“Gabrielle, can you think of any incidents over the last couple of months that this could emanate from?” Kimberly asked. “Any returned plates, food allergies, anything?”
The reviewer had been particularly hard on the food service at the Belleza, claiming the quality of the food was subpar to any other five-star establishments they’d visited. Another review commented that since executive chef Sean Parker’s departure a few months ago, the quality of food had gone down.
“No.” Gabrielle shook her head. “And I would feel terrible if someone got sick at the hotel from anything that I or my staff may have served.”
“Gabrielle, please check with your staff and let’s interview all the servers and hostesses. We have to get to the bottom of this before it spirals out of control.”
“I’m on it,” Gabrielle nodded.
“In the meantime, I’ve gone onto each of the websites and added a commentary on how we’re deeply sorry that we were not able to mitigate the issues during their stay and we’ll get to the bottom of the situation, as excellent service is our top priority,” Kimberly said.
“What can I do?” Robyn offered.
“Continue on with our next events. And if the bad reviews have leaked through to those clients, reassure them that we will provide the highest quality of service for their event.”
“Sure thing.”
“We’ll circle back at tomorrow’s meeting,” Kimberly said. “Meeting adjourned.” Everyone started to filter out of the room, but as usual Robyn and Gabrielle stayed behind.
Kimberly picked up some of the discarded agendas as she walked around the conference room.
The silence in the room was deafening until Gabrielle asked, “You think this is my fault, don’t you?”
Kimberly glanced up. “Of course not. Why would you think that?”
“Because the reviews are primarily aimed at me.” Gabrielle pointed to her chest.
“It’s probably just a disgruntled employee or something,” Robyn offered, patting Gabrielle’s back. She could see that this was really bothering her.
“Gabrielle, I know you’re a good chef. We all know,” Kimberly replied as she continued with her task, “but I have to be impartial and get to the bottom of this.”
“What about supporting me?” Gabrielle wailed. “You know I have always followed the proper precautions in my kitchen. I would never harm anyone.”
“I know that, Gabby.” Kimberly stood up straight. “But I also have an obligation to this hotel to find out the root cause. Please don’t take this personally.”
“It’s pretty hard not to.” Gabrielle stalked out of the room in a huff.
“Damn!” Kimberly slammed the papers onto the table. Everything had been going so well over the past six months since she’d taken over running the Belleza and now this. She fell backward into the chair behind her and sighed loudly.
“You were hard on her,” Robyn said.
“I had to be!” Kimberly responded. “My family has entrusted this hotel to me, Robyn. The burden is on me if we fail.”
“We won’t fail, Kim.” Robyn came toward her and leaned down until they were eye to eye. “You, we,” she said, glancing behind her at the open door Gabrielle had just stormed out of, “have been kicking butt running this place the last six months. Look at all we’ve done.”
“Yes, we have, but we are only as good as our reputation and that’s the one thing we’ve always had going for us. Quality and excellent service.”
“There will always be naysayers, people ready to bring us down.” Robyn reached for Kimberly’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “You can’t let them get to you. You’re stronger than that, Kimberly Parker.”
“Thanks, Robyn.” She squeezed her hand, grateful for her friend’s faith in her. But the niggling doubts continued throughout the day.
Later than night, Kimberly drove over to her parents’ house for dinner. She wanted to talk to her parents and get their insight into what could be going on with the bad reviews. She waited until dessert to bring up the topic.
“One or two bad reviews would have been a fluke,” she said in conclusion, “but four? That’s a record.”
“Does sound unusual,” her mother, Ilene, replied. “If I had to bet money, I’d put it on your competition.”
“The Pinnacle?” Kimberly inquired.
“Logical choice,” her mother said. “Wouldn’t be the first time a company tried to put another one out of business by bad-mouthing them. My money is on them.”
“Sounds pretty sinister, Mama. And not a good way to do business.”
Her mother shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not, but you can’t have your head in the sand, either. I know you don’t have a ruthless bone in your body, baby girl, but there are sharks out there in the water, many of whom would love to take a bite out of an established hotel like the Belleza.”
Kimberly thought about it. Her mother could be right and she would certainly look into it, but her father was quiet. “Daddy? What are your thoughts?”
“Oh, I don’t think you want to know what I’m thinking,” Kurt Parker said.
Kimberly frowned. “Why?” She always trusted his opinion before. What was different now?
“If you have something to say, Kurt, you should just spit it out,” her mother said, eyeing him warily. “No need to mince words amongst family.”
“All right.” Her father sat up straighter in his chair. He clasped his hands together and stared at the two women he loved. “I think it could be Sean.”
“What?” Her mother rose from the chair and it crashed to the ground with a resounding thud.
“Daddy!” Kimberly stared back at him in horror, then glanced at her mother.
Ilene Parker was aghast. “Why would you say such a thing, Kurt, let alone think it? That’s our son you’re talking about.”
“Because!” He pounded his fist on the table. “That boy left this house in a huff, furious because he didn’t get what he felt he deserved, what he thought he was entitled to.”
“I know Sean was upset, Daddy,” Kimberly responded, “but he would never go this far.”
“No?” Her father’s voice rose several decibels. “Didn’t you say that the reviews are targeting The Pearl? Isn’t that where Gabby is executive chef?”
Silence ensued in the room until her father said quietly, “It isn’t a stretch to think that the boy would bad-mouth Gabby because she is now executive chef at a restaurant that was once his, that he felt was his birthright.”
“I can’t hear this.” Her mother shook her head. “And I won’t. I won’t have you accusing my son when he can’t defend himself. Sean may not be perfect but he would never hurt the family like this. Never.” She stormed out of the room.
Kimberly knew that her mother loved her, but she also knew that deep down her oldest son, Sean, had always been her mother’s favorite. He was a mama’s boy, which was why it broke their mother’s heart that he was keeping his distance from the family. It probably hurt Sean, too, because he felt as if their mother—the woman who’d always had his back—had betrayed him by backing Kimberly instead of him. Kimberly wished Sean could see how their mother was sticking up for him now.
“I’m with Mama on this, Daddy. There’s no way that Sean did this.”
Her father shrugged. “If it’s not Sean, then it’s someone else. Don’t be a fool, girl. There’s someone out to get you and you’d better have your guard up.”
Kimberly drove back to her condo that night, upset not just by the bad reviews but that they had caused a rift between her parents. She hadn’t meant to stir the pot by bringing them into this. She’d just wanted some sound advice, but she’d gotten more than she bargained for.
Her father was right about one thing. There was an enemy out to get them. Now she jus
t had to figure out who it was.
* * *
Later that night, she knocked on Robyn’s condo door. Robyn opened the door with a flourish wearing a lemon-colored silk pajama shorts set.
“Hey, what are you doing here?”
“Can we talk?” Kimberly held up a bottle of Merlot.
“Sure.” Robyn motioned her inside. “Come on in.”
While Kimberly made herself comfortable on the couch, Robyn went to fetch a wine opener and two goblets. When she returned, she uncorked the wine and poured each of them a glass. “You know this goes against our healthy eating plan.” She handed Kimberly a goblet.
“Yeah, but we’ll work it off in the gym tomorrow morning.” Kimberly didn’t wait for Robyn; she drank liberally.
“Okay, fill me in.” Robyn sipped her wine.
“Just left my parents.”
“And?”
“We argued.”
“Over?”
“Over who could have it out for the Belleza,” Kimberly responded, taking another generous sip. “I told them about all the bad reviews. And my father said this has never happened before.”
“It’s crazy, right?” Robyn tilted her head back for another sip.
“What’s crazier is my Dad thinking Sean had anything to do with it!”
“What?” Robyn jumped up off the sofa and began pacing the living room. “How could he think such a thing? Sean would never do something so awful. He may be angry about your father’s decision, but he would never bad-mouth the Belleza.”
“Whoa!” Kimberly said, holding up her hands in the air in defensive mode. “I never said I believed that or that my mom did. We were defending him to my father, but you know how the old man gets when he has his mind made up. And...well, it didn’t go well from there. My mother went upstairs in a huff and didn’t come down even when I said I was leaving.”
Robyn stopped pacing long enough to say, “Of course she’s upset. You know Sean is the apple of her eye, just like you’re a daddy’s girl.”
Kimberly smiled. Robyn and Gabrielle knew how close she and her father were. She’d always wanted to be like him. Smart, respected. “Yeah, well, she didn’t take too kindly to Daddy thinking ill of her firstborn.”
“Speaking of, have you talked to Sean?”
Kimberly shook her head. “He made his choices, plus what would I say?”
Robyn came back and sat on the sofa. “I don’t know, but don’t you want to heal this rift between the two of you? You guys have always been so close. Don’t you miss him? I sure do.”
Kimberly glanced at Robyn as fond memories of them hanging together rushed back. She did miss her big brother. He’d always looked after the trio of friends he’d nicknamed “the three amigos.” Now there was a void in her life without him. Ryan had always been a loner doing his own thing, but Sean had always been there for her. “I do,” she finally answered.
“Then perhaps you should give him a call,” Robyn suggested. “You know, make the first move.”
“But what if he rejects me?”
“And what if he doesn’t? You’ll never know if you could make things right between you if you don’t try.”
Perhaps a call to Sean would heal their relationship and his with the family. Kimberly would give Robyn’s advice some serious thought.
Chapter 8
After showering, Jaxon lay back in his bed at his villa. He’d had an intense morning workout and swum several laps in the pool. Yet none of it had been a cure for his Kimberly blues. He hadn’t seen her in three days. She hadn’t been poolside having breakfast with her friends and when he’d gone to the gym at what he thought was her usual workout time, he’d found it empty. He’d tried calling her office several times but was told she was busy. He’d even left messages, which she hadn’t returned.
Was she avoiding him? Had he come on too strong when he’d kissed her the other night after the tasting dinner? He hadn’t disguised the fact that he was interested in her—no, make that intensely attracted to her—and wanted her in his bed. But he’d also thought he’d made it clear that he’d wait until the moment was right. Had he misread her signals? Even though she’d been as initially reluctant to pursue their attraction as he’d been, she had kissed him back that night. No, she’d more than kissed him. She’d responded to him. He remembered feeling her nipples harden against his chest and her arms wind around him.
Was she upset that he hadn’t been more aggressive? Kimberly didn’t strike him as the dominatrix type, but perhaps he was wrong. Didn’t matter anyway. He was out of sorts—all because it had been days since he’d seen a five-foot-seven beauty with legs for miles.
He had to take action. He wouldn’t, couldn’t let this go. Deep down he knew Kimberly Parker was a special woman and he had to see her again. Resolved, he rose naked from his bed to get dressed and find his woman.
* * *
Kimberly was in a foul mood. She hadn’t gotten a good night’s sleep. Last night she’d tossed and turned in bed. Images of her parents fighting had done little to soothe her spirit, and to top it all off, she’d had a sexy dream about Jack again. It had felt so real that when she’d awoken, she’d been extremely horny and her panties had been damp. Unable to ease her stress, she’d finally taken a shower.
Now it was time for action. All night she’d given thought to Robyn’s advice to call her brother Sean. This morning she’d come to the conclusion that she would be the bigger person, that she would reach out to him and try to heal the discord in the family. But when she’d called his cell number, a woman had answered.
Disconcerted to hear a woman on the line, Kimberly had taken several seconds before she spoke. “Umm, may I speak to Sean, please?”
“May I tell him who’s calling?”
“It’s Kimberly,” she replied. “His sister.”
She could hear lots of noise in the background. Construction perhaps on his new restaurant? She heard the woman clearly yell to her brother that his sister, Kimberly, was on the phone. Then she’d heard his distinct masculine voice say, “I’m busy. Take a message.”
And her heart sank. He’d known it was her and he was refusing to take her call. Darn it! She’d gathered all her willpower to pick up the phone, even when she felt he should be the one apologizing to her. She’d tried to be the bigger person by offering an olive branch and he was rejecting her. It was a slap in the face!
She ended the call before the woman could get back on the phone and relay her brother’s “get lost” message. He needn’t worry. She’d gotten the message loud and clear and she was done being a pushover. If he wanted to behave like a child, then so be it. She was so angry she could spit nails and now she had to deal with the bad reviews.
And that was when she ran into the object of her nightly fantasies as he came strolling toward her in the Plaza.
“Jack!”
“There you are,” he said, smiling as his eyes roamed over her. “You’ve been a hard woman to catch up to these days.”
“I’m sorry. I’ve had a lot of hotel problems to address,” she replied smoothly.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yes, why?”
“Well, I’ve been getting the ice treatment from you and I have no idea why,” he responded, “especially after the dinner the other night. I thought we were in a good place.”
“Do you think that entitles you to know my innermost thoughts?” she hissed.
Jack held up his hands. “Whoa! Whoa! I don’t know where all this hostility is coming from because I certainly don’t deserve it. I was actually coming to see if you might want to go off property for the day, but I’ll rescind that invitation before it’s offered.” He turned to walk away, but Kimberly called after him.
“Jack, wait.” She rushed toward him in her Prada pumps.
He stopped, but only to say, “If you want another whipping boy, perhaps you should find one of your staff. At least they are paid to take the abuse.”
“Touché,” Kimberly said. “I’m sorry.” She touched his arm. When he glanced down, she quickly removed her hand. “Truly sorry,” she added. “I’m having a bad day—hell, a bad few days—and I took it out on you. I’m sorry.”
His posture softened and he smiled at her. “All right, that’s better. Care to tell me what’s going on?”
“I don’t know where to begin.”
“How about we go to the spa?” he offered. “We could take a refreshing dip in the indoor pool in the solarium and you could unwind a bit.”
“During the middle of the day?”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m supposed to be working and—”
He cut her off. “And work will be there when you’re done. C’mon.” He tugged her arm. “Let’s go.”
Even though she had work piled high on her desk, Kimberly desperately needed to find an outlet to release some of her stress. Why not play hooky and go off with Jack for a few hours? What could it hurt? When they were done, she could go back and put in a few more hours at her desk.
“Okay, okay,” she said, “but I’ll have to swing by my condo so I can change clothes. Can I meet you there?”
“See you in twenty.”
* * *
Jaxon was already in the water in the solarium when Kimberly arrived. Apparently her other guests were enjoying the other amenities as they had the indoor pool and hot tub all to themselves. He was happy he was already in the pool because when she sauntered in wearing a leopard-print bikini, he instantly felt his erection swell in his swim shorts. Luckily the water would keep him cool, or so he hoped.
Kimberly looked like a goddess. The skimpy bathing suit showed him all he’d known was underneath those business suits she wore. He saw full breasts, generous hips and long legs. Even though she’d pulled her hair into a bun, she still looked hot as hell. He couldn’t wait to loosen the knot and let her hair fan out around her. He groaned inwardly. He was going to have a hard time keeping his hands off her.
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