“He’s looking for an executive intern. You’ll be assisting him with projects we have going on here at the hotel. He’s looking for someone he can mentor. You’ll be in an assistant capacity, but you’ll have a seat at the table for some of his negotiations and business deals.”
Until he asked her to fetch him coffee. “And this is a paid internship?”
“Yes, Mr. Hart made that clear to Mr. Hightower.”
She wanted to ask why they were calling it an internship then. And how would this help with her law degree? Then again volunteering at the food bank wouldn’t make her resume anymore stellar after she graduated. A law degree from NYU should have been enough. Except, now maybe it wasn’t.
All of that would be moot if she didn’t finish her last damn semester. She asked the most prudent question of the bunch swirling in her head. “And may I ask what the salary is?”
“It’s competitive, I assure you. Can you meet with our COO, Tristan Hart, this afternoon?”
Ugh, she had to haul her ass all the way back to the city. “Let me check the train schedule and call you—”
“Mr. Hart will make himself available whenever you get here.”
“All right. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Wow. They just tipped their hand, revealing how much they wanted her. What had Damon told them?
Two hours later, Lexi swung through the brass-plated revolving door at The Sterling hotel. New York City’s prestigious five-star... What the hell happened to this place? The architecture was nothing short of awe-inspiring. Built in the twenties, The Sterling had that gothic vibe with frescoes, marble columns, and carved archways. The furniture, however, looked like it was from the nineteen-twenties, too.
A man with reddish blond hair in a leather jacket swaggered down the marble steps leading to the front entrance. Whoa, beauty overload. Her brain couldn’t take it. Before she could stop herself, she was talking to him.
“Excuse me?” she asked the handsome ginger.
“I can do a lot more than excuse you, gorgeous.” His immediate sexual come-on flew off his lips like he’d been bursting to say that all day.
Before Friday, heat would have risen up in her cheeks, blushing through the compliment. Letting Luke take her home allowed her to soak in the stare of another beautiful man and not feel out of her depth. “Where’s the front desk?”
“Checking in?” he said with a smirk like next he’d ask for her room number.
What was in the water in this part of the city? “No. I’m here for an interview with the CEO.”
He laid sympathetic eyes on her and waved his hand in the direction he just barreled away from. “Back there. And good luck with that.”
What the heck? Lexi tried to catch another glimpse of him, but he zipped away as fast as he appeared. Impressive for a man who had to be well over six foot tall. She climbed several sets of stairs, each tier being a seating area for sad looking chairs. By the time she reached the top, her thighs ached. Some exercise wouldn’t hurt.
The swooshing sound of ice in a martini shaker caught her attention. Lobby bar! A convenient place to get a drink after work. Yeah, because that’s the place to get sloshed every night. In front of her boss.
The click click click of skinny high heels on marble drew her eyes away. Lexi followed the captivating woman strutting deeper into the hotel with a hard case rolling behind her. She picked up the pace and followed, figuring the woman was headed for the front desk.
When Lexi passed an out-of-order escalator, she noticed a well-dressed woman behind a podium flipping through sheets on a clipboard. A gold trimmed sign on the front read: Concierge.
“Can I help you?” the woman asked with a wide smile, her eyes cascading down Lexi’s shoulder and at the pink hair she’d pulled back into a chignon.
“I’m here to see Tristan Hart,” she said, giving her black pencil skirt a self-conscious tug.
“Your name?” The woman blinked and her tone suggested Tristan got a lot of female visitors.
“Lexi Markham.”
The concierge took out her phone and swiped a few screens. “Markham, you said?”
“It might be under Alex.” Lexi kept the annoyance out of her voice.
The woman nodded and without making any more eye contact, said, “Here you are. Follow me. My name is Amy.”
That Fordham fuck up was going to follow Lexi all the way to her appointment to the Supreme Court.
Following Amy, Lexi climbed the non-working escalator and meandered down a corridor leading to a set of double doors.
“Right through here.” Amy opened one door with an elegant swipe of a key card.
The sun shining down through the skylights on the mezzanine level faded plunging Lexi into a shadow as she wandered down the dimly lit corridor. Why did she think a casting couch was in her future? There was dark paneling on the walls and the offices were behind large wooden doors with only a narrow sidelight. She’d gotten so used to glass offices letting miles of daylight drench and perk up any business. This place got lost in time somewhere.
An image of a ninety-year-old CEO flashed through her mind. Forget the coffee, she may have to go running for Depends.
The concierge knocked on the first door on the left while smiling. “I have Alex Markham,” Amy said, peeking her head in.
Lexi heard murmuring and next the concierge waved her in as she waited for the sickly waft of shoulder cream to slap her in the face. A smell hit her all right, but not that throat-closing odor she had associated with visits to her grandmother. Sexy powerful cologne surrounded her. Pure male heat. And holy shit. So not a ninety-year-old. The man who stood up behind his desk made her heart pound. He wore a navy-blue pinstripe suit, a gold tie, and a panty-melting smile until a frown set in.
Oh now, she got it. They wanted a man. She’d show them. If only her skirt was shorter and her heels were higher.
Tristan Hart tilted his head toward her. “Alex Markham?”
“Alexis.” She swayed into the office, listening to the concierge give a giggle before closing the door. “It’s a Fordham typo that’s been following me around for years.”
“Ah. I see.” He put his hand out, his amber gaze not finding her eyes, but her hair. “Tristan Hart. Welcome to The Sterling.”
“Thank you. You sound very happy saying that.” She couldn’t help notice a pride filled gleam in his eyes.
“You’re perceptive. I love saying it. This was my father’s hotel. He passed away three years ago and left it to me and my brothers.”
Brothers. There were more of this guy? Catching her breath, she asked, “Do...do they work here, too?”
“Sort of. Can you excuse me for a moment, please?” When he passed her, his height challenged her sense of gravity. “Have a seat.”
Feeling too anxious, she wandered over to the credenza behind Tristan’s desk and took in the full panoramic view. The wall of windows gave a magnificent peek of the illustrious Fifth Avenue. She hadn’t realized how many floors up she was. But all those front lobby tiers and the hike up the broken escalator, brought her several stories up. Looking straight down, a narrow path below looked familiar. Squinting, she caught the street sign on the nearest corner. 47th Street.
Wait a minute...
CHAPTER FIVE
Luke
“We may have a problem.” Tristan hurried into Luke’s office.
He put down the partnership agreement with Chevalier, a hotel brand that’d been courting him to include The Sterling in their luxury points program. The original offer had sounded terrific, except the more he dug into the contract, he found himself drowned in complicated details. Now, he just wanted to bag the whole idea.
Only, Tristan made snagging the partnership a top priority for him. After the renovation, his brother wanted to unveil The Sterling 2.0 as a Chevalier partner.
“And that is?” Luke grunted, dreading more operations bullshit was coming his way.
“I have your candidate in my office and there
was a mix-up.” Nothing rattled his brother, so what in the hell happened?
“What kind of mix-up?” he asked, thinking Tristan was being his over-cautious self.
“I had Katy from HR call the applicant Damon recommended.” The corners of Tristan’s eyes crinkled, revealing lines Luke hadn’t seen before. “Only, he’s a she.”
“Damon’s a she?”
“No,” he said with a sneer. “The applicant is a woman. I must have read the name wrong on the recommendation letter.”
“How?” He pitched his head back. “Never mind. Just do a fake interview and tell her you’ll get back to her. Then call the other guy.”
“Katy had called him, too, as a backup. He’s not available.” Tristan paced in front of Luke’s desk with his hands balled into tight fists.
“Call your friend back and ask for more dudes.”
His brother stopped pacing and glared at him. “And say what? We don’t want to hire a woman. Do you have any idea what kind of backlash we would face if that got out? You realize people write bad reviews for fun these days.”
“Then tell your friend I can’t be trusted around single women. She is single right?” Luke found it hard to believe this simple mix-up stumped his brilliant brother.
Tristan shook his head, his rumpled reddish-brown hair gently moving. “You don’t ask those questions, either. Fuck man, you’re a lawyer. Where the hell have you been?”
“Saving people’s asses, Tristan.” Luke rose from his seat now, annoyed. They had called him a Fixer. Lawyers fixed problems.
“Sounds more like you’ve been up them.”
Luke rounded the desk and marched toward his brother. “I had two assistants when I was with my firm. One came close to wiping my ass because I was so fucking busy. Tyler Harrington was a big-ass practice. Partners got a fucking red carpet rolled out for them. I didn’t deal with any of this petty administrative bullshit.”
Tristan huffed, keeping his cool. “You’re not at your law firm anymore, Luke. You’re not a lawyer now. You’re my goddamn CEO. Dad gave you that title. If you want to blame anyone for having to deal with petty administrative bullshit, blame him. But get in line. I’m doing my best here.” His brother got up in his face. “And for the love of fucking God, you better be wiping your own ass.”
“What’s all the shouting about?” Laney asked from the doorway, looking pale. Her muted gray dress wasn’t helping her skin tone. But she always dressed conservatively. Tristan was flashy enough for the two of them.
Again, Lexi’s sparkling pink hair and red dress from Friday flooded like neon in his mind. He and his usual black or charcoal gray suits, like the one he had on, kept him in the mysterious column. Lexi laid it all out there, hadn’t she?
Laney closed the door and went to her fiancé. His hands closed around her hips and a silent murmuring passed between them. She’s pregnant and they’re stressed. Damn it. He knew it. Tristan had to take his eye off the ball around here and worried Luke would fuck up. That was it, wasn’t it?
Step up. Now. A baby’s on the way. Tristan deserved that happiness. He was a bitter kid, after their dad left. This was a second chance at the life he’d wanted growing up.
“I’ll take care of this.” Luke headed for the door to leave the office and find the female applicant.
Tristan snapped away from Laney and grabbed his arm. “Oh no, you don’t.”
“Fine. Just hire the woman. If she got recommended from Fordham over all their other students, I’m guessing she can do the job. And I won’t ask her to wipe my ass.”
“Good grief, what did I miss?” Laney asked.
“Nothing.” Tristan cupped her hand and kissed it. “I swear to God, Luke. Don’t fuck this one up. I need you. Okay?”
“Okay.” He nodded and yanked his brother into a hug. An extra tingle shot through him when Laney hugged them both.
Damn, that felt nice.
Lexi
LEXI STUDIED THE SLEEK executive desk focusing on the framed pictures of Tristan Hart hugging a stunning woman. That man could double for Captain America. Wow.
Nerves pooled in her stomach as she searched for something to tell her if she were in the same building as last Friday night. She ran her hands along the floor-to-ceiling mahogany bookshelves. No other pictures there. Just...books.
Maybe she’d gotten turned around last Saturday morning leaving Luke. This was a hotel, not an apartment building. Besides, even if Luke lived here, he was a lawyer.
The worst that may happen, she’d see him getting coffee in the morning or in the pool. Pool sex. God, she’d love to have pool sex with him. She exhaled. This was just a close call.
The door opened and Tristan swept back into the office. She took him in, getting that déjà vous. Something about the shape of his eyes and his broad shoulders.
“I’m sorry about that, Miss Markham.” He sat back at his desk, gesturing for her to sit as well.
“You can call me Lexi.” She smoothed her pencil skirt and sat. “If that’s the proper protocol here.”
“It is.” There was no hint of what he’d say next. “So, Damon sang your praises. I can’t see a reason why we shouldn’t hire you. I didn’t get a resume, though. Are you working now?”
“No. I was in law school, but I had some issues and had to drop out this semester.” She drummed her fingers on her bare knee.
“You’re a law student?” He scribbled a note on what looked like an email printout. “That’s excellent.”
“Yeah, hopefully I’ll finish up...soon.” She kept the emotion out of her voice.
“Do you mind if I ask why you dropped out? I’m limited to what I can ask about your personal life. But I hope you’re okay, healthy.”
“Yes, I am. Very healthy. Money issues, Mr. Hart,” she said, rubbing two fingers together. “My Fordham tuition was free because my father was killed on 9/11.”
“I’m so sorry,” he said, jotting that down, too.
“I knew I wanted to go to law school after Fordham, so we saved up and never applied for any loans.”
“We?” He cocked his head toward her.
“Me and my mom. She never remarried. And please don’t write that down.” She held out her hand. “This all happened so fast and I didn’t get a resume over to...Damon before he reached out to you. But I am familiar with the hospitality business. My mother runs a resort at the Jersey Shore.”
Now emotion filled his eyes. “That’s excellent. I can’t believe our luck finding you. This hotel got handed to me when my father died. This place has made me and my brothers a lot of money. I don’t mind sharing my good fortune.” He wrote something on a piece of note paper. “This is the monthly salary for the internship.” He slid the offer to her. “I don’t know when you plan to go back to school, this summer or next September. But if you stay long enough to help us close a deal with Chevalier, I’ll pay your remaining tuition as a bonus.”
She went breathless looking at the monthly figure. And he’d pay her tuition? Her stomach fluttered like butterflies were going crazy in there.
“And...” Tristan stood up. “Since you live so far away, you’re welcome to a room here at the hotel. We have blocks set aside for employees. Stay when you want. It will be yours while you’re with us.”
“You’re kidding?” This all sounded too good to be true. Okay, where’s the casting couch? Shall I take my bra off, Mr. Hart or do you want to do it?
“I’m not. But I won’t lie to you. This job won’t be easy. My brother is... He can be difficult.” Tristan’s voice got edgy with that one word.
The catch. Was the brother ninety-years old? No, just a bastard. Hmmm. Okay, made sense. Bait and switch. This utterly beautiful man drew her in and now the evil twin would slice and dice her into pieces. “Will I be meeting your brother soon?”
“He’ll charm your... He’ll be charming. You can meet him first if you want? But he gave me authority to hire you. I’d like you to work for us, Alexis.” Tristan crossed
his arms, looking nervous like she may not accept.
Yeah, right?
“I don’t see how I can say no to this.” She stood and tugged her skirt past shaking knees. “Thank you, Mr. Hart.”
“You’re very welcome. Can I tell you a secret?”
A shiver sped down her spine. Oh, God, here it comes. His brother is a murderer. An ex-con. “Tell me.”
“My fiancé is pregnant.” Of all the things he could have said to shock her, that wasn’t it.
She caught her breath, hoping the unpleasant news about her new boss was officially over. “Congratulations. To you both.”
“No one knows. Not even my brother. We’re keeping it to ourselves. You know, the first trimester thing.” The words whooshed out of him, leaving him breathless.
She’d heard couples kept the news to themselves, but found it odd his own brother wasn’t in that circle of trust. “That seems strange since I’ll be working for your brother.”
“I’ll tell him soon. But I need my brother focused on this Chevalier deal. The contract we got was insane.” He swaggered up to her. “He has other things to worry about, being CEO and all, and I’m focusing my time on the upcoming renovations.”
She let go of an exaggerated exhale. “Oh, thank God you’re sprucing this place up.”
“That bad?” His eyes crinkled, faint lines only made him more handsome. Like...Luke.
“I was kind of jarred.” She hoped honesty was part of their new friendship.
“All the more reason to do that deal. My brother’s ready to tell them to go, you know what, themselves. They invited us to see a few of their other hotels. They specialize in one-off’s like us. We’re unique since we’re not a chain. That’s what makes us special. But being under the Chevalier partnership program will open us up to guests who want that exclusive feel in a hotel.” Tristan’s passion about The Sterling shined through in spades and his voice crushed her with his sincerity. “We need this, Alexis. Please keep my brother in line to make sure it gets done.” He winked, his eyes flashing gold. “I hired you. So only I can fire you. I’m giving you a lot of power over him.”
Bossy Billionaire Page 5
