Chapter Three

Upside #3: There’s almost never a commitment to the people who have seen your tatas. Almost.

“Oh, fuck.”

The words escaped me before I could stop them—and so did the bottle of gin. It slid right out of my grip and shattered as it made contact with the cold, concrete floor. I jumped back, away from the mess I’d just created, but I was almost numb to it. Any other day, I’d be rushing to clean it up.

Now, I left it. Left the glass to glint in the glaring overhead lights and the gin to trickle between the slightly uneven ridges in the floor.

How was this possible? How was Mr. Tall, Dark, and Silent standing in front of me?

This wasn’t supposed to happen. I was never supposed to see him again. And now the universe was telling me his name was Jacob Creed—the hotel’s new owner and my new boss?

No, no, no.

I was hungover. Daydreaming. In a nightmare. There was absolutely no way this was real. It couldn’t be.

And in the space of five minutes, no matter what this was, I’d banged my head, sworn, and smashed a bottle of alcohol.

Good going, Mellie.

“I mean. Hi. I was just rescuing this.” I pointed at the shattered bottle. “It fell. Rolled. Apparently, a pointless rescue.”

His lips were pulled into that same smirk they’d formed on Saturday night, and his gray eyes glinted almost silver as he stepped forward and the light hit them. “Come away from that glass. Is there someone who can clean it up?”

“There’s a broom…somewhere.” Dazed. I was dazed. Shit.

Gray eyes scanned the room lighting up when they landed on the broom. He grabbed it and moved to sweep up most of the glass, pausing only to pick up what was left intact of the bottle.

I watched like an idiot until he was done and all that remained was a wet patch of wasted gin.

“Is your head okay?”

“My head?” I blinked at him.

He rubbed his hand over his jaw. “You just banged it on the shelf.”

Oh my God, I did.

“It’s…” I felt the back of my head. “A lump. It’s fine. It’ll go down.”

“Here, let me see.”

I giggled nervously and stepped back. “No, really, it’s fine. It’s not big. Just a small one.” I clapped my hand over the back of my head, but if his step forward was any indication, he wasn’t taking no for an answer.

“Please, let me check. Just in case it should be iced.”

I took a deep breath and slowly let my hand fall to my side. “Fine.”

He stepped behind me and gently parted my hair. I fought the urge to give into the shiver that wanted to tickle its way down my spine as he softly ran his fingertips over my scalp.

Why did that feel so good?

Why was I thinking this? Didn’t I have enough to worry about now?

“I think that needs some ice. Just in case.” He let my hair fall back into place and walked around to face me. “Do you feel okay? No dizziness or anything?”

“Does embarrassed count as okay?”

“I’d say that depends on the cause of the embarrassment.” His eyes sparkled with silent laughter.

Yep. There went any hope it’d been too dark for him to see my face.

“I think I’ll go and get that ice.” I picked up the order books and, with my cheeks burning, grabbed the keys. He followed me out, and I locked the door, checked it, and glanced at him. “I’m sorry about that. You were supposed to be taken to my office.”

He shrugged a shoulder and adjusted the sleeve of his jacket. “The bell guys were all busy, and the girl on reception didn’t want me hanging around, so she sent me back here.”

“Lillie. The reception girl.” I glanced at him. “Well, I’m sorry. She should have taken you to the staff area, at least.”

“It’s fine. I didn’t get lost. Which, for someone who got banned from going to the grocery store as a child because of that reason, is a pretty damn good feat.”

My lips twitched into something that resembled a smile. My head was feeling damn sore.

“Hey, Lil, do we have ice packs anywhere?” I asked.

She glanced at Mr. TDS behind me.

Could I call him that now? Hmm.

“I’m not sure. There might be some in the kitchen. Why?”

“My fault,” Mr. TDS jumped in with a raise of his hand. “She was getting a bottle that had rolled under the shelves, and instead of waiting, I distracted her, and she hit her head. She needs to ice it.”

“Actually, I’m fine. It’s fine,” I said. Who was I reassuring? Probably myself, because that throbbing was growing.

“You’re not fine. That’s one hell of a lump.” Mr. TDS looked at me firmly. “You need to ice it and sit down.”

Lillie fought a smile. “Brittany’s about to get off her break in a few minutes. Why don’t y’all go to the office, and I’ll have her bring one down to you when she’s back?”

“Fine. Sure. Thank you.” I forced a smile. “Oh, Lillie, this is Jacob Creed. Mr. Creed, this is Lillie. She’s head of reception.”

They shared a handshake.

“Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Creed. I promise she’s not usually this clumsy,” Lillie quipped.

“Pleasure is all mine, Lillie. That ice pack would be great, as soon as possible. Oh—and there’s a little gin on the floor. Is there anyone with a mop who can take care of it?” He smiled a dazzling smile.

He hadn’t even dropped it before she had the phone in her hand.

“I’ll get it sorted right away.”

Oh, Jesus.

“Come on. Before she starts giggling,” I muttered under my breath.

Luckily, she didn’t hear me.

But Jacob Creed did. He gave a low chuckle as he followed me through the hotel to the back room where my office was. I unlocked the door, then flicked on the light as I walked in.

“Can you shut the door behind you? Thanks. Everyone comes in otherwise.” I put the order books on my desk next to my computer and clasped my hands together.

Boy, now what did I say?

Hi, how was your weekend? I’m sorry you know what my boobs look like beneath my blouse, Mr. Boss, sir?

“Let’s try the introduction thing again.” He took a step forward. “Jacob Creed. New owner and, as they tell me, the person in charge.”

I hesitated only a second before putting my hand into his much larger one. “Mellie Rogers. Manager and apparent hot mess.”

His grip was firm, but it was his smile that once again, captured my attention.

He had the most real kind of smile. Not forced, and you could see it in his eyes, whether it was a smirk or a wide grin like the one he was wearing right now.

It was dangerous.

Daring.

Like crack for my libido, if I was honest.

A knock on the door made me step back and withdraw my hand. “Yes?”

It opened a crack. “I have your ice pack.” Brittany’s voice came through the gap.

“Oh! Thanks. Come in.”

She stepped inside and with her blonde-haired head down, passed me the ice pack.

“Thanks so much. Brittany, this is Jacob Creed, the new owner. Mr. Creed, this is Brittany. She works both reception and concierge.”

“Pleasure.” He smiled and offered her his hand.

She shook, mumbled something, and excused herself.

Jacob watched her go. “She works with people?”

Despite the pain in my head, I laughed. “You wouldn’t think it. She’s the shyest person I know, but when she’s on concierge, she can find you anything. It’s quite remarkable. We should sit down.”

“You should put that ice pack on your head.” He gave me another pointed look.

With the petulance of a sulky teen, I stared back at him and touched the towel-wrapped pack to the back of my head. “There we go. I have to admit, it’s been a long time since an owner has been here telling me what to do.”

He grinned, resting his right ankle on his left knee. He sat right back and, linking his fingers, rested his clasped hands on his lap. “I was told by the previous owner he didn’t do much more than invest.”

“He hasn’t invested in this place in two years.” I could barely help the bitterness that crept into my tone. “Isn’t it painfully obvious?”

Jacob nodded. “But I knew that when I bought it. Admittedly, it was from photos that seemed to be a little old.”

“You bought it without seeing it?”

Another nod. “I’m not from here.”

“No. I couldn’t tell. You sound so Southern,” I drawled.

Another smile from him. “My grandfather recently passed, and the deal on my inheritance was that I had to invest it in a business.”

“First, I’m sorry,” I said. “Second, and you picked this one?”

He laughed lightly, a deep sound that made the hair on my arms stand on end. “New Orleans fascinates me. I wanted a challenge. Apparently, I found one.”

That sounded like it had more than one meaning.

“Well.” I switched arms on my ice pack. “I’ve worked here since I left school, so anything you want to know, I can tell you. You just gotta ask.”

“I’m afraid I have a lot of questions.”

“Go ahead.” I pulled the ice pack off my head and stretched my arms. That was harder to hold in place than I’d thought.

“It’s not about the hotel,” he warned me.

“It’s fine. If you can’t tell, I was born here and never bothered to leave.”

A smile formed on those plump lips, and he caught my gaze with his gray one. “Is it normal to have seen more breasts in one weekend than I have in my entire life?”

I opened my mouth to answer it, then froze. My cheeks burned red hot, and I cleared my throat three times before I was able to form any kind of sentence.

“During Mardi Gras, absolutely. It’s somewhat of a thing…” I paused again as his smile widened. “And not one I’ve ever participated in until the hussies who call themselves my best friends made me. So…I’m sorry that you’ve seen way more of me than you ever should have.” Another pause. “And there’s something I never thought I’d say.”

Jacob burst out laughing. He threw his head back, resting on the top of the crushed velvet chair I hated so much, and just laughed at me. All that did was cause me to blush again, somehow even harder.

Was it too soon to look for a new job? There was no way I could work with him.

I’d embarrassed myself enough times already.

“Believe it or not, I’m not holding that against you.” His lips quirked up, eyes flashing with amusement. “I’d seen much worse in much brighter conditions that night.”

I coughed. Yep. I needed a new job, didn’t I?

“Um, well, you’re welcome?” Why did that have to come out as a question? Why did I even say that? Man, I was an idiot. “So, moving on…Let’s forget that ever happened and our first meeting was today, shall we?”

“Mellie—can I call you Mellie?” He paused.

I nodded.

Jacob swung his foot onto the floor and sat up, leaning forward to rest his forearm on my desk. His intense gaze held all the possible shades of amusement, and something fluttered in the pit of my belly. “Mellie,” he said in a low voice. “Today’s meeting wasn’t exactly better, was it?”

I swallowed. My tongue slipped out and traced over my lower lip, and even as my cheeks heated, I managed to clear my throat. “Yes, well, I was expecting you here. In my office.”

His half-smile never wavered. “We got here eventually.”

There was that fluttering again.

I coughed, sliding my chair away from my desk. I stood up beanpole straight and smoothed out my skirt. “Why don’t I show you around and introduce you to everyone?”

“That sounds perfect.”