as the owner of this…palace of a hotel,” she said, “that’s very important to you?”
“Absolutely. I only want the best people.”
Suddenly she looked more relaxed. “Good. For a minute I was worried. It almost sounded as if you were going to offer me a job.”
“I am. I need a sub for Belinda.” He surprised himself by blurting it out. Even though he was in a bit of a bind, he’d still intended to give the issue a little more thought. Do a quick background check. No matter. All that could be done after the fact.
“You can’t be serious. I’ve never been a concierge.”
“And I’d never owned a hotel until this one. Some people are naturals.”
“You know nothing about me.”
“I know enough. And I’ll find out the rest.”
“I could be a total idiot.”
“No. You couldn’t.”
“I could be a thief.”
He shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
She gave him the kind of look people reserved for small boys who were trying to snow them. “I could live in San Diego.” She glanced at him from beneath very long lashes. Her expression clearly said, Give me an answer for that.
Wyatt allowed himself the smallest of smiles. “You mentioned that. San Diego’s a beautiful city.”
“I know. I love it.”
“And…you’re not interested in relocating.”
“I’m sorry. No. I’m invested in the city. In addition to my Web site, San Diego Your Way, I’m hoping to open a shop of the same name soon. So, while I’m flattered that you would offer to hire me, references unseen, I can’t move.”
Okay, this was going to be difficult. But then he’d been raised in difficult circumstances. Horrible circumstances involving beating and ego-killing insults. Situations that were merely difficult didn’t faze him at all.
“You couldn’t be persuaded to relocate even for a few months?”
Alex shook her head, her sable hair brushing her cheeks. “I’m sorry. It wouldn’t be practical. I have a job.”
“At the front desk of a hotel chain. I take it that you already have the capital to open your shop? I see.” What he didn’t see was why the thought of letting Alex slip away bothered him. He hadn’t laid eyes on her fifteen minutes ago.
The best reason he could give for this odd crestfallen sensation was that McKendrick’s was his life. Making it the best it could be, aiming to get it on every five-star list, was what drove him. Anything that negatively affected McKendrick’s messed with his life and his plans for the future. Given that, Alex had seemed like a gift. That must be why he felt let down.
She had ducked her head, refusing to look directly at him for the first time since they’d begun their conversation. “Well, I’m not actually close to having the capital. It’s expensive living in California. But I’m working on it and getting closer.”
Alex sounded so apologetic that Wyatt wanted to smile. As if the state of the economy was her fault. Still, he saw one last opportunity—one he would grasp. He’d been called a lone wolf before, a man with no ties, one who followed the scent of whatever he wanted, relentlessly. It was an apt description. He needed to succeed, and right now he felt the thrill of having discovered Alexandra’s weak spot.
“So if I offered you a better salary—” he named an amount large enough that Alex jerked her head up “—and promised to find you work equivalent to what you’ve been doing if this doesn’t work out, or when you return to San Diego in two months, even that wouldn’t convince you to become my concierge?”
Somehow that last phrase had come out a bit wrong: too sensual, too possessive. Dammit, it had sounded as if he was offering to put her up as his mistress.
And she was looking like a pretty sable rabbit that wanted to take the bait but was wary of anything offered by a wolf.
Suddenly she looked him square in the eyes, rose to her feet and smiled. The pretty rabbit disappeared, replaced by a very human, very lovely woman. “This is very tempting and totally unexpected. When I came downstairs today I was looking for a menu, not a job. I love my home. I have friends there that I don’t want to give up. I have hopes and dreams, and all of them are based in San Diego.”
That statement alone should have sent chills down his spine. People who used the term hopes and dreams tended to be breakable people. He steered clear of them.
“Your…dreams,” he said, “may be centered in San Diego but taking this job would help you reach your goals much more quickly. You could raise the capital you need.”
She closed her eyes.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
She didn’t answer at first. For a second he thought he heard her counting beneath her breath. He did hear her counting. But when she got to six, she opened her eyes.
“What am I doing? I’m trying not to say yes,” she said with a groan. “I need time. Because if I make the wrong decision we might both regret it. This whole situation…it’s completely crazy. I just came here for the weekend. I have friends I’m flying back with.”
“I’ll refund the price of your airline ticket.”
She raised her brows. “Somehow that won’t solve the problem.”
“Problem?”
“I have a reputation for jumping into fires that burn me. I promised myself I’d stop that. Agreeing to do this…I mean, just look at you.”
Wyatt waited. She clearly had more to say.
“I can hear their thoughts already. Some good-looking resort owner asks Alex to please help him and what does she do? She leaps right in. They’ll think I’ve lost my mind. I—no. I need to be smart.”
Don’t push her, Wyatt told himself. Hadn’t everything she’d told him indicated that she had a tendency to let her emotions guide her? No matter what his gut instincts were saying, that wasn’t what he was looking for. He’d had a lifetime of bad experiences with people whose emotions dictated their actions, and up until he was old enough to be on his own he’d been forced to suffer the bitter consequences.
Still, this was short-term work they were discussing.
“A sensible person trying to save money would go for the gold, wouldn’t she?” Wyatt asked.
Alex frowned. “Maybe she would. But I…This is a big step. I really should go. I’ll need to think this through.”
Before he could say one word, she had moved to the door.
“Alex?” he said, before the door had opened an inch.
She
