Dangerous Secret [The Pinnacles of Power Prequel] (BookStrand Publishing Romance)

by Jessica Lauryn

  She blushed. “Thank you. So…whatever prompted you to get started in this business? Obviously you know your way around the system but, what was your initial interest? Is it fun running a hotel front desk?”

  “It has its moments.” His eyes glimmered. “I’m sure it’s not as exciting as making milkshakes, but what could be?”

  Abigail reddened. Unable to hold his gaze, she turned away.

  A moment later, Ryan said, “Actually, there’s a much bigger draw for me than the job itself.”

  “There is?”

  He nodded. “I’m trying to put myself through medical school.”

  “Really?” Abigail was impressed. Very impressed. Doctors were dedicated to helping people more than anyone else she could think of. And their responsibilities weren’t exactly what you’d call easy. They worked very long hours, and from what her cousin Trevor had told her, they faced life and death decisions every day. Wanting to take on the challenge of that lifestyle didn’t seem to fit the profile of a criminal.

  “That’s amazing,” she said. “How exactly did you get into that?”

  Ryan shrugged. “Why does anyone do anything? Doctors are in high demand. They’re paid decently.”

  “I believe they’re paid a little better than decently,” Abigail said, studying his suddenly tense expression. Feeling like she was losing him again, she said, “So you weren’t the little boy running around with the doctor’s kit?”

  He didn’t answer.

  “It must have been the flu epidemic last winter that convinced you.”

  “Must have been,” Ryan muttered.

  “Yea, I suppose that could be one reason. But I can’t imagine there isn’t more to it than that.”

  His hand hit the table and Abigail jolted as he snatched the pen from beside her. He began writing frantically.

  As she tried to understand what had just happened, she decided that she must have been correct in her thinking that Ryan wasn’t the rich man she’d first thought. Though, she didn’t exactly understand what a guy trying to put himself through medical school needed with a sports car. Image was clearly important to him. It made her wonder how far he’d be willing to go to create one.

  “You know, I’m kind of doing the same thing,” she said. “I’m trying to finish up my degree at Granite State College. It gets expensive. I can’t even imagine the costs involved with getting a medical degree.”

  “Education, huh?” Ryan stroked his chin. “Yeah, I could see you as a teacher. You’re energetic, well-spoken.”

  “You think so?” Abigail said, unable to keep from showing how much the compliment meant to her. “It’s definitely where I see my life going. For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to work with kids and bring joy into their lives. It’s such a short time, where they get to be completely innocent. I want to make that time as special for them as I can, give them a sense of happiness that will hopefully last a lifetime.”

  “That’s quite an aspiration,” Ryan said. “I mean, growing up is a part of life and it isn’t always so innocent. Don’t you think it’s better to prepare young children for that world so they can learn to protect themselves from it, instead of trying to pretend it doesn’t exist?”

  “Okay, boss,” Julia said as she swung the door open. “They’re ready to check in guests like reigning champs.”

  Kimberly and Sheldon entered the room behind her, and Ryan’s smile faded. He stood, facing the group with the same stiff expression he had for most of the morning.

  “Great.” He looked toward the hall. “I’ll go find Mark and tell him that we’re ready to get to work.” As he came into the doorway, Kimberly stepped in front of him.

  “Excuse me, Ryan—I mean—Mr. Newberry. Would it be all right if I talk to you for a minute? I have a couple of questions I want to ask you.”

  Ryan’s blue eyes widened then narrowed. He stared at Kimberly for a moment then said, “Would the rest of you excuse me? I’ll join you in the break room in just a minute.”

  Abigail followed Julia and Sheldon as they came through the door. But instead of entering the next room, she hesitated. Swearing, she turned around and stood to the side of the door as she attempted to get a good viewing angle.

  Ryan’s back was turned toward her, but Abigail could see Kimberly’s face clearly. Kim was standing beside Ryan, even more closely than she herself had been a moment ago. She laid one manicured hand against his shoulder. And instead of pulling it away, as Abigail would have expected her to, a widened smile formed on her glossy lips.

  Abigail told herself to keep walking, but this nagging voice in her head insisted that she stay. She watched as Kimberly reached into her purse. She took something from inside it and placed whatever it was into Ryan’s hand. Ryan slipped the mysterious item into his pocket.

  Kimberly perched on her toes. Leaning in, she planted a kiss against Ryan’s cheek.

  Abigail slapped a hand over her mouth. She turned away, clutching her queasy stomach.

  The woman had done her a favor. Yes, she definitely had, Abigail assured herself as she leaned her spinning head against the wall. Obviously Ryan and Kimberly had been acquainted with one another prior to working at the hotel. And even if for some reason that wasn’t the case, Ryan’s own agenda was still highly questionable. Whatever he was really doing there, it didn’t need to become her problem.

  Ryan was her supervisor. But, he didn’t need to have anything more to do with her life. Unless, of course, he was the killer that was.

  My God, he couldn’t be, Abigail assured herself, wondering where that horrific thought had come from. Some cash and a business card hypothetically meant nothing. But for the life of her, she just couldn’t get the idea out of her head.

  Every suspicion at this point was merely speculation. But the crazy thoughts continued to burn in Abigail’s mind as she slipped, undetected, from the scene.

  Chapter 8

  Julia Dyson fanned her hot cheeks and pushed her wavy hair away from her face before pushing the cart in front of her down the hall. Nearing the final door, she swiped her key and opened up room 234. She groaned. Much like the last three rooms she’d cleaned, the sheets were tossed around on the bed and there was a thick layer of dust on everything.

  Julia flicked the light switch and turned on the vacuum. This was definitely not what she’d had in mind when she decided to earn herself some extra cash. She’d worked in several hotels when she was a teenager, and even served on the housekeeping team once. Her father had told her that it never hurt to do a little hard work once in a while. But…really? Asking the new staff to clean up after the slobs who’d been here last was unreasonable. Considering how disgusting the place was, they ought to have the board of health come in there and certify it sanitary before having a bunch of twentysomethings with minimal workplace experience and an extreme aversion to dirt and grime come in and attempt to do damage control. Maybe that guy really had killed himself. Maybe he’d jumped out the window to get away from the filth.

  Spotting a large clump of dust beneath the patio curtain, Julia inched forward. Her ankle hit the vacuum cord and she staggered sideways, almost tripping. Catching her balance, she cursed as her left foot kicked the plug out of the socket. As she bent down to put it back into the wall, a loud whistle from behind almost caused her to jump a foot in the air.

  “Damn,” Shane said. “I obviously picked the wrong place to do my day’s work.”

  Realizing she’d all but given him a free floor show, Julia rolled her eyes. “Don’t you have anything better to do? Like check out Playboy’s finest on that fancy computer the hotel purchased you while you improve your game of online poker?”

  “Now why would I be doing that when there are rooms to be cleaned? Besides”—Shane dropped his voice—“what I’m looking at looks pretty damn good to me.”

  Julia hid her smile. She did her best to act nonchalant as he proceeded to scan her legs and rear. “Hey! I shouldn’t have to tell you that our employee
handbook has some very strict policies against sexual harassment.”

  Shane clasped her arm as she went for the switch. Leaning into her, he whispered, “It’s only harassment when the attention isn’t welcomed, Julia.”

  Julia stepped back. Feeling her nipples tighten beneath her clothing as he fixed his gaze beneath her collarbone, she said, “And the no-dating thing? Not that I’d call this little aggravating-assault a request for a date, but how exactly do you plan to get around that one, slick?”

  Shane smiled. As she attempted to cross her arms, he took her hand and brushed his fingers over the surface. “Come on, Julia. I know you aren’t looking for a guy who plays by the rules.”

  Julia wasn’t. But based on what she’d seen over the last couple of weeks, she wasn’t entirely sure she trusted this guy. Shane was stunning—California golden-blonde hair and abs you could crack walnuts on. But the fact that he was as into her as she was him seemed too good to be true. And his bad-boy persona was really starting to push the bar, at least as far as the whole employer and slave thing went.

  “Behave yourself, boss. Or I just might have to go over that pretty head of yours.” With a smile that probably didn’t hide her desires as well as she would have liked, Julia walked around him and turned on the vacuum.

  * * * *

  “Tell me again why the day shift has to begin at eight in the morning. The hotel isn’t even open yet. Who exactly are we here to impress?”

  At the sound of Julia’s voice, Abigail woke her from her mini-nap against the side of the west wing building. Having mixed feelings about the interruption, she put a hand over her forehead to block the sun, which was shining brightly against her face. It wasn’t as if Julia was the only one who had something to complain about. The past week hadn’t exactly been a picnic for her either.

  “Beats me,” she replied, though the time of day was the last thing on her mind. It seemed no matter what she was doing—working, sleeping—she just seemed to keep replaying it. Ryan holding Kimberly Russell. Kimberly, leaning in close, pressing her lips against the corner of Ryan’s mouth.

  She shook her head as she struggled to focus on what Mr. Becker was saying.

  Mark whistled over the employees. “Listen up, people. We’ve got a grand reopening in just three weeks, and this place isn’t going to finish itself. Now, Shane and I have worked out the details of what needs to get done today, and we’re going to come around and tell you how each one of you is going to contribute to that goal.”

  There were several grunts and groans as Shane got beside Mark. Clapping his hands together, he said, “I’m happy to let you all know that the front office is basically complete. There’s still some work that needs to be done in the kitchen, but you’ll be glad to hear that none of you will be working on that today.”

  There were a couple of cheers and Shane had to quiet the group for the second time before continuing. Thinking about the front office, Abigail envisioned Kimberly kissing Ryan’s cheek for the millionth time. That kiss hadn’t been random. She couldn’t explain it but there’d been more to it than an employee flirting with her supervisor, or even two old friends reconnecting. She tried to figure out what it was as Shane weaved his way through the group, telling each person what his or her assignment would be for the day.

  As the assistant manager got closer, Abigail crossed her fingers behind her back. She really hoped that she would be working by herself. She was feeling so flustered she didn’t want to be around anyone.

  “Does it really take three guys to mow the lawn?” Julia poked Abigail’s shoulder. “Why are we even bothering with that right now, when we’ve got an entire four-building establishment to clean?”

  “That we do,” Shane said, stepping in front of them. Looking from Julia to Abigail, he said, “Let’s say we break up this breakfast club, ladies. Abigail, you can work on the pool. Julia, you’ll be cleaning rooms in the old wing with me.”

  “Highlight of my life,” Julia said, rolling her eyes.

  Shane’s eyes drifted to the building farthest up on the hill. Doing so, he missed the dreamy smile that had formed on Abigail’s best friend’s face. Abigail shook her head. The poor guy had no idea what he was getting into. She almost considered giving him a heads-up.

  “That is an awfully big job,” Ryan said as he approached the group. Looking toward the farthest end of the property, he said, “I’m sure I speak for everyone here when I say that cleaning an entire wing is more than a two-person task. Besides, you really ought to have another man over there doing the heavy lifting. No offense, Julia.”

  “None taken,” Julia said drily.

  Shane crossed his arms. “Thanks, Ryan, but I’m gonna need you to stay here and help Abigail with the pool. You’ll need to clean the entire inside, check for cracks, and fill them in. I’m sure you’ll agree that isn’t something she should be doing by herself.”

  “No, it isn’t,” Ryan said. He muttered something indiscernible under his breath.

  Abigail looked at the pool. Built into the cement, the once-white crater was drained of water and looked filthy on the inside. She’d never actually cleaned a pool before, but she imagined it was going to take several hours to get it to the point where they were ready to fill in any cracks.

  Several hours alone with Ryan. She couldn’t even begin to imagine how that was going to go. Things had been so awkward between them since she’d seen him with Kimberly. Not that she could care less what he did, or who he did it with. But she didn’t imagine this task was going to be a lot of fun just the same.

  A short while later, she and Ryan stood beside the pool. They’d brought over the hose, which was connected to a water spout on the side of the east wing building. A bucket with brushes and cleaners lay on the ground in front of them, along with a putty knife, caulk, pool patch, and a machine that looked like a vacuum which Ryan had told her was called a grinder.

  Figuring she wasn’t going to be much help with the repairs, Abigail poured some cleaner into the bucket. Picking up the hose, she said, “I’ll bet you never had to do anything like this at your last job.”

  “Not often,” Ryan said, sounding distracted.

  Abigail looked at him. He was staring at the old wing again, which, after passing by that smashed window countless times over the last few weeks, she’d become positive was where the murder had taken place. Good thing Julia had been the one sent over there and not her. Whether she was right about the location or not she would have been more than a little inclined to look around. She doubted that would have gone over too well with her tag-team partner, who—Abigail reminded herself—might very well have his own reasons for not wanting people walking around over there.

  As if on cue, Ryan turned in her direction. He glared at her as if demanding to know why she was staring at him the way she was.

  Clearing her throat, Abigail asked, “So why did you quit your old job, anyway?”

  Ryan gave the hose a yank. “Are you always this nosy, Abigail?”

  Abigail’s face burned with heat. Trying not to sound as hurt as she felt, she replied, “No one’s ever said that to me before. Julia, okay. But me?” When he failed to apologize, she said, “I wasn’t the one who followed me and Alec out to the parking lot the night we all played pool.”

  Ryan’s jaw tensed. Saying nothing, he disappeared to the east wing building. Abigail heard the water nozzle creek.

  Approaching the pool a moment later, Ryan said, “Look, you don’t know Alec like I do, all right? His agenda concerning women isn’t always what you’d call…gentlemanly.”

  “What do you mean?” Abigail blinked.

  Ryan’s Adam’s apple bobbed against his throat. “Alec wants what he wants and he takes it. I just think sometimes he takes it too far.”

  “Wait a minute. You don’t think that I…that Alec and I…that we…”

  Ryan’s eyes widened. “You didn’t?”

  “No, of course not!” Abigail exclaimed. Lord, had he taken that the
wrong way! She had intended to set the record straight that day in the file room, but then the cabinet fell. Still, she’d never dreamed he’d take her taunting so seriously.

  Ryan blinked as though waking from a trance. “When I caught up to you guys in the parking lot you were gone. So was Alec. So was his car.”

  “Well, if you’d bother to check, you might have noticed that my car was gone also,” Abigail said, hands on her hips.

  Ryan wiped his sweaty forehead.

  “You look relieved,” she observed.

  “Well…” He laughed drily. “You’re a big girl—you can do what you want. It’s just that I know my friend. And I wasn’t entirely sure you knew what you were getting yourself into.”

  Abigail smiled to herself. She had thought this might be the case once before, and now once again she was getting the distinct feeling that Ryan was jealous. It was far-fetched, but she liked the idea of it. Unlikely as it probably was, the possibly that it might actually be true was very, very exciting.

  “How do you turn this thing on?” she asked, trying to sound as casual as possible.

  Ryan reached for the hose. Placing his large hand over hers, he pulled the lever toward him. Water flowed from the nozzle.

  They stared at each other, saying nothing, neither of them quite letting go. Water splashed against Abigail’s sandals and she loosened her grip. When she looked up, Ryan had wandered off in the opposite direction.

  They took turns as they worked, alternating working with the hose and the brush. As the dirt on the inside of the pool was washed away, the cracks in the cement only seemed to become that much obvious. With as much work as they’d gotten done, they still had a big job ahead of them.

  It was a very warm day out, and by ten o’clock it was downright scorching. Abigail considered making a trip to the lobby to see if she could find some sunscreen. With a clear sky like the one they had today, her arms and legs were libel to burn to a crisp.