Authors: Elle Saint James
“Okay.” She put the remote in her pocket. “I’ll give them to Deacon before I leave.”
“Good enough. Thanks, Jessica.” She spun around, and Clay noted that her hair looked exactly like his former wife’s hair. The color, the style, the fluid way it moved around her shoulders. He apparently hadn’t noticed her hair several months back when he was begging for a room, because she’d worn it up in a professional twist.
The memory was vivid and back in his head probably because he’d been so grateful to her. The first guy he’d talked to said they were fully booked, but she’d overheard and came to his rescue with a deluxe room at a reasonable price. That reminded him of the other reason he was here.
“Oh, Jessica, before you go. I had one other thing to mention to you regarding that file you had me check out.”
She spun back with and inquisitive look on her face. “Yes.”
“And I’d like to preface this with the fact I never would have noticed this information unless I’d checked on
your
file.”
She walked back closer. “What is it?”
“The password used to delete that file has been used quite a bit over the past several months. I only went back eight months, but someone is using it to give deep room-price discounts to walk-in customers.”
“How deep a discount?”
“Between seventy and eighty percent off, depending on the room and the existing rate.”
Her lovely mouth fell open a bit. “That’s too much. Twenty percent won’t even cover the cost of cleaning the room. Do you know whose code it is?”
“I believe it’s your general manager’s. Karl something.”
“He would never give discounts that deep. Besides, he can barely navigate the new system we just got a few months ago.”
Clay nodded. “Plus, he’s had the same password for the last eight months. I usually recommend they change at least once a month for security reasons.”
Jessica nodded. “Karl doesn’t like remembering new passwords, so he keeps using the same one over and over again.”
“Is it possible that someone else knows his password?”
She nodded. “Actually, it wouldn’t surprise me at all. I’m just wondering who could be doing it, and why.”
“Whoever it is coded the last room over to this special bonus room status back when I was there looking for a room. If you remember who worked that day, he is likely the culprit.”
“Gregory.” She put a hand up to her eyes. “He was there that day I found that room for you. I remember now. I superseded the discount room so you could have it.”
“Maybe we could set a trap for him. I could set a parameter to alert me the next time that code is used for a room-status change.”
“I’d love to talk to you about that later on.”
Deacon put a hand up. “You two can chat later. We’re busy now. Thanks for bringing the remote by, Clay.”
Clay laughed. “Got it.” He nodded once to Jessica. “Call me when you’re not so busy, and we’ll set something up.”
“Awesome.”
He didn’t mind being shuttled out the door. Clay decided to set up the parameters and put the brief chat they’d had into motion. It was the least he could do for her.
Clay never failed to do favors for women if he could. And especially not when they looked so very much like his former wife.
* * * *
Jessica woke the middle of the night sandwiched between two of the hottest men in the free world. She smiled and reached out a hand to each of them. She’d been dreaming about something and had a dilemma she couldn’t solve. Likely that was what woke her.
Deacon was on his back. Boyd was on his stomach.
She planted her hand on Deacon’s cock and Boyd’s ass at the same time.
After a few minutes, Deacon woke. Boyd didn’t move.
“What’s wrong, sugar? Can’t sleep?” Deacon murmured and placed his hand over hers. His cock grew harder and harder. “Anything I can do to help you get back to sleep?”
“I had a dream,” she whispered. “But I woke up.”
“Bad dream?” He turned his head toward her, but his eyes were still closed.
“No. But I have a question for you.”
“Okay, but I may not even remember this conversation in the morning.”
“Noted. I need a date for my high school class reunion. I don’t think I can bring the two of you, so how can I take only one and not hurt the other’s feelings?”
Deacon kissed her forehead. “Don’t worry, sugar. This is an easy one. For as much as you hate getting onstage, that’s about double the amount that Boyd feels about class reunions. I don’t know that he’d go with you, even if something happened that I couldn’t. Likely as not, either I’m your date, or you go alone.”
“Whew. Such a relief.”
“When is it?”
“In about two months or so.”
His eyes slid open halfway. “Remind me again in the morning when I’m actually coherent. I’ll put the date in my schedule and ensure I’m available.”
“Good. Because you know one of the biggest reasons I wanted to lose my virginity is because I didn’t want to go there still pure as the driven snow.”
“You’re still pure, sugar.” He laughed. “And no one would be able to tell anyway.”
“But I’d know.”
“Okay. I’ll give you that. So do you want to get married before we go to your reunion, or do you just want to be engaged with a big, honking ring on your finger?”
She paused and thought a moment. “If I choose the early wedding, do I still get the big, honking engagement ring?”
“Of course.”
“Then let’s get married. I don’t want any of the women in my class reunion party to think you’re in any way available.”
“I’m only available to you, sugar.”
“That’s so sweet. Still, I don’t trust these women. I’ve overheard strange women talking about you, did you know that?”
“Um. No. Who are they”
“I didn’t know them personally. Probably local girls, but they already had boyfriends jealous of them even talking about you.”
“Huh. What do they say about me?”
“That you’re hung like a Brahma bull and have the stamina of a champion racehorse. They say the exact thing about Boyd, too. I can now attest to these things, but I won’t ever tell anyone.”
His eyes widened at first, and then a puzzled expression ensued. “Why not?”
“I don’t need strange women sniffing around my men. I may not even let down my guard if we get married.”
“Good. I’d truly rather be married. And just so you know, anyone with audacity to mess with you in any way will be met by a harsh response. I want you to know I can also defend you should the need arise.”
“I already know that.”
“Still, I’d love to prove my manliness to you one of these days like Boyd did on your first date.”
She smiled and pushed out a sigh. “Far be it from me to ever stop you from kicking the ass of someone bothering me. Although I can usually defend myself.”
“Sugar, with two husbands on your horizon, you likely won’t have to defend yourself ever again.”
“My heroes.”
Jessica would let one or both of her future husbands defend her in any combative-drunk-trying–to-kiss-her scenarios, but the next battle she expected to fight would be against Gregory. She intended to fight that one on her own. With maybe a little help from Clay.
Chapter Fifteen
Ryder Hotel,
Two months later
Jessica, newly married and deliriously happy, entered the hotel where she worked and headed for one of the large conference rooms with one of her husbands in tow. The hotel had been the backup plan to celebrate her high school reunion.
They would have had it at her high school, but a broken water main nearby the week before the event had destroyed the gymnasium floor, and the venue had been moved to the Ryder Hotel. With Deacon on her arm, Jessica was as blissful as a girl could be.
Jessica had only one thing to do before going into the reunion party being held in the large conference space on the west side of the hotel.
She was about to show Gregory that two could play the
bang, bang
game.
Clay called her this morning after having flagged the special code Gregory had been using to show room status as filled when they were empty. The only reason she could fathom for him to do it was to rent the room for cash to someone he knew and pocket the funds. The only way a deep, eighty-percent discount was ever applied was if a guest had a difficulty with the initial room assigned.
Then, if he deleted the log journals, it would be easier not to get caught.
The best part of her plan was that she’d let Karl be the hero. It was his password being used, after all.
Earlier in the day, Karl’s password had changed the status on a block of five rooms to discount. That rarely happened.
Two of Deacon and Boyd’s friends were about to try to get a room. If Gregory told them the rooms were unavailable, he’d be screwed.
Jessica wanted a front row seat. She paused at the side of the concierge station and watched as Gregory shook his head and turned away Deacon’s friends.
The man, Dominick, and his wife, Stella, if Jessica remembered correctly, suddenly became very difficult customers.
“What do you mean you don’t have a room? Why not?” The woman frowned.
“I’m sorry, ma’am,” Gregory said resolutely. “There are no rooms available tonight.”
Jessica knew there were five that he was holding for his own needs.
“I’d like to see the manager,” Jessica heard Dominick say from a few yards away. Gregory looked panicked for a moment but then tried to placate them with quiet words.
“Sir, I’m sorry we don’t have any rooms for you. Perhaps I could find another hotel—”
“Get the manager for me, or else I’ll call him myself.” Dominick raised his phone in the air.
Gregory called a number, said a few words, and then hung up.
The person who came toward the desk was not the manager. Jessica squeezed Deacon’s arm, and they approached Dominick and Stella.
“Hey you two. What’s up?” Stella asked. She glanced at Gregory with a question in her eyes. “Is there a problem here?”
The new arrival behind the desk, who was supposed to be the manager Gregory called, was in fact a bellman. Unless they needed their rolling bags carried somewhere, Craig wasn’t going to be able to help them.
“Are you the manager?” Dominick asked.
“No sir. I’m the bellman. Do you need your bags carried up to your room?” Craig looked very confused.
Gregory had lost it if he thought calling a bellman would help him.
“I’ll call the manager for you. Or I could try to help,” Jessica said. “What do you need?”
“We need a room for the night.”
Jessica turned to Gregory. “When I left an hour ago, there were several rooms available.”
“Well, they’ve all been reserved.”
Jessica moved around the desk. Gregory gave her a look that would melt a bar of steel. “You aren’t on duty, Jessica. This is not your concern.”
“These are my friends. If we have a room available, then I’d like for them to have it.”
Karl came up behind Gregory and asked, “Is there a problem here?”
Dominick asked, “Are you the manager, or another bellman?” He then sent his heated gaze to Gregory. “The last time I called for the manager, Craig here showed up.”
Karl looked at Jessica as if for explanation. She shrugged her shoulders. “I’m off duty, but these people are my friends. I’d like to see that they get a room, if one is available.”
Karl smiled at Dominick. “I’m sure we can find something for you, sir.”
“Thanks.”
Gregory turned to Karl and started whispering furiously. Jessica caught the words “meddling, out to get me,” and a couple curse words to round it out.