Chapter 16 That's amazing
I close my eyes, breathing him in. Cigarettes, beer, and the same cologne as my mysterious man.
“Seeing you again was better than I ever imagined,” he murmurs.
When I open my eyes, he’s already walking away.
Halfway down the path, he turns back. “Oh, Shia. When I said earlier that you looked good, what I meant was that you look beautiful.” He smiles. “I’ll call you.”
Then he’s gone.
I let myself into my flat and lean against the door, my heart racing.
The first thing I do is save Natte’s number in my contacts.
“What did you do to the star last night?”
Vicky is already marching toward me in the office.
“Because whatever it was, keep doing it,” she grins.
“Uh?”
I’m exhausted. It took hours to fall asleep. Terry and Darla interrogated me this morning, and I didn’t even get coffee.
“I just got off the phone with him.”
“With who?”
“Natte Johnson!” she shrieks.
“Natte?” I blink. “Why would he call you?”
“Because you’re absolute magic,” she says dramatically.
“Vicky, you’re losing me.”
“He’s asked the resort to host all his future stays!”
“What?” I gape.
“He called me himself!”
“That’s amazing!” I say. “For the resort!”
And maybe… for me.
“So who’s managing his room?” I ask casually.
She raises a brow. “He didn’t tell you?”
“No. Tell me what?”
“Congratulations. You’re Natte Johnson’s official room manager.”
My phone starts ringing
on my desk.
I can’t move.
He hired me. Without asking.
Vicky picks up my phone and holds
it out. “You might want to answer. It’s Natte.”
I stare at it, frozen.
Why would he do this?
All the air has been sucked out of the room. I think I’m having a panic attack or something. I’m going to pass out.
“Accept the call,” Vicky urges pushing the phone closer to me. “You can’t let this slip through your fingers. The resort can’t let this slip through its fingers, Shiv.” She looks at me wistfully.
But I just can’t move my hand to take the phone.
“An opportunity Natte didn’t even offer me himself.” My voice comes out croaky.
My phone stops ringing.
We both look down at it.
Vicky retreats her hand containing my bomb of a phone with it.
“Maybe Natte just wanted to speak to me first. You know with me being your employer. He probably wanted to check it wouldn’t cause any problems with your permanent job here first before offering you the job.”
“Did he say that to you?” I look at her suspiciously.
“Yes, of course he did,” she answers brightly.
She’s so lying. He never asked her. I can’t imagine Natte ever asking anyone for anything.
All he’s done by calling Vicky first, is put me in a position where I can’t say no.
Did he know that would be the case? And if so, then why would he do that?
“Call him back,” Vicky urges.
I shake my head, swallowing down my dry throat. “I don’t think I can. I don’t think I can do this. I take care of his stay, Vicky. I’m a translator and freelancer, not a room manager.”
“You can. You are a wonderful, my darling.”
I look up at her, mild panic in my eyes. I know what she’s worried about. She’s worried Natte will pull his VVIP membership if I don't give in.
But he wouldn’t do that.
“Natte will still stay here if he wants to, even if I don’t take the job, Vicky. He wouldn’t pull it. I know him.”
She shrugs. “I don’t know, honey, I did sort of get the distinct impression you are part of the deal.”
“Did he say that?”
“Not exactly.”
Yes he did.
Crap.
“Why would he do this?” I say my thoughts out loud.
She smiles. “Maybe he just doesn’t want to let you go this time.”
“So he forces me to be his room manager? What will be next, roommate or personal secretary? No, that doesn’t make any sense. I’m his friend. You don’t force people to be your friend. I’d be his friend without this.”
I’m so confused. I need to sit down. I slump back into my chair.
Vicky moves round and leans against my desk. “Maybe he doesn’t just want to be your friend,” she says softly. “And if that is the case, then this way he gets to ensure he sees a lot more of you, for a long while.”
My eyes flash up to hers. “No.” I shake my head. “It’s not that.”
He had the chance to make a move on me last night, and if I’m being truthful, I probably would have kissed him back if he had kissed me, but he didn’t. And that’s how I know that’s not the reason.
I just have no clue what his motive is.
Maybe it’s a genuine one. Maybe he thinks I’m a really still good to him.
I scoff at the very thought in my own mind.
“Well for whatever reason he is doing it,” Vicky says. “This is a huge opportunity for you and the resort as a whole. It can only be a good thing, Shia. And maybe Natte recognizes that. He’ll know what this will do for your career. Maybe he just wants to help you. He did say to me that he’s been considering partnering with our resort for a long while now, and with this tour it’s the right time. It was obviously just good fortune that you met back up with him, or it could be someone else getting to hop on that tour bus.”
Shit. I’m going to have to go on tour with them. Of course.
I’m so screwed.
This morning I was worried I was never going to see him again, and now I’m going to be spending a huge amount of time with him, following him around, watching him, learning all about him, while we tour around some pretty cool parts of the world.
Yes, I am so completely and utterly screwed.
“Give him a ring,” Vicky urges one last time, placing my phone on my desk, tapping her nail on the screen before leaving me to it.
I stare at my phone and then with shaky fingers I pick it up and press redial on his number.
He answers on the first ring.
“Shia,” his voice comes deep and sexy down the line.
“Hi, Natte.”
Silence.
“So…” I say, not really knowing what to say.
“I’m taking it your boss beat me to it?” he states rather than asks.
“She did.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“Will you do it – the bio?”
“Do I have a choice?”
There’s a really long pause. I can practically feel his tension radiating down the line.
“There is always an alternative, Shia.” He sounds a little pissed off.
“Sorry,” I recover. “That sounded a little shitty, it’s just a lot of information to process this early in the morning. Especially when I haven’t even had a chance to have a coffee yet.”
“You haven’t?”
“No, and I don’t function without coffee,” I say in a Spanish accent. I’m actually fluent in Spanish, something my mum insisted on, and it does come in handy at times well, mainly holidays in Spanish countries. And my crap Spanish accent always used to make Natte laugh when we were kids, so I’m aiming for just that again.
He chuckles, deep and throaty down the line. It does incredible things to me. “I see you’re still an idiot.”
“I am, and it still takes one to know one.”
“That it does … so you’ll do it?”