He lowered his head and their eyes met. His were the color of a black night. He searched her eyes, then growled fervidly: “Why you? Why only with you?”
He cursed, withdrew and reared off her. He sat with his hands in his head for a moment, then he got up, pulled his clothes on with ire radiating from him. At the door he turned around, his eyes fenced with hers.
“Don’t ever hide from me, Clarissa. You will not achieve anything by it, apart from making matters worse for yourself. Never hide from me again! Next time I might not be so merciful. And be warned, I will be here at ten tonight.”
At her gasp, he swung around and walked through the door.
“Be here!”
She snapped her gaping mouth shut with the click of the door closing behind him, amazed at the audacity of the man!
The Princeton Hotel won the most coveted trophy on the island and every hotel employee beamed. The Pirate Festival’s hosting trophy was nothing more than a locally handcrafted replica pirate ship with the winner’s name on a plaque, and no other reward attached to it, but it was the prestige to be voted the best host hotel on the island that mattered.
Every year the hotels went out of their way and made every effort to impress the judges in an effort to beat what their opponents have to offer. The guests and the locals then have the opportunity to vote who they thought offered the best entertainment, competitions, etc.
This was the third time that The Princeton won the award since Clarissa started and everyone around the table praised Clarissa for all the hard work that once again secured them the winning title.
She laughed and waved the praise away. “This is due to all of us pulling equal weight. Every single staff member worked twice as hard as usual, and I can only thank all of them for their hard work, dedication and support for this years’ festival. I believe this year was the best ever, and we can only get better going forward.”
Miguel agreed that it was the best festival he has ever attended and how proud he was of his team at the hotel.
“Tomorrow Clarissa and I are going to think of something to award everyone for all the hard work. I have also decided that as my final token to everyone to payout a mid-year bonus in June next year.”
Applause erupted around them, the senior staff that were present close-by beamed at the additional bonus prospect and Clarissa knew that before nine the following morning every employee at the hotel would be aware of it. Then what he said registered.
“What do you mean as your final token?”
He shifted uncomfortably, glanced at Raymond and his mother, Cecile, who arrived the day before and cleared his throat.
“I am not a stripling youth anymore, and I have decided to lay down the reins, or rather hand them over. I am passing The Princeton Hotel Group over to Ray.”
The silence around the table was deafening and Clarissa felt her heart constricting, tightening until she couldn’t breathe anymore. She looked at Raymond and saw him scowling at his uncle.
“And when did you make this startling decision, dear uncle and why now?”
He held his emotions in check with difficulty; he smelled a rat, or rather, he smelled manipulation!
Miguel shifted again, took hold of Retha’s hand in his and smiled down at her. The smile she gave back to him lit the room around them. She was obviously one of the few ecstatic about the news.
“That was the reason for the trip here, as well as for holding our anniversary party here. I was going to announce it then, but I guess my mouth ran away with me.”
“And why have you not said anything to me about this before?” Raymond demanded in his usual direct manner.
Cecile tapped him on his sleeve. “Come now, Raymond. Surely, you always knew you would become the owner of the Princeton Group. It is your birthright, after all.”
Ray shook her hand off and with aversion snarled: “Like hell I did, and like hell it was!”
Cecile gasped: “How dare you talk to me that way!” Her voice rose shrilly, and attracted attention from those in their close proximity. You could actually see people stretching their necks to hear. Miguel cleared his voice.
“Maybe now is not the time to discuss this. I’m sorry Ray; I did intend to talk to you before the party, but as I said… Let’s not spoil this evening for everyone else, we’ll talk later.”
Raymond shifted his gaze to Clarissa and she swallowed with difficulty. What would this mean for her future with the Princeton group? A slow smirk curved around his mouth, as if the same thought just occurred to him. He now held her future in his hands!
Next to Raymond, Cecile fumed. Even though she was ecstatic at Raymond receiving the Princeton Hotels reign, she was livid with Miguel. Her gaze fell on Clarissa and the hatred flooded her to the bone. What was he thinking having the party here? He knew she was here! If not for that little tart, her relationship with Raymond would not have suffered.
It was since she left that he withdrew from her, his own mother! She thought at the time if she told him that Clarissa got the job by sleeping with one Miguel’s’ directors at the time, things would get better. Instead, it got worse and now they hardly saw each other. She even had to threaten an invitation out of Miguel to join them.
She knew that Miguel did this purely because of the woman across the table. He never believed the story Cecile told Raymond, even when Henry Scott confirmed the tale … at a very expensive payoff by her of course. The fact that he found out the truth a few years later when Henry was fired were where his guilt came in, especially as he continued to withhold the truth from Raymond.
She managed to convince him that it was for the best at the time. That the fact that Clarissa left Raymond to pursue a career on nearly the other side of the Continent was proof that she did not really love Raymond and was only interested in her own career, clinched it for him. He agreed not to say anything to Raymond, believing that he was doing the right thing. More so due to them trying to bury the rift in their past at the time, Miguel wanted to keep Raymond close to him and not upset him further.
Now, it was clear that the guilt was riding him. Glancing sideways at Raymond, she noticed the heated look in his eyes when he looked at Clarissa. She clamped her lips together. One way or the other, she would keep them apart. He does not belong with her. She was nothing but an opportunist, using men to achieve her own goals.
When one of the floor managers asked Clarissa to dance, she accepted eagerly; anything to get away from the scrutiny of Raymond, and the glowing hatred in his mother’s eyes. She still battled to come to terms with Miguel’s announcement and what the future held for her with Raymond in charge.
She forced herself to relax and swung to the music in Wayne’s loose hold. They chatted in general and she actually started enjoying the dance. As soon as the music ended, another colleague grabbed her until she eventually pleaded exhaustion, and was about to turn away when her elbow was caught by a hard hand closing around it.
The heat against her side told her who it was and she stiffened. His voice was deep and the barked, “This dance is mine,” boded no resistance from anyone, not even herself.
He drew her tight against him and they started swaying on the slow tune the band was playing. His hand gripped hers so tightly she winced.
“A dance is supposed to be enjoyed, not torture!”
He looked down at her and realizing what he was doing, relaxed his hold on her hand. He kept her on the dance floor dance after dance, loosely but firm for fast numbers, tight and flush against him for slower ones.
Through it all, her senses buzzed. He aroused her without even trying. Her skin tingled where he touched her, even where he was not. The heat sizzled through her body to settle low in her loins.
True to his word, Raymond came to her every night for the past three nights and they spent every night making love half the night. He never stayed to sleep with her and that made it feel so cheap, and yet she could not deny him whenever he walked through the door.
Ev
ery touch of his hard body against hers on the dance floor reminded her of a touch of his in bed, and she moaned softly. His hold on her tightened.
“At least this time no one can say you slept with the boss to get to the top. You are already sleeping with me…”
She gasped and tried to pull away. He only drew her even tighter against him.
“So, seeing as you can’t dangle sex in front of me … what more have you to offer me, Miss Langston?”
The tears gathered and burned her eyes, her chest throbbed with distress and her heart shattered in a million pieces. Over the past two weeks, she naively thought that maybe he would come to love her again. She pushed against him frantically and this time he loosened his hold.
“Why do you always have to spoil everything? Why do you always have to be so cruel? Oh … how I hate you at this moment!”
With tears coursing down her cheeks, she swung around and stumbled outside. She pulled her shoes off, and ran down the garden pathway and onto the beach and kept running until eventually the burning in her chest forced her to stop. She crumbled to the sand, heaving sobs racked through her body.
Raymond started after Clarissa when his mother barred his way. “Ray, come talk to me. We have not seen each other for ages!”
He tried to shrug her hand off again, but she tightened her hand on his sleeve. He growled: “Not now, Mother.”
“You always say that! You never have time for me! Goodness Raymond, I am your mother! Surely I deserve to be treated with some respect and dignity.”
His mouth tightened and he looked down at her dispassionately.
She was the woman that gave him life but being a mother was something about which she had no clue. His years of emotional neglect and verbal abuse at her hands were proof of that. In addition, her lies … that one big lie … were something he would never forgive her for.
His lips in a thin line, he turned towards her, forcing his feelings back. This was not the place to have such a confrontation, which he knew would turn ugly, and besides, he wanted his uncle present when he challenged her with his knowledge of her lies.
“So, Mother dear, what would you like to talk about?”
Clarissa enjoyed her morning cup of coffee when Miguel walked through her office door. A slight headache pounded in her head, probably from all the crying and lack of sleep. Hopefully the make-up she put on this morning hid all the telltale signs.
“Ahh, just in time, I see! How is my favorite Hotel Manager this morning?”
“Good morning! Good to see you so cheerful after the bomb you dropped on us last night! Would you like some coffee?” At his nod, Clarissa buzzed Bette with the instructions.
They chatted for a bit about the Pirates’ week and the previous nights’ awards until Bette brought the tray through, not only with coffee, some warm, buttered croissants as well.
“Thank you B, you are a jewel.” He bit into a croissant and rolled his eyes in appreciation. He waited for Bette to leave before he turned back to Clarissa.
“My announcement last night … did it upset you much?”
He watched her closely and she squirmed under his direct gaze, but decided to be very honest with him.
“Not at first, but then it really hit me that my future is now in Raymond’s hands. With our history, I am not sure what he will do …”
“I would not worry about that too much. There might be many issues to be resolved between the two of you, but Raymond knows you are an excellent Hotel Manager.”
“That might be, but what’s to stop him from not renewing my contract in three months’ time?’
Miguel looked at her with hooded eyes.
“Does it still matter so much, Clarissa? Managing this hotel? Working for the Princeton Group?”
His question caught her off guard and she stared at him wordlessly for a moment. Her mind wandered back over the past six years, so far away from everyone she loved. Her family, losing Raymond, and tears burned in the clear gaze she lifted to him.
“Looking back now, I’m not so sure it ever mattered that much. If not for what happened nearly six years ago when I went back to see Raymond … I would probably not even have ended up working for Princeton at all.”
“What do you mean? When did you go to see him? He did not say anything?”
“He didn’t know. I realized within four months of arriving here that I made a mistake. That I loved him too much and did not have a future without him. So I got on a plane and went to Manchester; I went to his office and when I opened the door, he was in the process of seducing a very pretty, petite blond woman.”
The remembered pain at what she saw shot through her heart again and she sighed.
“I guess I could not blame him, and I now know it was Linda, although I still hurt at the thought of him turning to her so soon after I left. At the time, I just broke down and came back here in a trance. I was in survival mode and all I did for the first two years here, was to work, work and work.”
Miguel watched her with regret gleaming in his eyes. So many misunderstandings so many painful lies! He had to set things right. Raymond deserved to know the truth about Henry Scott. He should have told him long ago!
It was only after Henry Scott confirmed the lie Cecile told him, that Raymond decided to give in to Linda’s request. His childhood friend, diagnosed with terminal cancer and she had less than two years to live. She always secretly loved Raymond and desired to have a baby before she died, to leave something of herself behind. Raymond was shocked when she made the declaration to him and immediately told her he could not marry her. She was like a sister to him; he would never be able to make love with her to give her the child she desired.
Then he heard the lie about Clarissa’s infidelity, and he became a hard, closed man. He still refused to marry Linda, but he agreed to give her the child she desired so much and supported her until she breathed her final breath. She made sure no one would contest that Robert would be his when she died and he was a St Claire from the day he was born. Her parents loved Robert very much, but accepted her wish that he grew up with his father.
Miguel opened his mouth to tell Clarissa the story and snapped it shut again. It is something she should hear from Raymond, not from him. Silently berating himself, he changed his mind, and quickly told her about Linda, but omitted the story about Henry Scott. Clarissa listened to him not saying a word, tears slowly trickled down her cheeks. When he finished, she wiped her cheeks dry.
“He really didn’t marry her?” Her heart sang when Miguel once again confirmed it. Somehow, that hurt somewhat less. “Thank you for telling me, it does not make it any easier though.”
“I know … maybe one day you will overcome all these obstacles.” She nodded silently and looked at him with honesty shining in her eyes.
“To answer your question, Miguel, no, working at this particular hotel doesn’t matter anymore. At the Princeton Group … you’ve done so much for my career, I will be sorry to have to go, but even that does not matter so much anymore. Work, a career even, does not matter so much anymore.”
She lifted sad eyes to him and whispered. “Not without love …”
Raymond turned away with a frown marring his forehead from where he stood just outside the office door. He heard only her last response of the discussion and felt thoroughly confused.
Now it did not matter! Six years ago, she could not get away quickly enough! Clearly, the love she declared for him were exactly as his mother had said. False! She only used him as a stepping-stone in the Hotel industry. His fist hit the wall next to him and he flinched at the pain.
Maybe this was another tactic of hers to get Miguel to persuade him not to fire her! She would realize very quickly that a pretty smile and a lying mouth would not sway him again.
This time there was no Henry Scott to seduce!
Chapter Eight
Miguel’s guests started arriving the same day and Clarissa made a point of dealing with them personally. By six that aftern
oon, she had a pounding headache and rested her head on her folded arms behind her office desk.
Bette tsk’ed at her from the door, and she lifted her head. Her vision blurred and she realized that she had developed a full-blown migraine. She did not sleep at all the night before and her eyes were still puffy from all the tears she shed.
“I think you need to go and rest. You are as pale as a sheet! Are you okay?”
Clarissa lifted a weary hand to her forehead. “I have a pounding migraine, and you are right, I will have to go and lie down, I can hardly see, everything is so blurry.”
That distressed Bette immediately and she rushed around the desk to assist Clarissa. She tried to wave her away. “Bette, I’ll be fine, I am sure I’ll make it on my own.”
She swayed as she rose. “Yeah right! I can see that you can! Now stop talking, I am helping you to your cottage and basta!”
On their way down the garden path, Miguel and Retha came across them. He immediately took hold of her other arm, concern apparent in his eyes.
“What is the matter?’
“Migraine.” Bette responded.
“Oh, you poor thing! Here, Bette, let us take care of her and you go and take care of everything so she doesn’t have to worry about the guests.” Reluctantly Bette handed her over to the two St Claire’s and turned back to the hotel.
Slowly the threesome made their way to her cottage, but at the turn-off in the path way they turned left instead of right and she protested: “No, that way…”
Retha shook her head. “No way am I leaving you alone at this point. You are as weak as a baby and clearly in a lot of pain. As a migraine sufferer myself, I know exactly what you are going through. You are going to stay with us until you are better.”
“No … Please …” Staying in the same house as Raymond? Never!
She was still trying to turn them around when Raymond and Robbie came across them.
“What’s going on?”
He demanded briskly. Miguel explained briefly and the next minute he picked her up and carried her down the path to Miguel’s house as if she were as light as a feather. Totally ignoring her feeble protests.
Cayman Desires Page 9
