Chapter 2
chapter two
“Is there anything else, Mr. Johnson?” the bellhop asked him. Alek didn’t respond for several moments, then he realized the kid was talking to him. He still wasn’t accustomed to the name Mr . Johnson.
“No, this is fine,” Alek said, handing him a tip. The bellhop smiled and thanked him, then scurried out of the room.
Once he was alone, Alek toed off his shoes, the need to be barefoot still thrummed through his blood. There were a lot of things he’d left behind in Hawaii when he joined the Army fifteen years ago. An ex fiancé, his family, and all the headaches both of them gave him. But this connection was always there. It felt weird to be inside a home or hotel room and keep his shoes on.
He padded across the thick carpet to the massive picture window that overlooked San Francisco. It was hard to believe that just a few weeks ago he was fighting off camel spiders and sand mites in the desert. A decade and a half in the military left him feeling…a little lost. He had planned on going for his full twenty years, but his family needed him. In all the years he’d served, not once had his grandfather asked him to come back. But this time…this time, he had asked, and Alek couldn’t say no.
Turning around, he surveyed the room. He grew up in Hawaii and while they were considered upper class there, they had always lived simply. Their hotel in Maui was luxurious, on the same lines of this room. Granted, they didn’t have this level of security. Everyone had to pass the security check to even enter the exclusive Pinnacle. And most of the public knew nothing about it.
His phone buzzed in his pocket. He knew who it was without looking. He could avoid answering it, but his grandfather would just keep calling.
“Hey, Tutu ,” he said.
“About time. I’ve been calling for hours.”
Not true. Ninety minutes tops. Alek had seen the missed calls, but he’d been busy getting his truck ready for shipment back to Hawaii.
“I was busy.”
A grunt. That was his grandfather. Most people saw him as some kind, old guy. For Alek, he’d never been that. When he’d entered the military, his grandfather had been so angry, he didn’t talk to Alek for a year. It took more than three years for the two of them to be able to talk on the phone without dissolving into a shouting match. Nowadays, they talked at least once a week. Or they had when Alek could call home. His former life as an Army Ranger made that difficult at times.
“You will be here tomorrow.”
Not a question. A statement…more of a demand really. The man was always trying to control things.
“No. I’m meeting up with some friends tomorrow night.”
They had insisted on giving him a sendoff from the military. They had been more of a family to him than many of his blood. He still felt as if he was abandoning them. He knew it was stupid, but that’s what he thought. None of them said it that way, as all of them understood the situation. Or whatever the situation was. Right now, he just knew that things were turbulent.
“Then the day after.”
Inwardly, he sighed. Going home was great in many ways, but his grandfather was going to make it difficult. And the fact that he had to put off this for six months past when he had planned to be out, his grandfather had been chomping at the bit to get Alek back to Hawaii.
“Yes.”
“Good. You like the room?”
“Yeah. You didn’t have to put me up here.”
“I did. You deserve it.”
“Because I’m coming home. I get it. I could have stayed at some brand name near the airport.”
“It’s not because you’re coming home. It’s because you served.”
For the first time in a long time, Alek found himself at a loss for words. The idea that his grandfather would think of honoring him for serving in the military was foreign to him. His grandfather wasn’t against serving, but he hated the idea of his grandson being put in harm’s way.
“Thanks, Tutu .”
He cleared his throat before answering. “Well, then, have fun with your friends tomorrow. You should invite them here when we’re done with the redo of the resort.”
“Yeah, that sounds good.”
Alek’s stomach grumbled and he looked over at the clock. It was past five and he had missed lunch.
“Listen, Tutu , I need to eat and then hit the sack. I have a lot of things to take care of tomorrow.”
“Okay. Have a good time.”
“Thanks.”
After hanging up, he looked over the room service menu. He decided on a shower first, then he would order a steak or something.
He headed to the bathroom just as his phone buzzed again. It was from an unknown 808 number. That’s the Hawaiian prefix.
Unknown 808 number: I ran into Julie today and she told me you were moving back to Hawaii.
Other people would probably worry about something like that happening, but Hawaii is one big town. Families that have been there for centuries all know each other. Maui is even worse. So, there was a good chance his family gave someone his number if asked. Julie was his sister-in-law, his brother’s high school sweetheart, and a sweet girl. Or that’s the way he remembered her.
Unknown 808 number: And this is Shelley, just in case you were wondering.
Fuck. That’s one person he wanted to avoid…forever.
He blocked the number, then went into the bathroom. Stripping out of his clothes, he took a quick shower to clean off the hours he’d spent in the car today. He could have flown out of SeaTac, but this was the easiest place for him to meet up with some more of his Army buddies. Plus, it was a pretty drive to one of his favorite cities on the west coast.
After his shower, he ordered some room service, eating it while he looked over the latest emails from his brother and various other people in their company’s hierarchy. He didn’t know if he was truly needed to take over the company. His brother was more than qualified, but their grandfather had always thought the oldest should run things. Not that he wasn’t exactly qualified. He might have spent more than a decade in the worst parts of the world, but somehow, Alek had earned an MBA. When you had nothing but the job, you had a lot of time on your hands during the downtime, and Alek had put it to use.
Still, he knew that his brother was probably pissed. So, he would have to deal with that crap. He sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. He chose to worry about that later. After glancing at the time, he decided on a drink or something. He couldn’t just sit around for hours watching TV. And he didn’t want to be stuck in his room.
He knew the hotel bar had a dress code, which he always found stupid. Maybe it was his Hawaiian roots. Going barefoot had been his way until he went into the military. Paying so much money for an exclusive hotel should afford the occupants the right to wear a pair of jeans to have a drink.
After slipping into a pair of dress pants, a button-down shirt and a jacket, he headed down to the first floor. The hotel had built a reputation over the last few years. A celebrity could come here with no worries about paps hanging out and bothering them. There was never a tabloid reporter in sight. Alek thought it was stupid, but then, he wasn’t someone who had to worry about those things. Hell, most of the people he went to school with wouldn’t recognize him these days. He’d put on a good fifty pounds of muscle since graduation.
When he reached the first floor, he stepped off the elevator and walked down the long hallway. The thick carpet muffled his steps. As he turned the corner, he stopped in his tracks at the vision in front of him.
A blonde woman stood at the entrance of the bar. Even though Alek couldn’t see her face, he felt the stirring of interest. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, causing the fabric of that little black dress to pull tight against her ass.
Jesus, she was perfect. He hated little women. As a teenager, he had been stupid and thought that the thin model type was what he liked, and he had. But now…now he liked a woman with a little meat on her bones. He’d packed on the muscle thanks to his career, and he found he felt like a fumbling giant around thin, small women like that. And this woman, he rolled his eyes as she bent over to pick up something she’d dropped on the floor. She was lethal to his ability to think straight. Almost the entirety of the blood in his head shot straight down to his dick.
He knew she wasn’t a celebrity. The majority of that sort were all skin and bones. He walked up behind her and heard her mumble something under her breath and he smiled. The night was definitely looking up.