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Next, Christian went to the adjoining bathroom and slipped off his contact lenses and stripped out of the clothes. Only after he had taken a shower did Christian feel at ease and like himself again. His hair still looked terrible, but he could find someone to fix that in a few months.
He sank into a deep, comfortable chair and looked around approvingly. His assistant had done a good job furnishing the place on such short notice.
His mind drifted to his interview with Raina. One thing was for sure; despite his irritation at Roger for bungling the management of his properties, the next month or two would be interesting. He wondered how he would keep his desire for her in check as they worked together.
Fortunately, it was likely their paths would not cross too often.
Or is that “Unfortunately”? His subconscious chided him.
Christian surprised himself with that thought. His last relationship had ended so poorly he had sworn off relationships completely. The last thing he needed was to start wanting to get close to a woman.
Women invariably disappointed him. Most wanted him for his money and the power his name held. After the last girlfriend, who’d turned out to be just another gold-digger, he had given up on finding a woman who would like him for h
imself.
He couldn’t blame them though, he acknowledged wryly. His name opened up doors to all the swankiest parties of the year. But women often got a shock when Christian refused to attend those types of events, preferring to spend the evening ordering in, or at a quaint private restaurant. All his relationships—if you could call them that, ended when both parties realized that they could not get what they wanted from the other.
Women wanted a prize and Christian wanted honesty.
While Christian was generous with his money, he was less so with his time, and he couldn’t be bothered to deal with the trivial frivolity and trappings that came with wealth, which appealed strongly to most women.
Or, at least the women I’ve met. The thought appeared out of nowhere. He wondered if that type of life would appeal to Raina. For some reason, he doubted it.
He realized fleetingly that his position as a maintenance man would give him a chance to meet normal, women like Raina and Kelly. Women who, like himself, had charted their own paths in life and worked for everything they had.
Yes, Christian thought with a rueful smile, he would enjoy getting to know Ms. Raina McMillan.
3
Raina’s brow was creased in concentration. Absentmindedly, she ran her fingers through her hair. She glanced at the two files in front of her. There were two new suppliers with whom she was not familiar, but she knew that before a company supplied the hotel, they were vigorously vetted, with information such as their business licenses and sales tax numbers recorded.
Besides, the list of approved suppliers came from the highest levels of the company. She just gave a cursory glance at the supplier names, signed at the bottom, and added them to the pile behind her. She pulled out another supplier’s record and started running through the numbers.
The phone by her side rang and Raina, lost deep in thought, jumped. She glared at it, deciding not to answer. It was half an hour past her scheduled working hours, but she was working late again as usual. Whoever it was could just leave a message.
She turned her attention back to the papers in front of her. Something was not right with the figures. The actual delivery schedule of supplies had decreased, yet the files showed that the soaps they were already running out of should have lasted for another two months. Raina sighed. A computer system would have sorted out all these problems, yet, every time she pointed this to Roger, he just waved her concerns away and said it would cost too much to implement something like that.
The pone kept ringing, making it unable for her to concentrate. With a sigh, she grabbed it. “Hello,” she said onto the phone distractedly.
Raina murmured in response, and then ended the conversation, approving the Human Resources Manager’s decision to put Christopher’s office in a small room, off the housekeeping department. She had forgotten all about Christopher, with so much on her mind. She hadn’t seen him in the last couple of days—she probably ought to check up on him and see how he was getting on with things.
Returning to scrutinizing the documents, Raina looked up abruptly, after an eerie feeling that someone was watching her. Hers was an open door policy and she did her best to adhere to that at all times. Her mouth went dry when she saw Roger Del Mar, leaning against the frame, staring at her intently.
How long had he been there?
Disconcerted, Raina stood up and unconsciously smoothed down her skirt. She saw Roger’s eyes roam over her curves with a leer and she snatched her hands away from her legs.
“Hello Mr. Del Mar?” Raina said.
“Roger. How many times must I remind you, my dear Raina?” Roger said smoothly.
Raina preferred to use his surname as a reminder that theirs was strictly a business relationship, not that Roger paid any notice.
“Roger,” she said curtly, turning away from him. “I’m quite backlogged here, I’m afraid I—.” But he cut her off.
“That’s better,” he said as he marched into the room and walked towards her, stopping so close to her that she could smell his vile cologne and rancid cigar breathe.
Roger had not aged well, Raina thought, looking at the premature creases on the side of his mouth and forehead. He must be what, in his mid-fifties? But he looked nearly seventy. She swallowed hard and forced her breath to slow down. The last thing she wanted was Pervy Roger to know how uncomfortable he made her.
