20. Sebastian
After I drop Mila off at the study session with the other interns, I’m done for as far as concentration.
I do some rounds, check on the restaurants, security, and the front desk. Then I sit in my primary office near the kitchen, still able to smell Mila on my fingers.
This is bad. I’m in deep with this woman. We only met a week ago, and I feel more obsessed about her than can possibly be healthy.
Thankfully, we don’t have cameras in the secure hall, or I’d be deleting footage faster than Olivia Pope on an episode of Scandal. I realize belatedly that there is footage of us kissing in the security room, but that space isn’t live monitored, at least.
But seriously, I need to get my head on straight.
I need rules.
Off site only. At least while we’re secret.
And think about the damn cameras. They’re everywhere in the halls and elevators. The front desk is triple covered.
In fact, that raincheck I asked for on our first night was a dumb one. I know damn well that every hotel has a security camera in the elevators. It’s standard.
Even if we sneak into an unused room, there will be a log of my key opening the door, camera footage of us entering.
I never thought of these things before.
Because I never did anything illicit before.
I mean, this isn’t theft or murder, but it is secret. And it does put Mila in a bad position.
I shouldn’t do that.
But we’re doing it anyway.
There’s a knock on my door. I quickly slide my mouse around to wake up my computer and say, “Come in.”
Anna, the head of housekeeping, steps inside, closing the door behind her. That’s not a good sign. Most people who pop in are quick and don’t bother shutting the door.
I turn my chair to face her. “Everything okay?”
“That boy of yours, Maverick, is trouble.”
I keep a straight face, but inside, I’m thinking that he made it five days before someone other than Raya got upset. Not bad, really.
“What’s going on?”
“He’s got all the girls in the laundry room fighting. I understand he’s sleeping with more than one of them already. And less than an hour ago, he was all over that girl from room service right here in the back hall!”
And I was all over an intern in the haunted wing. Pot, meet kettle.
“I’ll speak with him.”
“You better. The last time we had one of these lotharios about, I lost three good workers over it.”
I remember that. A maintenance worker. Trey fired him for disappearing during work hours. He couldn’t technically do it because of the women, but he could for the time.
I’m about to have to do the same if Maverick doesn’t shape up.
“Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Anna. I’ll call him in.”
She gives me a sharp nod and leaves the office.
Maybe there’s something in the water. Maverick, all over this new cache of available women. Me, all over this intern I met before I knew who she was.
I rest my chin on my hands, but then there is that smell of her again.
God. I can’t escape it.
I should get up. Wash my damn hands. Get some control. I’m thirty-damn-two. I shouldn’t be acting sixteen.
And I have an ugly confrontation with Maverick ahead.
That cools my jets.
As I head to the bathroom, I consider the speech I’ll give him.
And how I can possibly apply the same rules to myself.
When I pop into the meeting room slightly ahead of five, only Raya is inside. No interns. No Mila.
She looks up from where she’s collecting papers from the long table at the front of the rows of chairs. “I sent the interns off early. There’s only so much reviewing the risks of salmonella you can do.”
“How do you feel now that you’ve had a week with them?”
She shoves her reading glasses up on her head. “Ilsa has the best work ethic. She’s responsible and competent.”
“But?”
“Nobody likes her. She’s too cutthroat. She wants the position too much.”
I perch on the end of the table. “The event manager has to be personable.”
“I know. Your Maverick is probably a little too personable. I can’t stand him, but he’s won over everyone in the kitchen. They already requested him for next week, like I don’t have a schedule already.”
“He never went to HR?”
“No, he did dish room Monday and Tuesday, then Cristal in laundry snagged him the rest of the week. I let it go.”
I consider telling her that Anna complained about how he’s seducing the young women there, but think better of it. I’ll handle him.
I’m itching to know what she thinks of Mila, but I wait it out.
“Owen is the friendliest, but he gets flustered easily. He’s like a golden retriever who gets distracted by every squirrel.”
“So not organized.”
“Not in the least. Both Brooklyn and Mila were away from me the most, so I don’t have a good read on them. They were with you at the front desk. What’s your assessment?”
I didn’t expect this turn. “They were both excellent. They quickly learned how to handle the most common problems. They interfaced with guests both at the desk and in rooms. They learned how to program the alarm clocks, reset the TVs, adjust the thermostats. They can check guests in and out. They have a pretty good lay of the guest-facing areas of the hotel.”
“Good. I think the front desk is where we’ll see their strengths.”
“Who is on it next week?”
“Just Owen. I’m trying to mix them up. Brooklyn and Maverick were supposed to be on room service, but with Maverick in the kitchen, maybe I’ll put Brooklyn there, too. My schedule will need to be reconfigured.”
“You can say no.”
She frowns at me. “I know that. I’m assistant manager.” She huffs, like she might like to say more, as if I’ve disrespected her.
I’m used to it.
I don’t say anything. It’s best to let her work it out. More talking generally makes it worse.
Finally, she says, “Maverick is easier to control in the more rigid environments like the dish room and kitchen. I think I’ll leave him there. I don’t want to manage him.”
I’m itching to know where Mila will be, but I know better than to ask.
“Sounds good.”
“How did Mila do on that sensitive matter you had?” Raya asks.
I carefully control my expression. “She did well. The guest asked for a female employee, so I sent her in. Everything resolved.”
“Good. I have her in HR next week.”
So that’s where she’ll be. HR isn’t on my usual path unless someone there needs me, so the temptation will be significantly less.
“The interns have the weekend off?”
“I’m going to keep them Monday to Friday for the first month, then the cycle spreads out.”
“Sounds like a plan.” I hop up from the corner.
As I head down the hall, I pull up my contacts. I keyed in all the interns’ phone numbers mid-week, when Raya had the day off and I was in charge of them.
I text Mila.
It’s the weekend. Dinner?
I’m back at my office before she replies.
Mila: Can we do tomorrow? Have a thing here.
A thing. I wonder what the thing is.
Me: Absolutely. Text me tomorrow. I have an easy day.
I’d prefer to nail down when I get to see her, but she’s made friends here. That’s good. I’m glad.
Mila: I will! Sorry. I’m kinda needed. I didn’t expect it.
That’s some fast bonding.
Me: Not a problem.
I shut down my computer and lock my office. I already checked on Sasha, who runs the night shift at the front desk on the weekends. There’s nothing else for me to do. Having extra hands this week, plus it being the start of the offseason, has made for light work.
Plenty of time to obsess about a dark-haired intern.