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Though he ate plenty of meals alone in the course of his job, he’d enjoyed the meals he’d shared with Kayleigh, and he was looking forward to having some company for this one.
While he waited for the food and Wilder to arrive, Hudson straightened up his papers and laptop, moving them aside to make room for the food on the table. He’d gotten a good chunk of work done, but there were always more reports to review. Trips to plan. Emails to answer.
His work was done for that day, however.
Wilder arrived before the food, flashing a quick smile as he walked into the suite. “Nice digs.”
“Yeah. Provided by the company. It’s more than I need, and I’d never personally spend this much money on a hotel room.”
“I usually end up in a hostel when I’m traveling. This is a definite step up.”
“A step up from a hostel? I’ll be sure to let Alexander Remington know. He’ll be happy to hear that.”
Wilder laughed. “Insulted, more like it.”
“It’s like you know him.”
“I do,” Wilder said with a shrug. “I mean, not as a good friend or anything, but I’ve met him a bunch of times.”
“Did he ever go on the slopes?”
“Not him, no. But I’ve worked with two of his older kids on several occasions.”
“Were they some of the spoiled brats you’ve had?” Hudson was curious how Alexander’s children had behaved. He didn’t think they were the worst kids ever, but they also had their moments.
“Xander was quite interested in learning how to ski, no doubt to impress the girls. Sabrina… well, I think she had some sort of infatuation with me, which made it all kinds of awkward.”
That sounded about right for Sabrina, unfortunately. She was thirteen going on thirty. She’d somehow managed to talk Candace into letting her wear makeup that made her look older, which was a dangerous thing, as far as Hudson was concerned.
“Does it happen often?” When Wilder nodded, he said, “How do you handle it?”
“Well, I say all the most uncool stuff I can think of. Nobody her age likes someone that talks like their dad.”
Hudson laughed at the reality of that statement. Whenever Alexander tried to speak at the teens’ level, they would roll their eyes and say,Daaaaaad!So it was probably the best tactic for Wilder to use.
There was a knock on the door then, and Hudson went to answer it. The room service attendant rolled the cart into the room, then over to the table. She set the food and drink out, then Hudson tipped her before she left the room.
“This smells amazing,” Wilder said. “I’m starving.”
“Well, let’s sit down.” Hudson gestured to the table, then took one seat himself as Wilder took another. The table was larger than most in hotel rooms, so it wasn’t super crowded.
Just like his sister, Wilder bowed his head to pray. Hudson waited for him to finish before he picked up his silverware.
Wilder let out a long sigh, then picked up his glass of water and took a long swallow.
Hudson had never had to do manual labor, but he was sure that even though Wilder enjoyed what he did, it could be exhausting.
“What days off do you get?” Hudson asked.
Wilder hesitated in scooping up a spoonful of the rich vegetable soup. “I usually work every day, although I don’t start until one on Sunday so that I can go to church in the morning.”
“You workeveryday?” Hudson wasn’t a stranger to working that much, but that was expected of him. He wasn’t sure that was the case for Wilder.
“Uh… yeah. They’re not taking advantage of me or anything. This is me wanting to work that much, and I don’t put in for overtime.”
“You should,” Hudson told him. “If you’re working over and above the regular hours in a week, you should be paid overtime.”
“Except that it’s my choice, so I don’t feel right requesting overtime.”
