christian deposited his tool box on the desk and went to the shelf high on the wall. He picked out what appeared to be a manual and hoped it would have the information he required.
Half an hour later, with the information logged in his brain, Christian returned to Room 83, confident that he knew what the problem was. Time was running out and he took long strides, crossing his fingers that no guests had checked in. He knocked slightly on the door just in case and pushed it open when there was no response.
He worked fast, placing the cistern cover on the floor and proceeding to disassemble the toilet flushing mechanism. Just as he finished and replaced the cistern, Christian heard muffled voices. He quickly repacked his tools and left the bedroom.
The middle-aged couple standing in the middle of their room jumped back when they saw him.
“Good afternoon Sir, Madam. I’m very sorry about that, I must have frightened you,” Christian said smoothly.
The lady, who had greying hair, laughed nervously.
“That’s alright. Is there a problem in the bathroom?” she said.
“Nothing that couldn’t be fixed. Enjoy your stay; you’ll like it here,” Christian said.
“Yes, we’ve been here before. The service is quite good,” The man said in a dull, flat tone.
“Well, if anything is not up to standard, feel free to speak to the manager. She’s a wonderful lady by the name of Raina; she’ll be glad to help.”
With that, Christian waved them goodbye and left. The door was slightly ajar and when he pushed it open, he saw Raina standing there. She was smiling at him in that wholesome, girl-next-door-who-just-happens-to-be-a-total-goddess way that got his blood racing.