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“Don’t worry,” she told the crowd of people that had started to gather. “It’s probably just a minor disagreement between friends. I’ll straighten everything out.”
She pulled open the tall double doors and walked into the huge, mostly empty room. At the far end, workers were involved in various tasks, but just twenty feet inside the room, two big muscle-bound men were right up in each other’s faces, yelling and swearing and getting louder and more red-faced every second. They didn’t even look away from each other when she entered the room.
Alex took a deep breath. She had no idea what to say or do. Her heart started tripping as she drew closer. No doubt she should call someone else, but who? The longer and louder these two got, the more agitated the customers outside the doors would become. If this accelerated into an actual fist fight, wouldn’t that look great in the morning papers? She could practically see the headline: Blood spilt at McKendrick’s. The owner of Champagne would waltz away with Wyatt’s award.
She frowned. She was so not going to let that happen. She wanted Wyatt to win. At the moment she didn’t even care why it mattered to her. She’d worry about that later. But for now…
Alex took a deep breath. She waded into the fray. “I don’t know who you two are,” she said, raising her voice just enough so that it carried, “but I’m here on Mr. McKendrick’s behalf, and if you don’t stop this right this minute, your firm will lose its contract. I’m giving you fair warning. I’m walking right up next to you, so if anyone hits anyone, I’ll probably get hit, too. That will be assault, and you won’t even be able to plead that you didn’t know that I was here.”
She kept moving as she spoke. “Who are you, anyway?” she asked. “And, no, I don’t want to know what you’re fighting about. I just want it stopped. Right now.”
By now she was only three feet away, easily within the peripheral vision of the men. One of them blinked. He turned toward her. “This doesn’t concern you.”
“Yes, it does. My job is to make sure my customers are happy. You’re scaring them.”
The other man turned toward her. He looked her over, head to toe. “So you work for Mr. McKendrick. Who exactly are you, luscious lady?”
Alex realized that if the man wanted to, he was close enough to reach out and touch her. She took a very slight step back.
“I’m Alexandra Lowell.”
“And she’s none of your business.” The deep, steely voice came from behind Alex. She turned to see Wyatt, eyes blazing, bearing down on them. “I suggest you two men return to your work immediately,” he said. “I’ll discuss this with you and your supervisor shortly.”
The man who’d asked who she was scowled and grumbled something unintelligible, but both of them turned. They started to lumber back to whatever they had been doing before all this began.
Wyatt waited until they were out of hearing range. “Break time?” he said, and Alex looked up into his glittering eyes. He was angry and not trying to conceal it.
“I’d say that’s a yes. But I should…”
“Find someone to man your desk? It’s already done. Let’s talk,” he said, his tone perfectly calm.
But Alex didn’t miss the tense line of his jaw. She turned and followed him out of the ballroom and down the hallway. He threw open the door to a conference room, pulled her inside and then shut the door behind them.
“What was that?” Wyatt asked, trying to leash his anger.
“That was me trying to avert a crisis.”
“That was you trying to get your pretty face and body rearranged. Again. Presenting yourself as a punching bag to enraged men is getting to be a habit, Alex. Do you know what one swing from one of those men’s fists could do to you?”
“This is nothing like that other time. Protecting that little boy was…well, anyone would have done that.”
Wyatt seriously doubted that. “So how is this different?” He gazed down into those sky eyes, waiting for her answer and for his heart to stop racing, but it didn’t. Watching her confront two full-grown angry men, listening to one of them try to hit on her…he wanted to swear.
“Two reasons. For one, the hotel’s reputation was at risk this time.”
He lost the battle not to swear. “Alex, you’re an amazing woman. You’re doing great things for McKendrick’s and you’ve become a customer favorite.” My favorite, he thought, but he couldn’t utter those words. He shouldn’t even be thinking them. “But I don’t want you to get hurt helping me.” I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t want to be another man taking your help and then not giving anything back.
“Wyatt, I’m fine,” she said. “Look.” She held out her arms, as if to show him that she was all in one piece.
He raised an eyebrow. “Don’t try to schmooze me, Lowell. You know what I mean. You’re not to confront any more angry men. For any reason. Got that?”
For a second he thought she was going to do the right thing and meekly agree, the way any other employee would have. But Alex raised her chin and looked him square in the eye. “I’m sorry. I can’t agree to that. If I’m going to run my own shop, one I operate alone, I have to be able to handle any situation. That was the second reason I had to get involved.”
Wyatt growled. There was nothing he could say to that, was there? Except this. “I know you’re going to run a fantastic shop. People will visit in droves. Every customer will go away satisfied. But don’t practice your negotiating skills here, Alex. Not again. If any bullies come in and Security is otherwise occupied, you send them to me. If any workers get into an argument, you send them my way. Anything that might threaten you physically, you step away from. If I’m not here, you find someone bigger than you to handle it, and then you find me.”
“It was your day off.” She hadn’t lowered her chin even a notch.
“Where your safety is concerned, I have no days off. Understood?”
She blinked.
“Alex? Please.”
As if that one word did it, she nodded. “All right. Actually, I was just the tiniest bit concerned. When that one guy asked me who I was and looked at me as if he wanted to…do something, it made my skin crawl.”
And any thought Wyatt had of regaining his composure flew right out the window. He slid his hand around Alex’s waist and slowly drew her close, giving her ample time to tell him to stop or to push back. “I’m not going to let anyone touch you.”
But Wyatt was most definitely touching her. He pulled her even closer. For a moment, several moments, he just held her. He stroked her hair and whispered soothing words against her temple. She was warm and vibrant and so…Alex in his arms that he couldn’t stop himself from reacting to her, wanting her.
He drew back and gazed down into her eyes, his lips close to hers. “I’m going to kiss you, Alex.”
“Yes.” The word came out on a breath.
“You can stop me. You can say no. You know you have a choice.”
Her answer was to rise on her toes and press her lips to his. “I know,” she whispered against his mouth.
Heat seared him, desire flooded his soul, and he drew her closer. He kissed her again, opening his mouth over hers.
She met him, kissed him back.
He ran his hand down her spine, learning her curves.
She plunged her fingertips into his hair, licking his lips when they came up for air.
“Alex…” he groaned as he kissed her more, reached for more.
The door flew open. Without taking a breath, Wyatt immediately turned so that Alex was behind him and he was mostly blocking her from view. Jenna, who worked in the office, was standing there, along with several guests. His reaction, though quick, had obviously not been quick enough. They had seen Alex already, splayed up against his chest, locked in his arms.
As if on cue, Alex peeked out from beneath his arm. “Well, that was so great! Thank you so much for that demonstration of what I should do if anyone should try to sexually harass me, Mr. McKendrick. And that nifty move where I turn your thumb back and bring you to your knees? It’s one I’ve heard about but I’ve never actually met anyone who would allow me to try it on them. I mean, I’m really sorry your hair got messed up when you ended up falling during the demonstration, but I assure you that all this stuff is going to be incredibly useful. A girl really needs to know a few tricks to protect herself from the bad guys. Hotels are not immune from these things, you know, Jenna,” she said, shaking a warning finger at the woman. “Every guest should know at least a few basic moves.”
Then, as if she was completely unaware of this surreal situation that everyone was trapped in, Alex got that amazing, intense lightbulb look in her eyes that Wyatt was beginning to recognize. “I think maybe we could offer some basic self-defense classes in the ballroom. Just in case anyone is interested. Wouldn’t that be great? I’m going to get right on that.”
Then she smiled at the tour group again and left the room, her usual spring in her step.
“A self-defense class? That’s a wonderful idea, Mr. McKendrick—don’t you think?” Jenna asked.
Wyatt blinked. He was angry at himself for putting Alex at risk, and it must have shown on his face.
“I’m sorry. Did I do something wrong?”
Wyatt wanted to groan. “No, Jenna. And, yes, it’s a great idea. Alex has come up with another way to improve McKendrick’s.” What was he going to do when she had gone? he wondered, knowing he wasn’t thinking only of the hotel. He frowned again, then remembered Jenna. “So…you think it will work?” he asked her, trying to be encouraging. Jenna hadn’t been here very long. He didn’t want her to think he was crazy. The CEO of Champagne would certainly love that, wouldn’t he?
“Oh, I think it’d be great,” Jenna said. “I’d totally sign up if they were held here. What could be more convenient?”
The people in the group agreed, although some of them still looked as if they weren’t quite sure what had just happened.
Wyatt wasn’t sure, either, but it was probably a good thing that Jenna had interrupted. He was completely losing his selfcontrol where Alex was concerned.
He could still taste her. He wanted to go looking for her to finish what they’d started. Only two things stopped him. Alex had been hurt so badly in the past that she had walked away from men and love forever. And he was still the same man he’d been this morning. A loner. Incapable of maintaining a long-term relationship. If he couldn’t offer her more than the disappointing men she’d already suffered through, then he didn’t have the right to pursue her. He refused to be the next disappointing jerk in her life. He couldn’t be the man who finally broke her spirit.
He wanted to shore up Alex’s spirit. She’d had to handle a nasty situation. His contribution couldn’t have made her day less trying, either. And if he was part of the problem…well, who did she have to share her troubles with? No one, it seemed. She was cut off from the home she loved, without her lifeline. There was no one with whom to discuss the problems her life as his concierge had brought about.
Wyatt swore. In the past couple of weeks he’d begun to learn how Alex operated. She went all out to help people, and sometimes people—unscrupulous men—took advantage of her good nature. He had taken advantage today, and once she had time to think, she might beat herself up for letting him kiss her again.
In fact, too much had happened to Alex since he’d yanked her out of the life she loved. She’d been pushed too far, thrown into situations she never should have been forced to handle. Alex needed backup, maybe even comfort.
For half a second he thought again about spiriting her away to the Haven, his hideaway…a place he never showed anyone. But he immediately dismissed the idea.
That wasn’t the right place for her, and he wasn’t the right person for the job. At all. But he knew who might be. Just because he had no need for friends didn’t mean that he had missed the fact that Alex did need them.
CHAPTER TEN (#ulink_18ffae6c-364f-5bcf-b5a1-5ef020a8e44f)
ANTICIPATION built within Alex as the limo dropped her off in front of Tableau, a restaurant located in an atrium, surrounded by pools. She opened the door and went inside.
Immediately she heard a squeal. “Alex!”
Molly came running up to her and gave her a big hug. Jayne and Serena were only steps behind.
Alex’s throat clogged with happy tears. Somehow Wyatt had managed to fly Jayne and Molly out, and he’d located Serena and arranged this meeting.
She couldn’t help wondering why. Wyatt’s explanation had simply been that he knew she missed her friends. That seemed too simple, but she did miss them. And she needed to see them, to get her head on straight.
After Wyatt had kissed her crazy in the conference room the other day, she’d gone to her room, bent over to keep from fainting and prayed she would get a brain, get a clue, and stop longing to be held in Wyatt’s arms. There was zero payoff in getting involved with him. This time, unlike the other times in her life, she’d been warned.
“Alex, you look so far away,” Molly was saying.
Alex shook her head. “Sorry. You know me. It takes a few minutes to come down from the clouds and forget work.”
What was it that was different about Molly? she wondered, looking more closely at her friend. Something wasn’t right there. But when she voiced her concerns to Molly, her friend wrinkled her nose.
“Hey, I’m fine. Serena and Jayne and I are the ones who get to play mother duck to you today. Still, I can’t believe Wyatt flew us all out here to see you! A private luxury jet. Wow!”
“I know, and I’m still trying to figure out the underlying reason for this trip,” Jayne said.
“Wyatt said that you needed people who could help you relax,” Serena said. “Alex, what does that mean? What have you been up to that the emergency friend forces have been called in?”
“Emergency friend forces?”
“You better believe it,” Serena told her. “I’ve got the tattoo. Jayne and Molly, too. We’d show you, but then you’d want one, too, and we know you’re allergic to needles.”
Alex laughed. She relaxed.
“Okay, enough stalling. Spill,” Molly ordered.
“There’s not much to tell,” Alex said, and she related the story of the boy and the ruined papers, the events she had been planning, and eventually the last incident with the angry workmen in the ballroom. No need to mention the latest out-of-control kiss with Wyatt, since she still hadn’t wrapped her own mind around what had happened.
“So…what’s happening between you and Wyatt?” Serena asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Flying your friends in? That’s not one of the usual employee perks.”
Of course nothing had been “the usual” between her and Wyatt from the very start.
“He’s a very different kind of man,” she said carefully.
“Uh-oh,” Molly said, and Serena and Jayne nodded.
“Different as in interesting and exciting?” Serena asked.
“Different as in an employer who goes the extra mile for his employees,” she said, looking at her friends sternly. “Look, you don’t have to worry. I’ll be home soon. I called a real estate agent in San Diego, and she’s looking for a shop for me to rent.”
Because after ending up in Wyatt’s embrace the other day what else could she do? The best way to stay smart was to pretend her time here was almost done, plan ahead, get involved in making her dream of a shop a reality. No more dwelling on Wyatt.
“Alex, that’s so great—but tell us more about Wyatt,” Molly said.
Alex gave her a “stop right there” look. “Nice try, Molly, but I have to tell you I really don’t want to do this.”
“Do what?”
“Answer a lot of questions about Wyatt. I know you’re asking because you care, but I really just need to be with you guys today and have fun. Wyatt told me that I wasn’t even supposed to utter the word McKendrick’s today. I was supposed to be totally lazy and decadent, and that’s what I want to be.”
“Great! Total decadence works for me,” Serena said with a grin.
“Sounds fantastic. So where should we start?” Molly asked.
“Let’s start with chocolate, and then double chocolate—maybe triple chocolate—and go from there,” Alex said.
“Chocolate what?” Jayne asked.
“Does it matter? It’s chocolate, Jayne,” Serena said.
“Excellent point,” Jayne agreed.
So they ate chocolate, and other things a bit higher up the food pyramid. They drank, shopped, and talked nonstop. They tried on clothes they would never wear in public, shoes too high to walk in. And Alex indulged in her secret weakness—wild earrings she bought but could never find a place to wear. They reminisced about incidents in their past and shared private jokes. And if there were moments when the conversation slowed, when Serena looked sad, Molly appeared worried, Jayne seemed heartbroken or Alex drifted away to thoughts of Wyatt, none of them discussed those things. They had this one no-worries-allowed day, and they didn’t intend to waste it.
But eventually the day ended. Teary goodbyes were said. Five minutes after all her friends left, Alex got into the limo and turned toward McKendrick’s.
