Page 14 of Housekeeping

8

Mason

Things were getting busy, and it was a while before I stopped and realized it had been more than a week since my last party, or for that matter, any sort of fun.

“Hey, Mason!”

I looked over my shoulder to see Kevin running down the hall to me. I sighed and walked the few steps to the elevator and pressed the button for one going up. Then I turned around and waited for my little brother to catch up.

“What’s up? I’m surprised to see you here,” I said trying to be friendly, but it didn´t work, because I knew that with Kevin I was wasting my breath.

“We’ve both been working here,” he pointed out.

Sure, why the hell was I so distracted?

He came to a stop beside me, grinning. “I’m done with all the stuff I was supposed to do outside of the hotel. What about you?”

“I have a few reports I’m taking up to Trent,” I said, holding up a folder to show him. “After this, I’m going to have a quick little vacation before he finds more work for us to do.”

The elevator opened before he could say something in response. The few people inside walked out, so it was just the two of us as we got inside the elevator.

“There’s still no word on Dad,” he said, leaning against the wall. “I tried talking to Emily and Mom, and neither of them had anything to say. Mom was acting weird and Emily kept changing the subject.”

I narrowed my eyes, suspicions about Dad renewed. I didn’t share any of them with Kevin though. He probably had some of his own ideas anyway. I pushed those thoughts to the side as the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened on my floor. I walked out with Kevin, and we both headed for the office.

Half an hour later, I was walking out of the office, leaving Trent to deal with Kevin. My stomach growled as I got back into the elevator, and I ran a hand over it, realizing I hadn’t eaten the whole day. I figured I’d just go down to my room and order room service, but as I went to push the button for my floor, another thought occurred to me. One that made me smirk.

It had been some time since I’d seen Laura. I hadn’t forced her to come to my place to pick up after me again. Since I was seriously working, I didn’t even get to see the maid that did clean my place anymore, not that I made much of a mess when I spent most of the day out of the room.

So instead of pressing the floor to my room, I pressed for the lobby, checking the time on my watch. It should be late enough that most of the staff were packing up to go home, leaving the staff on the night shift.

I got out and headed straight for the staff area. I hadn’t been there in quite some time, but I always knew where it was because there had been plenty of complaints about me sent to my father, particularly the cleaning staff.

I ducked into the room without bothering to knock, and at first, I didn’t think there was anyone in there, though the light was on in the room. After a moment of listening, I heard a sniffle and paused before retreating from the doorway. I was torn for a moment, wondering if I should interfere or not, but then took a step inside.

“Hello?” I called, so whoever it was wouldn’t get spooked.

I’d walked in this place enough times to know the layout. The front was a lounge room with several seats and tables around the room, with a few plants, framed pictures, and knickknacks to brighten up the space. There were doors that led to the lockers where the staff stored their uniforms. Doors that led to the main kitchens, and an open arch that led to the kitchen used by the staff for their meals. I’d found it ridiculous that they had separate kitchens, but I wasn’t about to tell Dad how to run his business.

The sniffling was coming from in there, and when I followed the sound, I found just the person I wanted to see in the last state I expected to see her in.

“Laura?” I said. “Are you crying?”

She must not have heard my call from before because when she looked up at me, there was shock in her expression. There were also tear tracks on her cheeks, and she wiped them away quickly with another sniff.

“Sorry,” she said quickly, her voice thick. “Um, it’s just the onions. I figured I might as well make something to eat before I head home. Some of the guys coming in for the night shift aren’t the best at cooking, and usually food is left for them but everyone ate it all today.”

I wanted to point out that I hadn’t asked for an explanation, but she probably didn’t need me to be snarky at that moment. Instead, I looked at the counter in front of her, then arched an eyebrow.

“You know, that would have been a good excuse if you’d cut any onions,” I said motioning to the vegetables she’d cut up. There wasn’t an onion in sight. “Unless you want to tell me the carrot made you tear up. Maybe the cucumber?”

She blinked at me, then looked down at the counter. When she looked back up there was a trembling smile on her lips as she let out a small huff.

“If you knew it was just an excuse, you could have let me off.”

I shrugged. “I’m not the kind of guy that does that.”

She sighed, though the sound almost sounded fond. “No, I guess you wouldn’t be Mason Thompson if you did. You’re too fucking tenacious for your own damn good. Or so the stories go, unless it had to do with your dad.”