Chapter 2
—Intuition doesn’t lie.—
Lucy stepped onto the main floor of The Sapphire where she managed. It was only ten in the morning but things were already hopping. That was just the nature of this job. Actually, that was the nature of the city in general. She’d moved to New Orleans when she’d taken over management here, and she’d discovered that the time of day basically didn’t matter. There was always something going on.
Some days she contemplated looking for another management position, someplace where she didn’t work for family. She’d been offered multiple different jobs after she’d graduated at the top of her class with a degree in business and hotel management—and landed a coveted intern position—but family was family, and her uncle had offered her this job. The pay and benefits were good, and a very small part of her, the little girl who’d been taken in by her uncle after her parents had died, felt a loyalty to him.
He was certainly an enigma though. She’d seen him viciously angry with some of the people who worked for him, to the point where he’d shoved a guy against a wall, but he’d never shown her that side. With her, he was always kind and gentle. But now she’d seen the other side of him and it was difficult to reconcile the two. Almost like Jekyll and Hyde.
Mentally, she shook herself. She wasn’t sure what was wrong with her this morning. Okay, that was a big fat lie. The anniversary of her parents’ deaths was coming up this week and she was feeling morose. But there was no time for that in the hospitality business. So she hid her private pain and pasted on a bright smile as she strode across the shiny floor, her Louboutins clicking away as she made her way to the concierge area.
Before she’d reached it, Anna Williams approached her, appearing as if out of nowhere. In reality, she’d come from one of the nearby doors that blended in with the wall. This hotel was like that, with paneled doors everywhere. She’d been in other casinos with the same setup and liked it. Made it easy to move around the hotel using back hallways.
Wearing the standard white pants and matching top that looked similar to hospital scrubs, Anna smiled as she reached Lucy. Even in heels, Lucy was the same height as her. Because her four-inch heels brought her up to a whopping five feet four inches. The increase in height seemed to help because some of the men she worked with liked to treat her like some fragile doll. It was annoying as hell—but not unexpected. She’d been dealing with it her entire life.
“I received the gift card and champagne,” Anna said, her grin widening. “It was unnecessary but appreciated. So appreciated!” Her grin grew even wider. “My husband and I already drank it. It was like liquid gold.”
“You deserved it after last week,” she said. “And we appreciate all the hard work you do here.”
Anna ran their exclusive spa efficiently, making sure every guest had a perfect experience. Last week, one of the high rollers’ wives, who was known for being hard to deal with, had run the team ragged. Which was why Lucy had made sure Anna and all of her girls were taken care of. They were paid well—more than industry standard—but she still liked to do something extra when called for. Thankfully that particular high roller usually came to town solo. Lucy didn’t understand treating anyone like garbage simply because you could. But that woman had no such issue.
So the small, really petty part of Lucy didn’t feel bad that she’d heard through the grapevine that the woman’s husband was leaving her.
“I know you’re busy, I just wanted to thank you in person,” Anna said.
“Any time. We’ve got a couple high rollers coming in next week. I’ll get with you about some special services we’re going to offer even to people who aren’t staying here,” Lucy said as she continued on toward the concierge desk. As she stepped up behind it, ready to check on one of their guests, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Marco emerge from one of the paneled doors into the lobby.
Instantly her back straightened even as she purposely didn’t look in his direction. He didn’t work at the hotel, but for her uncle instead. Her uncle wasn’t in New Orleans most of the year, but Marco was, and he seemed to have full rein at the hotel, with a master keycard and everything.
When she’d questioned her uncle about what Marco’s position was exactly, Uncle Alexei had been vague and said the man helped oversee some of his businesses. But Marco seemed to have a working relationship with some of the men on security here as well, which annoyed her. They were always having hushed conversations that ended when she came near. Sexist bullshit.
She was pretty sure it was because she was a woman and they all assumed she’d gotten her job because of nepotism. Which in a way she had, but she was more than qualified and could leave it anytime she wanted to pick up another job. When it came down to it, she’d known guys like this her entire life, who thought she should be home cooking for her man, barefoot and pregnant. She’d actually heard Marco say as much about her—that she shouldn’t be working so hard, that she should be home making babies. Gross.
Her own mother had been a stay-at-home mom—and she respected any woman’s right to do that—but her mother’s relationship with her father had been special. Her mom had gotten to choose. She’d wanted to stay home, and things had been good between her parents.
Until they apparently hadn’t.
Nope. Not going there right now. Her heart couldn’t take it.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Marco making his way toward her, but tuned him out. The guy was such a Neanderthal, and when he looked at her, she wanted to go take a shower. Or three. She’d never voiced her concerns to her uncle because she didn’t like to make waves but seeing Marco put her on edge automatically. And she could never figure out what it was about him that bothered her. She’d seen him with women before. Truly stunning women. And they’d all looked miserable. Or maybe just hungry. She wasn’t sure. Maybe that was what it was. Ugh, who cared. The guy was a douche, and she wasn’t going to let him take up any more space in her brain.
She quickly logged into the concierge computer, nodding at Nathan, who was helping a guest, as she did. Mrs. Fisk hadn’t checked out yet. Good. The older woman was one of their big spenders and one of Lucy’s favorite guests. She always gave Lucy little candies and it reminded her of her mother. Lucy had a small gift she wanted to give the woman before she left.
“Lucy.” The sound of Marco’s voice grated against her senses. All around them, the ding-ding of machines going off in the casino, people chattering away in the lobby and beyond, and his voice, made her want to put earplugs in.
Looking up, she pasted on that fake smile she knew held a hint of frost. There was only so much faking a girl could do. “Hello.”
“You look lovely this morning, princess.”
Ugh. Gross. “Hmm,” she murmured noncommittally as she glanced down at her phone, reading an incoming text from one of the concierges a few feet away. Want me to save you with a fake emergency? She stifled a giggle. Nathan knew how much she couldn’t stand Marco.
“One of the security team told me you had an issue with a guest,” Marco continued.
She frowned, tucking her phone back into her skirt pocket. “What?” And more importantly, who had told him? It certainly wasn’t his business.
“Last night, one of the guests was harassing you.”
She paused, trying to think of who he could be referring to. “Ah, one of the high rollers tried to get a little handsy. But I dealt with it.” The guy had been slightly drunk—or more likely on some kind of prescription meds, because they’d stopped serving him—and he’d gotten a little fresh. If there was one thing her uncle had made sure she knew, it was self-defense. Not that she’d needed it to defend herself. Not with that drunk fool.
“You are Alexei’s niece. If that happens again, you should—”
“I’ll do what I did last night. Handle it. Your concern is noted but not necessary. I don’t work for you. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got things to take care of.” She turned away from him, ignoring his sound of protest. The casino had a ton of security and by the time two of the guys had stepped in, she’d already had the guy back in his seat and apologizing for his rude behavior.
“Lucy—”
Her phone started ringing, making her inwardly smile as she gave Marco a decidedly not apologetic look and held it to her ear. “You are a lifesaver,” she murmured as she pulled open the nearest door that led to the maze of hallways in this place. Later, she’d have a talk with security about what they could and could not divulge to Marco about her, but for now she shelved all thoughts of the annoying man.
“So it’s okay I’m calling this early?”
The sound of her young cousin’s voice made her smile. Liliana was Uncle Alexei’s daughter—and she was at the same English boarding school that Lucy had been shipped off to so many years ago. Liliana’s half-brother had been allowed to go to school in the States. Something that had never sat well with Lucy. Not that she was close to her other cousin anyway. She hadn’t spoken to him in years, though she did receive the obligatory Christmas card every year.
“It’s not early. And you can call any time of day.” Something the young girl already knew. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing…just…I miss you. I want to come home.”
Lucy rubbed her temple as she stepped around a maintenance worker. She continued east, needing to stop by one of the kitchens about a complaint she’d received. Then she was going to head up to the security floor. She could faintly hear the thump of music from one of the floors overhead, but these back hallways were insulated well. “I know. You’re only there a few more years. And we’ll see you for Christmas.” After multiple kidnapping attempts on Liliana, Uncle Alexei didn’t even let Liliana come home for holidays. They always went to her, usually meeting her in another location like Switzerland. He always said it was easier to keep her secure overseas. Liliana’s half-brother never met with them. And Lucy knew he rarely called his sister either. He’d distanced himself completely and she wasn’t sure why.
Liliana snorted softly. “Last time I talked to Dad, he made it sound like I couldn’t ever come home, like I should start university over here instead. I feel like he hates me some days.”
“Oh, honey, that’s not true. He just worries about your safety. Especially after what happened a few years ago.” Lucy thought he was a bit overprotective, but Liliana had been targeted more than once because of his wealth. Assholes wanted to claim a ransom and hurt an innocent child in the process. Even though she could understand her uncle’s protectiveness, deep down, she did judge him for how distant he kept Liliana. The girl had never known her mother at all. Lucy hadn’t either. She just knew that the woman had abandoned Liliana.
“I guess. It’s just…I’m the only kid who never goes home. Like, never. This doesn’t feel normal to me. And it’s not like I’m the only one here who’s been the target of a kidnapping.”
Since she was nearing the kitchen door, Lucy stopped and leaned against one of the walls. She could feel a headache coming on. She knew Liliana went to school with the daughters of other very wealthy people so the attempted kidnapping thing, while disturbing, wasn’t exactly surprising. “I’m sorry. You want me to talk to him? Because you’re right. You should be able to come home when you want. He’ll be able to keep you safe. Heck, we can keep your trip a secret. And if he says no, you can come stay with me.” Lucy knew exactly how that would go over. She’d always put up with her uncle’s rules growing up because he’d taken her in and raised her. His son had already been out of the house by then. Not that it would have mattered; he’d sent Lucy off to school too. But when Liliana came along, Lucy had instantly bonded with her cousin. Unfortunately, most of their communication these days was phone calls, texting or video chats.
“You don’t mind?”
“Of course not. We’ll just have to use some of his security.” Or more likely, a lot of it. Lucy didn’t care though. It would be totally worth it.
“He’ll be pissed if you tell him I can stay with you.”
“So? He’ll get over it.”
“I don’t know, Lucy…” Liliana sighed. “Do you ever think Dad…”
“Think what?”
There was a beat of silence. Then, “Nothing. I’m just mad at him right now. Don’t worry about asking him. I don’t want to put you in a weird position.”
God, she sounded so grown-up for a fourteen-year-old. “I’m going to talk to him. But enough about that. How’s school? And how was that concert?”
Liliana laughed lightly, the sound music to Lucy’s ears. For the next few minutes, she shoved out all thoughts of this week being the anniversary of her parents’ deaths, of Marco’s creepiness, and her own growing loneliness.
Her cousin was a bright spot in her life, and she wasn’t going to let her own crap drag anyone else down.