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It was not that Raina wasn’t beautiful—far from it. She was stunning in a way that wasn’t obvious to the casual observer. The more he looked at her the more he saw to appreciate—from her wide brown eyes framed with delicate lashes to her curvy backside that he wanted to fit perfectly in his hands.
It was his own randy school-boy-like reaction that puzzled him. He had felt strong attraction to women before, but this had hit him like a ton of bricks. He had observed her from the lobby as she walked ahead of him and loved the curves that flowed from her small waist. She was not model-thin as most women imagined men liked; instead she had a womanly figure that made his blood race.
Cleary, he thought wryly, he needed to date more. That was probably it. He hadn’t had a girlfriend since before he’d taken his sabbatical, and he wasn’t one for casual dating or flings. For one thing, he was never quite sure if the women liked him for himself—or for what his bank account could buy them. It always took him awhile to open up to someone and trust them. In the meantime, Mrs. Thumb and her four friends had been taking care of business. His body was clearly having ideas of its own though.
“Right, ready for the tour?” she said and smiled again.
Christian smiled back at her and nodded. By instinct he started to offer her his arm, but he quickly pulled it back as he remembered his place. She looked up at him and smiled curiously.
They walked out together and she gave him the grand tour as soon as they left the office. It was odd to meet people who worked for him along the corridors. Most gave him a cursory look and moved on. They stopped in the housekeeping office, where Raina introduced him to a sweet and bubbly young woman, who turned out to be the head housekeeper, by the name of Kelly.
He did not miss the wink that Kelly gave Raina before they walked out. As Raina spoke and gave him the tour, he nodded responses to Raina’s information. They walked through the hallways of the guest rooms, taking an elevator onto each of the floors. Raina pulled out her keycard and took him into one room, empty of guests.
Christian noted the well-made king-size bed, with the sheets pulled tightly and the pillows fluffed up and arranged neatly. He liked that the standards of the rooms had been maintained. He ran his finger along the edge of the television, noting approvingly that it was free of dust.
“The bathroom is through here,” Raina said.
The bathroom was covered in marble and hand-crafted Italian tiles. The center piece was a Jacuzzi tub, with dozens of jets and a series of seats and water-proof pillows. Jacuzzis had never interested Christian in the past, but at that moment, he ached to hold Raina and settle into the warm water with her. He could imagine her snuggled up in his arms, her body lying on top of him.
Goddamn it, I need to get laid. His body grew warm and he shifted about uncomfortably.
“Is everything alright? Does the size of the hotel worry you? It is a large property. Don’t worry; we plan on hiring another maintenance man soon.”
Christian smiled to show her that he was okay. He reminded himself to be careful. Raina had a sharp eye and was looking at him to weigh his reactions. He didn’t want to lose his job even before he had started.
Finally, they rode the elevator to his favorite spot in all the Del Mar hotels—the rooftop terrace. The blue clouds reflected on the water of the pool, and further out to the ocean, casting shadowed tints on the surface of the water. The terrace was like a play area for the guests, with a running track and a year-round garden.
“I could stay here all day,” Christian said.
“I know the feeling.” She looked at him and whispered conspiratorially, “Sometimes I like to come up here after midnight, when the terrace has been locked to guests, and just look at the stars and listen to the water. Well—.” She hesitated, then added, “I used to like to do that. I haven’t done that in a long time.” He noted the sadness in her voice and wondered about it briefly. “Come on; let’s go back down. Time for us mere mortals to return to work,” Raina said, her brown eyes twinkling.
Christian could have immersed himself in them. They walked convivially together and back into the elevator. Only the two of them were inside and he could smell her perfume, a sweet flowery fragrance that played with his senses.
This is ridiculous, Christian thought. She was his “boss” to begin with and he had no intention of getting fired his first day on the job. Secondly, the last thing he needed was an entanglement with someone who—whether she knew it or not—was actually his employee. They rode silently back to the ground floor, and parted ways amicably in the lobby.
“Be early tomorrow. We’re a stickler for punctuality here,” Raina said. She smiled at him and again he found himself mesmerized watching her lips part. She licked them and he almost heard himself groan audibly.
He took a deep breath. “Yes, ma’am. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.”
She gave him a wave and he lingered a little longer just so he could watch her walk away.
Staying on schedule was not an issue for Christian. Besides, he intended to spend as much time as possible in the hotel. As he walked under the crystal and gold chandelier hanging from the middle of the lobby, his mind was at work, weighing what he had seen today. The standards of the hotel were on par with the strict standards of the rest of the resorts and the staff appeared happy enough.
Christian strode in long steps, unaware of the figure he cut with his easy confidence and quiet magnetism. Despite the clothes, people were drawn to him and turned to stare as he walked by. It felt good to be out of the hotel and himself again. He would feel better once he was out of the uncomfortable shirt and cap.
He spied his black Bugatti waiting for him, parked three blocks away, with his driver—who was also his bodyguard—behind the wheel. Before he slid in, Christian looked behind him to make sure that no one who worked at the hotel was behind him. The chances were slim, but it had never hurt him in the past to be careful.
“Hello Jim.”
“Hey boss,” Jim said with a wide grin. “If I hadn’t seen you two hours ago, I wouldn’t have recognized you.”
“I don’t recognize myself either,” Christian said and grinned back at his long time employee.
Jim eased the car out of the parking lot and headed toward the main drag. Thirty minutes later Christian hopped out at the entrance of his condo building, and, with a wave to the doorman, took the elevator up to the fifteenth floor. Though he didn’t live there, the entire building belonged to him. The penthouse apartment had been vacant and he thought it a convenient place to set himself up for the next few months.
As soon as he walked through the front door to his expansive living room, Christian began shedding off his disguise. He tossed away the cap first and placed it on a glass table as he walked across the living room to his bedroom.
He had gotten the cap from Jim, who asked no questions. Christian liked his driver for his discretion. Jim knew that if Christian wanted him to know something, he would tell him, thus Jim never asked a thing, which suited Christian just fine.
