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“We wish you’d come home with us,” Molly added.
A part of Alex agreed. Home was a known quantity. Her apartment was tiny, but unlike this job it wasn’t temporary. Her real job offered no excitement but no dangers, either.
“I’ll probably leave with you,” Alex agreed.
Unless I don’t, she thought. Inwardly, she sighed and started counting to ten. She kept counting until her urge to decide quickly, take the money and worry about the potential pitfalls later, subsided.
After dinner, Serena and Molly went out to a hotel bar, but Alex and Jayne chose an evening by one of the hotel’s pools. Both of them wanted some quiet time, and the Amber Moon Pool, with its fragrant tropical landscaping, underwater amber lights, lowkey background music and swinging hammocks was just the “escape to paradise” mood they wanted. The stress Jayne had been going through and the weekend’s nonstop activity had left her exhausted. She needed to recharge her engine before finishing up tomorrow, and Alex just needed the relaxation of water.
“I need to think,” Alex told her friends.
“You’re supposed to be having fun,” Serena reminded her.
Alex thought back to those adrenaline-charged minutes when she had controlled the lobby of McKendrick’s and she smiled. “I am having fun,” she said. Too much fun, maybe, but…
She knew then that she was going to say yes to Wyatt McKendrick’s job offer. It probably wasn’t that dangerous, anyway. He was, as Jayne had said, a man who probably had a lot of women, so he wouldn’t be interested in her. She wouldn’t be spending much time with him. At least outside of her daydreams.
Wyatt was surprised at his impatience to hear Alex’s decision. He had hired and fired lots of people, always basing his decisions on what was best for the hotel. Firing someone was unpleasant. But hiring? Completely a cut-and-dried decision.
It’s just the timing, he thought. He’d already been cutting things close, trying to locate someone of Belinda’s caliber. Losing her so soon had caught him off-guard. So his mood had nothing to do with Alex’s blue eyes or the curve of her mouth when she smiled.
But when he saw her crossing the lobby, in a poppy-red dress that showed off those amazing long legs, his gut tightened. His male antenna went on full alert. Too bad he was never going to do anything about that.
She smiled at him tentatively. If there was ever a look of “just let me get through this,” Alex was wearing it.
Wyatt steeled himself for her Thank you, but… speech.
Instead, her smile grew as she drew closer. “So, what do we do first?” she asked. “If I’m going to do this, I want to be good at it.”
A slow thrum of pleasure slid through his body. “You’ll be good at it.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Didn’t we have this discussion yesterday? The one where you tried to convince me that you might be a criminal?”
“I did not. I merely implied that you didn’t know anything about me.” That pretty little nose lifted in the air. Somehow Wyatt kept from smiling.
“I think I might have mentioned that I intend to find out all about you. I may have seen your raw talent, but I assure you that I’m a very astute businessman.”
“As if I didn’t know that. I mean…look at this place, Mr. McKendrick.”
“It’s Wyatt. All my employees call me Wyatt.”
She raised a brow. For half a second he thought she was going to give him a lecture on sound business practices. He half wished that she would, just for the entertainment value of it.
Instead she shook herself, as if forbidding herself to give that lecture. “Well, okay. Wyatt. But anyone can see that this place is a palace, and you’re the man who keeps the lights lit. It’s obvious that you know what you’re doing.”
“And you’re worried that you won’t know what you’re doing?”
“If I leave my job to do this and things don’t work out, I’ll be worse off than I was before I said yes.”
“Things will work out. I’ll train you.”
“If you do that, you might as well do the job yourself.”
He arched an eyebrow.
“What?” she asked.
“I’ve never met anyone who tried so hard to convince me not to hire them.”
“I just want to make sure we understand each other.”
He looked into her eyes. “Okay, here’s my part. I need a concierge and I’ve decided you’re it. Barring a major miscalculation on my end, you’ll slide into the job smoothly. Now, you tell me your part.”
She stared right back. “I intend to be the best darn substitute concierge you’ve ever seen.”
“Only the best substitute?”
She lifted one delicate shoulder in a shrug, an action that wasn’t meant to be erotic but turned Wyatt hot. “Well, I didn’t want to sound like I was dissing Belinda.”
“I’m sure she’d appreciate that.”
“How is she?”
“Mother of a baby girl named Misty.”
“Oh, I love that name. I’ll bet she’s a sweetheart.” The look of naked longing in Alex’s eyes served as a warning to Wyatt. Alex could apparently make him burn just by lifting her shoulder an inch, but she was not a woman he could desire. She was the hearth and home type, and he’d never be that guy. He’d missed that imprinting process.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“Yes. There’s just one thing.”
“And that is…”
“When the afternoon comes, my friends are leaving…”
“Friends. Of course.”
He wasn’t a man who cultivated friendships. Another failure to imprint, he supposed. Or…no. It was a choice. Letting people get close enabled them to see too much and gave them too much power. It left a person vulnerable, and he would never do anything that left him vulnerable again. Still, he understood the value of promoting the goodwill of employees.
“You’ll want to see them off.”
“They’re my closest friends.”
“Friends who are on vacation with you.”
“Yes, but I made a deal with you.”
“And I’ll expect you to be on duty every day, beginning tomorrow. I demand punctuality and good attendance from my employees, but frankly you saved my rear, so I’m not inclined to make you cut your vacation short. We’ll manage to scrape by one more day by having people do double duty and juggling a bit. Fortunately I have no meetings scheduled, and I’m capable of directing people around my own facility when necessary.”
She frowned again. “Already I don’t like the way this is starting. Your other employees will resent being asked to cover for me.”
“My other employees know who signs their paychecks. They also know I’ll compensate them for their trouble and that I’ll return the favor when they need an emergency day off.”
“I don’t like to shirk my duties.”
Wyatt gave her his most intimidating look—the one that had been known to make those on his payroll shake in their shoes. “We’re not going to argue about this.”
Alex looked completely unperturbed. “No, of course not. I’m totally aware that you’re in charge, but still…”
Again he had that urge to smile, and Wyatt had never been a man given to smiles. Without missing a beat, he stepped over to a cabinet, opened a drawer, pulled out a handful of brochures and held them out to Alex.
“What’s this?”
“Homework. If you’re going to play hooky, I’ll at least expect you to start educating yourself about the local attractions and the hotel.”
The woman’s smile could have lit the ballroom at McKendrick’s. The impact of it nearly sent Wyatt reeling. “I’ll do that. Is there anything else?”
Yes. Stop smiling, he wanted to say. Stop making me think of you as a woman I want to touch, and just be what you have to be, a very temporary employee. “Yes, there is one thing.”
She waited.
“Enjoy your day off.”
“I will. And…thank you.”
“For what?”
Her lips curved up more. “You’re making it possible for me to fulfill my dreams.”
Wyatt wanted to groan. He wished she hadn’t said that. Dreamers were delicate creatures who could be easily hurt by men like him. He’d been a dreamer once, a long time ago. These days he gave the naive and the innocently optimistic a wide berth.
“Meet me here first thing tomorrow. I’ll get you started.”
Because the sooner he got her established, the sooner he could start thinking of her as just another employee.
He hoped.
CHAPTER FOUR
ALEX watched her friends pack their bags. Despite their plans to party up until the last minute, the day had been oddly subdued. The night before they’d each gone their separate ways, and this morning Serena had been distracted and flushed at breakfast.
“Yes, I had an…interesting evening,” she’d said, but neglected to give any details.
“Very nice,” was all Molly had said about her time the night before, but Alex had noticed that she’d glanced away.
And now that the time had come for them to part company, no one looked very cheerful. Jayne was even more beautiful with her new hairstyle, but the pain in her eyes was more intense than before the weekend had started. Still, she gave her friends a determined smile.
“This vacation was just what I needed,” she said. “I’m glad you suggested it, Serena.”
“It was an impulse,” Serena said. “Maybe not my best.” They all looked at Alex.
“I’m fine,” she said. “When will I ever get an opportunity like this again? Besides, I’ll be back in San Diego soon, living my dream, and we’ll have a party to celebrate.”
“A huge party,” Molly agreed.
“The biggest and best,” Serena added.
Then there was nothing left to say. The three of them had to leave or they’d miss their plane.
“Promise you’ll stay in touch?” Molly gave Alex a hug.
“By phone, e-mail, text and every way possible,” Alex agreed.
“And don’t let that gorgeous hunk of a boss of yours work you too hard,” Serena added.
All of them laughed at that. Alex thrived on hard work.
“I’ll get plenty of downtime.”
“And above all, don’t…” Jayne hesitated. “He’s too attractive to be safe, Alex.”
“I won’t fall in love with him, Jayne,” Alex said solemnly. “Today several of the other employees have sidled up to me to tell me that every woman falls in love with him, but there’s something mysterious about his past and he never gets involved with employees or falls in love, so I’ve been warned. Not that I needed to be. I’ve been burned too many times to ever fall for a man who comes with a ‘guaranteed to break a girl’s heart’ tag sewn into his shirts.” Love had only ever brought her pain, and now she was allergic. She was through with it.
Jayne managed a smile. She hugged Alex. “I would hate him so much if he hurt you.”
“That won’t happen. I’m not interested, and he’s definitely not interested.” Alex’s words were as much a warning for herself as reassurance for her friends.
“Okay, but if you need us…for anything…” Serena began.
“We’re only a few hours away,” Molly added.
Then they all piled into a cab and were gone.
Alex was on her own. But tomorrow, and for a lot of tomorrows, she would be working for Wyatt McKendrick.
At last she let the full reality of that thought sink in, and admitted that she wasn’t nearly as unaffected as she had told her friends. A sleepless night followed, only emphasizing the pitfalls of this situation. But when morning came there was no putting off the moment…or the man.
She had just signed on to work with the man dubbed the most elusive bachelor in Las Vegas. And unfortunately she did find him attractive, and she was nervous.
But she had never been one to stand meekly by awaiting her fate. She tended to plow forcefully ahead…just the way her unlucky-in-love mother had done.
And that, of course, was the problem. But it was one she intended to rectify.
“So, let’s get this thing done, Wyatt McKendrick,” she muttered. Because the sooner he gave her some direction, the sooner she could go about her business, away from any danger of getting too close to the man.
“I’m ready,” Alex said, as she met Wyatt coming out of his office. “Where do I begin?”
