Weekend in Vegas!: Saving Cinderella!

What a totally alarming thought. If she hadn’t been committed to work, she would have been calling up Jayne, Serena and Molly right then, and asking them to talk her down off the ledge. As it was…

“I’m yours for the day, Wyatt,” she said. A totally cringe-worthy statement, but one that was, in fact, true.

She had committed herself to Wyatt, not just for a day but for weeks to come. She might as well accept that and arm herself heavily against her unwanted blatantly physical reaction to the man. Beverly was right about one thing. The man was too much like chocolate. Tempting. He definitely threatened her “no men” diet.

All the way back to the hotel, Wyatt wondered what in hell he was doing. There was training an employee, and then there was enjoying oneself with an employee. The second wasn’t allowed. He needed his walls.

So, despite the fact that he had enjoyed watching Alex’s exchange with Beverly, he was also glad that Alex’s questions had forced him to remember not only his goals but his past, his flaws, his limitations. He’d been born not fitting with other people—from his mother, who’d given birth to him and then dumped him on relatives, to those relatives who’d tried to beat the wildness out of him, to the women who had wanted him and been disappointed when he disappointed them. All of his relationships had left someone with scars, and he was through with them.

In that sense, working with Alex might present a minefield. She seemed both tough and fragile, like a woman who needed a knight in shining armor but didn’t know it. What she didn’t need was a loner who would break her heart again. What he didn’t need was to break someone’s heart or fail to live up to expectations again. He didn’t have to be reminded that some people started out bad and tough and stayed that way. McKendrick’s was the only place where he excelled, and he needed to remember that.

Hiring Alex might be good for McKendrick’s, but bad for him. Except she was on a break from men and he was on a permanent break from relationships. So maybe this employer/employee relationship could work, he thought as he drove down the road. He hoped so.

Though he didn’t broadcast the details, his need for McKendrick’s to succeed ran deep. It was almost fifteen years since he had escaped his hellish home and the people who had beaten him down and predicted that he would never amount to anything. He was finally up, higher than anyone had ever expected him to be. This hotel was where his life had truly begun. It was his validation and his legacy.

Everything else had to be secondary, and he couldn’t forget that. If he did, someone might get hurt.

CHAPTER FIVE (#ulink_d228252e-6e73-5a29-bb3d-03c8c92a515d)

ALEX didn’t have any more time to think about Wyatt, because as soon as she got to her desk, a man came up wanting to know the best place for a haircut. Don’t panic. Don’t tell him you don’t have a clue, or remember that this hotel is up for an award and reviewers might be anonymous men asking about haircuts.

She glanced around the room. Hmm, Randy’s haircut was nice, but probably not what the fiftyish man was looking for. She scanned the room further, saw what she was looking for, then waved to Randy.

He frowned, but came over. “Randy, could you watch my desk for just a second?”

He blinked. The man who had asked the question blinked.

“I’ll be right back with your answer,” she said, striding across the lobby toward a waiter who was serving drinks to two women seated next to a fountain. As the man turned from his task, Alex flashed a smile. “Hi, I’m Alex Lowell, the new concierge, Seth,” she said, reading off his name tag. “When you’re done, I have a quick question.”

He nodded as she turned to the women and held out her hand. “Hello, and welcome to McKendrick’s. If you need anything at all, I hope you’ll let me know.”

“Actually, I do need something,” one woman said. “I have to know…where did you get that fantastic outfit?” She gestured toward Alex’s pale lemon knee-length suit.

Alex grimaced inside. She wanted to be helpful, and yet…“I’m afraid I got it in San Diego.”

“Wonderful! I’ve been wanting to go there. Now I can schedule a shopping trip as an excuse. I have a luncheon in a month, and that’s just what I was looking for. You wouldn’t happen to have the address of the shop, would you?”

“As a matter of fact, I do,” Alex said, writing down the information for her friend’s shop. “Tell Elaine, the owner, that Alexandra Lowell sent you. She’ll treat you right.”

“Fantastic! Now, I better let you get to Seth. He’s certainly in demand this morning.”

Alex smiled. “Yes. Seth, I need the name of your hairdresser? Barber? Whoever gave you that great cut?”

Seth blinked.

“It’s for a customer,” she explained. “You have just the right look, I think.”

The women agreed that Seth had great hair, and chuckled as he blushed and smiled and scribbled an address down.

“Thanks, Seth. You’re a lifesaver. I’m sure Mr. Toliver will thank you, too.” She flashed the women a smile. “I hope you find something nice at Elaine’s.”

“Even if I don’t, I’ll enjoy looking. It was great meeting someone who takes her job personally. By the way, Alex, I’m Joanne. Wyatt runs a great hotel, and even though we’re local, Meredith and I come here often, so it’s good to meet you.”

“Thank you. I’ll do my best to make your stay special.”

Then, because Mr. Toliver had been waiting too long, Alex practically flew across the room.

“I’m sorry I took so long, Mr. Toliver. Thank you, Randy. I was just getting some expert advice on hairstylists from Seth.”

“Alex,” Randy said in a low voice, “Seth is a waiter.”

“Yes, and he has gorgeous hair, doesn’t he? Both of those ladies love it, too. I think you’ll be in good hands at—” she glanced at the piece of paper “—Gregory’s, Mr. Toliver. If women as stylish as Joanne and Meredith admire Seth’s hair, that’s a stellar recommendation.”

Mr. Toliver glanced toward the middle-aged attractive women. One of them smiled at him. “Well, Gregory’s it is, then,” he said. “Thank you, young lady.”

“It was a pleasure. Come back if you need anything else.”

When the man had gone, Randy shook his head. “You’re supposed to look in the files. We have lists of places you can recommend.”

“But I don’t know anything about those places.”

“Alex, you were lucky this time. Frank Toliver is a frequent and valued customer here, but he could have been anybody. McKendrick’s is having its fifth anniversary, so it’s in the crosshairs of every reviewer, most of whom work incognito. Not only that, but this is the first time that the hotel is a finalist for a National Travel Award. We’re up against some fierce competition, including Champagne just down the road, so we have to be careful and make sure that every customer goes away satisfied. Most of our clients won’t want to pattern themselves after people like Seth.”

Alex felt a twinge. Was Randy right? Had she hit a wrong note in her first few minutes on the job?

“Seth the waiter?”

The deep voice came from behind Alex. She didn’t have to turn around to know who it was, but she did. Time to face the music. Maybe it really had been a mistake not to fly back to San Diego with her friends.

To his credit, Randy merely looked sheepish and didn’t try to discredit her. Alex opened her mouth, wondering if she should apologize, and yet…

“I like Seth’s hair,” she said. “But I really didn’t even think about the fact that Mr. Toliver might not want to frequent the same establishments that our employees do. Actually, I don’t even know what kind of neighborhood I sent him to.”

And she didn’t have the address on her any longer, either.

“I’m sure Seth wouldn’t have led a customer into a dark alley,” Wyatt assured her. “So…you like Seth’s hair, do you?”

She pushed her chin up. “I do.”

He frowned. “I’m not criticizing, Alex. I’m just waiting.”

“For what?”

“To see what Frank Toliver looks like when he gets back, and to see how he feels about how he looks. If it goes well, we’ll add Gregory’s to our list of recommended shops.”

Alex couldn’t help wondering what Mr. Toliver would do or say if he didn’t like how he looked. Would it affect his opinion of McKendrick’s service?

She could tell Randy was thinking the same thing. He was practically leaning over, listening to see if Wyatt was going to say more.