Chapter Five

Hadley

I stared after Blake and Belinda as they made their way to the back office and couldn’t help but notice how his pants showed off his perfectly chiseled ass. Her skin-tight sheath dress and hooker-heels only solidified that she needed help in the fashion department. As they both disappeared through the door, the reality of the situation nearly bowled me over. Belinda was Blake’s girlfriend! In my attempt to wrap my brain around this, other thoughts came crashing in. The one that stuck like freaking super glue was that Blake Moreno was a cheater. Not only that, but I was his accomplice. I hated cheaters. No, I abhorred them. He wasn’t just a cheater. He was rude. An arrogantly rude cheater. Wow! I sure knew how to pick them, didn’t I?

“What happened...happened.” His words from our earlier conversation seared through me. Oh, it happened alright. Three times, I might add. Three amazing, and now heartbreaking, times. My hands dropped to my stomach and my eyes welled. What in God’s name was I supposed to do now?

“Lawdy, that sight would give anyone gas,” Wayne declared. I’d been mired so deep in my dilemma that I’d failed to hear him slither up beside me. My eyes hit his bespectacled ones and I frowned.

“Pardon? I asked.

This morning had started off with such promise. After my encounter with squirrel lady followed by Cat’s rather dire talk about flamboyant Wayne, I was slightly wary, but still excited. That excitement increased exponentially when I got my first look at the hotel.

The Mitchell Hotel sat on the corner of two incredibly busy downtown streets. According to Cat, the building dated back to the 1920’s, but didn’t become the Mitchell until sometime in the 60’s. The first thing I noticed on arrival was the old-world style awning and the decorative window casings. White marble floors spanned the hotel entry, on one side of which was a mahogany check-in counter. The rich colors and elaborate furniture and curtains hearkened back to the roaring 20’s.

We’d barely made it through the door before Cat was pounced on. As I stood back and watched her answer questions, sign documents, and delegate, I couldn’t have been more-proud of my friend.

Cat and I met our sophomore year in college when we had a psychology class together. The professor paired us together for a project and we became fast friends. During our junior and senior years, we shared an apartment together. Cat was outgoing. I was an introvert. She liked to party. I was more of a home body. She had boyfriends. Boys made me nervous. Even though we were polar opposites, we somehow clicked. That she’d found a man like Zane, didn’t surprise me at all. Cathryn was always meant to go far and do big things.

“Sorry,” she murmured as she made her way over to where I was standing. “Well, what do you think? How do you like your first impression from the lobby?” She paused to check her watch, before continuing, “I promise to give you a full tour later, but don’t want to keep Zane waiting.” As I followed her down an open hallway, we passed by a large sitting room decorated in what looked like satins and velvets. A gorgeous marble fireplace sat at one end and I made a note to further investigate when I had the chance. The end of the hallway, a double-doored entrance, was framed in dark wood. Above the frame, carved out of the same dark wood, was a sign that read Sazerac’s on 6th. As we moved from white marble to hardwoods, I felt as if I’d taken a step back in time.

“Ladies,” Zane greeted from the doorway. “I hate to run, but I’m needed upstairs.” He smiled at Cat’s cute pout, and added, “I promise not to be too long.”

“I wanted you to give Hads the grand tour,” she whined.

“Hads will be in great hands with you...and Wayne!” he shouted over his shoulder.

“You called, Master?” a voice from inside the bar shrilly replied.

“Take care of my girls while I’m gone!” Zane called back. His sweet words made me smile.

“You’ve got it, boss,” came the reply. Zane gave Cat a kiss and patted me on the back before disappearing out the door.

At first glance inside Sazerac’s, an old school smoking lounge came to mind. The dark paneled walls, rich red upholstery, and dimly lit chandeliers further accentuated the vibe. I found the lack of windows, however, mildly claustrophobic. Cat and I skirted around both low and high-topped tables as we made our way across the expansive room and over to the bar. My eyes caught on the glossy, black Steinway as we passed by and my fingers itched to play.

During my mother’s ‘make my daughters famous phase,’ she’d forced piano lessons on me and Tilly. Within a month, the teacher declared Tilly unteachable, but not me. I took to the piano like a fish to water. My shyness, however, stopped me from competing. I had no problem playing for Mom, Tills, or my teacher, but add a stranger to the mix, and I froze. It took years before I overcame my stage fright.

“Your earrings are to die for. I take it they’re from Daddy Warbuck’s?” Wayne asked Cat on approach. So this is the infamous Wayne, I thought. He wasn’t at all what I’d expected. His red-framed, John Lennon-looking glasses were way too small for his face and his graying hair too bushy for his head. He was my height, minus the heels, which placed him at around five eight, give or take.

“Zane gave them to me last week. Aren’t they fabulous?” Cat gushed.

“Faaaabs!” Wayne screeched. When he swung his bifocaled gaze to me, I fought the urge to flinch. “Well, this must be Hadley,” he announced. “Mmmmhmmm...Mmmmhmmm,” he nodded as he perused me from head to toe. “Gorgeous hair, but slightly mousey features,” he stated, as if I wasn’t standing right in front of him. His words stung and my stomach instantly soured.

“Be nice,” Cat chastised.

His eyes widened in feigned remorse before swiveling back to me. “I meant that in the nicest way possible,” he amended. My ass he did.

“No offense taken,” I quietly replied.

With Cat’s urging, Wayne came out from behind the bar and joined us on the tour. While Cat gave me the history of The Mitchell, including the supposed haunting of certain rooms by long departed guests, Wayne zinged me with well-placed barbs. By the time the tour was over and we were on to menu planning, he’d insinuated that I was chunky, insulted my outfit, and had referred to me as mouse no less than three times. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the menu planning session, where I was supposed to toss around ideas with Cat and Zane, turned into the Cat and Wayne show. Each time I made a suggestion, Wayne shot it down, then he and Cat came up with a totally different idea. What was the point of me being here if my opinion didn’t even count?

When Wayne finally petered out and slithered back behind the bar, I turned to Cat and said, “I’m not sure this is the right fit for me.”

“He just takes some getting used to,” she assured me.

“I didn’t realize he was the chef,” I tartly replied.

“You’re right. I’m sorry. Wayne just has a way of sneaking his opinion in, whether you wish to hear it or not.”

“Wayne is a mean girl and a bully rolled into one hateful package,” I replied. She opened her mouth, probably to defend him, and was interrupted by Wayne’s screech. My eyes shot to the front entrance and froze.

Oh, God, Blake was here. My breath hitched at the sight of him. He had on dress pants and a striped button-down. The collar was loose and his sleeves were rolled in a sexy but casual manner. God, God, God! The man was even more beautiful than I’d remembered. My pulse hammered as he neared the bar. My stomach dipped and my core clenched when his golden-eyed gaze hit on me. His step slightly faltered before he righted himself. This was it, the moment I’d been waiting for. My reason for being here. I feverishly watched as he lowered himself down onto the chair across from us.

“Blake, you remember Hadley from the wedding,” Cat introduced.

“It’s good to see you again,” his deep voice rumbled and I tried not to sigh. The man was everything I’d remembered and then some. I tried not to stare at him while Cat talked but found myself doing it anyway. He was polite, but distant, which was understandable as we hadn’t seen each other in months. That, and Cat wasn’t supposed to know we’d slept together. Then Cat’s phone rang, she excused herself to take the call, and we were left alone. Finally, I had him to myself. Before I could get a word in, he’d put me in my place. Then his girlfriend showed up and he ran off to do Lord knows what with her in the office.

Which brought me back to the moment at hand, and Wayne’s ridiculous question about gas.

“Pardon?” I repeated.

His hair flitted spastically from side to side as he nodded his head in the direction of the office. “Don Juan and Boobzilla are enough to give anyone gas, don’t you think?”

I thought about it for a second and knew I shouldn’t ask but couldn’t seem to stop myself. “They’re...together?” His brows shot up.

“By her account, she’s already got the wedding planned. Also, by her account, he’s an animal in bed. Mmmmhmmmm, what I wouldn’t give for a taste of that chimichanga.”

Memories of me calling Blake my Latin lover and conquistador ghosted through my mind. Wayne let out a squeak and I quickly slammed the door on my memories. Then I turned to see what he was staring at and noticed Blake’s girlfriend standing at the entry to the back office. Her eyes were on us and she didn’t look happy.

“Someone needs to talk to that boy about building his stamina. Boobzilla is one un-hap-pay girl,” he quietly murmured under his breath. With a final glare in our direction, Belinda shifted her focus on the front entrance and began clacking her heels in that direction.

“Trouble in paradise?” Wayne called after her.

“Shhhhhh!” I loudly shushed.

“Fuck off, Wayne!” she screeched, and then she was gone.

From the looks of it, there was definitely trouble in paradise.

“The mouse looks happy,” Wayne noted. Swallowing down my smile, I quickly walked away. His cackle followed in my wake. Yes, I was definitely going to have to watch myself in front of Wayne...