Chapter 31
31
JASMINE
My head was spinning. I’d spent the whole morning in meetings with Hortense, the Love Alchemist Empress (basically head of guest relations), going through all my observations and findings so far and trying to nail down which locations we both felt were best to add to the itinerary.
It was difficult because Hortense obviously knew a lot more about Jamaica than I did. But at the same time, my experience of the Love Hotel brand and the kinds of customers we attracted superseded hers. The way I saw it though, it wasn’t a competition. The goal was to combine both of our strengths to come up with a formidable itinerary that our guests would enjoy and most importantly, that would help them fall in love.
Thankfully, she had another meeting to get to, so now I was in the office alone. But instead of grabbing lunch, I had to do the thing I’d been putting off for days: speak to Hazel.
I’d messaged first thing this morning to let her know I’d give her a call once my meeting had finished with Hortense to fill her in on the visit to Rick’s Café.
I knew she would’ve expected me to call over the weekend, but I was having too much of a good time and didn’t want to leave our happy bubble.
It wasn’t just the amazing sex that blew my mind. It was those other moments too. Walking hand in hand along Seven Mile Beach talking about everything and nothing and of course, the way he’d opened up to me.
I’d always wrongly assumed that because Alejandro was so gorgeous, he must be a ladies’ man, taking advantage of his youth and good looks. But when he revealed he’d been in a committed relationship for three years, that shocked me.
My heart broke for him when I heard about how he’d tragically lost his girlfriend. Especially knowing that he’d also lost both his parents when he was still a teenager. To go through so many tragedies at such an early age must have been horrendous.
I imagined that kind of trauma forced him to grow up faster than most teenagers. Which could be why he seemed much older than his years. Then again, I wasn’t a psychologist so I couldn’t say for sure.
What I did know for certain though was that it couldn’t have been easy to talk about or for him to even consider moving on, so it meant a lot that he trusted me enough to share something so personal.
And when he confessed that I was the first woman he’d been with since his girlfriend passed, I was stunned and honoured.
I hadn’t been with anyone since my divorce, but that was completely different. Alejandro taking that step was a big deal. I was glad that I was able to help him get back into dating again.
Now that his desire had returned, no doubt once we went back to Spain, he’d be making up for lost time. Even though we had an amazing connection, I still had to be realistic. This could never be something serious.
Last night, I’d barely slept. I couldn’t stop thinking about Alejandro and wishing he was there in bed with me. I got myself so worked up that I’d used my vibrator and although it did the job, it couldn’t even begin to compare to the countless spine-tingling orgasms Alejandro had effortlessly delivered.
It was clear.
Alejandro had ruined me.
Using a vibrator after having sex with him was like staying in a five-star hotel then being moved to a cockroach-infested, one-star hostel. There was no comparison.
But it was what it was. The weekend was fun, but now it was over between us.
There were a lot more staff buzzing around the hotel today. It wasn’t deserted like last week, so we couldn’t hook up without someone noticing.
My computer started ringing. When I glanced at the screen, Hazel was calling. And it was a video call.
Shit .
I should’ve phoned her straightaway instead of thinking about Alejandro.
‘Hazel! Hi! I’ve just finished my meeting with Hortense and was about to call you!’ I said as brightly as I could, despite the fact that my heart was thumping in my chest.
‘I was starting to wonder if you were still alive,’ she said solemnly. ‘I was expecting you to call me back on Saturday when I called multiple times and messaged.’
‘So sorry! I was having problems with my phone,’ I lied, hoping I wouldn’t be sent to hell. I was about to elaborate by adding something like the fact my battery had died because I wasn’t expecting to be staying there overnight but Hazel knew as well as I did that all reputable hotels had spare phone chargers. Best to keep it simple.
‘Really? What kinds of problems?’
Dammit. Why couldn’t she just accept I had problems and leave it at that?
‘Reception was patchy. And I wasn’t sure if you had time off, so I didn’t want to disturb you.’
‘Hmmm,’ she huffed. ‘I was working all day. It’s very unlike you not to get back to me straightaway. So? How was it?’
I filled her in on our trip to Rick’s Café (minus the part about me rubbing my arse against Alejandro’s cock on the dance floor of course).
‘So as I mentioned to Hortense earlier, I think it would be a great addition to the itinerary. We’d need to check with legal regarding guests jumping and add something to state that they do so at their own risk.’
‘Of course. But do you think it will stimulate romance?’
‘Definitely!’ I said as a flashback of my mouth pressed against Alejandro’s jumped into my mind. ‘The sunset is very romantic. And the atmosphere is very… charged,’ I said diplomatically.
‘How so?’ She rested her finger on her chin.
‘Well, there were lots of couples dancing closely and even the cocktails are named with togetherness in mind.’
Yes. Closely was one way of describing the provocative bumping and grinding people like me and Alejandro did.
And togetherness was a professional of way of avoiding going into detail about the ‘Mating Season’ drinks that were on offer.
She didn’t need to know that Alejandro had researched the Jamaican Viagra cocktail personally, or that whilst I couldn’t prove it was responsible for the after-effects, I could vouch for the fact that he was hard all night.
And I definitely wouldn’t be stupid enough to add that I’d tried the Sex With Rick cocktail which had unrelatedly led to me having Sex With Alejandro several times over the weekend.
No. The less Hazel knew, the better.
‘I see. And did you do any of this dancing?’
‘Me?’ My eyes widened as I tried to buy myself more time. ‘I was there to observe. Most people were couples and I’m obviously single, so…’ I shrugged, pleased that I’d answered the question without having to outright lie. ‘I did however try the cliff jumping and it was thrilling!’
‘Tell me more.’ Hazel leant forward and I gave myself a mental high five for diverting her attention away from the dancing. ‘Sounds great. And tell me about the sunset. Better still, send me some photos right now. I’d love to see it, especially as that’s one of the main attractions.’
My stomach bottomed out.
Hazel wanted me to send photos of the sunset, but I just realised I didn’t have any. Because although of course I’d watched it, briefly, I’d spent most of the time locking lips with Alejandro.
Shit .
Screwing Alejandro was bad enough, but at least I’d done it off the clock.
Hazel was right. The main reason for going to Rick’s Café was to watch the romantic sunset, so of course she’d want to see photos.
I’d always prided myself on being good at my job, but I’d let myself down and Hazel.
‘I tried taking some, but they came out blurry,’ I said quickly, ‘so I deleted them. The ones on the website are pretty accurate, though.’
‘Is everything okay with you, Jasmine?’ Hazel’s face was more wrinkled than a frowning pug’s.
‘Yes!’ My voice went up several octaves. ‘Of course!’
‘You don’t seem yourself. Normally, you reply to my messages straightaway. And after every location you’ve visited, you’ve always sent me a barrage of photos afterwards, but not only were you MIA for an entire weekend, you’ve just told me that after taking a trip to the other side of the island, you don’t have a single photo of the sunset: a key feature of the location!’
She had a point. A very, very valid point.
To be honest, I challenge anyone to even think about taking photos of the most beautiful sunset views in the world when they had the most beautiful man in the world’s face in front of them.
And if she ever sampled his kisses, I could guarantee that Hazel wouldn’t even remember her own name or have the ability to think clearly about anything.
But of course, I couldn’t tell her that feeling his hard body pressed against me and the sensation of his delicious tongue flicking against mine had turned my brain to mush, so I had to think of something else to say.
Fast .
‘You’re right. I don’t know what happened. I think I was so caught up in the beauty of it all that I didn’t think to check how the photos had come out until it was too late. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.’
There.
Question answered.
In hindsight, there were loads of people taking photos so if I was thinking clearly, I could’ve asked a stranger to send me some images they’d taken and my problem would’ve been solved. But, like I said, it was impossible to think logically when Alejandro was nearby.
Hazel stayed silent for a few seconds before leaning back in her chair.
‘Make sure it doesn’t.’
Phew .
‘Now.’ She slammed her hand on the desk. ‘Remind me why you felt the need to stay at a hotel?’
Looked like I wasn’t out of the woods yet…
‘Because our driver wasn’t able to take us back.’
‘Why not?’
Shit . I wasn’t about to drop Bob in it by saying he was off his head.
‘He seemed tired,’ I said. ‘And we couldn’t locate another licensed taxi driver who would be willing to take the long journey back to our hotel. I know how much the Love Hotel values the safety of its Romance Rockstars, so staying at a hotel seemed like a small price to pay to guarantee our wellbeing.’
Boom .
That was a great answer even if I said so myself. If Hazel argued with me on that, she’d be saying she didn’t care about our safety. And although what Alejandro and I ended up doing together was reckless, that wasn’t our original intention.
‘Very well. However, I noticed that there was only one hotel room on the credit-card bill. And that particular room type isn’t large enough to accommodate a sofa. So where did you both sleep?’
‘I’m sorry.’ I frowned. ‘When you say “that particular room type”, what do you mean? And what led you to believe there wasn’t a sofa?’
‘I checked.’ Hazel clasped her hands together.
She checked ?
Jesus.
I wondered whether she’d actually called the hotel or researched the room online. Right now wasn’t the time to think about how she’d done it, though.
Hazel was glaring at me. Clearly, she suspected that something was going on between me and Alejandro, so I needed to shut down her concerns.
Fast.
‘You’re right.’ I nodded. ‘The room was very small. Unfortunately, everywhere was fully booked at such short notice. There were several events on that weekend, so all that was available was the one room. That’s why there is only one charge on the card.’
‘You didn’t answer my question: if there was only one room, then where did you both sleep?’
‘I slept in the bed of course,’ I said firmly.
‘And your underling , Alejandro?’ She raised her eyebrow. ‘I’m sure I don’t need to remind you how inappropriate it would be for a person in your position to share a hotel room with a subordinate, do I?’
‘Of course not!’ I scoffed, my heart now hammering so hard, I felt like I was about to pass out. ‘I’m well aware of the rules. Alejandro made other arrangements ,’ I said, hoping she’d understand what I was trying to imply and leave it at that.
But of course, she didn’t.
‘Meaning?’
‘Alejandro is a young man in a tropical paradise. I’m sure you’ve noticed that he attracts a lot of attention and it’s no different here in Jamaica. But I’m his boss so it’s not my place to ask questions about his personal life or whose bed he chooses to sleep in. His job was to accompany me to the café to research the food and refreshments there. And he did that. By the time it was clear that we couldn’t return to Ocho Rios and there was an accommodation shortage, he was off the clock, so he wasn’t obligated to answer to me.’
I finished my sentence and then zipped my mouth shut.
Despite the sweat pooling under my armpits and along my hairline, I had to act cooler than a cucumber.
I had to stay calm and confident.
The slightest stutter, the slightest sign of uncertainty could send this whole pack of lies crashing down and end my career.
‘I see.’ Hazel nodded. ‘Well, now the staff are back in the hotel, be sure to keep an eye on him. Make sure he doesn’t have any dalliances with our Jamaican Romance Rockstars. The last thing I need to deal with is another employee inappropriateness issue.’
‘Understood.’
‘Right, I have another meeting now. But let’s speak again tomorrow so you can fill me in on what decisions you and Hortense have reached.’
‘I’ll add it to my calendar,’ I said.
When I ended the call and put my computer screen to sleep, I leant on the desk and dropped my head in my hands.
That was close.
Dangerously close.
Hazel definitely suspected something. So if I wasn’t sure before that I needed to shut things down with Alejandro, now I was certain.
It didn’t matter that the man hadn’t just rocked my world, he’d rocked my whole damn universe.
It didn’t matter that I felt more connected to him than any other man in my life.
My career was everything to me. I couldn’t lose it.
So as much as every part of my body ached for Alejandro, the fun was over.
There was no other option.