Читать книгу Weekend in Vegas!: Saving Cinderella! - Jackie Braun - Страница 11

WYATT prowled the halls of McKendrick’s, trying to shake off the feeling that he shouldn’t have shaken Alex’s hand. Ridiculous. He’d merely been trying to reassure her that she didn’t have to bear the responsibility for the success of the hotel. He hadn’t hired her for that.

What did you hire her for? he asked himself. Easy answer. He’d simply wanted a smooth transition between Belinda leaving and returning. Alex had seemed like a woman who could make that transition invisible for the customers and staff.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t invisible to him—a fact he’d noticed from the minute he’d set eyes on her. The second she’d put her hand in his energy and desire had zipped up his arm, practically consuming him.

Then don’t touch her again, he told himself. He didn’t intend to. But how he wanted to.

It was a new day, one that had so far gone smoothly. Alex hadn’t sent anyone to unknown locales. Nor had she followed her instincts and upbraided a man who had been loudly berating his wife about some nitpicky thing she had forgotten to do.

On the other hand she might have done that…if Wyatt hadn’t appeared. He had clamped one hand on the man’s shoulder and firmly if not gently shepherded the man to the side. Wyatt’s eyes had brooked no argument, his voice had been commanding, but he had given the man an out, casually drawing him into conversation about how vexing travel could be. When the story of a plane stranded on the tarmac for hours had spilled out, Wyatt had relented, called for a bellboy to deliver the couple’s luggage to their room and presented them with complimentary tickets to the spa for massages.

As they moved away, Alex could hear the man apologizing to his wife. “Nice,” she said to Wyatt. “But the man looked as if he would explode when you pulled him aside. How did you know he wouldn’t take your interference out on his wife?”

Wyatt stood very still, that cool stare trapping Alex in his sights. “You disapprove of my tactics, Alex?”

Alex was sure that she was blushing. “On the contrary. I’m glad that you took him aside and defused the situation. But…I was afraid he was going to hit you.”

Wyatt shook his head. “He wasn’t the type. I know the type.”

The way he said that…as if he’d met men who’d used their fists on him…

She remembered what Randy had said about not knowing much about Wyatt. She should keep that in mind. A woman who couldn’t handle men she knew well should definitely not tangle with men who were mysterious. Or dark. Or dangerous.

Slowly, so that he couldn’t see how he affected her, she took a deep breath. “I’d better get back to work.”

He tilted his head in acquiescence. “You should know that a few customers have complimented me on your helpfulness, and…”

“And?” She waited.

“And on your smile,” he said, as if he hadn’t really intended to admit that.

But his comment warmed her and emboldened her. “It never hurts to smile,” she said. “Even if you’re a McKendrick.” Because he didn’t smile. Not much.

And yet he looked amused. His eyes lost some of that fierceness. “I’ll keep that in mind,” he said. “Maybe I’ll even write it down on a blue notepad.”

Then he walked away. Had Wyatt McKendrick, he who kept his distance from his employees, just teased her?

He had. And that sent a tingle in a zipping, swirling course down her body.

Don’t be affected, she told herself. But she found herself looking for him when her day ended. Which made her angry. Whether the anger was because she was looking for the man, or because she was unsuccessful in her quest, maybe even wondering if he was with the pretty restaurateur, she didn’t want to know.

Besides, she had things to do. Last night she’d hit the town with a digital camera and her notepad, scoping out sights for a time when a customer might need help. But, being unfamiliar with the territory, she had covered very little ground. Tonight she would cover more.

Wyatt was on his way to his penthouse apartment late in the day when he turned a corner and nearly ran over Alex. She’d been walking while looking at a map and she bumped up against him, the map crumpling and tearing.

Instantly he caught her, stopping her forward momentum, heat branding him as his palms closed around the bare skin of her upper arms. Fragrant skin. Smooth skin.

Stop it, he ordered himself, glancing down. She was looking a bit dazed.

“I’m so sorry,” she said. “I wasn’t even looking where I was going.” For two seconds they stood there, connected, as Wyatt tried to ignore how she felt…and how she looked, with those big, startled blue eyes.

Then reality kicked in and she took a step backward, gathering the crumpled, crinkling paper and trying to smooth it into something resembling a map again as he released her.

Walk away, he told himself. Treat this situation the way you would with any other employee.

But Alex wasn’t like any other employee he’d ever hired. There was something about her that was difficult to ignore. Which was unfortunate. Ignoring people, not letting them get to him, was what enabled him to be who he was. It was how he had managed to survive a brutal childhood.

“Do you need directions?” he asked, ignoring his own good advice.

She smiled, that brilliant, room-brightening smile that his customers seemed to warm to. “I’m just having a little trouble figuring out where to start.”

“Start?”

“Memorizing the city. I realized that if I’m going to be effective I need to know Las Vegas almost as well as I know San Diego. I have to be able to envision a place when someone asks me a question, so I’m trying to experience as much of the city as I can. Last night was easy. A cabdriver took me past a few of the popular restaurants for a survey of what’s available. But what I really want is to totally lose myself in the whole Las Vegas scene. I thought I’d walk this time and surround myself with the city, but I’m having trouble deciding where to begin.”

“Alexandra, you don’t have to put in extra hours.” He expected loyalty from his employees, but not servitude. He was the last man who would ever ask for that.

She frowned. “I’m not asking you to pay me for this. It’s something I need to do for me. Tomorrow will be my third day on the job, and I’m determined to close the gaps in my knowledge.”

“You’re doing a good job.”

She tilted her head. “Thank you. I’m not doubting myself. The past two days have been good. I’m starting to feel more settled. I just want to push myself a little harder, learn more. I have goals. By the end of this week I intend to be a winner at the ‘totally invisible concierge’ game.” She gave him a dazzling conspiratorial smile that made his pulse leap.

Wyatt didn’t have the heart to tell her that she was never going to be invisible. She was too darned electric, attractive, alive. But he knew what she meant. She didn’t want anyone to be able to notice that she was still learning her job, so here she was with her map and her determination. And, yes, her good idea. Well, almost a good idea.

“I applaud your dedication,” he said, “but wandering the streets alone with your head buried in a map? I don’t think so.”

Her chin lifted slightly. “I’m fully capable of taking care of myself. I know self-defense, and I have hairspray, a lighter and sharp keys in my purse.”

“And if you’re distracted, you’ll never even get to them. You’re not doing this.”

Ah, the pretty sky eyes could flash angry sparks. Wyatt knew he shouldn’t allow himself to be intrigued by her mercurial spirit, but what man wouldn’t be? The woman was like an erratic fire, burning low and warm one minute, then leaping to an eager flame when something entranced or challenged her.

“Let me rephrase that in a less condescending way,” he said. “You’re off the clock now, and that means you’re not answerable to me, but if my presence won’t be unwelcome, I’ll show you Las Vegas up close.”

Alex hesitated. Then she raised one brow. “Do you really expect me to tell my boss that his presence would be unwelcome?”

He fought the urge to smile…and then he lost the battle. “Actually, yes, I do. As I mentioned, you’re on Alexandra time now. You call the shots.”

She studied him. “You don’t have to be my bodyguard.”

Bad choice of words. It made him far too aware of how attracted he was to her curves and her pretty long legs. None of that changed the fact that sending Alex out with nothing but a map, a smile, innocent blue eyes and a can of hairspray buried in her purse would be an invitation to men with the wrong things on their minds. Men like him…except he was not going to touch her. And that’s an order, McKendrick.

“If I’m asking you to point out the sights of my city, then it’s only right that I should show you that city.”

She opened her mouth, no doubt to give him another out.

“Alexandra,” he said, “let’s go.”

“Is that an order from my boss?”

He frowned. “That’s a request from an impatient…”

Man, he’d been going to say. “Tour guide,” he finished a bit lamely. He could not begin to think of them as man and woman.

“Well, then,” she said with a wide smile. “Lead on, tour guide. And make it good.”

Wyatt wanted to groan. He glared down at her fiercely.

Immediately she looked contrite. “Too much? Out of line?”

He slowly shook his head. “It’s your night.”

She nodded. “I’ll make it up to you tomorrow.”

He couldn’t help himself. He arched an eyebrow.

A pretty trace of rose suffused her cheekbones. “I meant that since I’ll be more comfortable in my job tomorrow, it will pay off with the customers.”

“You’ve been…uncomfortable?”

“Just a little—and only because I’m still getting my bearings and learning both the city and the hotel. I know you said that you’d handle any difficulties, but I need to handle things myself, you know?”

A loner like him? He understood the drive to be self-sufficient all too well.

“All right. We’ll take care of that.”

She smiled, and they left the building. He had his car brought around. “We’ll walk part of the way later,” he promised, handing her inside.

For several minutes they rode in silence.

“This awards situation,” Alex suddenly said. “Now that I’ve been on the job a couple of days I’m curious. You played it down the other day, but obviously McKendrick’s means a great deal to you. Do you really not care if you win or not?”

Her question caught him off guard. He thought back to all the times when he’d been told that he was less than nothing and that he would never be worth anything.

“I want to win,” he admitted.

“A lot?”

He didn’t want to think how much he needed to win. Thinking about it made him think of times he didn’t want to remember.

“Wyatt?”

“A lot. Too much. It’s just a meaningless award.” But it was more than that to him.

“Okay. We’ll win,” she said.

“You say that as if it’s that simple.”

“Maybe it is, if we treat it as if it is. I’m a big believer in affirmations, at least where the obstacles aren’t impossible to overcome.” For a second, a tiny shadow seemed to turn those sky eyes darker. Or maybe he’d been mistaken. Her smile held.

He gave her an incredulous look. “Were you always this…optimistic?”

“You meant to say naive, didn’t you?”

Wyatt studied her. “I meant to say that I appreciate your enthusiasm for the task.” The sparkling smile she gave him warmed him more than was safe.

“All right, enough about awards. I’m going to give you a whirlwind tour. Las Vegas in a night,” he said, trying to turn his thoughts from Alex.

He began with a quick tour of some of the major hotels that would have left experienced speed-daters short of breath. Walking her around the grounds of each hotel, he pointed out the things that would appeal to visitors. They visited the Eiffel Tower, the waterfalls at the Mirage. Alex gazed up at the black glass pyramid at the Luxor.

“I feel like a tourist,” she said, taking a picture.

“You are a tourist.” He tried not to smile, but lost the battle when she turned mock-indignant eyes on him.

“Not for long. With this great tour I can feel myself turning into Super Concierge already.”

And when he took her to see the canals and gondolas and strolling performers at the Venetian, she touched his sleeve. “It’s wonderful,” she said.

Her eyes shone, and Wyatt found himself wanting to find ways to bring her smile out in full force, which would be…amazing…exciting…too much, he reminded himself. Back off, McKendrick, he ordered. Getting too close to Alex wouldn’t be good for either of them.

“The vintage cars here belonged to celebrities and historic figures, heads of state,” he said, pointing out the auto collection at the Imperial Palace, his voice droning on as if he wasn’t totally aware of the woman at his side in a way that was perfectly…physical.

“It’s a museum,” she said.

He could tell by the way she automatically looked toward her little pink purse that she wanted her notepad, but then she shook her head and gave all her attention to the cars.

“Of sorts,” he agreed. “But the cars are actually for sale to those who have enough money, and people do pull out their millions and buy them every day.”

She laughed. “I’ll start saving my millions tomorrow. Just as soon as I have my shop paid for.”

Wyatt was glad she’d said that. It was good to be reminded how temporary she was.

“Last hotel,” he said, leading the way. “One of the finest in the world.”

“It’s beautiful,” she agreed, as they paused before the fountains of the Bellagio. “But you said it was one of the finest, and I know that’s a title you covet for McKendrick’s…So I guess I don’t understand tonight’s tour. You have a totally gorgeous and amazing hotel. Why show me the ones I won’t be sending people to?”

He held out his hands, as if to concede her point. “But you might send them here for some things—a restaurant, a view, a good photo op. It may not make sense to promote a competitor’s wares, but it’s all about giving the customer the perfect experience. No one hotel does it all. If a customer is looking for something we don’t have, I’ll provide it by sending them elsewhere during their stay with us. In the end it pays off. They tend to remember that we were willing to bend over backward, including letting them escape our clutches for a few hours, to ensure their satisfaction, and they return to us. It works. Besides, placing too many restrictions on people tends to backfire.”

His mouth was set in a hard line. This was obviously something he felt strongly about.

She wondered if that was why he was a loner. Because relationships placed too many restrictions on him? But of course Wyatt’s personal life was none of her business, was it?

Wyatt followed up the hotel tour with trips to a few of the local sights. An amusement park, a quick drive past a museum.

“There are also helicopter tours. The city is something else, all lit up and seen from above. The colors against the dark sky are intense.”

“I never knew Las Vegas had this much to offer,” she said.

Her enthusiasm made him want to show her more…which was a definite sign that he should end the tour.

“One more thing this evening,” he said, and then wished he hadn’t said it. It made it sound as if there would be other nights, which wasn’t wise. He was here tonight only because he’d been concerned for Alex’s safety.

At least he hoped that was true. This had to be a one-night show. He didn’t fraternize with many people, and certainly not with his employees. People could get hurt. Then there would be regrets attached to his home and his business.

“So…are we going to a mystery destination?” Alex asked, her voice breaking the silence at last.

“We’re almost there. The sun is at just the right angle at this time of day.”

She chuckled. “Is this like one of those movies where the sun shines through a break in the rocks, bounces off something, and magically opens the entrance to a secret cave? We certainly seem to be out in the middle of nowhere.”

“Not exactly nowhere,” Wyatt said, wishing Alex’s little chuckle wasn’t so low and sexy. “We’ll only be an hour outside of the city. I promise this will be special, Alex.”

Within minutes he heard her gasp as the sun hit the stark ancient red rocks that stretched out before them. The stone was gold and crimson and deep orange where the sun’s rays caressed the rock, and shadowy black where the rays couldn’t reach. “It’s—that’s so beautiful. What’s it called?”

“It’s the Valley of Fire, the oldest state park in Nevada and my favorite day-trip.”

“It’s wonderful. A good place to recommend to people who want to get away. Is that why you brought me here?”

Her question caught him off guard. He didn’t have a clue why he had brought her here. Originally he’d told himself that he was trying to show her as many sights as he could, but now he suspected that he’d been hoping for that gasp at the first sight of his favorite retreat. Which had nothing to do with work.

That made it personal and unacceptable. She was his employee, in his care. What was more, she’d been so hurt by men that she’d given them up, and he certainly had nothing to offer her. Still, they were here, so he drove to some of the more scenic areas along the road.

“Look, people are getting married,” she said, gesturing to a woman in a white wedding dress, her groom slipping a ring on her finger.

Alex’s comment almost made Wyatt smile. “People are always getting married everywhere in Las Vegas, and in every way imaginable,” he reminded her. “But, yes, this is a well-known wedding destination.”

“Do you have many weddings at McKendrick’s? I saw a picture of the hotel on the Internet last night. Before it was yours it was a sad little place. No one would have gotten married there.”

“They do now. It just needed some tweaking.”

She laughed.

“What?”

“Tweaking is far too tame a word for what you’ve done with the hotel. It’s unique and beautiful.”

Okay, how could he not smile at that? “Are you sure you’re not a bit biased?”

“I’m totally biased in some ways,” she conceded, “but not in every way. I try never to let my personal feelings overshadow my common sense.”

It was, Wyatt thought, something that should have made him feel better. Instead it intrigued him. He wanted to know her better. That could be dangerous. Already he was doing things with her that he never did with any woman.

Like smiling, teasing, wanting to get closer than was wise.

And when they returned to the hotel, and he took her hand to help her out of the car, he had an aching desire to raise her hand, place his mouth on her palm, kiss her fingertips and pull her into his arms.

Instead he merely held her hand a second too long, and she looked as if he’d burned her.

That was a warning. He could hurt Alex. He didn’t want to hurt her. He wanted to kiss her.

“Good night, Alexandra.” He forced himself to walk away.

But somewhere in the night he woke remembering her smile, her scent, her soft skin…which was totally unacceptable. Alex Lowell wasn’t for him. She was an employee, an emotional woman, and he had ripped that kind of thing from his life years ago. He needed and wanted no one.

Still, the thought of Alex’s soft voice seduced him. He stepped out onto the balcony of the penthouse, hoping for distraction in the night scene below. Clamping his hands on the railing, he stared into the darkness for a very long time.

Working with Alexandra Lowell was going to be a challenge.