Suite Hearts

by Caitlin Daire

  "Of course," I said. "I'll rejoin you with DeeDee once she feels better."

  Nadia left just as DeeDee's eyelids slowly fluttered open. She coughed lightly, and I helped her sit down in a nearby lobby seat. Peyton and her mother fussed around DeeDee, making sure she got something to drink and asking her if she needed anything while I stood a little way off, feeling awkward as hell. Was I supposed to stick around or leave? I had no idea.

  A little while after, two paramedics rushed inside and even more fuss was made around DeeDee, making me feel more out of place than ever. I was just about to sneak off as they loaded her onto a gurney when DeeDee gave me a needy, desperate look.

  "You're coming, right?" she asked in a voice so pitiful that I couldn't help but nod.

  I followed them out of the hotel lobby, and the paramedics grudgingly allowed me to ride in the emergency van with them when DeeDee started to make a scene about it. They loaded us both up into the van, and Francine and Peyton followed us in a black car as we made our way to the hospital.

  DeeDee held my hand tightly the whole ride there, and I couldn't for the life of me understand why. But I also wasn't about to argue with a sick girl, so I just let it happen and held her hand until we finally arrived in the ER. I promised I'd be in the waiting room once she was done, and she finally let the paramedics wheel her away to see a doctor. I sat down on a white plastic chair with an exasperated sigh, already feeling exhausted. I wasn't much for drama, and this was drama with a capital D.

  Francine and Peyton came in shortly after, with Peyton scrolling through her phone and Francine shooting her warning glances. Finally, Peyton sighed with exasperation and put her phone away. They saw me and approached slowly, taking seats across from me.

  "Do you know anything yet?" Francine asked me in hushed tones. I shook my head.

  "Oh. That’s a shame," she said with a sigh, fluffing up her perfectly-done hair. "I guess we'll have to wait around a little while longer."

  We sat there in a silence so awkward I wanted to pass out myself so I could be taken away from the uncomfortable scene. After a couple of minutes had passed, I couldn't wait any longer. I got up, feeling the women's eyes following me.

  "I'm just going to get a drink from the vending machine," I said. "Would you ladies like anything? Water, coffee?"

  "Oh, yes," Francine said, reaching for her purse. "I'll have a latte macchiato please."

  She offered me some cash but I shook my head at it.

  "I insist," she said with a bright smile, winking at me.

  I took the money because I didn't want to look suspicious. After all, a simple bellboy wasn't supposed to have loads of cash, and any other guy in my position would’ve accepted her offer to help out. I thanked her and smiled before turning to leave, just as Peyton jumped up from her seat.

  "I'll help you carry it," she said, rushing after me.

  I could feel her presence behind me, the hairs on the back of my neck prickling when I felt her draw closer. She felt so fucking good when she was that close to me, her breath a soft kiss against the nape of my neck. I wanted so much more; I could barely stop myself from pushing her against the wall and kissing her right there in the hallway with her mother a mere few seats away.

  I resisted the temptation with everything I had, my hands forming fists at my sides. I walked up to the coffee machine and slowly started feeding it quarters as Peyton awkwardly cleared her throat.

  "God, I hope this is over soon," she said. I looked up questioningly, noticing she had blushed a cute shade of pink. "I mean, obviously I hope she's okay. But I suspect my parents might only want us here because it looks good for the media... You know, acting like the Mirabella truly cares about its employees. I saw Mom texting Dad about it on the way here."

  "I don't know. Your mom seems like she genuinely cares." I shrugged, pressing the button for the latte macchiato. The machine sprang to life, and I straightened up, crossed my arms in front of my body and grinned at the sexy heiress. "You, on the other hand..."

  "Oh, stop. I do care." She rolled her eyes, swatting my hand with hers.

  When she touched me, both of us looked down to the spot where her skin had touched mine. We didn't say anything, but I could still feel the palm of her hand in the searing heat that threatened to burn deep into my skin. She was really getting to me, this girl. It wasn't just her presence. She'd invaded every thought until I couldn't bring myself to think about anything other than having her in my arms, and it’d only been a few hours since I first met her.

  "Anyway, I'm sure DeeDee is fine," I said, clearing my throat. "She's probably just freaking out about starting a new job at a place like the Mirabella."

  "What do you mean?" Peyton asked, her eyebrows puckered in confusion.

  "I mean... come on." I smiled wide. "It's a pretty amazing place to work at. Let alone live in, as I'm sure you know."

  She looked away guiltily, and I didn't push the subject any further. I figured there was something she didn't want to tell me, but I wasn't going to push her, either.

  I passed her the plastic cup of coffee once it was done, and then I asked what she wanted. She hesitated before telling me she wanted a hot chocolate, and I chuckled.

  "What?" she said, crossing her arms defensively.

  "I don't think I've had a hot chocolate since I was about twelve years old," I told her, pressing the button for her beverage of choice.

  "Well, you're missing out," she said pointedly, although I could see a smile pulling at the corners of her lips. "It has lots of... nutritional benefits."

  "Oh, I'm sure," I teased her, holding the plastic cup in my hands. "Ready to go?"

  "I..." She hesitated, glancing between our hands. "I'm not sure."

  "What's up?"

  "I guess I…." She sighed, and her hand suddenly shook so bad that some of the liquid in the plastic cup sloshed over the rim. "Sorry, I just need a moment."

  "No worries," I said, taking the cup out of her hand and motioning for her to sit down on one of the plastic chairs. At least we had some privacy here. "You feeling all right?"

  "Just a little overwhelmed, I guess," she admitted. "Today has been a little crazy. I barely slept last night, I have a million work emails and messages to respond to, and my dad was kinda mean to me earlier. Now with this girl passing out, and everything else as well, I just... I guess I need a moment to breathe."

  "Always a good idea." I nodded, then offered her a smile. "Look, I know what it's like for someone like you.”

  She wrinkled her nose disbelievingly. “Do you really?”

  “Yeah. Your parents, society, the media... you have a lot on your plate. People have a ton of expectations for you. I totally understand how it gets to be too much at some point.”

  “I guess you do get it,” she said with a sigh.

  I nodded. “You just have to get yourself through it. Stay true to who you are, who you want to be. Don't conform, don't dumb yourself down. Work for what you want."

  "Yeah, I suppose so," she said before letting out a sigh. “It’s just hard to work for what I want when I don’t even know what I want.”

  I frowned. “What do you mean? You have a job, and you enjoy it, right?”

  “Yeah, but I keep thinking it’s not really for me in the end. It’s not my true passion, as lame as that sounds. And I don’t enjoy it all the time. In fact, lately I’m liking it less and less.”

  I cocked my head to the side. “So it’s like any other job, then.”

  She gave me a small smile. “You sound like my friend Serena.”

  “Serena sounds pretty wise,” I said with a teasing grin. “Seriously, though, you want to find your passion?”

  She nodded. “Yeah, I guess so.”

  “I might be able to offer some assistance.”

  She gave me a skeptical look. “How?”

  “Easy. You said you don’t enjoy your job all the time, but there are some things about it that you do enjoy, right?”

  “Yes.
”

  “When you have a few minutes alone, make a list of all those things that you enjoy. I bet you’ll find one of those things will really jump out at you. That might be your true passion, and you just haven’t really thought about it before,” I said. “And to add to that—make a list of all the aspects you don’t enjoy as well. Even the tiny, petty things. If you figure out a way to improve those things instead of resenting them… well, you just might be able to come up with something new and exciting.”

  She nodded again, slower this time. “That’s a good idea. I used to love making lists. I don’t know why I ever stopped. Getting stuff out onto paper always helps.” She paused, then gave me a curious glance. "How did you get so wise on all this stuff, anyway? You seem to understand so much about what it’s like to be…well, me. But your life must be so different from mine.”

  "Oh," I said lamely, my eyes glancing at the steaming drinks in my hand. "You know, I overhear lots of things from rich folks at work.”

  Fuck, I'd almost outed myself. As far as Peyton was concerned, I was nothing but a simple bellboy who had no clue about things like the pressures of fame and wealthy, domineering parents.

  I looked over at her carefully, convinced I'd blown it, but she just smiled at me. I returned the favor. Looked like my cover was still intact.

  "Let's go back to your mom," I said. "We'll hear back from the doctors any second now."

  "Okay," Peyton said in a small voice. "By the way… thanks."

  "You're welcome," I replied with a grin. "Hey, I never introduced myself properly, did I?"

  "No. Very rude of you," she said with a teasing smile.

  I balanced both plastic cups in one hand and offered her my right one, grinning at her. "Cade Miller," I said. "At your service."

  "Nice to meet you, Cade Miller," she said, blinking too fast. "I guess you already know I'm Peyton Cadwell."

  "Yeah. I actually knew who you were before Nadia introduced us," I replied. She tilted her head in a surprised glance. "I mean, how could I not?” I went on. “You're in every tabloid, almost daily. Plus, it seems like you have some fans in the new employees you just hired."

  "Oh." She giggled. "You mean that short guy with the glasses? I'm pretty sure I caught him staring at me a few times. He was adorable."

  "That’s Andreas," I said. "He's great. If he was straight, he’d probably propose to you. But I have a feeling you guys would get along very well anyway. Maybe I can introduce the two of you sometime.”

  "Sure." She smiled, getting up and motioning for us to leave.

  Andreas owed me one.

  We walked back to the waiting room area, where I handed Peyton and Francine their drinks. Francine thanked me and told us the doctors still hadn't reported back before giving Peyton a suspicious glance, probably wondering where we'd disappeared to for such a long time. Neither of us mentioned it, and I looked away from the awkward mother-daughter exchange.

  Finally, after another ten minutes of uncomfortable silence, a doctor walked into the waiting room with some papers in his hand. "Anyone here for DeeDee Brown?" he asked. All three of us stood up. "Ah, there you are. I assume you're her family?"

  We exchanged looks, and finally, Francine nodded. "Um… yes. Can you tell us what's going on?" she asked worriedly.

  The doctor put the papers aside and gave us a warm smile. "It's nothing to worry about, really. She’s just feeling overwhelmed. Starting a new job can be very stressful, and she had a panic attack. Her blood pressure is a little too high, but otherwise she seems fine, albeit a little dehydrated. We're going to keep her here for a little while longer just to make sure, but she’s going to be okay."

  All three of us thanked the doctor, and Francine let out a relieved sigh before turning to face her daughter.

  "I'm so glad she's okay." Peyton breathed a sigh of relief as well. "I was getting worried there. They took so long."

  "I know, but it sounds like she'll be fine," Francine said, pulling out her phone. "I'll just call the car around."

  Peyton and I exchanged looks, and then her mom turned toward me again. "Oh, Gabe, could you stay and make sure DeeDee gets home okay?" she asked, placing a hand on my forearm.

  "Mom," Peyton hissed. "His name is Cade."

  "It's all right," I replied with a smile. "Of course I will, Mrs. Cadwell, I'd be happy to. You have nothing to worry about."

  "Thank you," Francine replied. Then she and her daughter were gone in a whiff of expensive perfume and the click-clack of their shoes on the floor. I was left standing alone and feeling pretty damn useless in the hospital hallway.

  I figured it would be best to find DeeDee and tell her that I’d be taking her home when the doctors were ready to discharge her, so I explored the hallway until I found one of the examination room doors ajar. I peeked inside and saw the back of the doctor who'd spoken to us a moment earlier. He was talking to DeeDee, who was sitting on an examination table, still looking a little pale.

  "I've told your family you'll be all right," the doctor said to her. "They’ve been waiting here looking worried for quite a while. You must be quite close?"

  "Y-yes," DeeDee replied, and I furrowed my eyebrows. We weren't really her family, were we? Maybe she didn't want to bring that up in front of the doctor, having realized that we lied to him to hear how she was.

  "I guess I just..." she went on, looking at the floor. ”I have a weird feeling about all of this. I can’t shake it."

  The doctor sat down in front of her, his back still facing me. "What do you mean?"

  "I feel like..." DeeDee swallowed thickly before going on. "That hotel. I feel like I've been there before. But it was my first day on the job, and I only just moved to this city a few months ago. How is that possible?"

  "Peculiar," the doctor remarked. “But nothing to be concerned about. Déjà-vu happens to everyone.”

  Just then, DeeDee raised her head and we made eye contact for a split second.

  Her eyes, which were hurt and confused a second ago, seemed to harden slightly when she noticed me looking at her, and her chest rose and fell in a series of deep, shaky breaths. A nurse closed the door of the examination room the next second, cutting off my view of the doctor and my new coworker.

  Half an hour later, I was told by one of the nurses that DeeDee would be staying overnight in the hospital for observation after having another panic attack. She was going to be okay; they just wanted to get to the bottom of whatever was causing her sudden bouts of anxiety.

  I sighed. I'd waited here for nothing. But at least DeeDee was going to be okay in the end; I guess that was something. I couldn’t shake what I overheard her saying to the doctor, though. Those words coupled with her reaction to being in the hotel and meeting the Cadwell women earlier gave me a really weird feeling in the pit of my stomach.

  It was probably nothing, but still, I got such a weird vibe from the whole situation. Maybe I was just going crazy from boredom after sitting in this waiting room for so long. Or maybe it was because DeeDee reminded me so much of Peyton with that shiny mane of strawberry blonde hair.

  I abruptly stood up, pushing the thoughts from my mind. It was nothing, and I needed to focus on what was important…

  Spying on the Mirabella.

  5 Peyton

  “Hold the elevator, please!”

  I waved a hand and called out as I dashed down the hall, trying to text Serena at the same time. On my way. I’ll meet you inside? I sent to her, just managing to squeeze into the elevator at the last second. I was meeting her for brunch downtown to talk about how her latest audition went.

  “Thanks,” I said to the maid who’d held the door for me. She was one of the new girls who’d just started here yesterday—Bianca.

  “Cute shoes,” she remarked. “Valentino Rockstuds?”

  I nodded and smiled. “Yeah. They send them to me sometimes to help promo them.”

  I saw a slight glint of envy flash in her eyes, and I didn’t miss the way she pursed her li
ps ever so slightly. “That’s cool,” she said with a brisk nod.

  I immediately felt terrible. I hadn’t meant it that way, but it almost sounded as if I was bragging about all the free stuff I got courtesy of my status in society.

  “Hey, we look like we’re about the same size,” I said hastily. “You should come by my suite one day. I always get sent way too many shoes. You could totally borrow some.”

  The look in her eyes was replaced by surprise. Then she smiled. “Wow, thanks. That’d actually be really cool.”

  “Awesome. I’ll come find you another time? I’m just about to have brunch with a friend.”

  She nodded. “Sure. See you later.”

  The doors pinged and opened, and I gave her a wave as we stepped out to the lobby and went off in separate directions. I was halfway across it on my way to the main doors when Serena replied to my text. I’m sooo sorry! I just got a call-back and they want me to go in now. So I have to cancel brunch. Please don’t be mad – it’s a huge movie! I promise I’ll make it up to you. Xox.

  I smiled and shot back a quick text saying it was fine, and then I turned to head back upstairs. I guess brunch today would have to be room service in my suite.

  I was halfway back to the elevators when a voice stopped me in my tracks.

  “Peyton Cadwell?”

  I turned to see two well-dressed middle-aged men standing there looking at me. “Yes, that’s me,” I said, my brows scrunched together in confusion. “Can I help you gentlemen with something?”

  The one who’d spoken nodded. “Yes, you can,” he said, pulling out a police badge. “I’m Detective Ramirez, and this is my partner, Detective Williams. Are your parents here?”

  My mouth dried up. Shit. Had Mom and Dad done something wrong?

  Ramirez seemed to detect my nervousness, because his face softened. “We just need to have a chat with them,” he said gently.