by Natalie Ann
“Aw, that was sweet of you.”
“Get out of here, Patrice,” he said, trying to hide his smirk. So much for being tough since everyone saw through him.
She walked out of the door laughing. His staff had his number most days but only talked or acted like that in his office or when no one else was around. Otherwise it would put a dent in his authority.
Hunter went back to signing the checks when his phone rang. He picked it up. “Yes, Marcy.”
“Eli is on the phone for you.”
“Thanks.”
Eli Bond was his cousin that built Bond Casino four years ago. Not all businesses on the island had been around for decades. They were still growing with each branch of the family finding their own niche somewhere along the line.
Some of the Bonds had money that they acquired themselves, some held civil service jobs and blended in with society on the island, others were freeloaders waiting for a handout.
Like every family known to mankind, there were also the black sheep. Eli wasn’t one of them and since he and Hunter both had similar businesses they talked the most.
“Eli,” Hunter said. “Handing out money today?”
Eli laughed on the other line. “Not unless you want to come to this end of the island. You need to play to win.”
Bond Casino was at the north end of the island, two miles from Romeo Port. Having the ports named Romeo and Juliet just fed into the lore of Amore Island. It was a good marketing tool that his family had tried to capitalize on years ago with just about everything they did. Then why were some like his father running from the black tales as if he had lions on his butt looking for their next meal?
Why was Hunter trying to hide from what should be his destiny if the history proved itself? Because he’d given up on the whole “love at first sight” thing years ago when every relationship he’d had flipped over like his ancestor Malcolm’s ship almost did before he found the island he was searching for.
There was no middle ground it seemed. If he wasn’t hearing about the island’s legend then he was hearing about Great-great grandpa James’ womanizing ways.
“I don’t have time to play. I’m too busy working. Unlike you who is probably walking around all day watching people pull the arm of a slot machine.”
“We know the truth to that,” Eli said.
“So what can I do for you today?”
“I want to get together with you and a few of the others and see if we can get some packages set up to get your guests coming to the casino. Thoughts?”
“Always a good idea. If we can’t all meet, just put your ideas together and send them on. That’s what conference calls are for.”
Eli just snorted. “We are no more than forty minutes tops from one end of the island to the other and yet we have a hard time getting together. Why is that?”
“Because we are all busy,” Hunter said.
“Fine. I’ll start it that way and see what we can do. Do you have anyone going into Boston this week?”
“I’ve got someone going over tomorrow to pick up office furniture. There might not be a lot of room in the van. What do you need?”
“Just some chocolates I ordered for a date. I can have them delivered to the office first thing for your man to get them for me.”
“You’re such a romantic,” Hunter said.
“There is more sarcasm dripping from your voice than blood off of a vampire’s fangs at midnight.”
“Glad you caught that.”
“Hard to miss,” Eli said. “Come on, Hunter. The ladies love the romance. You’re a Bond…what is wrong with you? Maybe if you put some more effort into it you’d find you’d want to be a little bit more romantic yourself.”
“Who has time?” Hunter said. “Speaking of which, unlike you, I’ve got shit to do. Send me what you’ve got on the packages.”
“Will do,” Eli said and hung up.
Hunter went back to signing the checks that he should have finished thirty minutes ago if he could just stop getting interrupted.
When he went to sign his name, his pen ran out of ink so he tossed it and reached for another on his desk, saw the copy of Kayla’s resume and just stopped as the image of her smile popped into his head.
What the heck was he doing thinking of her? Sure, she was cute, and seemed friendly, but she was an employee and the last thing he wanted or needed to do was get involved with staff. Didn’t his great-great-grandfather have affair after affair and taint the Edward branch of the Bond family? Yes, he did. And it’d been drilled into Hunter’s head to never mix work with pleasure.
Bonds might run Amore Island, but most loved only once. They found their true love and never strayed. Not his great-great-grandfather though. He loved a lot. And often. And anyone he could get his hands on.
There were enough rumors and stories about his family in the past, the last thing he was going to do was add to it or be compared to those with unsavory pasts.
If only he could find what he really wanted though…
3
Just A Sweetheart
“Are you ready for this?” Amanda asked Kayla, who was just looking at herself in the mirror of the second bathroom that she shared with two other women. Amanda had the master and her own bath.
“I think so,” Kayla said. “Not sure I’m a fan of the dull uniform, but it saves me from buying new clothes for the job.”
Money she didn’t want to spend, since she didn’t have much. The black pants and red shirt embroidered with Bond Retreat in white was pretty boring to her. But she supposed they needed to stand out as staff and not guests.
“That’s always a plus. So one week of days and then you go to nights?” Amanda asked her as she sipped her coffee in the doorway. Sidney and Bri were still in their rooms, probably sleeping, and Kayla was trying to whisper, but Amanda didn’t seem to get the hint.
“That is the plan.” She finished up with the mascara and made sure her hair was brushed better than it’d been when she went to her interview. Thank God she wasn’t judged on the fly-aways in her hair that day. “Why don’t we go into the kitchen so we don’t wake the others.”
“Sure,” Amanda said. “But they sleep through anything.”
“Really?” Kayla asked. She’d only been in the house for two days. She’d packed everything up after her last day at work on Friday. Saturday she filled her car and came over on the ferry and set up the one room she was renting from Amanda. She hadn’t had much time to talk with her other roommates, as they’d both been working or had plans.
“Bri works at the bank as a teller so she will be up soon. She always sleeps as late as she can, but she parties late at night too. She moved to the island in the hopes of just having fun or landing a man. You know, the myths and all.”
“Good for her,” Kayla said, knowing she’d never been in that position before.
“Sidney tends bar at one of the clubs.”
“There are clubs here?” Kayla asked.
“There is pretty much everything here, just on a smaller scale. Anyway, you’ll figure it all out.”
“All I’m concerned about is gas stations and grocery stores,” Kayla said as she left the bathroom and made her way to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee.
“You’re too young to only be concerned about that in life,” Amanda said, grinning over the rim of her cup. She was still in her tank top and shorts, her hair in a messy bun on her head. Kayla didn’t even know if Amanda had a job or if she had to work today.
She didn’t want to dispute the “too young” comment. Amanda was probably close to her age, the same with the rest of her roommates. But she’d bet they’d had a much easier life than her. Or had someone they could fall back on if they needed to.
Not Kayla. She’d been on her own longer than she cared to remember.
“How long have you owned this house?” Kayla asked since she figured Amanda wasn’t going to let her eat her breakfast in peace. No use getting on the bad side of her roomm
ates.
“I don’t own it. I rent it too.”
“You do?” Kayla said.
“Yep. I’ve been here two years and have had roommates the whole time. I don’t even know who owns this house. Probably one of the Bonds. They own just about everything on the island. But I pay the rent to a property manager for the place.”
“So what do you do here, since you’ve lived on the island for two years?”
“I’m a hairdresser. There are quite a few salons here on the island. The casino has a salon right in it too.”
“Do you want to work there? In the casino?”
“No. I like what I do. I’m only a mile from the hotel, and because it holds a lot of destination weddings, I’m swamped with that stuff on the weekends. If I change anything it will be to own my own place, but I’m content working for someone else now.”
“Are there a lot of hotels on the island?” Kayla asked and realized she should do some research on the new place she was calling home.
“You know, I’m not even sure anymore. I’d have to look it up to get the exact number. There are bed and breakfasts and rental homes too. So many places to stay here, plus the year-round residences. It’s pretty big for a small island.”
“So most of the jobs revolve around tourism?” Kayla asked.
“I’d say so. But there are schools, a police station, fire stations, restaurants, shops and so on. Nothing like big businesses or anything though.”
Kayla finished her coffee fast and then stood up. “Thanks. I should finish getting ready. I don’t want to be late for my first day. Is there a place I can grab some breakfast since I didn’t get anything in the house yet? I need to get something for lunch too.”
“Help yourself to what you need to eat.” Amanda stood up and walked forward, reached out and said, “Hang on, your necklace is tangled in your hair.”
“Thanks.”
“It’s very pretty.”
“It’s my good luck charm,” she said, wanting to wear it on her first day even though she didn’t wear it often. She reserved it for special occasions, not every day. “I had this on when I answered your ad for a roommate. I thought for sure you’d say no way when I said I was interviewing for a job and wasn’t sure I could commit.”
Amanda laughed. “I’ve never offered a room to someone before over the phone. I’ve always wanted to meet the person first and check references, but there was something about you that I couldn’t say no to.”
“That I was almost pleading and getting choked up with tears if you’d said no?” she asked. She was smiling when she said it, but she’d been very teary eyed through that call. Her job at the time was laying off and she knew she’d be the next to go. It was better to find something than wait for that pink slip. Things didn’t normally fall into place for her. If she didn’t have the room at Amanda’s she might not have been able to interview and accept this job.
“Stop,” Amanda said. “You were just so sweet and I was touched by your story. You sent your references right away and they panned out. I had a feeling you’d get the job at the resort because it’s not easy to fill jobs. Sometimes we all need a hand to start our lives over.”
Kayla wanted to ask what Amanda needed to start over but knew she’d be late if she stayed to talk any longer. “Anyway, I don’t want to take someone else’s food,” Kayla said. She’d had roommates before and knew how possessive some of them could be.
“We all get along pretty well. If there is something you don’t want someone to take, just put your name on it, but we all buy extras like water and bread and eggs. If it’s low someone gets it.”
“That’s good to know. I’ll pick up some things on the way home. Could you just tell me what we need in the house and that way I won’t feel bad if I take something so soon.”
“Aren’t you just a sweetheart? Sure. I’ll make a list of a few things while you finish getting ready.”
Kayla couldn’t remember the last time someone called her a sweetheart. Probably never, now that she thought of it. But since she always seemed to stumble and trip in life, she went out of her way to try to make up for it whenever she could.
She went back upstairs to her room and put her black sneakers on, grabbed her purse, checked to make sure her cell phone was in there along with her wallet. She wouldn’t take anything for lunch, but she would grab an apple and banana to eat on the way. Since there was a restaurant in the hotel, she’d bet she could get a sandwich or something on her lunch break. If not, she had an hour and could drive somewhere for one. There had to be places close by to snag a bite to eat on the run.
“Thanks,” Kayla said when Amanda handed her over the list. There were only a few things on it and nothing that would break the bank. At least she didn’t have to worry about someone taking advantage of her here. That had happened plenty in her life.
She was always so afraid of being thrown out of a place or having no roof over her head that she found she was overly nice when she shouldn’t have been.
She’d been homeless before and it was the worst month of her life.
The scariest too. Never again, she vowed. Ever.
This was probably the nicest place she’d ever lived in, even though her room wasn’t that big. She didn’t care though because she was on a beautiful island and starting a new job and a exciting adventure that she was ready to go at full steam ahead.
A life she always dreamed of…wished for even. If this island was about finding love, maybe for her finding a home that she loved. That was more than enough for her!
“Have a good day at work today,” Amanda said. “I have Mondays off so I’ll be here when you get home. I plan on cooking dinner tonight. Do you like spaghetti and meatballs?”
“I do. Does everyone take turns cooking?” she asked. Oh boy, she wasn’t that great of a cook.
“No. I just like to cook. I guess you could say I’m the mom of the house.”
Kayla laughed. “You’re probably younger than me to be the mom.”
“I doubt it. I saw you just turned twenty-eight on your application. I’m thirty-one. Still, if I get nosy or bossy, just tell me to slow my roll.”
“I’m not sure the last time I’ve heard someone use that phrase.”
“That’s why I’m the mom of the house,” Amanda said. “Anyway, have a great day at work. I’ll see you a little after six, right?”
“Yes,” Kayla said, smiling as she walked out of the house to her car in the driveway. Her beat-up old car. She wasn’t too worried about the noises it’d been making since she didn’t have that far to travel on the island.
Once she pulled out of the driveway and down the road, she turned right and hadn’t gone a full block before she realized she should have turned left. Good grief, she was a trainwreck this morning.
Sure, anyone looking at her wouldn’t see it, but she felt it inside.
As if she wasn’t nervous enough about having three roommates and not disrupting their lives, she was starting a new job—no, a career—today.
She hadn’t lied when she told Hunter that was what she was looking for. She was sick of having one dead-end job after another. And though her position was the lowest rung on the totem pole, she was strong enough to climb to the top.
At least that was what she’d told herself enough in life.
Hard work, determination? She had it in truckloads.
Good things falling her way? Nope, they always seemed to fall three feet to the right of her, making her wonder why she felt so cursed in life.
When she pulled into the circle in front of the hotel, she realized she had no clue how to get to the back where the employees parked. No one had told her and she didn’t think to ask. Patrice just said, “Park in the back with the rest of the employees.”
She couldn’t very well ask a guest and she didn’t want to park and go in and ask either. Good thing her shift didn’t start for fifteen more minutes. It wasn’t like her to be early for anything in life, but today, she was goin
g to be early.
Pulling into the parking garage, she hoped she’d find an exit that took her to the back, but what she saw was Hunter getting out of a Porsche in the reserved spot right by the elevator.
She could look like a fool and keep driving around and be late or she could swallow her pride and ask her new sexy boss where the heck she needed to park this tin can that was supposed to be her mode of transportation.
Kayla stopped and rolled her window down and said, “Hunter. Mr. Bond?”
He turned to look at her. He was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt and looking pretty sweet at that. Damn, who would have thought he’d have a body like that under the dress shirt and slacks he’d had on a few weeks ago when she met him?
“Yes. Kayla, right?”
“That’s right. Today’s my first day and, well, I’m not sure how to get to the back to park in the employee spots. I don’t want to be late and didn’t want to ask a guest.”
He smiled at her, walked a few steps closer, and placed a nice large hand on her car door. Oh man, she was pretty sure she was blushing because her body was heating up, and not in mortification over him seeing the piece of crap Buick she was driving that wasn’t even considered new when she was a teen.
“Just go back out of the garage and out of the parking lot, take a left, and there is an access road that will take you to the back.”
“Thank you so much. And again, thank you for the opportunity of this job.”
“You’re welcome. Welcome to the Bond Family,” he said.
He turned and walked away and she had to shake her head to get herself to move. She’d never belonged to a family before. Ever. She knew he was only talking about work, but those five words just meant so much more to her. More than he’d ever know.
4
Old School
“Patrice, hold up,” Hunter said when everyone started to get up from the staff meeting he’d just finished.
When the last person was out of the room on the tenth floor where the conference was held for these meetings, Patrice walked over and sat next to him. “What’s up?”
