Saving Cinderella! (5 page)

“I’m not apologizing.”

“I’m not asking you to. Working here gets me that much closer to where I want to be. It’s short-term, and in the end I’ll go back to what I love, anyway.”

“And maybe someday you’ll meet the right kind of man.”

“Unlikely. I’m happy doing what I’m doing, and giving up men is kind of freeing. I can totally concentrate on my long-term goals—the things I’ve been waiting for and wanting.”

“Goals are good.”

“Spoken like a true businessman. Do
you
have others? Besides McKendrick’s, I mean.” The words had just popped out. “Forget I said that,” she said. “As my boss, your goals are totally none of my business.”

He shrugged. “The truth? I’m strictly business when it comes to goals. In two months it’ll be five years since I bought McKendrick’s. I want to expand the business and send it to everyone’s top ten list of hotels. So no personal goals, if that’s what you were asking. I learned long ago that I’m not suited to relationships, but that’s a boring story and we have to get back. I want you to have a little downtime so that you’re completely comfortable when you take your place behind the desk.”

But Alex had a feeling that she was never going to be entirely comfortable at McKendrick’s. Her job was the hotel, and Wyatt and the hotel were intimately entwined. No matter how she looked at things, she’d be spending a lot of time with him.

Just as an employee
, she reminded herself. She thought the words, her brain registered them, but heaven help her, when she looked at Wyatt she didn’t feel even slightly “comfortable.” She felt…hot.

What a totally alarming thought. If she hadn’t been committed to work, she would have been calling up Jayne, Serena and Molly right then, and asking them to talk her down off the ledge. As it was…

“I’m yours for the day, Wyatt,” she said. A totally cringe-worthy statement, but one that was, in fact, true.

She had committed herself to Wyatt, not just for a day but for weeks to come. She might as well accept that and arm herself heavily against her unwanted blatantly physical reaction to the man. Beverly was right about one thing. The
man was too much like chocolate. Tempting. He definitely threatened her “no men” diet.

All the way back to the hotel, Wyatt wondered what in hell he was doing. There was training an employee, and then there was enjoying oneself with an employee. The second wasn’t allowed. He needed his walls.

So, despite the fact that he had enjoyed watching Alex’s exchange with Beverly, he was also glad that Alex’s questions had forced him to remember not only his goals but his past, his flaws, his limitations. He’d been born not fitting with other people—from his mother, who’d given birth to him and then dumped him on relatives, to those relatives who’d tried to beat the wildness out of him, to the women who had wanted him and been disappointed when he disappointed
them
. All of his relationships had left someone with scars, and he was through with them.

In that sense, working with Alex might present a minefield. She seemed both tough and fragile, like a woman who needed a knight in shining armor but didn’t know it. What she didn’t need was a loner who would break her heart again. What
he
didn’t need was to break someone’s heart or fail to live up to expectations again. He didn’t have to be reminded that some people started out bad and tough and stayed that way. McKendrick’s was the only place where he excelled, and he needed to remember that.

Hiring Alex might be good for McKendrick’s, but bad for him. Except she was on a break from men and he was on a permanent break from relationships. So maybe this employer/employee relationship
could
work, he thought as he drove down the road. He hoped so.

Though he didn’t broadcast the details, his need for
McKendrick’s to succeed ran deep. It was almost fifteen years since he had escaped his hellish home and the people who had beaten him down and predicted that he would never amount to anything. He was finally up, higher than anyone had ever expected him to be. This hotel was where his life had truly begun. It was his validation and his legacy.

Everything else had to be secondary, and he couldn’t forget that. If he did, someone might get hurt.

A
LEX
didn’t have any more time to think about Wyatt, because as soon as she got to her desk, a man came up wanting to know the best place for a haircut.
Don’t panic. Don’t tell him you don’t have a clue, or remember that this hotel is up for an award and reviewers might be anonymous men asking about haircuts.

She glanced around the room. Hmm, Randy’s haircut was nice, but probably not what the fiftyish man was looking for. She scanned the room further, saw what she was looking for, then waved to Randy.

He frowned, but came over. “Randy, could you watch my desk for just a second?”

He blinked. The man who had asked the question blinked.

“I’ll be right back with your answer,” she said, striding across the lobby toward a waiter who was serving drinks to two women seated next to a fountain. As the man turned from his task, Alex flashed a smile. “Hi, I’m Alex Lowell, the new concierge, Seth,” she said, reading off his name tag. “When you’re done, I have a quick question.”

He nodded as she turned to the women and held out her hand. “Hello, and welcome to McKendrick’s. If you need anything at all, I hope you’ll let me know.”

“Actually, I
do
need something,” one woman said. “I have
to know…where did you get that fantastic outfit?” She gestured toward Alex’s pale lemon knee-length suit.

Alex grimaced inside. She wanted to be helpful, and yet… “I’m afraid I got it in San Diego.”

“Wonderful! I’ve been wanting to go there. Now I can schedule a shopping trip as an excuse. I have a luncheon in a month, and that’s just what I was looking for. You wouldn’t happen to have the address of the shop, would you?”

“As a matter of fact, I do,” Alex said, writing down the information for her friend’s shop. “Tell Elaine, the owner, that Alexandra Lowell sent you. She’ll treat you right.”

“Fantastic! Now, I better let you get to Seth. He’s certainly in demand this morning.”

Alex smiled. “Yes. Seth, I need the name of your hairdresser? Barber? Whoever gave you that great cut?”

Seth blinked.

“It’s for a customer,” she explained. “You have just the right look, I think.”

The women agreed that Seth had great hair, and chuckled as he blushed and smiled and scribbled an address down.

“Thanks, Seth. You’re a lifesaver. I’m sure Mr. Toliver will thank you, too.” She flashed the women a smile. “I hope you find something nice at Elaine’s.”

“Even if I don’t, I’ll enjoy looking. It was great meeting someone who takes her job personally. By the way, Alex, I’m Joanne. Wyatt runs a great hotel, and even though we’re local, Meredith and I come here often, so it’s good to meet you.”

“Thank you. I’ll do my best to make your stay special.”

Then, because Mr. Toliver had been waiting too long, Alex practically flew across the room.

“I’m sorry I took so long, Mr. Toliver. Thank you, Randy. I was just getting some expert advice on hairstylists from Seth.”

“Alex,” Randy said in a low voice, “Seth is a waiter.”

“Yes, and he has gorgeous hair, doesn’t he? Both of those ladies love it, too. I think you’ll be in good hands at—” she glanced at the piece of paper “—Gregory’s, Mr. Toliver. If women as stylish as Joanne and Meredith admire Seth’s hair, that’s a stellar recommendation.”

Mr. Toliver glanced toward the middle-aged attractive women. One of them smiled at him. “Well, Gregory’s it is, then,” he said. “Thank you, young lady.”

“It was a pleasure. Come back if you need anything else.”

When the man had gone, Randy shook his head. “You’re supposed to look in the files. We have lists of places you can recommend.”

“But I don’t know anything about those places.”

“Alex, you were lucky this time. Frank Toliver is a frequent and valued customer here, but he could have been anybody. McKendrick’s is having its fifth anniversary, so it’s in the crosshairs of every reviewer, most of whom work incognito. Not only that, but this is the first time that the hotel is a finalist for a National Travel Award. We’re up against some fierce competition, including Champagne just down the road, so we have to be careful and make sure that every customer goes away satisfied. Most of our clients won’t want to pattern themselves after people like Seth.”

Alex felt a twinge. Was Randy right? Had she hit a wrong note in her first few minutes on the job?

“Seth the waiter?”

The deep voice came from behind Alex. She didn’t have to turn around to know who it was, but she did. Time to face the music. Maybe it really
had
been a mistake not to fly back to San Diego with her friends.

To his credit, Randy merely looked sheepish and didn’t try
to discredit her. Alex opened her mouth, wondering if she should apologize, and yet…

“I like Seth’s hair,” she said. “But I really didn’t even think about the fact that Mr. Toliver might not want to frequent the same establishments that our employees do. Actually, I don’t even
know
what kind of neighborhood I sent him to.”

And she didn’t have the address on her any longer, either.

“I’m sure Seth wouldn’t have led a customer into a dark alley,” Wyatt assured her. “So…you like Seth’s hair, do you?”

She pushed her chin up. “I do.”

He frowned. “I’m not criticizing, Alex. I’m just waiting.”

“For what?”

“To see what Frank Toliver looks like when he gets back, and to see how he feels about how he looks. If it goes well, we’ll add Gregory’s to our list of recommended shops.”

Alex couldn’t help wondering what Mr. Toliver would do or say if he
didn’t
like how he looked. Would it affect his opinion of McKendrick’s service?

She could tell Randy was thinking the same thing. He was practically leaning over, listening to see if Wyatt was going to say more.

Wyatt frowned at him. “The desk,” he said. That was all. Randy left for his post and the customers headed that way.

“I suppose I should stick to what Belinda has on her list,” Alex said. “Winging it might not be the best idea until I know more about the city and the best places to go.”

“You saw a need. You took care of it. That’s why I hired you, Alex,” Wyatt said. “Every customer is important, but our reputation won’t rise or fall on one customer’s opinion. If, by some chance, Frank Toliver is less than happy with your recommendation, then I’ll take care of the situation. He’ll be
given a few extras courtesy of the hotel. By the time he leaves, he’ll be pampered and smiling.”

“And you’ll have had extra work because of me.”

“That’s my call to make.”

“But you didn’t hire me so that you could clean up my messes. If I’m to be useful, I have to get things right.”

That was, Alex thought, a version of what she had told herself as a child, and later as an adult. If she just did things right, her father would come home, her stepfather would visit her, Robert or Leo or Michael would be blown away by what a difference she’d made in their lives. She hated the fact that she’d even remembered that right now, but at least this time her concern wasn’t about winning love. It was about the job she’d been hired to do and about the National Travel Awards. As a finalist in the competition, the hotel was under the microscope, and she intended to help it shine.

“I hired you to help the customers, Alex. I’m the only one who gets to decide how you’re progressing.”

The only one.
He really was a lone wolf—the nickname she’d heard him called. Alex couldn’t help thinking that she had spent her life wanting companionship while Wyatt appeared to wrap himself in his solitary status.

“You heard Randy criticize me. I hope you won’t hold it against him. He was just trying to give me good advice.”

“Randy sometimes gets carried away, but as I said earlier he’s good at what he does.”

“I see that,” Alex said, watching Randy smile at a woman who appeared to be complaining loudly about something. The woman’s voice rose, but Randy kept his expression calm, the low tones of his response soothing, until finally the woman nodded and walked away. “I fully intend to get along with Randy. Maybe I’ll ask him for some suggestions.”

“I’m sure he’d like that. But remember what I said. I hired you because of your ability to take control of a situation and connect with the patrons. A minor mistake or two won’t topple McKendrick’s.”

Maybe not, but Alex had tangled others up in her mistakes more than once. While she’d been fooling herself into thinking shy Leo would fall in love with her, the heart of the equally shy girl who’d loved him from afar for years had been breaking. Far worse than that, though, was what she’d inadvertently done to little Mia. Assuming that she and her most recent ex, Michael, had a future, she’d allowed herself to get close to Michael’s daughter, and the child had been heartbroken when things had fallen apart. The fact that she’d harmed a child in much the same way she had been harmed, scalded her. It was something she couldn’t forgive herself for. It was a reminder that there was a high price for some mistakes.

“Randy says you’re competing against another Las Vegas hotel for the award.”

He maintained an expression that told her nothing. “Champagne will be tough to beat. They’ll keep upping the ante right until the end.”

So the competition
was
a big deal. “What are the odds that you’ll win?”

“Winning isn’t guaranteed,” Wyatt said, his tone cool. But she could tell by the way his jaw tightened that the award meant something to him.

And why not? He’d designed the hotel himself. That made the award important, whether he wanted to admit it or not. It seemed he didn’t want to admit it to
her
. And why should he? She was an employee. A stranger.

“You’re the boss,” she said. “I’ll do my best to be as mistake-free as possible while I get acclimated.”

“I’m not anticipating lots of mistakes.”

She shrugged. “Neither am I, but everyone makes them. I’ve made my share.”

“Are we talking about the film crew and the CPR incident?”

“Among other things.”

Wyatt raised an eyebrow. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“That I might go through some rough patches the first few days?”

He studied her, his expression unreadable. “That you know CPR. And that you didn’t hesitate to help.” He held her gaze to make his point. There was something fierce and commanding about the man. Heat seemed to radiate off him, despite the fact that he seemed so outwardly cool.

Disregarding her warnings to behave, Alex’s heart-rate sped up. Warmth spread through her. She tried to ignore it, even though the man had eyes that could make a woman forget to be smart. “Well…” Somehow she managed to find her voice. “As embarrassing as it was, I’d do it again. But for now I’d better start learning the ropes if we’re going to win that award. I’ll just read the reference material that Randy tells me is in the cabinets, and surf the Internet for interesting factoids about Las Vegas.”

“Wyatt, there you are! I’ve been looking everywhere.”

The husky female voice came from Alex’s right, and she turned to see a gorgeous blonde woman moving toward them. She wore a sand-colored sheath dress that fit her perfectly. Her bare legs and arms were smoothly toned and tanned, and her megawatt smile was focused on Wyatt.

Alex instinctively took a step back. The woman knew Wyatt, and Wyatt was Alex’s boss, not her friend.

Wyatt, however, drew her forward. “Katrina, this is Alexandra, my new concierge. Alex, Katrina owns Gendarmes, a restaurant down the street.”

“Ah, one of your colleagues,” Alex said with a smile.

The woman’s smile dimmed. “Oh, yes,” she said, her tone clear. Alex didn’t rank. “We both have a shared interest in Las Vegas and…other things. Come on, Wyatt, we’re going to be late.”

A frown line appeared between his brows. “Alex, I’ll be at a meeting of some of the local hoteliers and restaurants most of the rest of the day. We’re coordinating some functions and we’ll be at Gendarmes, but if there’s an emergency I can be interrupted.”

Alex almost thought she heard Katrina hiss.

“Thank you, but I’m not expecting any emergencies,” Alex said.

Still, after the two of them had gone Alex admitted that she’d felt the telling sting of jealousy when Katrina had walked away with Wyatt at her side. Allowing herself to feel that way
would
rank as an emergency. Not to mention how incredibly stupid it would be. Developing an infatuation for one’s boss was such a cliché and just…wrong. Besides, while she’d pursued love with reckless abandon and lost before, she’d at least had good reason to expect success in those cases. Wyatt McKendrick was a sure ticket to heartbreak. She just couldn’t allow herself to fall for someone incapable of loving her. Never again.

Love, Alex had discovered, was a lethal weapon in the hands of the wrong person.
She
was the wrong person and always had been. Her current dreams were within reach, and she wouldn’t cheapen them by setting them aside to covet the impossible. Fantasizing about Wyatt wasn’t allowed, and she was just going to have to nip that trip to Jealous Town in the bud.

So she devoted herself to learning the ropes. She read everything on the desk, thumbing through pamphlets and cruis
ing Internet travel sites. She answered basic questions, made reservations for people and directed them to where they wanted to go. In a slow moment she wandered over to Randy’s desk and picked his brain.

He looked at her suspiciously, but then told her what she needed to know. “You’re really throwing yourself into this, aren’t you?” he asked.

“I agreed to take the job. I’m going to do it right.”

“Could I give you a word of advice?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t do it to please Wyatt. Women always fall in love with him, but he’s a guy who likes his personal space. He doesn’t get close to anyone, male or female. And while he occasionally escorts a woman for both business and…other obvious reasons, he doesn’t stay.”

“Grr.”

“Don’t tell me you’ve already fallen?”

“No, but you must be the tenth person who’s told me that. So, for the tenth time, I’m never going to fall in love with Wyatt. I’m safe.”