Vacation (6 page)

We walked toward the grand entrance and
were greeted by two people that could have been swimsuit models. The girl's
hair was blonde and her breasts huge. The guy was ripped from his throat to the
thick muscles that ran down into his swimsuit.

"Welcome to La Mage. We're glad to
have you girls. Check-in is that way, and information on restaurants and bars
is at the end of the hall on the wall mount." The girl smiled at us with a
warmth I didn't expect.

"Yep, and there are parties non-stop
here. Make sure you grab an activities schedule from the front desk, and if you
need anything at all, I'm Marco." He took my hand, kissed my fingers and
smiled seductively. "Anything at all."

"Thanks," I responded, a little
breathless more from the frontal assault of beautiful people and less from the
guy’s attention on me. It was all part of the production, anyway.

"Why do you always get the sexy
ones?" Casey grumbled at me as we got in line.

"What?" I laughed and turned
back in time to see Marco kissing an older woman's hand as she giggled and
blushed. "Nothing to worry about. He's already moved on."

Casey glanced back and busted out
laughing. "Such a typical male, right?"

"Age before beauty, young lady."
I poked at her softly. "Besides, I'm saving myself for a nerdy type this
time around. Looks and money have a stigma with them, and it's rang true in my
life since I started dating."

"They're all assholes, Viv. Money,
looks, nerdy, sensitive...all of them."

"Then why do we try?" I picked
up my bag and moved up to stand at the front of the line. A handsome, frat-boy
type called us toward him to check-in.

"Because they're so pretty to look
at?" Casey giggled and dropped her bag in front of the counter before
glancing toward me. "Am I right?"

"Spot on." I pulled out my
credit card and played along as he flirted his way into talking us into an
upgrade on our dining package. Little did he know that it was far more about
the culinary treats and less about the twinkle in his eyes that sold
me.

Chapter
6

Easton

It was best to leave the girls behind on
the plane. I didn't want any further connection to the lovely woman that was
sure to haunt my dreams that night. My career was first and foremost in my
life. Getting involved with anyone, especially a girl still in college, wasn't
going to happen. I glanced down at my phone, contemplating deleting the number
her ballsy friend had typed in, but decided against it. I didn't have to call
her, and without her having my number, there was no way we would connect again
without me initiating it.

"Easton! Wait up, dude." Kevin's
voice surprised me as I moved through the terminal toward baggage claim. The
guy wasn't supposed to be in Miami until later that day.

"Hey, Kev. What are you doing
here?" I glanced around idly, not looking for Viv and yet very much
looking for her.

"I got on that flight with you. You
must have scored first class or something." He snorted and ran his chubby
fingers over his balding head. "The sandwich they served was horrible. Far
too dry for my liking."

"They had mayonnaise that you could
have used." I gave him a sideways glance as we paused by the baggage turn
style.

"There's no need to add sauce of any
sort to a properly made sandwich." Kevin rubbed his protruding belly and
gave me a cocky smile. "I'm the food critic, remember? Stick with me, and
you'll never have a bad meal."

I awarded him a short chuckle, grabbed my
bag and glanced back at him. "Are you headed to La Mage now?"

"Yeah. Let's grab a cab together.
Maybe we can chat about the various events coming up this week. I want to try
and hit most of them if you're up for it." He wrestled his over-sized bag
to his side and nodded toward the door. "You grab the cab. I'll meet you
there in a minute. I need to go to the bathroom. Actually, can you drag my bag
with you?"

I took a sharp breath and nodded, wanting
very much to be a dick, but knowing it would do no good. "Yeah. I'll see
you out there."

"Good man." He winked and walked
off as my eyes moved across the hordes of people that walked from the main
terminal to the baggage claim area. Viv was nowhere in sight, but some part of
me wanted one more encounter with her. It was silly and rather childish, but I
couldn't help but stand there for a few, elongated minutes.

Turning on my heel, I walked languidly to
the exit and moved to the line of yellow cabs, getting behind the ten people
who were waiting, their voices a chorus of excitement. I couldn't remember the
last time I was on vacation, and I wasn't now either. The feeling of
anticipation was almost dead inside of me, but contemplating running into the
cute girl from my flight left it swirling in the pit of my stomach.

"Damn," I growled and turned
back to watch the door.
Maybe I should
just go back in and wait for her. A drink wouldn't hurt anything. A night of
dancing? Making love until the morning and letting her go? It doesn't have to
be a relationship, right?

"Next!" A gruff voice called
from behind me, and surprisingly, I turned to find the line gone.

"Right. Thanks. I'm headed downtown
to La Mage." I worked to help the guy get my and Kevin's bags in the back
of the car. "My co-worker is–”

"Right here." Kevin moved up
beside the car and got in without offering to help with the bags.

Typical
ass.

"No problem, man. Get in, and I'll
have you down there in a jiffy." The cab driver closed the trunk and moved
to his side of the car.

I paused and glanced back over my shoulder
before giving up on having one more chance encounter with Vivian.

After getting in the car, I worked on my
seatbelt and turned to find Kevin watching me with uncomfortable intensity.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing. Just wondering why you're
not married. Seems weird to me." He shrugged and worked to get something
out of his teeth.

I adverted my attention from him and
leaned back in the seat, turning my head to watch the people walk from the
airport building. "I just haven't found the right girl. Forever is a long
time."

"Ahhh, so you're a romantic who
believes in true love and such. Not at all the type of guy I pegged you to
be." He chuckled.

I turned my head toward him. "No? And
what kind of guy did you peg me to be?"

"The turn and burn kind. You're
young, obviously smart, good looking... And don't forget, I've seen you in a
few meetings that didn't go well. You know how to handle yourself and how to
shut someone down pretty quickly." He sucked at his teeth once more and
shrugged. "Romantic wouldn't have been on the list."

"I'm not a romantic, or at least I
don't think I am." I closed my eyes and ran my hand down my face.
"I'm far too focused on my career right now to even think about it, to be
perfectly honest. Marriage and family isn't on my radar at all right now."

"I get that. I turn the ladies down
all the time because they're far too needy nowadays."

I kept my eyes closed and simply nodded,
hoping like hell he would shut up and leave me be. He was full of hot air, and
if it were up to me, his days would be significantly limited. He was an ass to
the restaurants he serviced, and I'd yet to see a favorable write up from him
in the two years I'd been with my employer.

"We're here," the cabbie called
out from the front seat. "Credit or cash?"

"You got this, right?" Kevin
opened his door and got out without waiting for my reply.

"Yeah. I guess." I pulled out my
card and let my eyes scan the beautiful design at the front of the resort. It
was one of my favorites and I was glad to be back in Florida, though I was a
New Yorker through and through.

Vivian moved past my mind's eyes again,
her pretty blue eyes watching me over the top of her drink as she seemingly
played with my emotions. She had no clue of her power as a beautiful woman.
She'd been through something recently from what I could tell, and now that I'd
lost the chance to ask what, I was kicking myself. I shouldn't have wanted to
know, but I did.

I paid, got out of the car and took a deep
breath. The salty goodness of the ocean filled my senses and I lifted my hands
to the heavens and stretched, taking a moment to enjoy the beauty around me.

"Mr. Parks. So nice to have you back
with us again, Sir." An older gentleman in a nice suit walked from the
hotel and extended his hand. "I'm Jeffry Bryan. One of the managers here
at La Mage."

"Jeffry, of course. I remember
you." I extended my hand and shook his firmly. "This is my co-worker,
Kevin Jarrett. He'll be sampling some of the new dishes you have in your
restaurants this year."

"Ah yes..." The manager turned
and extended his hand to Kevin. "I believe we've met as well."

"I don't remember you at all, actually."
Kevin shook his hand as I cringed. The man had no class at all.

"Well, thanks for hosting us again
this year. We're going to get settled in this afternoon, and then I'd like to
meet with your hospitality manager around five, if possible." I picked up
my bag as someone rushed toward me, taking it and welcoming me warmly.

The two models at the door offered their
greeting as well, which was a nice touch from my previous visit. Where I might
expect them to be stiff and uppity, they weren't at all. Both the male and
female were warm in their greeting and conversational to the guest that moved
in alongside me.

"I will arrange that, no worries. We
have you in a penthouse suite tonight and other various sizes of rooms
throughout the week. I remember that you like to try out everything while
you're here." Jeffry motioned for me to move up to the checkout. "One
of our staff will get you checked in and settled. Come down a few minutes
before five and we'll have a room set up for you to talk with Brian. He's new
to us, but I think you'll find him pleasant."

"Excellent." I turned and moved
into the VIP line for check-in. The brilliant, silky, red locks of a pretty
girl just to my right grabbed my attention and my breath caught in my chest.
Viv?

"Why do you get to stay in the
penthouse and I have to have a regular room?" Kevin grumbled as he moved
up beside me in the non-VIP line. The scowl on his face almost caused my lip to
turn up in a smirk, but I forced myself to behave. No need to egg the poor guy
on unless he kept pressing his luck. He would find a reason to be
pissy
no matter what. He didn't need my help with it, but
he’d get some if he wasn’t careful.

"I'm here testing out their resort,
Kev. I have to experience everything from decor to food to the hotel rooms. My
write up covers everything. Yours covers the dining experience. You should feel
lucky that they didn't give you a cot in the kitchen." I smirked at him as
his face shaded red.

"Whatever. I'm asking for an upgrade.
I'm an important client and if they want a good review on their culinary
offerings, then they'd better treat me well." He huffed and crossed his
arms over his chest.

"Your opinion should be unbiased and
focused solely on the food." I lifted my eyebrow at him. "That's how
you critique, correct? If not, Jon should be made aware of the score card
you're using."

"Are you threatening me?" He
asked, his voice pinching slightly.

"Absolutely. Your ethics reflect the
company I'm investing my future in. Don't fuck around with it." I locked
my jaw and turned to pin him with a warning stare.

He lifted his hands as the crimson on his
cheeks bled to white. "Alright. Damn. I was just saying."

"Well don't." I turned to the
front and moved up as the pretty redhead and her
blonde
friend moved down toward
the elevators. It was Viv and Casey. I pressed my hands to the counter in front
of me and let my eyes follow her, memorizing how well her small rear fit into
her jeans.

"Mr. Parks. Nice to have you with us.
Will you need just one key?"

I bit my bottom lip as I contemplated how
fun it would be to have a fling with her. Was she up for it? Here she was at
the same hotel as me. Was I up for it?

"No. I'll take two." I turned
back to face the woman.

"Sounds good. We'll switch your room
each afternoon at three, and I'll be sure to leave a note in your file that you
are to receive a text with the new room numbers. The card will work without
fail as you shift around. Should you need anything at all
,
just let us know." The woman smiled
and handed me the cards. "Don't forget the penthouse has a code
,
too. It's four-one-five."

"Excellent." I picked up my bag
and walked toward the elevator. Kevin's voice rose up behind me as if he were
owed something by the hotel for simply being there. I shook my head, pressed
the button and pulled out my phone, putting in a call to my boss.

"This is Jon." He was out of
breath, which gave me pause.

"Bad time, boss?" I asked.

"No. Just got done with my mid-day
run. You in Florida?"

"Yeah. Kevin is here as well." I
moved over to let more people in the elevator and wondered why the hell I
didn't wait a few minutes to call.
Idiot.

"Oh yeah? That will be nice to have
someone to hang out with in your down time."

"Try again. The guy's a jerk, Jon. We
need to look for someone else. He has no ethics and he thinks that everyone
owes him something." I moved out of the elevator as we reached the top
floor and typed in the code on my key before slipping it into the reader.

"He's a little unconventional, but
honestly he's a great writer and it's hard as hell to find a food critic that
has the ability to express flavor and write well. Most of their time is spent
giving less-than-stellar reviews. You know how it is."

"I do, but we can do better than him.
He's an embarrassment to the company."

"Find someone, and I'll interview
them. Good luck with it
,
too. They're hard as hell to find with experience."

"Are we looking for experience or can
we perhaps think about talking with someone green, just out of college?" I
walked into the room and felt a fluttering of regret. I should have had a
beautiful woman by my side to enjoy the room with. It was extravagant and bled
lust and wealth.

"I'm willing to talk to someone if we
think we can mold them
.”

"Let me call you back. I just got into
my room. I need to take a few notes on the experience. Later." I dropped
the call and pressed the audio recorder on my phone. "Extravagant,
breath-taking, luxurious. The room is spacious and built for housing an
all-night party with the rich and famous. The view from the living room balcony
is befitting a king, and the crimson and gold decor reminds me of old money. I
need a glass of brandy and a robe...but don't we all?"

I turned the recording off and pulled out
my stylus, starting to take notes as I moved room to room
analyzing, judging, critiquing. There was
very little I could find wrong with the penthouse, which would be a golden
jewel in the resort’s proverbial crown.