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Tanner
“You don’t seem surprised that I’m a maid here,” Shelby said to him as she cleaned his bathroom. Shit, was he supposed to act surprised? Declan had called to warn him about what was going on and who Shelby was, but he didn’t think about the fact that he should have acted as if he didn’t have a clue.
“I’m a little bit foggy in the morning,” he said. That part was at least true. He was a mess until he had his first cup of coffee in the morning. Declan liked to joke that he needed a full pot of coffee to be a functioning human being. He never thought that was funny, no matter how many times his friend said it.
She giggled, “I’m the same way,” she said. “But I get up before the sun and I’m usually well-caffeinated by the time most people roll out of bed for the day.”
“I’m a late riser,” he said. “And today, when Dec told me that our meetings were postponed, I went back to sleep. Jet lag is kicking my ass this trip.”
“Oh—I get it,” Shelby said with her cute little southern twang. “When I first got here, I spent days in bed trying to sleep off my jet lag. I’m still trying to catch up.”
“How long have you been in Paris?” Tanner asked. She had given him the perfect in to lead to him inviting himself to her day with Declan in the city.
“Just a few months now. I came here for a job in the hotel business. I was told that I’d be the concierge and when I got here, the job description changed slightly.” That just plain sucked and a part of him wanted to ask her boss’s name so that he could fix this for her, but he didn’t want to overstep. That was one of his major flaws—he tried to fix everyone and everything. He got into people’s business that he had no right sticking his nose into and that often got him into a bit of trouble.
“I’d say it’s a pretty big leap from concierge to being a maid. Why did you take the job?” he asked.
“Because it offered room and board and honestly, I ran out of money just getting here, so I had to stick around long enough to earn the money that I needed to get back to the states. Plus, I have nothing waiting for me back in America, so why not stick it out here. My boss said that he’d consider moving me to the concierge position when the timing is right.”
He wanted to tell her not to hold her breath, but that would make him sound like an asshole, and then, he’d never get to hang out with her and Declan tomorrow. “Do you believe your boss?” he asked.
“No,” she sighed. “Not at all. He told me today that he doesn’t need a concierge, but he needs a maid. He said that he can handle the concierge desk but I’m sure that he’s never cleaned a toilet in his life.”
“He sounds like a real winner,” Tanner whispered more to himself than to her.
Judging by the smile on her face, she heard him. “Yep,” she agreed.
“I’m looking to go out and have a little fun after our meetings this week. Would you recommend anyplace around here?” he not so subtly asked. Shit, he jumped the gun, and now, Tanner hoped like hell that he hadn’t just blown his covert operation to invite himself along on her date with Declan.
“I’m so new here, I’m afraid that I can’t tell you many places to go. It’s one of the reasons why my boss insists that I won’t make a good concierge. I say that’s bullshit because all I have to do is just learn the area and I’ll be ready to go. He just doesn’t want to give me a chance.” Tanner made a mental note to find her boss and beat the shit out of him. “Declan did offer to show me around the city tomorrow for my day off. Maybe you can tag along, and he can show you around too.”
Hell, he didn’t even have to ask her for an invitation, she just offered it to him. He felt bad for lying to her about not knowing his way around Paris. He’d lived in the city for five years when he needed a break from the states. He knew this place like the back of his hand, but he wouldn’t tell her that now. He had to keep up his ruse if he wanted to be able to tag along with her and Declan.
“You sure that I won’t be a third wheel?” he asked.
“Oh, no,” she insisted. “This isn’t a date. He’s just being kind and offered to show me around. I think he felt bad for me, so he might have felt a little trapped into making me the offer.”
“I know Declan better than most people,” he said. “If he didn’t want to do something, he wouldn’t do it. He wants to hang out with you for the day if he asked you to, Shelby.”
“Well, you should still tag along,” she insisted, not giving up on her offer.
“I appreciate that,” Tanner said. “I’ll see if I can clear my schedule.”
“We’re meeting out in the hallway at nine tomorrow morning. If you want to hang out with us, just meet us then,” she offered.
“Will do,” he said. “Thanks, Shelby.”
“No problem, Tanner,” she whispered.
* * *
Declan banged on his door in time for their meeting. Tanner sometimes hated how on-time his best friend was for everything. “You know, being a few minutes late used to be considered fashionable,” Tanner growled.
Declan chuckled, “Right and I’ve never been very fashionable. Sorry, man,” he said.
“Whatever,” Tanner grumbled. “You ready for this meeting?” he asked.
“Yep—but the bigger question is did you get an invite to my little date with Shelby?”
