Authors: Cheryl Harper
The shock to his system had him blurting out all kinds of truth instead of his normal, easy charm. He definitely needed to get control of that.
Tony Ortega was talking on the phone as KT walked up to the desk. Willodean had introduced them and told him to come to Tony for anything he needed. And KT could understand that. The manager had an inscrutable face but looked like he’d be able to pull together whatever he might need, from a paperclip to a long-range missile.
Tony hung up the phone with a quiet snap and said, “Masters, how can I help?”
KT didn’t get the idea that he meant to be short or discourteous. He just economized on words. He slid his list across the counter. “Got a short list of things we’d like to change in the bar. Do you think you can have them done tomorrow?”
Ortega scanned the list. “Curtains’ll be up to you. The rest of this, yes. Got an electrician coming in first thing in the morning.”
KT thought about arguing about the curtains. Before his conversation with Laura, he would have.
He’d had another long afternoon of frustrating phone calls and had been on the verge of begging Willodean for help finding a temporary assistant. And then his mind had drifted to Laura, as it had more often than he was really comfortable with since he’d walked into Viva Las Vegas. Organization, check. Local connections, check. Possibly hated his guts and/or would sue him for sexual harassment before they killed each other or completed the job . . . well, he might just have to take his chances. When she’d said she’d help, some of his tension melted away.
And with her help, he was pretty sure the Almost Famous contest was going to be the easiest episode they shot. She inspired confidence. Together they could take care of the curtains too. “Great. Tomorrow I’ll take a look at the conference room and the rooms we’ve set up for styling. We may need a few things moved around. Will that work?”
Ortega nodded once. And KT decided that had concluded their conversation. He smiled, patted his folder, and headed for the elevator. For the first time in a long time, he was almost certain everything was going to work out just like he wanted it to. Sure, he had a few problems to solve but now he had help and it came in a small but powerful package.
T
HE “IS THIS
all there is?” funk was not improved at all when Laura limped into her apartment and found the other Holly had arrived, the moody, irritable one.
“Hey, Holly, finished your homework?”
“Of course.” Hormones. If they made it through puberty without killing each other, it was going to be a godsent miracle. “The leftovers are in the fridge.”
“I’ll get some in a minute.” Laura sighed as she stretched out her legs. “What’s up?”
Holly let out a loud sigh. “Oh, nothing. I’m just tired of never having any money.” Her tone was full of pity and accusation.
Laura bit her tongue. When she was sure she could be civil, she said, “Believe me, I understand that. What do you need money for?”
“Kaley and Jenna are going to Nashville for the weekend and they asked me to go. Kaley’s parents are renting rooms at some fancy hotel. And that’s all cool but there’ll be shopping and stuff and I just . . . it’s just better if I stay here, I guess.” Nobody does morose better than a teenage girl.
Mentally kissing her extra money goodbye, Laura did a few quick calculations in her head. If she worked every day for two hours, she was looking at somewhere around ten hours. “I have a hundred dollars. It’s all yours.”
Holly straightened from her slouch. “Really? We can keep the lights on and buy groceries still?”
Laura sighed. “Yes, and have something more than gruel for breakfast and an orange in our stockings at Christmas.”
The sarcasm was lost on Holly but she was already bounding off the couch, heading for the phone. “Thanks, Mom. You’re the best.”
Really, if she’d known that all it would take to win the title was an occasional cash infusion, she might have worked harder at finding a second job before. As she wandered into the kitchen, she thought what she really ought to do was put a bug in Willodean’s ear. Surely, she had a chore or two Holly could do. Holly would be earning an allowance quicker than she could mutter “Really, Mother” in disgust. And if she had a chance, she was totally going to do it. A little bit of work and a little bit of money of her own would be a very good thing. For both of them.
A
FTER A NIGHT
of bad dreams where she alternately handled a weeping, begging Holly dressed like an extra in an
Oliver Twist
movie, desperate to get out of a lifetime of servitude, and a way too hot KT Masters who wanted nothing more than to play secretary and the boss, Laura wasn’t feeling great about the chances of this second, temporary job working out. Now that she’d promised away money that she hadn’t even made, she was committed to making it work. Or going without groceries for a week.
Laura had done her best to appear cool, calm, and collected as she got Holly off to school and then made her way through the hotel lobby up to KT’s hotel room. Inside, she was a nervous mess. She smoothed her hands down her dull gray pants to dry her sweaty palms and then knocked twice on the door. The hallway on this floor looked a little bit like a beachside resort. Fake tiki torches held the lamps and light tan carpet blended up to sea blue walls. Potted plants included lush greenery, bright hibiscus, and frangipani, and orchids bloomed improbably along the hallway. There was a life-size hula girl next to KT’s door. Laura sniffed while she waited and thought she smelled the ocean. She didn’t put it past Willodean to have captured all the senses in her attempt to recreate Hawaii.
When the door swung open, she was confronted with a half-naked, fully smirking KT Masters. Loose jeans clung low to his hips and the broad expanse of his chest was . . . mouthwatering. There was no other word. Lightly tanned, covered in light dusting of brown curls that pointed straight down over a tight stomach . . . it was a lot to absorb before her second cup of coffee. If she’d known this was how he’d greet her, she’d have made a quick run for it when only the hula girl was watching.
“Good morning, Lola!” She almost smiled because he sounded like today was going to be the greatest day ever. She had a feeling this was the real KT Masters, not the snappy, overwhelmed, stressed-out asshole she’d first met or the smarmy Hollywood hotshot. She thought she’d seen flashes of a guy she could like last night, but this guy, the chipper one? He was attractive in an “God, it’s good I don’t have to live with you” kind of way. That much enthusiasm this early in the morning might lead to justifiable homicide.
“Good morning. First thing, if you don’t have coffee, we’re going to need it.” She swept past him and moved over to the desk where she could see the contents of the folder spread out.
“Yes, ma’am.” He saluted, marched over to the phone, and dialed room service. “Good morning, Stella. One pot of coffee, one cup, and the biggest Coke you can find, please.” He waited a minute and laughed. “You too, hon.”
The fact that he was on a first-name basis with room service didn’t surprise her a bit. And she figured that pot of coffee would make it up in record time so she wasn’t even going to give him grief over it.
“Should I just have a seat, then?” She pointed at the only chair in the room. The answer better be yes.
He nodded. “Sure. Coffee’s on the way.” He plopped down on the end of the perfectly made bed. Since it was way too early for housekeeping, he’d either made that bed himself or he’d never slept in it. She narrowed her eyes as she studied him to determine which. He looked better in the fresh, clean light of spring sunshine coming through the window than he had in the bright lights of Viva Las Vegas. Of course, the room contributed a bit. If she didn’t know better, she’d think they were in the tropics somewhere. There were the Elvis movie posters, but over the bed hung a photo of the most beautiful beach with turquoise waters and palm tree shade. All the furniture was dark brown wicker and the carpet was an unfortunate shade of grass green.
“Sort of makes you crave pineapple, doesn’t it?”
She bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud. “This must be one of the luxury suites.”
“Oh, it is. If you have any doubts, you gotta get a load of the bathroom.”
At the quick rap on the door accompanied by a muffled “Room service,” Laura stood. “I’ll get the door and check it out. Maybe you could put a shirt on while I do that.”
She heard him grumble, “You’re no fun” just before she opened the door.
“Hi, Manny, see if you can find a spot on the desk.” She smiled at the young man carrying the tray. He must have run the whole way to get here so quickly. He was wearing the seasonal uniform, a dark suit coat with a thin tie, and he’d added sideburns and gold sunglasses. Some fans tipped better for the extra effort.
“Good morning, Miss Laura. I did not expect to see you here.” He set the tray down. “And Mr. Masters. Here you are.” He looked from KT to Laura and back again. Laura was glad to see KT had managed to shrug into a shirt.
As KT signed the room service ticket, Laura said, “I’m just helping with some bookkeeping, Manny. And I can’t number crunch without coffee.”
His lips turned up but she didn’t get the impression that Manny believed her. At all. He took the ticket back and said, “Of course.” He nodded at them and departed silently, no doubt to spread far and wide that Laura was in KT Masters’s room. The story would make it back to the kitchen in half the time it had taken to get the pot of coffee—and that was saying something.
Laura closed the door and smothered a sigh before she turned to inspect the bathroom. Luxury room might have been understating the issue just a bit. The floors and walls were marble, a bright white with gold streaks. All the fixtures in the room, the toilet, and the tub were gold. Metallic gold in color and polished to a high sheen, the tub would easily fit two and Laura could see whirlpool jets along the sides.
Amazed, horrified, and amused, Laura decided she needed more caffeine and quick. As she sat down at the desk, she said, “It’s very gold.”
KT made himself at home again. He might have covered up the distraction of his beautiful chest, but his position on the bed was no less distracting. He stretched out on his side and propped his head up on his hand. “And you should have seen the welcome basket. I can’t hardly imagine someone as sweet as Miss Willodean being on board with gold condoms, fun-sized champagne bottles, and get this”—he tilted his head meaningfully and peered up at her—“there were even flavored gels in there.”
Honestly, he had no idea who he was dealing with when he met Willodean Jackson. Laura imagined that welcome basket had been every bit of her idea. Who knows? She might have personally tested each item. “What flavor?”
He shrugged. “Coconut, of course.” The “duh” look on his face was priceless. She glanced around the room and a laugh escaped before she could hold it in.
“You know, instead of doing this, we could ditch work and have some fun.” KT tried to look innocent. “I haven’t even seen the pool area yet. Maybe . . .” He clapped like he had the best inspiration. “Maybe we could move everything down there, work in the sunshine. Take a dip. What do you think?”
Laura rolled her eyes. “I think it’s the end of March. The pool isn’t even open. And isn’t this how you got yourself into this mess? You hired me to get you out so you just relax here . . .” She looked around the room. “Beaches are way better than pools anyway. Besides, if you get bored here, I can turn on cartoons or Jerry Springer to keep you busy while I work.”
His disgruntled pout turned into a slow smile and the twinkle that lit his eyes was contagious. She smiled back. And the moment stretched out as their eyes locked. Laura could hear the tick of the Elvis alarm clock and the thud of her heart in her ears. She started to feel a little lightheaded from holding her breath and managed to drag her eyes back to the disorganized mess of paper.
She picked up a few of the receipts on the top to read the dates. One was from earlier in the week. The other was from three months ago. “Why don’t you tell me what kind of system you’re working with.”
KT took a deep breath. “All right. Here goes. They’re all there.”
Laura raised her eyebrows and said, “What now?” Then she poured her coffee, mixed in enough sugar to power what was sure to be a frustrating exercise, and stirred.
“The only thing I know for sure is that all the receipts are there. I’ve entered most of them in the spreadsheet already, all except for the ones from this week.”
Laura blew on the coffee. “Most. But not all. And you don’t know which ones you haven’t entered.”
At least he looked embarrassed as he glanced around the room before nodding.
After a fortifying sip, Laura set the cup down and scooped up a stack of receipts. “No problem. First thing, let me see your spreadsheet. Then, take these and organize them by date. I’ll work on this stack. We’ll double-check them against your spreadsheet and get everything caught up.”
KT’s face was sheepish as he took the stack from her. He set them on the bed and then pulled his laptop out of a case on the floor. “Yes, boss. I’ll just set it up.” He put the computer down on the newly cleared spot and leaned around her to plug it in the handy plug on the top of the desk.
Laura had imagined a lot of different scenarios that might lead to her losing her mind while working with KT, but it was awfully early in the day to be confronted with madness. As he leaned over her, one hand on the back of the chair and the other on the desk, while he waited for the computer to start up, she could smell the hotel’s shampoo and conditioner, something that might be the most seductive cologne ever invented, and warm KT. She wanted to get closer. Instead, she just stopped breathing again. At this rate, brain damage was a real possibility but so was wrapping her arms around his neck while she leaned in closer for a good sniff. It had been a long, long time since she’d been close enough to a man to sniff. For that matter, it had been a long time since she’d even met a man that ignited the urge. Clearly, KT Masters was dangerous. The desire to sniff was the first step on a slippery slope.