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
