She watched as the numbers started to climb as they moved through the floors. She decided to break the awkwardness that silenced the room. “So what have you all been up to tonight?”
“That’s none of your concern Miss,” the suited man behind them abruptly replied. His response startled Stella. She didn’t often get spoken to so rudely especially when the question was as innocent as that.
The man next to her let out a light hearted laugh, lifting the tension in the lift.
“Never mind about him.
He is just a bit over protective.” He gave her a reassuring smile, she returned his with a small smile, still trying to process the reaction. Who was he, why had they come so late, and why was the man in the suit so abrupt and rude towards her? Their gaze held for a moment before the lift came to a stop and the doors opened. She quickly pulled herself from his eyes, reminding herself of why she was there.
She motioned her hand forward, “After you.”
He stepped forward, the suited man following him, walking into the suite. The mysterious man paused and looked at Stella as she pushed the trolley forward, clipping it on the gap on the floor between the lift and the tiles, nearly sending it flying. The man quickly grabbed it with one hand steadying it.
“You right?” he asked.
“Yes, sorry,” she grunted, lifting the front wheels over the gap, pushing the trolley forward.
She walked into the penthouse room, aware that the man dressed in the suit had gone forward walking between the rooms, checking the place out. The other man stayed close to her side, walking in silence as they reached the open lounge room.
“Where would you like your bags?” she asked the man.
He shrugged and walked towards the door of the main bedroom. “Anywhere is fine,” he called over his shoulder. He disappeared into the bedroom, leaving her to pull the luggage off the trolley.
He could have at least helped
, she thought, frustrated by his actions.
When she offloaded the last bag, there was no sign of anyone. She walked through the hallway glancing around trying to find one of the men. She followed the sound of running water coming from the main bedroom’s bathroom. Scanning the bedroom, she stopped still in her tracks. The mysterious man who had left her only moments ago to unload the entire luggage by herself, stood there shirtless, splashing water on his face. She could see his muscles on his back clench as he moved his arms, they were perfectly proportioned to his body. He was
tall,
maybe a full head taller than her, but that wasn’t hard as she wasn’t the tallest of people.
“Are you finished Miss?” Stella was startled by the voice of one of the men behind her. She turned quickly, dropping her gaze from the semi naked man in the bathroom.
“Yes sorry. I um…needed to find someone so I could run through the basics of the suite,” she stuttered, embarrassed he had just caught her gawking.
“It’s ok Ben, I’ve got this,” the semi naked man spoke to the suited man, who gave him a stern look, turned and left.
“Do you normally spy on people in the bathroom?” His question caught Stella off guard. She wasn’t expecting him to be so abrupt.
“I wasn’t spying. I uh-” she stumbled with her words, not knowing what to say.
“Don’t worry, I won’t tell if you won’t.” Winking he turned away grabbing his shirt from the chair and putting it back on. “So what did you need to talk about?”
“I needed to show you around and give you a rundown of how everything works.”
“No need, I’ll work it out,” he said very decisively.
“But I need to, especially with penthouse suite guests.”
“Like I
said,
no need to.”
She tried to read his face but he gave nothing away.
Cocky, rude, and stubborn.
Jeez this guy had it all didn’t he?
Stella thought. He just stood there with a stern look on his face, waiting for her response. It was standard procedure that she
do
this with every guest, especially the penthouse suite ones. She knew the hotel would be angry with her if she didn’t follow basic practices.
“But-” she argued.
“Are you always so argumentative?” He gave her a questioning look.
She felt her temper rise, why was he being so rude? Before she could help herself she blurted out, “Only with obnoxious people like you.”
Instantly regretting her outburst.
“Obnoxious hey?”
He laughed, “Nobody has called me that in a while.”
Who was this guy? She couldn’t be rude to guests, but he was just so arrogant. He really got under Stella’s skin. “Just stating the obvious,” she said with a matter of fact tone.
He looked at her and smiled, then walked towards the balcony. He opened the sliding doors, walking out into the cool breeze. Although summer was nearing an end, the days and nights were still warm. She felt as it brushed past the man and onto her body, cooling her nerves, preventing her from another outburst.
Holding the railing he looked down onto the street, then watched the ocean; the waves crashing against the sand.
She stood there for several minutes, not knowing if that was her cue to leave, or if he still needed her. Any other person who talked to her like that she would have left without hesitation, but she was too curious to learn more about this puzzling man. She slowly walked towards the balcony, looking at his face as his eyes focused on the ocean before him. She watched the sadness in his eyes. She wanted to ask him what was wrong, but she knew it would be impolite. He was the most confusing man she had ever met. One minute he was polite and considerate, the next an arrogant, confident guy before becoming sad and withdrawn.
Still staring out at the sea he murmured, “
It’s
funny how only in darkness I find peace.”
Stella glanced out at the sea, trying to make sense of what he had just said, but nothing came to her. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand?”
He turned to her, “You wouldn’t”. He didn’t say it in a mean or disrespectful way. It sounded more like he was speaking from
a sadness
deep within him, whispering the truth.
“Is there something wrong?” She wanted to know why his mood had just dramatically changed.
“Yes and no. Do you ever think about how your life could be different? How if you hadn’t followed your dreams and made the choices you made you might have been happier?”
“Yes and no.” She gave a half a smile then looked in his direction out at sea. “I guess we have to just believe everything happens for a reason, accept it and move on. If you’re not happy, then do something about it. Everyone has the power to change their lives for the better and make it the way they want.” She wished her words spoke truth. She barely believed it herself. She had no idea why she had even responded like that, she’d hoped he wouldn’t be able to see through her statement as a lie. She didn’t know what else to say to him, and cheering him up seemed like the right thing to do.
He smiled, taking in her observation. “I’m
sorry,
I never asked your name?”
“It’s Stella. And yours?”
“You don’t know my name?” He gave her a confused look.
“No, why would I?” Bewilderment laced her face.
What kind of question was that?
she
thought. “The booking was made under Mr
Bentley,
no first name was given… I don’t understand.”
“No sorry, you’re right.”
Shaking his head, disregarding his previous question.
“My name’s Tristan.” He held out his hand to shake hers, she returned the gesture holding his hand. “Nice to meet you Stella,” he murmured as their hands held sending a tingling feeling racing up her hand. As they looked at each other, time seemed to stop still. He was very handsome, she had expected his touch to be hard, complementing his muscular frame, but it was soft and gentle, sending goose bumps down Stella’s spine.
“I should go,” she said, their hands still holding in place, neither one of them moving. “If you don’t need me anymore that is?” She looked at Tristan who nodded. She wondered what he was thinking. His eyes spoke of the unknown, she found herself desperately searching them trying to discover the secrets he held.
Tristan pulled his hand away, bringing Stella back to reality. “Yes sorry, it’s late,” he mumbled.
They walked back through the suite to the lift. As they waited for the lift he turned towards her and leaned forward, gently kissing her cheek. “It was nice to meet you Stella.” She was stunned, as inappropriate as the kiss
was,
she felt her knees go weak. His hand touched her hip, keeping her steady. She quickly shook her head, suddenly very aware of what was happening. She walked into the lift, pressing the number for the lobby. She watched the doors close, their eyes locked on each other. She needed to get away from him and quickly. Never before has she been so confused and yet so drawn to someone before. The doors slowly closed, their gaze never parting until the doors hid him from her view. She let out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.
***
“And what was that all about Tristan?” Ben asked as Tristan walked back into lounge room.
Tristan knew Ben must have been close; he liked to keep an eye on him when strangers were present. Over the years Ben had become more of a friend to him than anything, he enjoyed his company.
“I’ve got no idea.” Tristan was just as confused as Ben. Who was that beautiful girl he had just met. Did she really not know who he was?
“Did she recognise you?” Ben asked, curious about the women who had bewildered him.
“No, I don’t think so…” Tristan felt dazed.
“Well she definitely did a number on you Tristan,” Ben chuckled. “I’ve never seen you like this before. It’s quite amusing.”
“I’m glad you find it amusing.” Tristan rolled his eyes at him. “I’m going to bed.”
He strolled off to his bedroom, letting himself fall onto the bed. It had been a long, long night for Tristan. He closed his eyes drifting off to sleep with thoughts of the woman he had just met. Who was she? Why had she intrigued him so much? She seemed unfazed by him giving him an idea that she had no idea who he was. Years ago this would have upset him, but now he felt trapped and enjoyed those who didn’t know who he was. He couldn’t go anywhere without being followed, couldn’t trust anyone without the gut feeling that they only wanted him for his money.
She was also strangely confusing, he couldn’t tell if she had been interested in him or disgusted by him. One thing was sure though, she was beautiful. She had long dark blonde hair that had natural light highlights through it; he guessed by the sun as she had a stunning olive complexion. But it was when they touched that he felt a connection, a feeling deep inside him that he couldn’t describe. All he knew was he had never felt like that before and he needed to know more about her.
He had to see her again.
Stella was relieved when she was finally able to lie down on her couch and put her feet up. It had been a long day at work and she had to endure one too many rude and impatient clients.
Rarely did she feel influenced by a man, yet no matter what she did, she couldn’t get Tristan off her mind. She replayed their conversation from the previous night and the way he had kissed her cheek. She had never experienced the sensations she felt when Tristan touched her. It made her angry. She had made a vow never to let a man control her emotions, yet Tristan had, and that made her feel powerless and vulnerable. A feeling she did not enjoy at all.
Tristan was confident and bold, yet he had exhibited unhappiness and uncertainty when he spoke last night. She speculated the thoughts that occupied his mind and made him speak so cryptic towards her.
Had he felt their connection?
Doubtful
, she told herself, trying to shrug off the idea. She did not believe that someone like Tristan, so beautiful and handsome would have even given her a second thought. She wasn’t silly when it came to
men,
she knew exactly who was in “her league” and who wasn’t. Tristan definitely wasn’t.
Supermodel league maybe, but not boring old Stella league.
“You don’t plan on sitting on that couch for the rest of the night do you
Stel
?” her sister questioned. Stella opened her eyes, her sister’s question interrupting her train of thought. Claire sat across from her, gracefully sitting on the coffee table. She was dressed in a white sleeved flowing shirt that tucked loosely into her tight knee length pencil skirt that hung from her waist, showing off her striking curves. Claire had always had an eye for fashion and the ability to take advantage of her stunning figure without coming off slutty. Stella envied her sister, she found fashion annoying and keeping up with it a chore as it was constantly changing, yet Claire always managed to fit right in with the trends.
Stella had more of a surfer chick look. Ever since she moved to her seaside residence she had taken up a love for the beach. She enjoyed swimming and lying on the beach, enjoying the sunshine, taking every advantage of it on her days off. She usually wore casual beach dresses or denim pants and tank tops when she could. The only time she ever made an exception was days like today. When she worked she had to wear the navy coloured blouse her employer provided for her and black knee length skirts and closed in heels, when she had to greet guests she was also required to wear the hotel’s uniform. The odd night that she went out with her sister she would dress herself up usually only to keep her sister happy. All other times though she dressed as casually as she could. She never had to impress anyone so didn’t feel it necessary to dress to the nines every minute of every day.
“No I’m just tired, long day at work. Plus it’s a
weekday,
I’m not going out anywhere tonight.” There was nothing worse than going to work the next day with a hangover and sleep deprivation.
“Suit
yourself
then,” Claire said as she got up and walked over to the kitchen bench, picking up her small clutch as she strode off towards the door.