Stay The Night

by Parker, Ali

  Resolving to appreciate the view by grabbing a cocktail on the deck with Tiffany after our last few tasks of the day were done, I set off to find my friend. My heels clicked on the marble floor as I made my way across the relatively quiet lobby.

  There had been another group of guests to check in late this afternoon, but I’d shown them to their rooms while Tiffany was tallying up just how many of what types of rooms we had left open. She smiled when she saw me approach.

  Her tired green eyes were tinged slightly red and her hair was coming loose from the braid she had it in, but her smile was happy. “We had another great day.”

  “That’s awesome. I really can’t believe how many more people we’re attracting.”

  “Neither can I, honestly.” She shook her head, then chuckled. “I could have done without that drunk guy demanding the honeymoon suite this afternoon, but at least he provided some entertainment.”

  I groaned, giggling when I remembered how the man insisted his new wife was on her way to meet him here. He wore no ring, no reservation and no wife in tow, but he seemed convinced she would be there in no time.

  It wasn’t the first time we’d gotten a guest like him. It was funny and sad at the same time. It took all kinds to make a world and we had them all. Especially since we started getting busier, we were getting in more characters. It made things a lot more entertaining, Tiffany was right.

  “Are you ready for the night time checks?” I asked, rounding the desk to grab a couple of documents I’d printed earlier.

  Tiffany nodded. “Already busy. We’ve only got one suite available for the rest of the week and we’ve got no more superior rooms.”

  “None? Really?” Excitement bloomed in my chest. This was as close to full capacity as we’d been. “That’s fantastic.”

  “It really is,” she agreed. “There’s no way corporate will make cuts to our branch with how well we’ve been doing, right?”

  “I don’t know,” I mused. Flipping through my documents, I found a graph I had made showing the sharp spike in our recent bookings. I handed it to Tiffany for a look. “This should be enough, but I guess there is no guarantee.”

  “Did you send them this?” She lifted the graph, her cheeks flushed with pride. “If you haven’t, you should do it. Numbers don’t say things as clearly as this does. They need to see the numbers shooting through the roof, not just one or two changed numbers on a spreadsheet.”

  “The guy who reviews those numbers is the same one who helped us achieve this.” It was hard to remember sometimes just who Blake really was. It still felt kind of surreal to me to know he was one of the top three people in the entire company.

  It was one thing to have suspected he was rich and powerful from the first moment I met him, but it was something completely different to know just how rich and powerful he actually was. Memories of what he’d been like when we slept together came rushing at me.

  The way his muscles tensed and quivered above mine, how his eyes screwed shut when he was overwhelmed with pleasure. Wetness pooled between my legs at the thought. It sent a thrill through me to know I could do that to him.

  But now that I knew just who I had brought to his knees when he crawled onto the bed with me, I was in awe that my body could reduce a man like him to a trembling, moaning mass of pleasure.

  Tiffany brought me back from my naughty trip down memory lane when she cleared her throat. “Earth to Aston. Do you want to go do your checks at security so we can get out of here sometime before midnight, or are you planning on sleeping in your office again?”

  I shook the lusty haze fogging up my brain away. “Sorry. I was thinking about—our numbers.”

  Tiffany smirked. “Our numbers? Sure. Okay, if you say so. I’m pretty sure from that face you were thinking about the guy behind the numbers, but let’s not split hairs about it now.”

  Heat crept up my neck to my cheeks, but I conceded. “Let’s not split hairs about it.”

  She laughed. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited to be able to tease you about a guy like this? Forever. That’s how long. Forever!”

  “You’ve only known me for a couple of years,” I pointed out.

  Tiffany rolled her shoulders. “So? I thought we weren’t splitting hairs about minor details.”

  “Let’s stick to that,” I agreed. “Weren’t we talking about the branch?”

  “Yes,” she chuckled, but the smile faded from her lips as she glanced at the graph still in my hand. “Do you think we’ll have any cuts given how productive we’ve been these last few weeks?”

  “I hope not.” The last of my dirty thoughts disappeared at the somber expression on Tiffany’s usually cheerful face.

  “Let me go check in with Ned, then grab my stuff before I go home. We really just need to get some rest. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

  Tiffany nodded as I went to go check in with our head of security. He assured me that everything looked quiet and that there shouldn’t be any problems tonight. It was pretty much the same conversation we had every night.

  After I left the security control room, I made my way down the hall to my office. Most people had already gone home, and my footsteps echoed in the narrow passageway. As usual, I only had a few things to gather from my office and I was done, switching off the lights less than a minute after I entered.

  Almost back to the door leading to the front desk, I heard a familiar voice in the lobby. My heart stuttered to a stop before it started beating double time. I strained my ears as I picked up my pace.

  Could it really be? Or were my ears deceiving me? It sure sounded like Blake’s voice coming through the drywall. I pushed through the door, excited and anxious at the same time.

  Blinking fast, my lips spread into a wide smile. My ears hadn’t been deceiving me after all. Right there in the lobby, only a couple of yards away from me stood Blake.

  The man was somehow even more handsome than I remembered him to be. His short dark hair had grown just a little since the last time I saw him, and there was a shadow of facial hair growing on his strong jaw. Dark blue eyes framed with thick black lashes were fixed on Tiffany.

  They flicked to me when he heard the door opening and a slow smile curled on full lips when he saw me. “Aston.”

  Stunned by his sudden presence, my feet were rooted to the spot for just a second and my mouth went completely dry. “Blake. Welcome back.”

  Welcome back? Who did I think I was speaking to? This was his hotel, not mine. I was a bit confused about how to act around him now but decided to just treat him the same. He didn’t know yet that I knew who he was, and it didn’t really matter, did it?

  “You’re looking much better than you did when you left,” I remarked, hoping I could still speak to him like that despite the fact that I now knew he was one of the big bosses.

  He breathed out a sigh. “Thank you. I’m so sorry I left without an explanation. I was actually hoping to catch you while you were still here tonight. We really need to talk.”

  My heart beat kicked into overdrive and I couldn’t stop the excitement blooming in my chest. I’d been waiting to hear those words from him for over a week, and I was finally going to get to spend some time with him.

  Sure, we would have to get business out of the way first, but I was hopeful that after that we could get back to being just Blake and Aston. “I need to talk, too.”

  He motioned to the bag standing behind him. “I was hoping we could do it in private and I have to go drop this off in my room. Do you want to come up with me and then we can make a plan from there?”

  I nodded, trying to ignore the girly thrill running through me at being invited to his room. I was a grown ass woman, but even grown ass women could be excited about something as simple as being invited up to a single, hot, and ridiculously powerful man’s room, right? With a glance at Tiffany’s broad smile, I knew that cancelling our plans wasn’t a problem. “Sure. Let’s go.’

  Chapter 30

  Blak
e

  Aston’s scent, a vanilla mixed with something slightly floral, permeated my senses. She smelled so damn good.

  I swiped my key card over the reader and pushed open my door. Everything was exactly as I left it and walking in even felt a little like coming home. It was a feeling I hadn’t had for the longest time.

  Aston followed me inside. Her footsteps were muted by the thick carpet, but I could feel her behind me. Finally, alone with her, I gave in to the urge I’d been fighting since I first saw her downstairs. Rolling my bag to the side, I turned, grabbed her wrist and tugged her into my arms, wrapping them tightly around her.

  Breathing her in, I closed my eyes. “Fuck. It’s so good to see you.”

  Surprised by my sudden move, she was stiff for one terrifying second where I was afraid she was going to push me away, but then she relaxed into me. She burrowed into my chest, her thin arms coming up to form a vice grip around my waist. “It’s not bad to see you either. Are you okay?”

  “Fine.” Was I? Not really. She wouldn’t be either once she heard what I had to say, but there was no getting around it. It had to be said.

  It was time to tell her who I was and what their branch might be facing. And I would do it tonight, I just wanted a couple of minutes of relaxing with her before I did. A few minutes before I unleashed a storm, I wasn’t sure we would be riding out together.

  “Have you had dinner yet? I haven’t and I’m starving.”

  Slowly, like she didn’t really want to do it, she released me. “If you want we can grab something from the kitchen?”

  “Yeah.” I was glad she hadn’t suggested going to one of the restaurants. I really just wanted some time alone with her, especially given what I had to tell her. I didn’t want to have to break the news in a crowded dining room. “Let’s do it. Is there somewhere we can talk while we eat?”

  “You mean other than in here?” She looked around my room, then frowned. “There are some conference rooms on the ground level we can go to after we hit the kitchen, I guess. None of them are booked for tonight.”

  “Sounds good.” There was a reason I didn’t want to eat in here. I wanted to have this conversation with her on neutral ground. If she wanted to come back to my room with me after, I wouldn’t complain. But it was important to me that she did it after having all the facts.

  Aston led me to the hotel kitchen, making small talk by filling me in on all I had missed while I was gone. She told me how much busier the hotel was and how all of our efforts were paying off. I was glad to hear it. Danny hadn’t emailed me the latest numbers yet, but if they were as good as Aston was making it sound, there would be no cuts necessary here.

  I let her do most of the talking for now. Soon enough it would be my turn and there would be a hell of a lot for me to say then. I followed her down the back stairs of the hotel, staying a step or two behind her, admiring her ass on the way.

  Just because there were some serious things to talk about didn’t mean I hadn’t missed looking at her. Her narrow waist was encased in a fitted black top that ended just above her ass, which was perfectly showcased in a pencil skirt I wanted to peel right off of her.

  Christ, I wanted her bad. I wanted to explore every inch of her body and caress every last bit of her smooth, milky skin. My cock thickened at the thought of running my hands over that ass, along her shapely hips.

  The back staircase was deserted. Most of the staff had gone home for the day and guests didn’t typically use these stairs. It would be so easy to pin Aston against the wall, to take her right here.

  But I couldn’t.

  We had to talk first. After our talk, well, I could hope—I ran stats and figures through my head until my dick got the message that now was not the time, then tried to figure out what Aston was busy telling me about.

  “The shuttle service was a stroke of genius,” she was saying. Oh, right. She was updating me on the branch. “And the specials in the restaurants have brought in so many more people.”

  “That’s good news. Have you reported the latest numbers to head office yet?” There. My head was back in the game.

  Aston nodded, crossing a landing to push through the doors on the lower ground level where the kitchens were. “I’ve been sending them in every week. Twice last week, since they increased so dramatically.”

  “I’m proud of you,” I told her honestly, as smells from the kitchens started filling the hallway we were in. Garlic, bread, seafood, chicken. They mingled in the air, creating a mouth-watering aroma that made my stomach growl.

  Aston flashed me a smile over her shoulder. “Thanks, but I would never have gotten it right without you.”

  When we got to the kitchen, the Chef offered us the chicken that was the meal of the day and bagged it up to take with us. “I want to know what you think of the food, Ms. Manager. It’s divine, I just know it, but I need to hear it from you.”

  Aston giggled at the portly, jovial chef and nodded her head up and down. “But of course. Everything you make is delicious.”

  He waved us out of the kitchen after making us promise to deliver honest feedback and we made our way back up one flight of stairs to the conference room. Once we were settled, my mind started racing. I had no idea where to start telling Aston everything I needed to tell her.

  Searching for the right words, I looked around me. We were seated around one of the smaller conference tables in a room that was glass on three sides. Outside the windows, there were palm trees swaying in a light breeze. They were lit up by streetlights situated along the promenade. Beyond it was the golden beach and the dark ocean.

  I considered asking Aston to take a walk with me after dinner, to tell her on the beach instead of in a conference room. But I didn’t want to stall anymore. It was time to come clean.

  Now or never. I took a deep breath, wishing it could have been never. But that wasn’t how I rolled.

  “I haven’t been completely honest with you,” I started, expecting more of a reaction than the one I got.

  Aston calmly chewed her food, glancing down at the table before motioning for me to continue. The words came out in a rush. “My last name isn’t Carlton. Carlton is my mother’s maiden name and my middle name. My real last name is McAllen. I’m Wayne McAllen’s son.”

  There, I said it. I waited for surprise to color her features or for a burst of anger to come. I half expected her to call me a liar and to run from the room screaming. Instead, she didn’t look surprised at all.

  If anything, she looked relieved. “I was wondering when you were going to tell me.”

  My jaw threatened to drop. “You knew?”

  She nodded, embarrassment flashing in her eyes.

  “After you left, Tiffany looked you up,” she admitted. “I was going to wait for you to tell me everything yourself, but then she found out and I just couldn’t wait anymore.”

  She wasn’t making excuses. She was fessing up, her tone factual. I didn’t mind that they looked me up. I would’ve probably looked me up too.

  As surprised as I was though, it was going to make tonight much simpler that there was one less bomb I had to drop on her. It also meant I wasn’t going to have to deal with the anger I was preparing for, which was always a bonus. I’d had plenty of anger this week. There was enough in the tank to last at least a decade.

  “Where did you go?” She asked, eyes darting between mine and her food like she was still embarrassed about looking me up. “You wouldn’t tell me before you left.”

  I grinned sheepishly. “I couldn’t. Not without telling you who I was, and I didn’t have time to tell you everything.”

  “Why not?” Curiosity burned bright in her eyes. I could see it had cost her to hold that question back for so long. I appreciated her giving me space. More so now that I knew she had found out who I was so soon after I left.

  I wasn’t sure I would’ve been able to show the restraint that she had under the circumstances. It was also obvious to me that she’d kept her mouth
shut about it around the hotel. No one I saw acted any differently around me tonight than they had before.

  No one knew about Dad yet, but I could trust Aston with the full truth. I answered her question honestly. “I got a call from my brother that morning when you went to the office. He said our Dad had a stroke and they didn’t know if he was going to survive. I had to get to him.”

  Aston gasped, her eyes growing wide. “Of course. I’m so sorry. What—is he okay?”

  “He is,” I nodded, then sighed and dragged a hand through my hair. “Or I guess he will be. He’s still unconscious, but the doctors say he’ll survive. They’re expecting him to wake up any day now.”

  “Shit.” Aston breathed. “I’m so sorry you’ve had to go through that, but I’m glad he’s going to be okay.”

  She turned her head to the window, mulling something over before sliding her gaze back to mine. “Can I ask you why you’re trusting me with this information? The public obviously doesn’t know. It would have been all over the news by now if they did.”

  I inhaled deeply. It was a damn good question. One I didn’t even fully understand the answer to. I gave her the best one I had. “I know you’re not one to run to the media or the staff with the news. I trust you.”

  Her eyes narrowed as a line appeared between her eyebrows. “Why? How can you trust me with something like this? I mean, no offense, but we don’t really know each other that well.”

  “I know you well enough.” I told her, trying to explain as best I could. “I spend my life reading people. I know who you are.”

  She held my gaze for a long moment. Something passed between us. Intangible, but still it hung thick in the air.

  I wanted to lean forward. To kiss her until she was breathless. The moment felt right for it. She knew who I was and why I’d left, and she was still here. Aston’s lips parted, green eyes burning into mine.

  But then she ripped them away and started asking questions about my life and my job. The rest of our dinner passed in a blur of being completely honest and candid with a woman for the first time in a very long time.