My phone buzzed as I hailed a cab. The enthusiasm from Saturday’s revelation had vanished when my alarm hadn’t gone off this morning, causing me to be late for work.
I prayed it wasn’t my boss, Brian Leach. It was rare that I was ever late, but of course the few times I had been, he’d thrown an absolute fit about it. The man made no secret about his disdain for me.
I let out a relieved sigh when I saw my assistant’s name on the screen.
I checked my email, not seeing anything that might clue me in as we pulled up to the hotel. Rhea, dressed in a lime-green pantsuit, met me at the front door.
“Mr. Mayfield is retiring!” she hissed as she fell in step beside me.
“What?!” I said, shocked. “When?”
Mr. Mayfield had been the hotel’s director for two decades. He’d been the one to personally hire me six years ago. I still remember how impressed he’d been with my resume.
“He put in his two weeks this morning,” she said as we crossed the lobby. “But that’s not all. Corporate is sending some hotshot C-level executive to evaluate the hotel’s performance. Something about aligning to the Hawksley Corporation’s new direction. He’s set to arrive today.”
“Thanks, Rhea,” I replied. “You’re a life…”
My words died as I recognized someone across the room. Panic gripped me as a pair of ocean-blue eyes locked onto mine.
My heart dropped. He strode toward me, those well-defined muscles perfectly framed in a tailored suit and that same confident grin from the other night on his face.
“Who’s that?” my assistant asked.
“A client,” I replied quickly as I passed her my purse. “Could you head back to the office and pull up everything we have on the art museum gala? I want to go over it so we can make our pitch to this executive when he arrives.”
“Good idea. I’ll get right on it!” Rhea said, still staring at Jensen as he approached.
“Thanks, Rhea,” I muttered, giving her a gentle nudge toward the stairs.
She rushed off as Jensen stopped in front of me. I caught the intoxicating aroma of his cologne, every moment from our night together rushing back in crystal clear detail. A bolt of need pulsed through my core.
“Well, hello,” Jensen said with a wink. “I was hoping I’d run into you again.”
I gave him my most professional smile, trying my best to ignore the way every part of me tingled when he was near.
I pushed the image of his delicious naked body away. “It’s certainly a surprise.”
“Are you a guest here?” he asked.
“Uh, no. Actually, I work here.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Really? This must be my lucky day then. Could you point me toward Meeting Room A?”
“Of course.” I motioned to a passing bellhop. “Harold, will you please show this gentleman to Meeting Room A?”
“Of course. Right this way, sir.”
Jensen leaned toward me, a playful glint in his blue gaze. “Thank you, Kyla. Perhaps we can catch up after? You left so quickly the other morning that I never got the chance to say goodbye or tell you what a wonderful time I had with you.”
A thrill went through me as his fingertips brushed my arm. “That would be against the rules, if you remember. Now, I have to get to work. Good luck with your meeting.”
He hummed, dropping his hand as he turned to follow Harold up the staircase. I tried my best not to watch him as he walked away, blushing when he glanced over his shoulder and caught me checking him out. He flashed me a sexy grin before he disappeared around the corner.
I turned, heading for the emergency stairs so I wouldn’t run into him again, even though part of me really wanted to.
I shook my head.
I sighed as my phone buzzed.
Sometimes it was awesome having my best friend work with me. Right now was not one of those times. I pivoted on my heel, making my way back toward the lobby.
I made a beeline for Coleen at the concierge desk.
She winked at me as I approached. “You didn’t tell me you arranged a meetup with your hunk.”
“I didn’t,” I hissed. “Apparently, he’s here on business.”
“What kind of business?”
I shrugged. “I didn’t ask. I just sent him up to Meeting Room A.”
“Oh my god,” Coleen gasped, looking around as she pulled me to the side. “What if he’s that executive corporate sent? For the assessment? Isn’t he supposed to arrive today? This can’t be a coincidence.”
“How do you know about that? I just found out.”
It wasn’t entirely surprising that Coleen already knew about the assessment. Our hotel basically ran on gossip. Something like my night of lapsed judgment would spread like wildfire, especially if Jensen ended up being this mystery executive.
My stomach sank as I mulled over her words. “There’s no way. I mean…”
I groaned. “Do me a favor, don’t mention anything about this to anyone.”
She drew her hand across her mouth, miming locking her lips with a key. “Not a word, I swear.”
My phone went off again.
“Damn,” I sighed. “The Leech is looking for me. We’ll talk later.”
Coleen nodded, waving at me as I rushed for the stairs. I found Rhea waiting outside my office when I arrived at the marketing department.
“Is he looking for me?” I asked.
“He was,” she replied. “But he had some meeting to attend and ran off. God, I hope they don’t pick him to replace Mr. Mayfield.”
“You and me both.”
Mr. Leach, who Rhea and I had dubbed the Leech, had been jockeying for the position of hotel director for years. If he managed to get promoted, he would undoubtedly make my life more of a living hell and run the hotel into the ground. The man had no idea what he was doing.
Why he disliked me was a mystery. I had never been anything but absolutely professional, and yet he seemed to hate the very sight of me.
My belief was that he was threatened by a confident, career-oriented woman. Rhea’s guess was much simpler. I wasn’t his type or as easy of a target to intimidate like a lot of the other associates on our floor.
I was also the only one he hadn’t personally hired. Every other person the Leech had brought on board seemed to live in fear of him. They never called out his behavior, which often came very close to being offensive without ever fully crossing the line.
Rhea’s phone buzzed, and she glanced down, the color draining from her face as she read the message.
“Uh-oh. You’re late for a meeting.”
“What!?” I exclaimed. “I didn’t see one on my calendar this morning. How did we not know about this?”
“They just sent the invite. I’m so sorry, Kyla.”
“It’s okay,” I reassured her. “It’s not your fault. Where’s it at?”
“Meeting Room A,” she replied as a sense of dread filled me.
