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“Love you too, speak later,” I say hanging up.
The buildings here are so tall, the roads are full of bright red double decker buses and taxis beeping their horns. I’ve never felt so far away from home but also so exhilarated. I arrive at my destination. I take a deep breath and I walk into the King Hotel.
Chapter 2
Damien
“Mr. King, my deepest condolences. Your father was a great man. I am honoured I could call him a friend. If you need anything at all, do let me know.” whispers a sincere voice in my ear.
“Thank you, Mr. Davis. I’m sure I’ll be in touch.” We shake hands and I turn and get into my waiting car. George my driver, gives me a gentle nod through his rear-view mirror and sets off leaving me to gather my thoughts.
It has been a long day, a long couple of weeks actually. I am mentally and physically drained. All I can think about is getting home and having a scotch. My father passed away a week ago. He’d taken ill the previous week unfortunately, even with the best doctors money could buy, his heart had just had enough. The funeral had gone as well as expected- my father was a very popular man. He was kind and well respected. He was also very wealthy. 40 years ago, he opened his first hotel, the King Hotel. Since then, he turned the ‘King’ name into a chain of 600 hotels across six continents. My father’s death, inevitably, made me the new CEO of the King enterprise. Our enterprise also consists of King Security, a company I started with my best friend Josh. Established only ten years ago, we are now the largest security company in the world. We provide everything from CCTV to 24/7 bodyguards. It seems I am going to be a very busy man.
We pull into the basement parking of my apartment building. George opens my door and I step out.
“Thank you, George, you may retire for the evening now,” I say.
“Thank you, sir, I shall see you in the morning.”
I make my way up to the penthouse in my private elevator. I’ve lived in New York for the past 10 years. I grew up in England with my parents, but when Josh and I decided to set up King Security, I moved here. My father moved here a year ago after my mother passed; he wasn’t the same man. His heart had broken the day my mother died, and last week he’d finally given into his heartache. Although I am going to miss him immensely, I am glad they are back together.
Tomorrow I am flying him back to England to be in his final resting place, beside my mother. I pour myself a drink and look out into the distant New York skyline. It is late evening and the view is spectacular. My mind wanders to my parents and their love and devotion to each other. It was a very rare love they shared. I don’t think I have ever seen it in anyone else. My parents always believed there is one special person for everyone, and that when I find her, I will know. I, however, do not have this belief. I am perfectly happy on my own, having no one to please but myself. Past relationships have been complicated and well, let’s just say I will not be entering in any form of a relationship ever again. I finish my drink and head to bed.
I sit at the desk in the office of my private jet on the way to England. I catch up on some paperwork. Going through my father’s last to do list I thought would be a good place to start. There have been some issues at the Trinity Hotel. It has a high workforce turnover and I want to find out why. I have decided I will stay there for my time in London, rather than my family home. I haven’t had much to do with the hotels previously but my dad always made sure he knew what was going on and made his presence in them as often as he could. I want to continue this as much as my schedule will allow.
“Mr. King, we shall be landing in an hour. George will have the car ready to take you to Kingston Manor as soon as we arrive. Is there anywhere you would like to go on the way?” asks my assistant Penny.
“Actually Penny, I have decided to stay at the Trinity. There are a few things I would like to get to the bottom of. Could you make a reservation, but not in my name. I want to observe the operation’s performance without getting any special treatment,” I respond.
“Good idea sir, I shall let George know and I will arrange the reservation. Will a Damien ‘Smith’ suffice?” she replies.
“Yes, that will be fine thank you Penny.” Penny is more than just my personal assistant. She is also George’s wife. Penny and George have worked for my family since I was a boy. They both moved over to New York with me and are more like family to me than employees.
A short while later, I walk through the revolving doors of Trinity by King. I smile as the smell brings back fond memories of my mother. It smells just like her, the sweetness of strawberries and freshness of apple. It was her idea to have a signature smell; my father just let her run with it. He’d do anything to make her happy. It was in fact, a very good idea. The King scent is now a brand of its own.
“Good evening Mr. Smith, welcome to Trinity by King. Your driver let me know you were arriving. One of the bell boys is with him now and will ensure your luggage gets to your room. My name is Tiffany and I’ll be here until 8pm. If there is anything I can do for you Mr. Smith, please let me know,” she says, fluttering her eye lashes and leaning more towards me. “Will you be staying with us alone or will someone be joining you?” Her fingers are running through her hair, and she is pushing her chest together with her arms.
“I will be staying alone. Therefore, I will only be needing the one room key. I am sure the key allocation ‘was’ the reason you were asking?” I say in a stern dismissive way.
Tiffany has dark hair, brown eyes, olive skin and a pretty smile. I know that if I want, I can have her in my bed just after 8pm. I’m no stranger to having women throw themselves at me. Sometimes I have taken them up on their offer. A man has needs after all but today I’m in no frame of mind to entertain anyone. Especially not playful and flirtatious Tiffany.
As Tiffany continues her laughable seduction, my attention is caught by a beautiful young woman. She has a presence about her that makes her impossible to ignore. She is about 5ft 5in, slim but curvy in all the right places. She is wearing jeans that hug her curves perfectly. Her top hangs loosely off her shoulders, revealing perfect sun-kissed skin. My mind wanders to what it would be like to kiss that flawless skin of hers. She turns quickly as if she can feel my eyes on her. She is looking directly at me. Her bright blue eyes look straight into mine as if seeing into my soul. The encounter sends tingles down my body. Tingles which make my manhood stir. What is it about her? She shivers and then turns, swishing her long, golden blonde hair as she goes. Disappearing into the staff quarters entrance, pulling a bright yellow case behind her, she leaves me feeling a strange emptiness.
Chapter 3
Bella
I make my way through the foyer. My instructions are to go to the staff quarters entrance situated to the right of the lobby. I’m to take the lift to the 5th floor ‘housekeeping’ and ask for Katie. Katie is also a stylist at Foster & Thomas. As I walk through the beautiful reception area, I get the strangest feeling that I am being watched. I turn and my eyes instantly meet with the most attractive man I have ever seen. He’s tall, over 6 feet. He’s wearing an expensive looking tracksuit that clings to every one of his large bulging muscles. His hair is dark, almost black- it’s short on the sides and long enough on the top to be swept back. He has a strong jaw, and a light stubble perfectly framing his face. His dark brown eyes roam down my body from head to toe, and as if my body can feel it, I shiver in response. Shocked by the way my body responds to this man, I quickly continue to where I am supposed to be.
I step out of the lift and a girl about my age with bright pink hair and thick black eyeliner gives me the biggest welcoming smile.
“Hi! You must be Bella. I’m Katie, I am so happy to meet you!” Katie embraces me in a big hug and she immediately puts me at ease. “Come on let me show you around.”
Katie shows me around housekeeping. We pick up some towels and bedding for my room and she explains where I can do my laundry. We meet a few people on our way and Katie introduces me to them. Everyone seems very friendly. My room is on the next floor up. Katie’s is just next door which I’m really pleased about. Together we make my bed and Katie helps me unpack my things. I haven’t brought much; at home I pretty much lived in jeans, jumpers and trainers. I wore black tunic and trousers to work and that was it. Everyone in London dresses to the current trends. I had bought a few trendy outfits for my previous trips to London, so I have brought them along. My plan was to see what everyone else was wearing and go shopping for a new wardrobe while I was here.
My room is great. On one side it has a double bed with bedside tables at each side. There’s a large wardrobe with drawers inside and next to that is a huge window with a beautiful view of Trinity Square Gardens. On the other side is a modern but compact kitchen, a 2-seater sofa and television on the wall. In the centre of the room is a door leading to the shared bathroom. I am glad it is Katie’s room it joins on to but sharing with someone I have only just met makes me anxious.
It is 6pm on a Saturday and Katie has invited me to join her and some of the rest of the salon team for drinks. It’s a great opportunity for me to get to know them all before I start work. Katie has gone to her room to get ready. We are meeting in one of the hotel bars at 7:00. I decide to give Chloe a ring.
