ASTON
One knocked into a standing vase and I cringed and waited for the crash when it hit the floor, but the doorman managed to grab it just before it toppled over. He got knocked on the head by a few of the flowers from the arrangement, but he’d saved us from having to salvage them all from the floor.
The frat guy didn’t acknowledge Fred at all. He just swept past the poor doorman and punched his buddy on the shoulder as they headed toward us. I sighed, a group of rowdy frat guys checking in always caused trouble, which was the last thing I was in the mood for, but clearly these guys wouldn’t care.
Tiffany, on the other hand, straightened up and checked her lip gloss in the reflection of the computer monitor as she nudged me with her elbow. “Perfect timing. Some might even call it divine intervention. What are the odds of them appearing right at this moment? Just think—one of them could be the guy who finally pops your cherry. The time has come, girl. Take your pick first, but personally I like the look of the blond one in the back.”
I scoffed. The blond one in the back looked as much like a stereotypical frat boy as the rest—floppy hair, preppy clothes and sunglasses indoors. “There will be no popping of my cherry by any one of these idiots. Even if I was behind your plan to get me laid, I would never give it up to any of these guys.”
“You don’t know, one of them could be Prince Charming,” she argued, a megawatt smile lighting her eyes when one of them winked at her. Not the blond in the back, but a taller, wider one with brownish curls. He sauntered over to the desk and slapped a black credit card down onto it.
“Three suites, sweetheart.” His voice was nasally and his eyes rimmed with red. He wasn’t totally unattractive, but he did nothing for me. Tiffany was insane if she thought I’d be getting it on with him or anyone else in his motley crew of floppy hair and brand names.
“Welcome to the McAllen. Let me check on the availability of our suites for you. Could I have your id, please?” It was standard procedure to ask for identification with credit cards, but Frat Guy didn’t look too happy about it.
He rummaged around in his pockets and fished it out. “Here. We need those suites, honey, stat.”
Arrogant asshole. But he was a guest and that meant he, like everyone else, deserved my utmost best. “Of course, sir. We’ll have you in your rooms in no time.”
Tiffany accepted his identification and frowned. “I’m sorry, sir. Your initials don’t match those on the card.”
“Because it’s my dad’s card,” the guy drawled, rolling his eyes like Tiffany was daft for not knowing. Irritation buzzed around in my belly. This guy was a massive dick, who probably had a very small one judging by the way he was acting.
I might have no experience in the sex department, but I had it on good authority there was some truth to the theory that men who acted like this usually had something to make up for. Guys like him also validated my decision to focus on my career instead of dating. I wasn’t hanging onto my virginity for any reason other than I hadn’t yet found a guy I thought was worthy of giving it up to, and I didn’t have time to waste searching for one. Especially since most of the guys I met on the occasions I did go out were too much like this one.
Tiffany got the frat guys through the checking in process, flirting shamelessly as she did so. They were eating it up until she slid their room keys over. Lead Frat Guy shoved them back across the counter. “Junior suites? Are you kidding me? I want the real deal.”
Tiffany’s eyes slid to the side, seeking out mine. Stepping forward, I picked up the key cards and rounded the counter. “I’m afraid these are the only suites we have available on short notice. I’m Aston, the manager here. Let me show you to these rooms, they’re stunning. You’re going to love them.”
“We ain’t junior, sweetheart. We don’t want the junior suites.” God, this guy was such a dick. The junior suites were only that in name. They were bigger than my apartment and were super luxurious. The guy definitely had something to make up for if he was being such an asshole about the names of rooms he wasn’t even paying for.
“I assure you sir, the junior suites are some of the best we have.” There was also nothing junior about their price tags either. The guy’s dad was going to have a real hefty bill to foot by the end of their stay. Another reason why I had to treat them well, the way I would want to be treated. But that was something I did anyway. My mantra was to treat everyone the way I wanted to be treated.
“We’ll have some complimentary champagne sent up as soon as you’re settled. They might be called the junior suites, but they’re large enough to accommodate each one of you in your own rooms and the balconies are lovely.”
“Lovely.” The guy repeated sarcastically, shooting his buddies a look over his shoulder. I was pretty sure he rolled his eyes too, but I ignored it.
Just breathe, Aston. They’ll be out of your hair in five minutes. “Excellent, follow me please.”
It ended up taking fifteen minutes before I was back downstairs with Tiffany. As expected, the guys were dicks about their rooms but chose to stay after some more bowing and scraping on my part.
All they really wanted was their egos stroked. Pathetic. All because of the names of their rooms?
Tiffany grinned when I got back to the front desk. “The blonde was hot, wasn’t he? Did you get an invite back to their suites later?”
“I did. Multiple times. I turned them down, of course,” I said firmly. No way was I setting foot near those guys unless I absolutely had to.
Tiffany looked crestfallen. “Why? Sure, they’re complete asses but they also had some asses that were really tight. Come on girl, you’ll feel so much better once you get laid. All relaxed and happy.”
“I doubt if any of those guys know how to get the job done well enough to make any woman relaxed and happy,” I retorted. “They’re nothing but bad examples of what their daddy’s money can do, Tiff. I appreciate the sentiment, but there’s no way I’d ever go to bed with men like that. It’s a hard pass from me.”
She laughed, shaking her head. “Fine, but tomorrow’s another day. I’ll find you a guy. This discussion is not over.”
It never would be. “I’ve got to get back to work, so let’s hit pause for now. We can label this talk as ‘to be continued’ and set it aside for now.”
“I’m holding you to that,” she called, as I pushed through the door to the staff area where my office was located. “Just you wait, Aston Brier. We’ll get you laid yet!”
BLAKEJust my luck, I missed the last flight to California yesterday while I was going over some numbers with Dad, so I was stuck spending the night in Florida after all. At least our property here made a mean pancake.Tomorrow I would go back to healthy choices, but today I wanted my pancakes. I stretched out on the king-sized bed and reached for the phone to call room service before I’d even opened my eyes. A definite advantage to practically living in hotels was never having to worry about fixing your own breakfast.Once my food was ordered, I rolled out of bed and rubbed my eyes as I headed to the bathroom. I was useless before a shower in the mornings.This hotel property, one of the three we had in Florida, was the first hotel dad had owned. It was an older building than most of the rest, but it had been redone to fit in with the comfortable modernist feel of the chain as a whole. Dad’s vision was to create beautiful hotels with every luxury he could afford to put in them, while
BLAKE“Wouldn’t you like to stay in one place for a while?” He paused, pushing his glasses up onto his forehead to pinch the bridge of his nose. “I’m worried about you, son. Always on the road, always traveling, never taking the time to stop. I wish you would consider just taking a break every once in a while.”The corners of my mouth pressed in. I’d always hated seeing my dad worried. It was an occupational hazard, given that he was now the CEO of a multinational company, but it had only been us and him for years.Danny was always more focused on what people thought about the public image of our dad than the man himself. It left me to be the one to take care of the man behind the business.Traveling didn’t bother me. It never had. I checked in with my dad often, and spoke to him at least once a week. I didn’t realize the traveling was a problem for him. “I love doing what I do, Dad. You don’t have to worry about me. I don’t need to stop or take a break at all.”A grim smile crossed h
ASTON“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
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