“Please tell me you aren’t planning on working late again?” Tiffany came bounding into my office exactly one minute and thirty seconds after her shift ended. She had a ratty backpack over her shoulder and had already changed out of her uniform—a navy pencil skirt and white blouse—into a pair of cut-off jeans and a green tank that matched her eyes.
I eyed the pile of papers lying next to my laptop. The hotel was looking for a new supplier for cleaning supplies and a couple of the couches in the lobby needed to be replaced. I had a ton of other stuff left to do, but none of it was urgent.
My high profile client was checked in, we hadn’t heard another peep from the frat guys since I sent up the complimentary champagne, and there didn’t seem to be any other problems with the guests that needed my attention.
“No, I don’t think I will. I’m beat.” Staying late was a way of life for me, but my feet were aching in my new stilettos, my eyes were burning from staring at my computer screen for too long and my three hours of sleep the night before was catching up to me. The night before that I only had four.
Tiffany’s smile spread from ear to ear. “That’s exactly what I was hoping you were going to say. Come on, I’m going to the beach and you are coming with me.”
I shook my head so hard I almost gave myself whiplash. “Not a chance. I’m going home and going straight to bed. The only stop I would consider making is in my bathroom for a long, hot bath.”
Tiffany stuck her freshly glossed bottom lip out and crossed her arms. “When was the last time you were outside during daylight hours? All work and no play does more than make Aston a dull girl, you know. You also need some vitamin D. Some of the staff members are starting to wonder if you’re actually a vampire.”
I laughed. “They are not. They see me outside on the pool deck all the time.”
Sliding open my bottom drawer, I pulled out my purse and started gathering my things. It wouldn’t take me long. My phone was lying next to me on my desk and there were only a few other items I used during the day that I needed to pack up.
My office was in a state, at least by my standards, but I could tidy it up tomorrow. The office I called my own was a glorified broom closet and while I loved it, it only took about fifteen minutes to clean from top to bottom.
It was an office in a true minimalist style. The walls were a pale gray with only a clock and a noticeboard up against them. The only furniture was my desk, a couple of chairs and a side table with a fake plant on it. A perpetual item on my to-do list was to pretty the place up a bit, but in the couple of months it had been my office, I hadn’t found the time.
Tiffany fell into step beside me once I locked my door. “Okay, but when was the last time you were outside for fun and not work? The beach is fun and if you’re not going to let me get you laid, this is the least you can do.”
I didn’t agree with her last statement, but my mind was preoccupied with the question before. When was the last time I’d been to the beach? It was a good question. I was there a couple of weeks ago to organize a fundraising event for one of our guests, but that was for work and it was night time.
Truly, I hadn’t always been the workaholic I was now. I’d never been a slacker either, but I used to make time for fun. My promotion to manager was something I had worked toward for almost two years. It became the thing that drove me, the thing that occupied all my time. Since the promotion, I was more focused on work than ever before.
Truth be told, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been to the beach for fun. Imagining what the warm sand would feel like between my toes, and the waves gently lapping over my feet, I changed my mind about going right home.
“Okay, I’m in. Your car or mine?” I asked, but Tiffany was already linking her arm with mine and leading me to the parking lot out back where she parked. One of the perks of my promotion was parking in the executive lot. It was only a couple of paces closer to my office than where I used to park, but it was in the opposite direction of Tiffany’s car.
She clasped my arm tight and waved a finger in my face. “I’m not taking any chances with you deciding to go home on the way there. I’m driving, and we’re staying for at least a couple of hours.”
A couple of hours was much longer than I’d been planning on staying, but she was right. Left to my own devices, I probably would find a reason to come back to work once I’d had a little break, or to go home to get to bed early so I could be back at work even earlier in the morning. No, better to go with her. It was time for some me-time for a change.
“Your car it is. We’re going to have to stop so I can buy a suit and stuff though.” Tiffany nodded and started telling me all the gossip among the floor staff about a new chef I’d hired. It was exactly what I needed to shut me off from work—mindless chatter and laughing with my friend.
ASTONHalf an hour later, we’d made a quick stop so I could buy what I needed, and just like that, we were pulling up at one of the quieter beaches on the outskirts of the city.“I’m so glad you decided to come with me. I really didn’t feel like working on my tan alone and it’s been forever since we spent some girl time together.” Tiffany gathered a small beach umbrella and towel from the back of her car, grabbed a water bottle and pulled a cap on. We walked to a public restroom so I could change into my newly acquired beach wear, buying some sodas from a stand nearby once I was done.Tiffany chattered nonstop and kept my arm linked with hers like she was afraid I was going to take off on her. I followed her onto the beach and as soon as I felt the sand between my toes, I knew I’d made the right decision.We weren’t even sitting down yet, and I already felt myself relaxing in the company of my best friend. It felt good. I could practically feel my batteries recharging. “I’m glad I cam
BLAKECalifornia, sweet California. Although I didn’t get out to this property as often as I liked, it had always been one of my favorites. It was a small hotel, but it was popular and really did feel like a home—to me, anyway. Having thought about my talk with Dad on the plane, I still didn’t want to settle down in one place for good, but I wouldn’t mind spending a couple of weeks in California.The people, the vibe, the weather, the food. Everything was better here than it was in Florida. It helped that my family was far enough away, but not so far that I couldn’t get there if I needed to.Compared to some of our bigger hotels, the lobby here was downright cozy. It had the big windows and panes of glass for walls like most of our hotels did, but it seemed warmer because it was smaller.I made mental notes of things I noticed while walking in. Part of my job when I visited the properties was to report back on general impressions and things I thought we could improve in order to attra
BLAKEWas she what Dad was thinking about when he said something might be different in California this time? Because she was certainly different than the last manager of the property. He was a brash mid-westerner who we fired for taking bribes from suppliers.When Aston rounded the desk to escort me to my room, I extended my hand. “Blake. Nice to meet you.”Her hand was small and warm, but her grip was firm. Another smile lit her eyes. “You too, Blake. We hope you’ll enjoy your stay with us. Please let me know if you need anything to make your stay more pleasant.”My mind flew to the gutter. I could think of at least a dozen things she could do to make my stay more pleasurable, none of which involved performing the duties in her job description. I pushed the thought away. I was here to work, not play. And I was definitely not here to fuck the hot new manager.Aston started walking to the elevators and I followed, but not before noticing the way her hips swayed slightly when she walked
ASTONDamn that man was hot. He was tons better looking than the arrogant frat guys, with none of their attitudes. He couldn’t be more than a few years older than they were, but compared to him they looked like adolescent boys. Blake, on the other hand, was all man.Tall, well-spoken, confident. He radiated strength and power. A lot of times with men around my age, it looked to me like their suits wore them instead of the other way around. Almost like they hoped the suit made them look as powerful as they wanted to feel, as they hoped to be seen.Blake was different, he wore the suit. The suit didn’t wear him. It seemed right on him, made especially for him, but more. Almost like the fabric itself clung to him, wanting to be in his presence.The air of cool confidence he exuded was unmistakable. The magnetism of a man who knew who he was, what he wanted and how he was going to get it. And he probably got it all the time, whatever it might be.His attitude alone would have made him one
AstonWhen I looked up from the computer, I saw Blake crossing the lobby. He’d taken off his waistcoat, jacket and tie and rolled his sleeves up to his elbows. If I were in a cartoon, my tongue probably would have rolled out of my head.It was unfair for one person to be that beautiful. The crisp white shirt was unbuttoned at the collar and, now uninterrupted by the blue tie and black suit, contrasted perfectly with his tanned skin and pitch black hair.I watched him walk up to us, admiring his perfect bone structure, angular jaw and the precisely measured way in which he moved. His gait was long but graceful, and his eyes, while seemingly focused on mine, still seemed alert to everything going on around him.Whatever the man did for work, I doubted he ever missed a trick. The corners of his lips turned up into a smile when he got to the desk. “I was wondering if I could take you up on that offer of telling me where I could go grab a bite to eat.”Despite his intimidatingly good looks
BLAKESifting through thousands of unanswered emails, I waited for the conference call from my father and my brother to come in. It was a beautiful, typical California day outside with clear blue skies and warm weather. I, however, was cooped up in my hotel room waiting for our weekly briefing to begin.It was day four of my weekly hostage situation, aka Thursday. I worked almost every weekend, but I was looking forward to taking this weekend off. Danny and I had been at loggerheads more often than not this week and I needed some space away from him, or away from my computer rather—which is where it seemed he lived when I wasn’t physically close by.The call came through when it was supposed to, almost to the minute. My father was nothing if not punctual. His face popped up on my screen first, followed shortly by Danny’s, in its own window. As far as I knew, my brother was in Arizona this week.“Blake. How’s California?” My father asked.“Still standing. The hotel is doing well, but I
BlakeDad nodded, smiling like a professor who appreciated a question from a student. “Yes, we have everything handled on our end. But you have an excellent network of people on the ground level you can reach out to. I want you to help us gauge how the branches are reacting.”Technically, this wasn’t part of my job description. But hey, it was our company and I often had to do things outside of my regular duties. “Fine, I’ll make a couple of calls and send through reports as I get them.”“Fantastic. I want to know how people are responding to this.” My father liked having his ear on the ground. He was a respected CEO not only because of his business sense, but also for the way that he treated his employees.His eyes slid to Danny’s screen on his computer. “Blake and I need to talk about a few more things, Dan. You’re excused. I’m sure you have a lot of preparation to do before the conference this afternoon. Keep me in the loop.”“Fine, we’ll talk later. Bye Dad. Cheers Blake, try not
ASTONTiffany and I gathered in front of the TV. Blake came to stand next to us. A handsome man appeared on the screen and most of us in the lounge went quiet. Tiffany gasped. “Oh my God, that’s Danny McAllen, the big boss’s son.”I frowned, wondering what could be so important that one of the McAllen’s themselves would be making the announcement. I didn’t follow society gossip much and I hadn’t met any of the family in person since I started working for the McAllen group. “Have you met him?”Tiffany shook her head. “Can’t say that I wouldn’t like to. He’s damn good-looking isn’t he? And can you imagine how rich he is?”I suddenly became very aware of Blake standing right next to me. He probably hadn’t known who Danny McAllen was either, but he still didn’t need to hear Tiffany make those kinds of comments about the guy. “Tiffany!”She glanced at Blake, but shrugged. “What? I bet he’s loaded. I would sleep with him for a portion of his money, even if it was just a small portion.”Seri