by Bella Forbes
By Bella Forbes
* * * *
Copyright © 2016 Bella Forbes.
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be distributed or reproduced in any form whatsoever, mechanical or electronic, including recording, photocopying, or by any informational storage or retrieval system, without written, expressed, signed permission from the author.
Dear Reader,
You can sign up for my newsletter and get my next book at a discounted price. I promise I will not spam you. I will send you advance notification before I launch my next book, so that you can get it at a discounted price. Use this link to sign up:
http://bit.ly/AuthorBellaF
Halle Poole frowned at the long line in front of her. She was already running late for her job as housekeeping at the hotel where she worked and her boss, Sandra, didn’t like her. Those two things together made her break into a cold sweat as she looked at the line of people in front of her. The baristas seemed to be moving extra slow this morning and she contemplated blowing off the coffee and leaving. Thinking better of it, she checked her patience and continued in the line. This would be her only opportunity to have coffee until her lunch break and this morning she needed it. Blowing out a breath through puffed cheeks, Halle tapped a foot on the floor, her black flats making a clicking noise. The person in front of her turned around and frowned at her and Halle gave her a huge fake smile. After what felt like hours, but Halle was certain it was only ten minutes, she was at the front of the line.
“What can I get for you?” The barista asked.
“I’ll have a skinny vanilla latte, soy milk, with a double shot of espresso. No whip,” Halle said looking down to dig in her purse for some cash.
She came up with a wad of ones and the barista gave her a strange look.
“Name?” The barista asked with slightly less enthusiasm.
“Halle,” She said counting out change to pay the woman.
The woman flashed a smug smile as Halle paid in exact change, pennies and all, and Halle stepped to the side to wait for her coffee, her morning latte ritual ruined by a long line and a rude barista. While she waited, Halle looked around. The coffee house was full for a Tuesday morning and it wasn’t lost on Halle that everyone was just as annoyed as she was about waiting in the long line. Her eyes skimmed the crowd and rested on a man with dark hair in a high end three piece suit. He was looking directly at her with his cold ice blue eyes and Halle had to do a double take before realizing it. She squirmed under his stare and the urge to look away was strong, but Halle wasn’t known for backing away from a challenge. So she held it a beat longer, butterflies rioting in her stomach.
“Halle?” An employee of the coffee house asked, holding the latte up for all to see.
She nodded and another person handed her the finished latte and she hurried to the door. The man was all but forgotten as she stole a quick glance at her watch which let her know that she was indeed going to be late. Cursing under her breath, Halle pushed through the doors and began to walk swiftly. The six block walk to the hotel from the coffee house never seemed so far.
****
Aleksander Sokolov watched the mystery girl run from the coffee house, his brain itching with the need to know more about her. Halle they had called her. From the moment she entered the café he watched as she stood rather impatiently in line, tapping her black flat clad foot on the floor. She seemed deep in thought, and oblivious to the fact that others were watching her. Aleks wasn’t, however, and he didn’t miss the stares the beautiful woman garnered from a few men, and even one woman, patron. She didn’t miss his stare though and while most women would have backed down from the intensity of his gaze, Halle held her own, her large hazel eyes boring into his. Her curly blond hair almost reached her waist, and she flung it over her shoulder with annoyance as she dug in her purse for the cash to pay. He also noticed her chewing her bottom lip with her teeth and the habit caused Aleks’s dick to stir in a way he was a bit confused about. Never had he been so attracted to a random woman in a coffee house before but there was something about this woman that he couldn’t stop thinking about. To think, Aleks would have never noticed her had he changed his mind and decided his morning meeting was more important than a little caffeinated bliss. Now he was just glad he changed his mind and told his secretary to reschedule it.
“Mr. Sokolov?” A voice asked, and Aleks looked up from his reverie at a tiny mousy woman standing next to his table.
“How can I help you?” He asked, unsure why she was interrupting him while he was enjoying his coffee.
“I apologize, but there’s a phone call for you,” The woman said, fear in her brown eyes.
Aleks nodded, dismissing her and approached the area in the back of the counter where the phone waited for him. He was used to women looking at him two ways; with either fear or lust. There was never any in between. Not until this morning when Halle had looked at him with interest.
Sighing he put the phone to his ear. “This is Aleks Sokolov,” He said with irritation.
“Aleks, I apologize to call you while having your morning coffee. I know you hate to be disturbed, but I knew you’d have your cell off and this was an important matter.” The voice of Aleks’s colleague, the person he hated the most, John Reynolds, grated in his ear.
“What do you need, John,” Aleks said with annoyance.
“Now, settle down. I wanted to inquire about the morning meeting you rescheduled. Was there a particular reason? I was supposed to be involved with the case seeing as how I am the senior partner under you but I won’t be available to sit in on the day you rescheduled.”
Aleks growled under his breath, tired of playing games with his law partner. Enough was enough. He didn’t answer to him or anyone. This was his company and if he wanted to reschedule a meeting he could damn well do it.
“I don’t appreciate you interrupting me with petty questions. Work it out, John. If you need to be at the meeting then make it happen. I’m done discussing it.” Aleks growled, hints of Russian slipping into his voice, and slammed the phone back on the cradle, making the timid woman jump.
He didn’t apologize but instead headed back to his table to finish his now cold coffee. He didn’t have time for John’s shit and he’d make sure he knew that in the future. Sitting back in his seat he winced at the temperature of his coffee and slammed it back on the table, the smooth black liquid sloshing over the top and spilling on his sleeve. Aleks cursed again, this time loudly, and several people turned to look at him. Ignoring them he mopped up the coffee and sat back, pretending to read the Wall St. Journal. What he was actually doing was picturing Halle again as she sprinted from the coffee house; the woman’s long, toned legs gracefully swallowing up the distance to wherever she was headed. Aleks wished he knew, because at the moment he wanted nothing more than to have those long legs bare and wrapped around his waist. Shaking his head he put the paper down. What was he doing? He had to get to work before John caused a ruckus among his staff and stirred shit up. He was good at that. Gathering up the mess on the table, Aleks tossed everything in the trash, including his ruined coffee. It didn’t matter, when he arrived at his office, four blocks away, he’d just send an intern to get him another. Slamming open the closed double doors, both at once, Aleks slung his briefcase bag over his shoulder and headed to his car. It was time to get to work.
****
Several hours later, Aleks looked up from his computer screen and re-read the same sentence he had been reading over and over again. He ran a hand over his face, the slight stubble of a fiv
e o’clock shadow rasping over his hand. There was no way he was going to get through this deposition before the meeting in three days if he couldn’t concentrate. Halle’s face and lithe body kept popping into his mind when he should have been focusing on other things. Shutting his laptop with a silent curse, he stood and headed to the bar top in the corner of his office. He dropped a few ice cubes into a glass and topped it with two fingers of scotch, throwing it back quickly before pouring another. It was almost five o’clock anyway, so there was no reason he couldn’t have his own happy hour, especially since it seemed he’d be here for a few more hours. Moving away from the bar with his third glass of scotch in his hand, Aleks settled onto the small love seat opposite his desk. His office was large. The far left wall held his huge mahogany desk and shelves of law books. The side he sat on had the small bar top lined with liquor and tumblers, a love seat and coffee table. Two chairs sat in front of his desk and a large expanse of wood floor lie in the middle of the two areas. It was cozier than your average office and Aleks had made sure when he took over and had it renovated a few years ago that it fit all of his needs. There was even a feature to frost the glass windows and doors at the touch of a button for a little more privacy. He currently had them frosted as he sat and sipped his glass of scotch and let his mind wander to the mysterious woman from the coffee shop.
As he tossed back the final swig of the amber liquid his phone intercom buzzed. He suppressed a groan, setting the now empty tumbler on the bar top and headed back to his desk. He lifted the phone with a scowl. His secretary knew not to interrupt him after five o’clock unless it was an emergency. He was technically ‘off the clock’ even though he usually stayed well past seven to finish up. This job was his life and he worked too long and hard to let it fall by the way side.
“What’s the issue, Miriam?” He barked, leaning over the phone.
“I apologize, sir. But I just wanted to remind you of your meeting with the potential client tonight. He wants to meet at the El Sol Lounge which is located inside of the Pacific Sands Hotel and Casino at eight and I just wanted to make sure you remembered before I left. I know how you forget sometimes.” Miriam was the only other woman in Aleks’s life who wasn’t afraid to tell him like it was.
Aleks chuckled. “You’re right about that and I did forget. Sorry I snapped at you. I appreciate the reminder. See you tomorrow.”
Aleks hung up the phone and frowned. The last thing he wanted right now was a business meeting. Exhaling loudly, he stood up and brushed off his slacks with his hands. Time to get to work.
****
Halle shook her head. Why was she still thinking about the man from this morning? Peeking at her watch, she realized she had only one room left to clean and then she was off for the night. Sighing with relief, her back in knots, Halle stood and pushed the housekeeping cart to the next room. She got right to work, pulling her rubber gloves on with a snap and headed to the bathroom. This was the absolute worst part of the job, cleaning up the bathrooms, and Halle liked to do it first to get it over with. She set the little plastic caddy with all of the cleaning supplies down on the white marble floor and began to scrub away. Twenty minutes later she packed the cart up and stood at the door surveying her work. Why was she still working for the hotel and making no money? She was really great at her job because of her attention to detail and had contemplated from time to time starting her own cleaning company. But that required money and Halle just didn’t have the funds to do that at this point in her life. She surveyed the room one last time. It was so clean it should have been sparkling. The hotel really was very beautiful and was some place Halle wouldn’t be able to afford to stay if she needed a room. The rooms were large, some of them so big that they had more than one bedroom and a kitchenette. There was crown molding and tray ceilings and marble all over the place.
There were worse places to have to clean the bathroom, she thought, stepping from the room and locking it behind her.
While pushing the cart to the service elevator, Halle thought about the sexy man from the coffee house again. Her heart began to pound as she remembered the way he looked at her. His icy blue eyes seemed to peer directly into her soul and Halle shivered at the thought. She wasn’t so sure why she kept thinking about him, it wasn’t like she was going to ever see him again. Frowning, Halle stepped onto the elevator. That thought made her a little disappointed and she wasn’t sure that made any sense. She didn’t know him so why did she care if she never saw him again.
Because I saw the potential for something with him, she thought as she jammed her finger onto the elevator button.
Halle exited the elevator once it hit the ground floor and pushed the cart through double doors to the housekeeping area. This is where they kept all of the housekeeping supplies and where their locker room was located.
“Hey, Halle, are you off for the evening?” Another woman asked as she tied her apron onto her waist.
Halle nodded. “I’m exhausted and my back is killing me. I can’t wait to go home.”
The woman nodded and waved as she walked away and took her cart to begin her shift. Halle moved to her locker, and took her apron off, tossing it into her bag. Next she removed her uniform and added that to the bag. Because of the quality of the hotel, there were showers for employees in the locker room. Halle used them on occasion but since she was just going home she decided to skip it today. She pulled her t-shirt over her head and was grabbing for her leggings when her phone rang. Digging in her bag she managed to retrieve her phone before the person hung up, but she didn’t have a chance to check who it was.
“Hello?” Halle said, trying to wrestle her leggings on with one hand.
“Halle, I’m so glad you finally answered. Did you forget that you had to cover my shift at the bar tonight?” Halle’s roommate, Jessica, practically yelled into her ear.
“Oh no!” Halle said, jumping up from the bench, “I totally forgot. I’m so glad you called because I would have gone all the way home and then I would have been late for your shift.”
“It’s alright. I am on my way up to the hotel to drop my uniform off for you. Then I have to head straight to the airport for my flight to my parents’. Thank you so much for doing this for me. I know you don’t care for waitressing,” Jessica said, her voice not nearly as high or hysterical any longer.
They said goodbye and Halle hung up, replacing her phone in her purse. It looked like she was going to have to shower after all.
****
Halle frowned at her reflection in the mirror. The uniform Jessica dropped off was very skimpy; the skirt barely covered her ass and the top was so low she was sure her belly button was showing from the top. At least it was black so it minimized the sleazy look, although Jessica was two inches shorter than Halle and the skirt definitely showed it. Halle turned around one more time and looked at the back of the skirt. She tugged it down as much as she could, the scrap of fabric just covering her cheeks. The worst part was her lack of clean underwear; because since she hadn’t anticipated showering at the hotel, Halle had to either wear dirty underwear or go commando. Going commando in a tiny skirt wasn’t the best thing in the world but she didn’t have much choice. She needed the extra money and Jessica needed her help. Sighing, Halle tossed her hair over her shoulder and slammed the locker closed. Jessica was her friend and she would do what needed to be done to help, even if the damn skirt made her ass hang out.
Heading towards the elevator, Halle tugged the skirt again, trying to will away the self-consciousness that was sitting on her chest. It was only one night. Lucky for her the bar was in the lobby of the hotel so that she didn’t have to venture into the streets in this outfit. She punched the number for the lobby floor and leaned back against the wall with her arms folded over her chest. There was no way this shirt fit Jessica the same way. Not only was Halle two inches taller than Jessica, she was also two cup sizes bigger, her double D’s spilling over the neckline. Stifling an irritated growl, Halle stepped from
the elevator and headed towards the bar. She walked across the lobby quickly, her arms still folded across her chest, trying to ignore the stares she received from the patrons and employees. All that she could hope was that no one she knew saw her. When she reached the bar, which was actually a night club, she ducked inside, hurrying to the employee area to report for Jessica’s shift. A few employees gave her questioning looks but she ignored them and went straight into the manager’s office. Jessica told her that he knew Halle was filling in and that she should report to him as soon as she arrived.
“Who’s the new girl?” She heard someone ask just as she pushed through the door and closed it behind her.
The manager looked up from his desk and smiled at her. “You must be Halle,” He said, looking her up and down. He lingered too long on her chest and Halle’s skin began to crawl.
“Yes. I hope I’m not late.”
The manager waved his hand and stood. “Not at all. Jessica was supposed to be waiting on a meeting in a private room so that’s what you’ll be doing. I trust you have serving experience?” He moved closer as he spoke, walking around Halle as she stood stock still in the middle of the office.
Halle nodded but didn’t speak.
“Perfect. You seem to fit well in Jessica’s uniform and I just know you’ll do well tonight,” He said, running his hand over Halle’s arm.
Revulsion spread to her stomach and almost made her vomit, but she held it back. This was for Jessica and she wouldn’t mess it up.
“Let’s go out and I’ll introduce you to everyone. You’ll be working alone tonight but just in case you need to fill in again it would be nice to meet the rest of the wait staff,” He said, slapping Halle on the ass as he walked by.
Halle’s face burned red but she didn’t say a word. Instead she followed him out the door and stood next to him as he introduced her to the rest of the people who worked there. Almost all of them were women but there were two male bouncers and one male bartender. They all seemed relatively nice, but Halle didn’t have a chance to speak with them because the manager ushered her from the room and into the private area where she would be working. He showed her around and told her how to serve and where the entrance to the kitchen was and that the room had its own bar. Halle just nodded, so much so she felt like her head would detach from her neck, as he spoke. When he was through he wished her good luck and left her alone in the room. Halle took a deep breath. The patron would be there soon and she needed to set up. Five minutes later the door swung open. Halle was standing by the bar, a drink waiting for him on the top of it. The man entered and a breath caught in her throat. It was the man from the coffee house.
