Lovestruck (19 page)

"I would give it another day or two. Give both of you a chance to calm down."

Mike stretched and let out a loud yawn.

"She has more concerns on her plate than little old me. She wanted to keep our fling under wraps anyway."

"There's a lot going against you two. You're total opposites. Look at it from her perspective. She's older and has a reputation to uphold in the business world. Not only is she romancing someone a decade younger, but a woman. And her employee, to boot.

What would those good old boys think if Barbara came out all of a sudden? She has so much to lose, even more than you do. Until you told me, I was iffy about Barbara being a lesbian."

Jenny fell silent as she mulled over Mike's words. He had his moments where he put his goofing and teasing aside and made perfect sense. He always gave great advice when it was needed.

"I guess I don't have anything to lose. I just feel hurt and betrayed. It's going to take some time for me to be back to normal. Ya know?"

Mike leaned over and kissed Jenny on the forehead. "I know. Being in love sucks, especially when you don't know where you stand with the other person. I'm finally beginning to understand that. Why don't you go get ready for work and I'll make us breakfast."

Jenny nodded and Mike walked into the kitchen. Standing, she flinched from the ache in her back from sleeping on the couch and reached down to pick up the tissues she'd carelessly thrown to the floor. She walked toward the bathroom, refusing to hide away and mope as she'd been doing for the past few days. The only thing left to do would be to suck it up and show her face. After all, she had a job to do even though it could be gone in a few months.

Jenny went into work and kept her mind off Barbara by busying herself at both the front desk and at the concierge. Jeffery seemed to be on the warpath, but she made sure to stay out of his way until the last hour of her shift when he came over to her as she gave a pair of guests advice on where to go out for dinner.

"Jennifer." He barked at her after the guests had left.

She held back a wince and kept her smile in place as she looked at him. "Yes Jeffery?" She tried not to grit her teeth.

"I need you to come in around nine tomorrow instead of noon. Ms. Jennings has scheduled a company meeting and wants all the employees there. She has an important announcement to make."

Jenny ignored the buzzing in her ears. "Do you know what the meeting is for?"

"You'll find out tomorrow, now won't you?" He snapped and walked away, growling under his breath.

Jenny leaned against the wall. Barbara must have come to a decision about the St.

Jennings and her employees. And if Jeffery was in a horrible mood, she knew it couldn't be good news.

On her ride home, she decided she couldn't live like this, especially with the way things now stood between her and Barbara. After the doomsday meeting, as she had come to think of it over the past hour, she would talk to Barbara in a reasonable manner. She hoped the way things ended between them wouldn't ruin her chances at keeping her job.

She expected to have a conversation about the meeting with Mike, but when she got home, his bedroom door was closed and his usual place at the kitchen table was vacant, meaning he was knee-deep in his writing. She sat there and made a sandwich, and then she stared at the wall, suddenly very afraid, more so than ever before. She could've called Tonya and talked to her about her fears, but didn't want to bother her friend who had more pressing matters to deal with than her own.

Jenny slept like shit. Her nerves were shot. By the time she dozed off, the sun had risen, promising another gorgeous spring day.

Even with the lack of sleep, Jenny made sure she arrived at work on time. She went through the motions of her job, just like she always did. When the clock struck ten, Jeffery walked in with Barbara and an incredibly attractive man.

Coffee cup in hand, Barbara stood and chatted with the gorgeous man, who smiled down at her. They made a striking couple—both of them rich, well-dressed, good-looking. Jenny ignored the pang of jealousy bubbling low in her stomach. Jeffery stood off to one side, a disapproving scowl on his face.

Barbara looked up, catching Jenny's eye, but Jenny quickly looked down at her computer and pretended to type something. She bit her lip and ignored the urge to wipe away the tears forming in her eyes. By the time she looked up again, the three had moved on, turning the corner toward the conference room.

Soon after, the lobby started filling with other employees, many of them wearing street clothes because they had the day off. When Mike and Tonya made an appearance, Jenny smiled and waved at them. They walked over to her, each holding cups of Starbucks coffee. Mike, Jenny noticed, held two. She gave him a huge grin. "I hope one of those is for me."

"Hey there, roomie. Absolutely. I figured you'd need this."

Mike handed over the cup and she lifted it up to her nose and sniffed.

Ah, manna of the gods.
She took a sip, closing her eyes as she savored the taste.

"Thanks. I didn't have time to stop for any this morning."

Tonya leaned against the front desk. "You really need to do something about those dark bags under your eyes. Mike tells me you haven't been sleeping well."

"Aw, thanks for caring." Jenny snorted. "Anyway, it's a long story. I guess you're here for the meeting?"

"Yup." Tonya looked down at her Minnie Mouse watch, a gift she'd received from her soon-to-be ex-husband, Tom. Jenny was surprised Tonya still wore it.

"Speaking of which, our little shindig starts in a few minutes. It better be something good to make me get up at the ass crack of dawn on a Sunday."

Jenny and Mike shared a look.

Tonya took a sip of her own coffee. "You two know something. What gives?" she asked.

Jenny licked her lips and tried to think of something to tell Tonya, when Tia walked across the foyer and went behind the front desk. "Jenny, I'm here to take your place while you and the other full-timers attend the meeting. It's in the big conference room down the hall."

"Oh, okay." Jenny grabbed her coffee and walked around the desk.

Mike placed an arm around both Jenny and Tonya. They walked down the hall together. Jenny remained silent as Mike and Tonya chatted with one another.

A hand-written sign taped to the door of the room indicated where they needed to be. More than half the room was filled and people sat and talked with one another. In the front of the room stood Barbara and the attractive man Jenny had noticed before.

Jeffery sat in the front row.

"Do you ladies want to sit in the back or closer to the front?" Mike asked.

"Back." Jenny and Tonya said at the same time and laughed.

Tonya and Jenny went in first and Mike sat in the chair near the aisle. Jenny looked to the front of the room and studied Barbara, noting how well rested and in good spirits she seemed. She wore one of her trademark dark suits, and she looked gorgeous.

Barbara placed her hand on the suit who stood next to her. She squeezed his arm.

Again Jenny felt a spurt of annoyance she could only describe as jealousy.

"Oh my god. Do you know who that guy standing next to the Barra-erm Jennings is?" Mike whispered.

Tonya looked over her cup. "Nope. But I wouldn't mind making his acquaintance. He is one hot puppy."

"You got that right, sister. He's Kyle James, former sex god model for Abercrombie. He's uber-rich and buys and sells properties like nobody's business. He has to be worth billions. I wonder if he's gay?" Mike licked his lips as he looked Kyle up and down.

"Mike, sometimes you're ridiculous. He's been fawning all over Barbara since the minute they walked into the hotel. He obviously has a thing for her. I'd say he's definitely not gay," Jenny said and crossed her arms.

Tonya gave Jenny a strange glance, took another sip of her coffee and then sat up in her chair as if she'd been given an electric shock. She turned to Jenny. "Wait a minute there. You called
The Barracuda
by her first name. This crush of yours must be a serious one."

Mike snorted. "You don't even know the half of it."

Jenny kicked his shin and Mike groaned.

Tonya raised a brow. "Something is going on between the two of you and I will be royally pissed if I've been left out."

Jenny finished her coffee, knowing they were in trouble with Tonya. She would be like a dog after a bone until she found out what she wanted to know.

Before Jenny could say another word, Barbara clapped her hands. The crowd turned their attention to the front of the room.

"Hello everyone. Thank you all for coming in on your day off. For those who may not know me, I'm Barbara Jennings, President and CEO of the St Jennings Hotel chain. Standing beside me is real estate genius and well known entrepreneur, Kyle James."

Kyle raised his hand and a few claps erupted from around the room. Mike rolled his eyes while Jenny looked down at her lap and fiddled with her cup. She had a very bad feeling about where this talk was heading.

"The reason I called you in today is because there will be some changes at the St.

Jennings. Some of you may have heard rumors about the possibility of the hotel closing or possible firings in the future. Well, I'm here to tell you, those weren't just rumors."

Several people in the crowd mumbled their dismay and even Tonya looked shocked.

"Oh shit." She whispered and Jenny patted her knee.

Barbara held up her hands and quieted down the group. "The past few months have been pretty hard on my end because I was placed in a situation where I had to make a decision regarding the St. Jennings. I'll be honest with you, we are in the red, and the best course of action I had available was to close down a hotel that has been around for over one-hundred years. But after talking with some of my advisors and lawyers and going over the numbers, we found a way to save the hotel . . . at least for a few more years."

Jenny looked up in surprise and for a moment Barbara locked eyes with her.

"I wanted you to know you all are very important to me. That's why I've wanted to meet with each one of you. Times will be tough and I can't promise that there won't be cutbacks, but I'm going to try to the best of my ability to keep the St. Jennings around for another century."

A bigger round of applause and some cheers erupted in the room.

"This is where Mr. James comes in. Kyle was very interested in purchasing the St.

Jennings at first, but after a few talks between us, we came to an agreement. Kyle is well-known for helping corporations that are near bankruptcy restructure and reorganize, turning them around so they bring in a profit. He and I will be partners in this venture. We have some great ideas and a solid plan to keep the St. Jennings up and running and keep most of you on as employees. Again, thank you for all your hard work and dedication. It's more than appreciated. Both Kyle and I would love to answer any questions you may have. Perhaps you have some ideas that could help us."

When Barbara finished with her speech, everyone stood and clapped. Mike and Tonya did the same while Jenny sat there stunned. She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time.

Mike nudged her with his elbow. "See, I told you everything would work out."

Tonya put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot. "Caffey, we need to talk.

But first I think we should go and say hello to Mr. Sexy James."

Mike rubbed his hands together. "Oh yeah. Sounds good to me. You coming Jenny?"

Jenny shook her head. "You two go ahead. I have to get back on the floor anyway."

"Catch ya later." Mike reached down and squeezed Jenny's hand. Again they shared a knowing look and she smiled up at him.

Tonya let out a huff. "You two need to get a room with all those lusty stares you keep sharing. Jenny, I'm calling you later and you're going to tell me what the fuck is going on." She slid out of the aisle and stomped up to the front of the room without waiting for Mike. He laughed and followed her.

Jenny watched as a large group surrounded both Barbara and Kyle. She noticed Jeffery remained seated, obviously angry, if one could judge by the scowl that crossed his face. She couldn't help but wonder if he thought he was being pushed to the side.

She stood, and at the same moment Barbara looked over at her. Jenny gave her a small smile. Barbara returned it and Jenny nodded and went back to work. This time her step felt a bit lighter and she wasn't as nervous as before.

Things were definitely looking up.

Jenny was exhausted by the end of her shift. The day had been busier than usual, and the staff was buzzing about the morning's meeting. Jenny hoped Barbara would search her out so they could talk, but as soon as everyone went back to work, Barbara and her new buddy Kyle walked out of the hotel. Barbara didn't give her a second glance. Jenny could only stare after her retreating back and wonder what would happen next.

Because she had come in early, she left a little after five. The sun was high in the sky and the late afternoon had become too hot and humid for her liking. Summer was right around the corner, trying to push spring out of the way. Jenny took off her uniform jacket, unbuttoned the top two buttons of her shirt and walked toward the subway. As she waited for the light to change, she watched the familiar limo stop around the corner and double parked.

"Jennifer!" Barbara leaned out the back window and waved.

Jenny considered ignoring Barbara's request, but curiosity got the better of her.

And besides, she longed to talk to Barbara again, to apologize for the way she had acted at her apartment. As she made her way over to the car, Ted, the driver got out and walked around and held the car door open.

Jenny stood there biting her lip. Barbara leaned her head out the door and frowned up at her.

"What are you waiting for? Get in."

"I'm not sure if I should get in the car with you."

Barbara sighed and stepped out. Ted moved a respectful distance away, giving the two women their privacy.