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Then I brought her to her side of the car, opening the door for her.
Chapter fourteen
Reagan
I couldn’t get Matthew off my mind even though three days had passed since I played in front of over two hundred guests in the banquet hall. Three days since I felt something turn in my stomach every time I saw my boss.
It was not the usual feeling of arousal I got when we first started fooling around. It was like a hiccup in my stomach and a gallop in my chest. Like a high school fucking crush.
My reputation in the housekeeping department had taken a turn from the person that was always in trouble to the employee who wowed the guests with her performance at that event. Some of the staff, especially those in the banquet hall that night, had spread the word about how beautifully I played. Some were in awe while others had complained about how I was sucking up to the boss.
I ignored them because I knew that they would flip if they knew I was actually sucking him.
Although Matthew remained nonchalant and respectful in the hallways and in meetings, there were stolen glances, secret smiles, and soft touches when he was feeling extra frisky.
He knew my schedule even if it rotated every week, so sometimes I had reason to believe he was asking Susana for it. Why would Matthew Parker suddenly find himself in the pantry when I was assigned to inventory because he suddenly needed cleaning supplies for his bathroom? Or he’d suddenly be outside a room I was cleaning, hovering over my cleaning cart because he needed a broom for his office.
Matthew was a smart, sought-after businessman, but he didn’t hide his feelings well. I was just praying that the other staff wouldn’t notice that he and I had gotten close over the last few months.
My second month’s salary had come so I was able to pay my bills and finally had my finances in order. I opened a new bank account and ha coconut water—finally—on hand in my fridge. I was able to get Starbucks, too, but not as frequently as before. But twice a month was better than nothing. Tyler, my friend from work, had also shown me the beauty of thrift shopping. It was basically like buying vintage items.
Overall, I was learning to save my money and was only spending it on the things I needed, while saving some for the future. It was amazing how much I had learned over the past couple of months. I was proud of myself, and it took everything in me not to call Daddy up and tell him I was doing just fine on my own.
This morning, though, proved to me that life wasn’t easy, especially with the goddamned traffic. I still hadn’t completely gotten the hang of commuting. Sure, I knew how to slither my way on the bus with a bunch of people, and how to bat my eyelashes so the man next to me would give me his seat, but sometimes it was just relentlessly hard to get to work.
So I came to work twenty minutes late one morning with no breakfast or caffeine in my system. But that was the last thing on my mind as I ran towards the closing elevator. My shoes might have been clattering too loud because the person inside the elevator stopped the door before it could close completely.
“Reagan.” My name rang inside the small space. And when I looked up to the owner of the voice, I whistled, spotting Matthew inside the elevator. He was holding his phone in one hand and a cup of Starbucks in the other.
“Matthew,” I laughed nervously, hoping that he would take it easy on me. Instead, he eyed me up and down. I had on green shorts and a white button-down shirt, and a touch of dewiness stuck my hair to the side of my face.
He glanced at his watch as I stepped inside the elevator, waiting for the doors to close before pressing the button for the ninth floor.
“You’re late,” he pointed out to me. “Twenty minutes.”
“Speak for yourself,” I countered, shifting on my feet. I should have just taken the punch and accepted that I was at fault here. But where would be the fun in that?
“Two months ago, we were in the same spot and since then I told you not to be tardy.”
“Matthew,” I started. “You’re late too. And you’re the boss.”
To my surprise, Matthew chuckled. “Here,” he said handing me the cup of iced coffee that I had tried not to look at when I entered. It was a tempting thing and my stomach complained at the sight of it. “I got this for you on the way.”
“How’d you know I’d be here anyway?” I asked because it was difficult for me to understand why he suddenly had coffee for me on a random Monday morning. I knew he knew about my rotation but it couldn’t be a coincidence that he knew I was going to be in the elevator at this hour.
“You’re always late on Monday, Reagan.”
“I am?”
“Based on the employee time clock, yes.”
I grabbed the coffee from him without any more complaints because I simply didn’t have the heart to decline it. The thoughtful gesture moved me, so I murmured my thanks to him.
It was the same coffee he got the last time. It was a little too sweet for me, but beggars couldn’t be choosers and I was raised to be grateful. Besides, the drink was growing on me.
“Does Susana tell you these things? My schedule and my rotations?”
“She doesn’t need to tell me anything. Every movement, every bill, and everything about this hotel is in records that I can look up.”
