Weekend in Vegas!: Saving Cinderella!

“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 a woman I want to touch, and just be what you have to be, a very temporary employee. “Yes, there is one thing.”

She waited.

“Enjoy your day off.”

“I will. And…thank you.”

“For what?”

Her lips curved up more. “You’re making it possible for me to fulfill my dreams.”

Wyatt wanted to groan. He wished she hadn’t said that. Dreamers were delicate creatures who could be easily hurt by men like him. He’d been a dreamer once, a long time ago. These days he gave the naive and the innocently optimistic a wide berth.

“Meet me here first thing tomorrow. I’ll get you started.”

Because the sooner he got her established, the sooner he could start thinking of her as just another employee.

He hoped.

CHAPTER FOUR (#u397688a9-9ba8-5885-bcd9-dc667fec01d3)

ALEX watched her friends pack their bags. Despite their plans to party up until the last minute, the day had been oddly subdued. The night before they’d each gone their separate ways, and this morning Serena had been distracted and flushed at breakfast.

“Yes, I had an…interesting evening,” she’d said, but neglected to give any details.

“Very nice,” was all Molly had said about her time the night before, but Alex had noticed that she’d glanced away.

And now that the time had come for them to part company, no one looked very cheerful. Jayne was even more beautiful with her new hairstyle, but the pain in her eyes was more intense than before the weekend had started. Still, she gave her friends a determined smile.

“This vacation was just what I needed,” she said. “I’m glad you suggested it, Serena.”

“It was an impulse,” Serena said. “Maybe not my best.” They all looked at Alex.