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I ran my fingers through my previously neat hair in an attempt to relieve some tension. Only two things would do that, not going on this flight or a good fuck. Neither of which was a possibility as I checked around watching the chin-held-high businessmen traveling with me.Snotty bastards, great. Not even one beauty to eye fuck.
“Have a good flight.” The air steward nodded to me as he passed my documents back and indicated the doorway to the gate of the tunnel.
“Not very likely,” I hissed through gritted teeth, before I descended down the tunnel toward the aircraft. I ignored the turned up noses and tuts from the other totty twats in my presence. This was a business trip, not a place to make acquaintances.
* * *
What a flight! Each slow hour that went by, my nerves shot up a level and the order of a beverage to calm them throughout was required. After four miniature bottles of cheap brand, piss tasting, whiskey, my mouth tasted like the sewers, but it was enough to knock me into a mellow slumber for now. I wished I could've opened a bottle of duty free instead but I didn't fancy being arrested by the air marshal. That would have looked good, wouldn't it? Daddy dearest would've soon had word his son was back in his playing field and then the games would begin. Nope, this cheap watered-down piss they called whiskey would have to do, at least to forget what I was about to embark on for the next few hours.
I left the plane a disheveled mess, glad that Tye couldn't see me not looking my normal put together self. I was a joke to our name and brand at the moment. If it had been the opposite way around, I would be questioning his state of mind.Fuck, I need to pull myself together.
The moment my feet touched the ground and I’d arrived at 42nd Street subway station, everything hit me full pelt. The smells, the scenery, and the commuters. The central bustle of midtown and the hotspot for tourists. My head spun at the familiarity; nothing had changed in the city that I’d turned my back on. From the food stands dotted across the streets, the cyclists weaving through Central Park, to people not giving a damn about others, just if they made it to their destination in time.
It was as if time had stood still for no one apart from me. Don't get me wrong, I had continued my life elsewhere, but my dreams had been stolen away from me when it had mattered. Yes, I’d made that decision, but I had no other choice at the time. I couldn't let Stone Parker get to her. Her safety came first above, her heart or mine. Even if I hated myself for it.
I wound down the streets like it was second nature. The Wilden hotel came into view and I was glad that I knew of no one working here or them of me as I gazed down at my appearance. I looked like I should be visiting a hostel, not a sophisticated hotel of this caliber that I jointly owned. It wasn't a great first impression, the mess I presented as at the moment, but perfect for them to continue acting as their everyday persona's.
Contracts were still being exchanged, with the full transfer aimed to be completed by the end of the week. Tye had updated me on the process thankfully before I landed here, with new positions still to be filled through internal and external vacancies this week. If there were any slackers in force that hadn't been seen by Tye yet, it was the perfect opportunity for them to be sought out and dealt with appropriately. A tidy redundancy package normally helped in the process in my opinion. Cut them out before they destroyed my well-built reputation, especially with this new level of clientele. I wasn't letting anyone jeopardize our hard work; I'd destroy them first.
I'm glad I turned up unannounced. Not making the original planned grand entrance, as I’d seen circuses managed more professionally than the current staff seemed to be doing here, and I was only in the entrance of the lobby. That statement was me being kind. Normally, staff had already been allocated to new posts and remaining staff that had been deemed unsuitable had been let go. However, luggage was piled in corners on trolleys, receptionists were ignoring phones while applying make-up and impatient guests were tapping their feet and huffing by the desk. Hell was about to break loose looking at the sorry state of affairs.What the fuck was Tye up to over here? That's right, getting his dick wet, knowing him.
“Excuse me,” I asked as I rang the bell on the reception desk, mentally making note of the name tag, Georgia, in my head. I tapped my fingers impatiently on the sleek wooden, newly installed desk, with silver inserted lettered logo that I approved last week. My branded lettering.
“Laura where are you? Can you deal with this?” she shouted over her shoulder as she leaned back in her chair, with her compact mirror opened and giving her lips a pout, completely ignoring me.
“I just want to check in,” I replied in earnest, trying to keep my temper in check even though I knew it was waning. I felt the tick in my jaw begin but she wouldn't have realized, having dismissed me.
“I can see that,” she countered, daring to look up at me for a second, eyeballing me, albeit fleetingly. “Lau… come on. I've got an ass out here.”
I was fucking glad that the reception area was vacant apart from two other couples, who I’d already overheard the names of. I would be ensuring they got a hefty upgrade and an apology for this debacle. I couldn't declare who I was yet, but Tye and the management running this show had some serious questions to answer. Why had these chancers been left in charge ofmy business,especially at such a crucial time? This was make or break time, we couldn’t chance issues like this ruining our reputations.
“You called,” a woman said as she giggled. I assumed her to be Laura, as she straightened her above knee skirt and retied her shirt at the waist, which was definitely not standard uniform for either company. She ran her fingers through her hair and touched her lip gloss up quickly as she shooed the guy away who grabbed her ass as she walked out of the room towards her colleague. “Couldn't you have dealt with it? I was busy with Gaz.”
“Me too.” She winked, pouting and flashing her nails. “I didn't want to crack a nail…”
“Not the same, Georgia.” She giggled as she flicked her hair over her shoulder. “Name,” Laura curtly asked, finally deciding to acknowledge me as I stood before her. She cocked her head to the side as she waited for me to answer.
“Mr. Dawson Parker,” I hissed out, wondering if my name sparked any recollection. I was struggling to keep myself calm and collected. I even debated throwing these three out on their hinds and running the bloody desk myself. I certainly had enough evidence to terminate all of their contracts for misconduct. I watched as Gaz skulked away to the trolleys and began heading to the elevators.So, that's what he's employed to do.
“Here you go.” She smiled sweetly, fluttering her eyelashes at me before she leaned over to give me an ample view of her cleavage. “Have a nice stay.”
I grabbed my keycard and made my way towards the elevator and rode up to the penthouse before throwing down everything on the side table. I reached for my cell out of my inside jacket pocket and started frantically typing out three messages, letting my frustrations out through my fingertips. I felt as if steam was bellowing from my ears. One message to Tye to call me immediately, direct and to the point; one to the reception desk staff members stating a meeting was scheduled for tomorrow morning. Finally, the last one to Candy to sort out a complimentary package for the two couples who had witnessed the shit show.
It was time for them to really understand how ruthless I could be. Tye better have a good reason why he didn't have the appropriate staff in place and at least a list of some decent replacements in line, too. It looked like I'd let things slide a little too long here. Now that Mr. Nice Guy had gone, it was time for them to meet their worst nightmare.
As if on cue, my cell started to ring. The fucker must have seen my message and knew I wasn't messing about. My blood pounded in my ears, and I hoped this was a stupid April fool’s joke gone wrong. Or heads would be rolling for sure.
“Tye, you better have some answers for what the hell has been going on here!” I shouted down the line as I paced along the length of the thick carpet beneath my feet.
I hadn't even had time to bloody assess the new decor, I was that angry. I looked at the pale contrasted walls with the chrome accents and art deco scattered masterpieces. Sleek lines and dark mahogany with a feature mirrored wall behind the four-poster bed. At least the bloody designer had done their job correctly.
“Not any less of a cranky bitch since you landed then. What’s got you so worked up? Surely you’ve only just reached the hotel,” he replied quickly with a snap in his tone.
“Yep, I have, to the pathetic bloody excuse of so-called staff, Tye. Two came out of the office after obviously fucking one another, and one refused to check me in as she was too scared to break a nail. All while two other customers stood watching and trying to check in, it was a cluster fuck, Tye. A total shit show!” I screamed down the line. “Seriously, what the fuck has been going on?”
“They’ve always been professional around me.” He sighed as I heard the opening of a bottle in the background and the liquid pouring into a glass.
“I bet they have,” I replied, trying to hide a chuckle in my throat. “They know who you are. I've had to call an emergency meeting tomorrow. You better have some replacements in line.”
