Lovestruck (3 page)

Mike and Jenny fell silent.

"Oh, Tonya," Jenny finally said as she walked over and gave her a hug.

Tonya hugged her back and then moved away to finish her dusting. Jenny noticed the tears in her friend's eyes, but didn't make a comment. She looked at Mike and he shrugged.

"Don't worry; I'll take her to The Watering Hole tonight and we'll drown our sorrows in some beer."

"I heard that, MacGillicuty, and I'm on to you. You just want an excuse to flirt with my brother and try to go home with him."

Mike put his hand on his hip. "I'm offended. I'm thinking of you, and just being a good friend. If something happens between your brother and me, like, say, I give him a blow job in his office, it's meant to be."

"
Eeewww
." Tonya came at him with her dust cloth, and Mike began to back out of the room. He looked at the clock on the bedside table and frowned. "Oops, ten minutes until my shift starts. Gotta run!"

Jenny held her stomach, laughing as Tonya smacked Mike in the ass with the dust cloth. As Mike stumbled out of the room clutching his butt, Tony, one of the hotel's part-time bell hops, appeared in the doorway.

"Yo, you guys, some shit is going down."

All three turned and looked at the teenager.

Mike skidded to a halt. "What's up, dude?"

Tony rubbed a hand over his short, spiky hair. "I heard Bane talking on his cell.

The Barracuda's
coming here this afternoon to check out us drones and see how things are running."

Jenny walked over to Tony. "She never comes here to check things out. It's always one of her assistants or her VP." She turned to look back at her friends. "I wonder what's up?"

Mike shrugged and fixed his tie. "Maybe because she hasn't been here in such a long time she wanted to see what the deal is? Maybe it's nothing."

Jenny nodded. "I hope you're right. In all the time I've worked here, I've never seen her. Want to hear something funny? Her older brother is Dean of the Business department at my school. He teaches the Ethics in Business class."

"Oh, spooky." Mike held up his hands in mock fear.

Jenny whacked him on the shoulder.

"I dunno, but Bane sent me to find you." Tony reached into his side pocket for a piece of gum.

Jenny rolled her eyes and pretended to cock a gun with her fingers, pressing it against the side of her head.

Tonya laughed. "Well, dearies, I have to finish my rounds. Back into the fire you go." She gave Jenny a light push. Jenny followed Mike and Tony back down to the lobby where they would see
The Barracuda
in person.

Barbara wanted the day to be over. She glanced at her watch. It was just going on one o'clock and this afternoon had to be one of her shittiest in a decade. The morning went down the toilet the moment she arrived at the office. The third assistant she'd hired this year quit over the phone, her inbox had exploded with emails, which took hours to read and answer, and she'd had to reschedule a meeting with her accountant.

Now, scarfing down a granola bar as she rushed to her car to head out for an appointment at the St. Jennings, she wondered what else could go wrong.

The drive took less than ten minutes in midday traffic. Before her driver, Ted, could assist her, Barbara grabbed her briefcase, opened her door, and jumped out. Her bladder cramped from the pot of coffee she'd downed earlier, and the tear in her stocking had expanded and lengthened.

"Ted, I might be a while. Don't wait around. I'll call you when I'm finished."

Ted tipped his hat and Barbara waved at him as she jogged into the hotel. One of the bellhops nodded and opened the door for her. Under normal circumstances, she'd make her presence known right away, but nature called and her ruined stockings were unacceptable. She decided to forego the usual formalities.

Barbara found the women's bathroom near the lobby, made her way into a stall, and hummed along to the Muzak playing from a speaker in the corner. She wondered, briefly, if the woman standing in front of the mirror sniffling had a cold or allergies.

After emptying her bladder, Barbara pulled her cover-up, lipstick and deodorant from her bag and began to make some much-needed repairs.

While washing her hands at the sink, her gaze fell upon the woman who'd been sniffing. Sitting in a chair to her right, the girl sobbed into a tissue with her head down.

Barbara grabbed a paper towel, dried her hands and told herself not to get involved.

Yeah, right.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

The woman looked up. "Oh, don't mind me. I'm having a bad day." She wiped her eyes with a tissue.

The young woman looked familiar, but Barbara couldn't place her. Jogging her memory bank, she wondered where she'd seen her before. When the girl smiled, Barbara felt a rush of warmth in the pit of her stomach.

The smile also gave Barbara an electric jolt between her legs. The sensation left her dumbfounded. The woman―her employee, Barbara surmised, based on the fact she wore a St. Jennings uniform—might have swollen eyes and a red face from crying, but her smile exemplified her beauty. Barbara had seen many beautiful women, some she lusted after, others she respected, but something about this stranger with the giant teardrops and engaging smile sent a warm rush of lust and hunger coursing through her. A long time had passed since Barbara had such a delicious reaction.

Uncomfortable with her response to this stranger, she applied her makeup with a shaky hand. The woman—at least ten years her junior—stood with a sigh.

From the corner of her eye, Barbara watched her wash her hands and pat her cheeks with cold water. The girl looked down at her feet then back up at the mirror and made a face.

Aha!
Starbucks. About a month ago
. The moment her bathroom buddy lowered her head, Barbara knew where she'd seen her. The droopy-eyed girl had spilled coffee on her briefcase, the same briefcase lying at her feet right now.

Barbara couldn't contain her laugh. The girl was no teeny bopper as she'd first thought.

The other woman looked a bit sheepish, and Barbara couldn't help but notice a blush forming on her cheeks. How adorable, she thought, unable to remember the last time
she'd
blushed over anything.

When the woman straightened her uniform, Barbara zoned in on her chest—a perfect size, in her opinion. The coat showed off those attributes very well, and Barbara wondered what the girl's nipples looked like. As she stared, she realized the woman was speaking to her, and she didn't catch the first part of her sentence because of the fantasy running through her head. "Excuse me?"

Barbara cleared her throat and tried to ignore her damp thong, and hoped her hard nipples weren't showing through her blouse.

"Oh, don't mind me. I tend to talk to myself. My boss just reamed me out again.

I'm on a roll. This is twice in one day . . . oh, but listen to me. You're a guest and here I'm acting so unprofessional." She moved to leave the bathroom but Barbara grabbed her by her coat sleeve.

The girl lifted her eyebrow and gave her a wary smile.

Barbara reluctantly released her. "Forgive me. I'm not the type to accost strangers, but I thought you might want to use some of my cover-up. I mean, you have a nice face, but with your crying, you look flushed . . . ." Barbara snapped her mouth shut.
Stop rambling, Barbara. You're The Barracuda, for God's sake!

The woman looked in the mirror again and frowned at her reflection. "I guess it's a good thing I rushed this morning. I'm so not a morning person. If I had time to put on makeup, my mascara would have made me look like a raccoon." She chuckled at her own joke and Barbara joined in.

"Here, use some of mine. I can assure you I don't have a skin disease or acne."

"Thanks." She took the foundation from Barbara.

An inexplicable electric jolt ran through Barbara's hand as their fingers met. She watched as her new friend rubbed some concealer over her face and wondered if she experienced the same attraction.

"I guess I look better." Again, the girl smoothed down the front of her uniform and Barbara couldn't help but zone back in on her chest. This time she noticed her name tag . . . Jennifer.

Jennifer placed the foundation on the counter, checked her hair clip and licked her lips. "I guess my saliva will have to do for now instead of lip gloss." She turned to Barbara. "Thanks again."

A frown flitted across Jennifer's face, so brief Barbara wondered if she'd imagined it. The girl gave a quick shake of her head, a parting smile and walked from the room.

Barbara studied Jennifer's ass as she left the bathroom. Her back looked as nice as her front. She sat in the chair Jennifer had vacated and closed her eyes for a moment, trying to catch her breath. If she had a few more minutes, she'd get herself off. Why did Jennifer affect her like this? Hell, for a minute, she'd actually considered pushing the girl against one of the stalls and kissing her. Barbara couldn't stop staring when Jennifer licked her lips, and she felt a strange compulsion to lick them too.

Poor kid. She'd said she was having a bad day. Little did she know, it was probably about to get a whole lot worse. If Barbara decided to cut jobs at the St.

Jennings in order to keep the place afloat, chances were good Jennifer would receive a pink slip. But in business and in Barbara's world, power and money mattered most. Not some luscious young thing with a great pair of tits and an ass she wanted to rub her face against.

Barbara stood and finished her toilette. She took one last glimpse in the mirror, pulled off her ruined stockings and flipped back her hair. The day had begun to look up. In a few more minutes she'd see her sleepy-eyed morning girl again.

As Jenny walked back over to the front desk, she mulled over the last few minutes. She knew she should have used the employee bathroom instead of the women's room in the lobby, but hadn't wanted to embarrass herself when she broke down in tears. Not many guests used the one in the lobby because they preferred to use the one in their room or the bigger one near the conference rooms. Not thinking about the backlash she'd suffer if anyone found out she'd broken one of the 'rules', Jenny had simply sat down in a lounge chair and cried her eyes out.

Jeffery had no right to treat her the way he did. Her major responsibility as his assistant involved straightening his office. But she'd forgotten this morning, because she'd spent so much time chatting with Tonya and Mike. Jeffery's office was always a mess and even though he'd never admit it, he needed her to keep control of his paperwork and files. A neat freak like Jenny couldn't understand Jeffery's pack rat ways and why he liked clutter. On a normal day, she found the time to clean his office while he took his lunch break. But Jeffery didn't take his usual two hour lunch today because of his bundle of nerves over his meeting with the CEO. The minute he saw his desk was pretty much as he had left it, he called in Jenny and gave her another reprimand.

Even with the door closed, Jenny knew the others behind the front desk could hear him yelling at her. Jeffery left in a huff afterward, and Jenny gave the office a quick cleaning before her tears blurred her vision and she could no longer see. She rushed to the nearest bathroom as soon as she put everything in order, not even stopping for Mike when he called out to her.

Thanks to the older, attractive woman, who'd been kind enough not to be annoyed by her crying fit and nice enough to lend her makeup, Jenny felt in better spirits. She grew flushed thinking of the striking blonde, who seemed vaguely familiar.

I've seen her before, she thought. But where?

Mike was on the phone when she walked behind the front desk, lost in thought.

He finished his call and held out his arms. "Quick, while no one is looking," he said.

Jenny hugged him and they stood like that for a few moments. Mike kissed the top of her head and she patted his back.

"Are we okay?" He pulled away and wiped his thumb down her cheek.

"As good as I can be. Do I look like I've been crying?" She wiped again at her eyes.

"I can tell, but only because I've seen you cry before and know what you look like when you do. Don't sweat it. Screw him."

The phone rang again and Mike answered it. Jenny looked to see if Jeffery lurked nearby, and then breathed a sigh of relief when she found the coast was clear. The lobby was empty for the moment.

Mike hung up the phone. "Sure you're okay?" he asked, pushing away a few stray hairs that had come loose from Jenny's clip.

"Yeah. Today royally sucks."

Mike leaned his back against the desk.

"Be careful. Jeffery is on the war path," she said. "If he catches you lounging around like that, you'll be in deep shit."

Mike faced the front again, but crossed his arms. "Jeffery is such an asshole. He has no right to treat you that way. Maybe Jennings will fire the dick wad."

Jenny swallowed a laugh, looked down at the computer and typed in her password. She wanted to look busy. "Please. He's related to
The Barracuda
. He gets a free pass. They're like two peas in a pod. I bet she has a stick up her ass too."

"There's the snarky spirit. We'll see soon. Jeffery mentioned
The Barracuda
wanted to have a meeting with the staff sometime today."

Jenny wanted to bang her head against the desk. "Perfect. Just perfect. Not only do I have to finish up my paper from hell, but I need to stop at the library and drop off some overdue books. I'm so done with this day."

Mike gazed out into the lobby. "Now this is interesting. Bane is over there talking to a woman in a ferocious suit. And she doesn't look pleased."

Jenny checked some of the available rooms for the week. She looked up and back down. After a heartbeat she glanced up again. A lightheaded feeling washed over her and her stomach turned. Jeffery and the woman from the bathroom were engaged in an animated conversation.

"M-Mike. You don't think that's . . . ?"