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“Well … I would miss you,” Raina said, meaning it.
“What about you? Any potential boyfriend material on the horizon?”
Raina shook her head. “I can barely keep my head above water as it is.”
“What do you mean?” Kelly said, looking concerned.
Raina realized that she had said too much.
“You know the usual—juggling kids and work.” She said it in a casual tone, knowing that Kelly could pick up on any hint of anxiety, which Raina was feeling a lot of these days. She reached for the door handle, mentally swearing at herself for giving Kelly an opening to dig.
“Raina?” Kelly called out as Raina nearly sprinted out the door. “I’m your friend and you can talk to me about anything; you know that, don’t you?”
Raina turned, smiled brightly and nodded. She felt Kelly continuing to watch her as her long legs carried her down the hall.
It was not that she did not trust Kelly, but from a long time ago, Raina had learned to keep her biggest problems to herself. The issue of the mortgage hovered in her mind all the time, nudging and squeezing her brain. Not to mention the hospital bills that seemed to increase every month. She managed her days by not giving a thought to it at all, but it was always there. If something happened to upset the balance, like losing her job because she pissed off Pervy Rog, Raina could very well find herself on the streets, along with the kids.
Still feeling unsettled and afraid that Roger might corner her in her office once again, Raina headed for the security station, which was in a discreet room off the lobby.
“Hiya guys,” she said to the two uniformed men who monitored the security cameras. Being men of few words they merely grunted at her in acknowledgement.
Her eyes scanned the thirty or so cameras mounted on the wall, and then settled on a view of the banquet room, which had a conference going on. It appeared to be on a break, as the guests mingled, holding cups of coffee and tea. Her interest, however, was in Roger, who had walked into the room.
Though she could not hear what he was saying, she saw the reaction of the guests. The women smiled at him, and unconsciously angled their bodies towards him. The men clapped his back and pumped his hand. Raina shook her head. He was like a chameleon, changing colors depending on his environment.
If he was that friendly to the staff, he would be a wonderful boss; as it was, he treated “important” people one way and people like her another way. She wondered how she would deal with him in the days that he would be around. Usually he only stopped by for a couple of days. She hoped this visit would be a short one.
Raina’s attention was distracted from Roger, when she saw Christopher’s lean, muscled body stride quickly across the lobby, headed to the back exit.
She moved her eyes to the next camera and followed his movements as he left through the staff door. She checked her watch, noting that his shift was over.
As happy as she was for Kelly, a part of her envied her friend. There was something strong and solid about Christopher. He carried himself with a lot of dignity, especially for a wo
rking class guy, and he made you want to know him more.
And, he sure smelled good. Where that thought came from, she didn’t know, but she could feel the heat rising to her face.
With a sigh, she turned away from the cameras, resisting the urge to watch Christopher walk out of the hotel and down the street, up to where the security camera’s view ended. Feeling safe with Roger schmoozing in the banquet room, Raina returned to her office, where her computer flashed with new messages.
She kept up a steady stream of work over the next couple of hours, though her mind occasionally strayed to Christopher and Kelly. They would make a nice looking couple, though she did think that Kelly was too hyper for a mellow man like Christopher. Nonetheless, it wasn’t any of her business, other than to make sure their work wasn’t affected.
Resolutely, she returned her attention to her computer and replied to emails from all over the departments seeking her guidance or approval. The good thing about her job was that Raina could lose herself in it and push all her worries away, if only for a few hours.
4
Christian felt troubled by Raina’s behavior earlier in the week as he made his way to the service elevators. Since then, he had barely seen her. Both of them were busy with their jobs and there just wasn’t any free time. But he knew it had something to do with his Uncle Roger, and Christian felt murderous.
If the man so much as touched Raina … Realizing the depth of his reaction, Christian felt uneasy.
He had barely known Raina for a week and already he felt protective toward her. Hell, she had taken care of herself well enough before he came on to the scene. Despite that knowledge, her agitation earlier had left him feeling out of balance, and wanting to fix whatever it was that was wrong. Hell, he was the handyman, wasn’t he? He thought with a laugh.
He glanced at his work sheet with a list of tasks that he needed to work on. It seemed things were always falling apart someplace on the property. The elevator stopped on the first floor, and carrying his tool kit in one hand and the work sheet on the other, he went to the first room, a little apprehensive about whether or not the guests had checked out. To his relief, the door was wide open, an indicator that a housekeeper was inside or that they had just finished cleaning. A trio of laughing kids in bathing suits and carrying towels rushed past him in the hall, and he smiled at how care-free they were, envying them a bit.
Minutes later, Christian was in the bathroom, scrunched under the sink. His broad frame was too wide for the space underneath it and he could barely see in front of him. With a lot of difficulty, he located the shut off valves and he turned them off, stopping the water supply. Remembering the details from “The Handyman’s Guidebook,” Christian placed a strainer basket over the sink drain hole.
His whole concentration was on the task at hand, as he carefully disassembled the faucets, taking care to record in his mind where each part went. He’d messed it up a few days ago, much to his chagrin, and he’d had to spend a couple hours looking up the right way to do it on his phone.
It took him an hour to fix the leaking faucet and when he was done, he stood, arms at akimbo, admiring his work. He imagined that next time he could complete the task much quicker.
