Freeing Alex (The Alexandra Drake Series)

by Ashley, Sarah Elizabeth

  He points out the restaurant and various other places that are quite apparent. I let him carry on his guided tour, he’s clearly done these tours in the past and has his own set route.

  After he’s shown me a couple of guest rooms, a standard room and an executive suite, we make our way to the bar where he orders tea. He asks me a little about myself, my background. I tell him about my relationship with Maggie, or lack of it, but keep my recent past to myself. There’s no need for him to know about Lewis and what I’ve run away from, or even that Maggie was my real mother. I tell him about Anna and our relocating to London, moving into what was Maggie’s house. I can’t call it Maggie’s home because she apparently rented it out, it’s only by sheer good luck that when we moved it was empty with no new tenants scheduled. I tell him about Anna’s plans for university and really that, at this point, I’m still feeling my feet, that I want to keep myself occupied and have decided that, after being here today, I would like to make the hotel my main focus. Everything else in the portfolio that I’ve inherited seems to take care of itself, and the night club is only fifty per cent owned by me, the other shareholder running the place on a daily basis.

  We sit and chat. James gives a little away about himself, keeping it very professional, however, I’ve worked out that he’s single, which for the life of me I cannot fathom, but then with an apparent stream of young and willing girls, why would he want to settle down? He must be incredibly experienced. He probably puts my sexual experience into the shade, no, forget the shade, into the bloody freezer – I still scratch my head over how we made Anna!

  As he reaches for his coffee he looks up. “What was that with reception?” I think he’s been desperate to ask all morning.

  “Oh, nothing, I just overheard some inappropriate conversation, anyone could have heard it.” I’m straight out with it, no use in beating around the bush, telling him exactly what I’ve heard.

  “Oh.” He sounds shocked. “I’ll have a chat with them.”

  “You should,” I suggest. “They need to keep their personal chatter just that, personal.”

  Our initial meeting progresses well following the frosty start. James asks if I noticed the building works at the rear of the hotel when I arrived, which I did – it really can’t be missed, the massive orangery that’s being built. He tells me that the plans were all in place prior to Maggie becoming so ill that she had to move into the hospice and that she instructed the contractors to start work before she backed away from everything. He tells me that my “aunt” was conscious of the lack of leisure facilities at the hotel and the work currently going on is for a small swimming pool, sauna, Jacuzzi and steam room, and that it should be finished within the next week or two. There are also eight rooms that are being redecorated, slightly different to the rest of the suites here, which are all furnished with sumptuous antique and reproduction antique furniture. The eight suites that are currently being remodelled are to be neutral and modern, with clean lines and less of what James terms as “clutter”.

  As I sit in front of this devastatingly handsome man, I reassure him again that I have no intention of taking over from him, or doing anything with the hotel. I explain that I will not be stepping on any toes and that he should carry on as normal. Yes, I’ll be visiting to see how things work and spending some time here but, as the business has only just come into my possession and I know nothing of the hotel industry, I may just shadow him. He looks slightly concerned, but not overly. I think the main problem for James is that I will prevent the daily shagging that I understand takes place.

  At the end of our meeting I’ve decided I like him, a lot, and like those receptionists were saying, I would not turn him down if propositioned – better still, he’s not taken. But he must be at least ten years younger than me, it wouldn’t go anywhere, the thoughts and desires are just in my head and anyway, he’d probably run a mile if he saw my hideous back.

  He walks me to my car, placing his palm in the small of my back. Oh, that’s so nice. Part of me says that I should move away from the closeness but the invasion of my personal space is not unwelcome, in fact, his touch sends little shivers through me. Despite my years of celibacy I still feel, still want to be touched, to be loved… In fact, it’s what I crave.

  We arrive at my car. “R8, nice,” he says, looking longingly at the white convertible. “Is it new?”

  I run my hand over the soft top. “It certainly is. It’s the only thing I’ve bought since I inherited. I had to buy a new car, my old one died the moment we pulled up at Maggie’s house.” I laugh. He is so much taller than me and I find myself looking up at him. He’s so close, so very close, I can smell him – masculine, but fresh and clean. I sigh. I need to go. I need to get away from him and quickly, but he seems hell bent on keeping me here.

  He smiles, laughing. God, that smile! “Really, you mean you haven’t been shopping yet, girly shopping?”

  It’s clear that he has no idea of my background, where I’ve come from and what I’m used to, because shopping has never been high on my agenda, not shopping for me, anyway.

  “Just a few essentials. What I stand here in is what I packed when I left my husband – sorry, ex.” I look down, not wanting to discuss the past any further.

  He raises an eyebrow. I think he’s surprised that I haven’t spent all of my time shopping since I came to London.

  I eventually manage to open my car and slide into the driver’s seat. I’m hot and flustered, feeling in need of a cold shower. “I’ll see you, James. I’ll probably pop by tomorrow. I’d like to start meeting some of the other teams, the other staff.” I hold the door ajar, looking up at him.

  “Look forward to it, Mrs Drake,” he says as I slide into the driver’s seat. He closes the door for me and stands in the car park, waving as I pull away.

  That was our first meeting and since then we’ve met several times in the last few weeks. I enjoy working closely with the super sexy James, the Bossman. He’s filled me in on the hotel, how it functions and runs on a day-to-day basis. I’ve been introduced to a number of staff. Work has been completed on the rooms and suites that were being remodelled and the leisure facilities are now open. I think we both enjoy working with each other, I certainly enjoy his company and I think he enjoys mine too.

  I don’t intend to make any other changes other than the one’s that Maggie had already begun, everything is absolutely fine. The hotel is more or less full all of the time, which is good, and there are no real concerns.

  Anna is still awaiting her A Level results, which are due incredibly soon. She’s keeping herself busy with this and that, mainly shopping and finding ways to spend money, isn’t that the case with all teenagers?

  She’s been to the hotel and thinks it’s beautiful, even more so when she knows that this place partly pays for her spending sprees! She loves it and has asked if she can stay here with Katie, her best friend from school, for a couple of nights. Of course she can, I’ve told her – after all, one day it will be hers. She’s so taken with the place that she’s been talking to one or two of the universities about a change of course and looking at something to do with hospitality or hotel management. I don’t know how I feel about that, after all, when you own the hotel you don’t need to impress yourself with the right degree!

  I’ve continued to learn about business in general. Yes, lots and lots of learning has taken place with the help of James, who seems to know everything there is to know about the hospitality and leisure industry, but I’ve also spent time with Gerald, my accountant and the guy who has dealt with all of Maggie’s business interests, monetary wise, for years – all of them except Henry’s, the night club, which I have little to do with apart from receiving the monthly profit share. I’ve still not got around to meeting all of the other people that were associated with Maggie, but bit by bit we’re getting there.

  Chapter 2

  Since I’ve left Lewis and moved on I’m starting to feel liberated, I really, really am. Somet
imes I could sit and cry, just thinking about the shit twenty-two years I wasted living with that fat bastard – he could grind me down and damage me, physically and emotionally, but he couldn’t break me completely. From time to time my heart feels heavy and broken, yet it still works, functioning as well as it ever did physically. It gives me life and the drive to move forward, away from the hellish time with Lewis and onto new things, new ventures and a new life. Now it’s my time, although it is an uphill struggle, and I think it will be for a while, to get over what was, to be fair, a trauma. But little by little the old Alex, the Alex from over twenty-odd years ago, is coming back!

  I’m enjoying my newly found freedom, spending so much more time than I planned to at the hotel, if only to be in the company of my sexy General Manager. He’s still the Bossman and I find I have to reassure him of this each time we meet.

  They say that no-one is indispensable, well, at this moment in time he is, he’s irreplaceable and has been such a great help. I have no idea where Maggie found him, he says that Maggie wasn’t really into hotel management and he doesn’t know how she came to be the sole owner of Reid’s, but she appreciated how popular and profitable this place could be. I have no idea how it came to be hers either, all I was ever told was that she was a successful businesswoman. I knew she had the hotel but I knew nothing of her other investments and partnerships until that day, months ago, when I met the solicitor for the first time and the one question that pops into my head daily is, “Where did she get the cash from?”

  Today I am meeting with the “Bossman” on a formal basis, rather than just rocking up and watching him work. There are some bits and pieces he needs my signature on and, as he knows that I like to be kept up to date, it seems sensible to meet and go through what needs doing.

  It’s 9.30 a.m., holy shit, I’m supposed to be meeting James at the hotel at 10.30 a.m., I’ve got to cross London in an hour. I have no idea how I’ve managed to run late, I don’t do late, I can’t stand it!

  I grab my handbag and slip on my comfortable flat pumps, make sure I have my phone, and I shout upstairs to Anna as I leave home.

  “Anna! Back later, darling, ring me if you want me and don’t forget to speak with your dad. Make sure he knows that you don’t want to go and see him this weekend. Anna, Anna!” I yell, infuriated that she doesn’t answer me straightaway.

  “Okay, Mum, don’t stress,” she shouts back at me from her room, above the strains of Hall of Fame together with the clattering and banging as she rearranges her room for the tenth time since we moved in!

  I exit through my newly painted front door, black. I love black shiny front doors, they look so luscious. I can’t help but stroke it, so tactile, and make my way down the few wide steps to my Audi. Lewis, the bastard, positively drooled over it when I took Anna to what used to be our home last weekend. He kept banging on about waiting lists for cars “like that” and wanted to know how I got it so quickly. I just smiled at his alcohol-induced red face and said it was amazing what you can do when you offer the dealership an extra few thousand to get a quick delivery! I felt so smug. Screw him, it was so satisfying watching him as we pulled up in my new beast of a car.

  Of course, he’s initially agreed to his settlement, he doesn’t know the extent of my inheritance but must have worked out that it’s substantial. I’ve told Anna not to give too much away. Anyway, so far I love my new life, although I’m still unsure about my new home. I’m still learning my way around London, thank God for sat-nav and cabs, otherwise I’d get lost every time I went out! Not that I go out in the car that much and have taken to using cabs a hell of a lot more because I detest driving around London.

  I love the fact that when I grocery shop I don’t have to worry about the bill, that if I want or need something I can have it, but I’m careful with the money. I think that’s one thing that budgeting over the years has taught me and is embedded, I suppose! I used to dread spending more than Lewis had allowed me, having to justify the rising cost of food.

  I sit in the driving seat and start the powerful engine. Pulling away, I gingerly make my way through the heavy London traffic and into the private car park of my hotel. Parking carefully, I grab my things and lock the car before walking through the back door of the huge building, passing the completed orangery as I go. Carpets in the rear of the building have all been replaced as a result of the new leisure facilities and pool; the newly decorated walls look great and it still smells new, that lovely smell that comes from freshly decorated rooms, the colour scheme following through from the main foyer.

  I head for the door marked Staff Only, waving a “hello” to Roger as I do. I climb the four flights of stairs, which don’t present so much of a problem now that I’m used to them, and head down the corridor straight to the door marked General Manager. I tap the door lightly before walking in to find James sat behind his desk, pawing over paperwork.

  “Morning, Alex.” He gives me that killer smile. He’s delightful to look at, I’ll never tire of watching him, in fact I could spend my day just sitting and watching him work. His dark come to bed eyes make me feel weak every time I see him and that physique is just exceptional – he clearly works out, although I have no idea when and where. I can only imagine what lurks beneath that crisp white shirt, he always wears white shirts with double cuffs, but he truly does look amazing in them and they “do it” for me! Every time I see him I can just imagine that well-developed six pack and a perfect V down towards his… Alex, pull yourself together, woman!

  He keeps his designer stubble well groomed. He must be a tailor’s dream, looking phenomenal in whatever he’s wearing. I still can’t believe that he’s single, it doesn’t make sense! Maybe he just doesn’t do commitment? I haven’t seen any girls come up here since that first day. He must see them elsewhere now that I’m here.

  “How are you today?” He shuffles his papers. His deep voice is soft and soothing. I can just imagine the pillow talk with him, it’s enough to have any woman turn to heaps of jelly. It makes me feel all warm inside every time he opens that beautiful mouth of his, probably from years of being denied any form of intimate contact, the fault of my bastard of a husband. Just recently I’ve craved any sexual attention possible, maybe I’m having a mid-life crisis? For heaven’s sake, Alex, snap out of it, I say to myself, this is business – no cavorting with the staff.

  Maybe with my pent-up sexual tension and possibly having some sort of crisis I shouldn’t be hanging around someone like James, I’m like a time bomb! Yes, I know I’m 42, 43 in September, but I’m a very young 42 – hell, it isn’t really old anyway, is it? But feeling the way I do is surprising given the rough time I’ve had, why shouldn’t I have a bit of fun? Mind you, I’ll have to dump the passion-killer knickers for something a bit more… more provocative before I start looking for someone to share intimate moments with. Listen to me, anyone would think I was some sort of sex kitten, not a recently separated mum!

  “I’m fine, James, everything looks good downstairs. I take it there aren’t any issues, or if there have been I’m assuming that you’ve sorted them in your normal efficient way.” I smile at him, I really don’t know why I’m here, other than to watch my General Manager work, yes, that’s the real reason!

  He’s looking down at his paperwork. His laptop is out and he’s flicking between what’s printed on the paper and keying in some information at the same time, the concentration evident on his face.

  “Fuck!” He looks at one of the papers and then at me. “Sorry,” he mutters.

  “Problem?” I fiddle with a pen on his desk, looking at his papers, so tidy.

  He frowns and curses whilst he re-enters the figures. “No, just lost some of the data I’d already keyed in.”

  “Is there anything I can help with?” I reach for some of the papers he has moved to one side, papers I wrongly assumed he had finished with. As I reach to pick them up he moves to pick them up again, and our hands touch. Hell! My nether regions are… ooh. I pull
my hands away quickly and look directly at James, I’m sure he thinks I’m a prude.

  “Sorry.” I play with a paperclip. Turning away, I ask, “Do you want a drink?”

  He smiles back at me, holding my gaze for a moment. “Please, coffee, black, and no sugar.”

  Feeling ruffled, I move to the small unit in the corner of his office, where he has a kettle and some mugs and a small fridge. I make him a coffee and myself a cup of tea, taking it back to his desk.

  “I think this is nearly finished.” He turns the final piece of paper and keys the information into the computer.

  I look over his shoulder. It looks like payroll. “Is that sent off to the accountants?” I ask, glancing down at the list of names and numbers.

  “Yes, it’s done every month. All the waiting staff, kitchen help, cleaners and housekeeping staff have to clock in and out. They’re paid hourly, I just have to let the accountants know how many hours they’ve each worked.” He stacks his papers together and starts to file them away.

  “Management are salaried?” I ask, something that I’ve not yet discussed, though I suppose I should have done a while ago.

  “Yes, you’ve got it,” he mumbles as he takes the folder to an old green filing cabinet.

  I stand behind him sipping my hot tea. “So do you review the management salaries, James?”

  “Yes, every year.” He gathers his papers, arranging them neatly and tapping the stack.

  “And who does yours?” I ask. Presumably it would have been Maggie, although he’s not mentioned pay, his or anyone else’s, since I first met him.

  He smiles at me. “Well, Maggie used to, so I suppose it will be you now.”

  I take another drink of my tea. “And pay reviews are done when?”

  “They were done about four months ago.” His head down, tidying his desk as he chats.

  “So, you haven’t had a pay increase this year?” I look directly at him. He doesn’t reply and just looks at me. “James, have you had a pay review this year?” I ask again firmly.