Page 19 of Caught Up In You (Indigo Royal Resort)
“So happy you think so,” she snarked. Picking up the towels, she glared at him. “Listen, Cruz, I get it, you’re a fucking rockstar. Everyone loves you and thinks you walk on water, including my little brother. But you know what? I see you. I see that deep down, you’re just another jackass who happens to be able to kick a ball. I’m happy for you. But I’d be even happier if you just left me alone!”
Turning quickly, she grabbed the door handle, threw open the front door and marched out of the villa. Just before the door slammed shut she shouted, “And stop calling me Menina!”
Chapter Nine
Leona was sure that at any moment, Vaughn was going to show up in her office and tell her she was fired. That Cruz had complained about her outburst and demanded her job. Every time someone walked by her office door, she braced herself for the door to swing open and for her boss to charge right in. With any other employee he’d be the picture of professionalism, calling them to his office, having a witness, explaining to them all the reasons this was happening. But Leona was different. They’d always had a different relationship, and while she knew that didn’t make her immune to losing her job, she also knew that she wouldn’t get the “nice boss” version either. She’d get the angry, “I’m so disappointed in you” version.
All this anticipation was making it kind of hard to concentrate on the paperwork before her. No matter how hard she tried, the words on the maintenance forms were starting to blur together. At least it was distracting her from thinking about how good Cullen’s lips felt against hers, and about how feeling his tongue caress hers made her want his tongue to caress other places too.
“Fuck this,” she said out loud, shoving the maintenance forms aside. “I got shit to do.”
She grabbed the list of room numbers she had pulled the day before for room checks. Suddenly her door opened, causing her to jump a little. She looked up expecting to see Vaughn, but instead found the sweet smile of Maeve Patterson, Drea’s new assistant manager for Cherish Spa.
“Sorry to bother you,” the tall, willowy brunette said. Maeve was absolutely beautiful, and Leona couldn’t help but think the girl could be a model every time she saw her. If it hadn’t been for the fact that she came off kind of quiet and timid Leona would have been intimidated by her based on looks alone.
“Not a problem. Happy distraction actually.”
“Oh, okay,” she said, stepping into the office. “Drea said the new special-order towels for the spa arrived this past week and was wondering if they had been through the laundry yet. She said you would know.”
“I’ll have to check with India. I know she got them, but I have no idea where they fell in her process. I can check in with her when I get back from room checks.”
“Room checks?” Maeve asked. She’d been at the Indigo Royal for just over three weeks and was still learning all there was to know. Drea said she was catching on quickly though, so Leona was happy to impart her knowledge.
“Yeah, I’m required to randomly check twelve rooms a week to make sure that they are being maintained to the standards of the resort. All rooms, occupied or vacant, are supposed to be cleaned, toiletries refilled or replaced, etcetera,” Leona explained. It was a part of the job that she had never loved. Secret shopping her staff felt like she was micromanaging them, even though all the housekeepers who worked for her knew it was done. It was not a new practice. Beverly had done it for years before Leona took over the job, but it still felt wrong. She trusted each member of her team, and she hated the idea that any of them might even feel for a second that she was trying to catch them doing something wrong.
“Gotcha. Well, just let me know when you can,” Maeve answered, turning to go.
Following Maeve out of the office, Leona made her way to the third floor of Black Velvet and knocked on the door for suite 1426. Even though the little light indicator above the door wasn’t lit, she’d learned over the years that the little LED didn’t mean much, especially during the day. Guests frequently forgot to slip their keycard into the holder that operated the electricity in the rooms, especially during the day when they had the natural light flowing in.
“Housekeeping!” she called out, just to be sure. She wasn’t going to risk walking in on something she didn’t need to try to unsee.
Once she was fairly confident the room was currently unoccupied, she let herself in. More than a little relieved to find that the room was not only currently vacant, but also didn’t have anyone staying in it at all this week, she relaxed a bit. The room seemed to be in perfect shape from what she could tell by glancing around. The couch was made up properly. The phone, remote, information binder, and ice bucket were all lined up how they were supposed to be. Both bedrooms showed beds made to standard, with the curtains wide open to let the light in. Taking a peek into the bathroom, she found a clean sink, tub, and toilet, as well as freshly stocked amenities on the counter.
Making her way back into the living room of the suite, she slumped down on the couch. Just as she was starting to close her eyes and take a deep breath, there was a heavy knock on the door at the same time as it opened, startling her. She leapt up off the couch, trying to make it look like she hadn’t been slacking at her job. Turning to fluff the throw pillows she had squished down when she sat, she heard a friendly familiar voice come from behind her.
“Hey there, mamacita,” Carlos’s voice called out. She felt his hand slide up her backside before his arms encircled her waist and pulled her close. Standing up, she felt him lean down and nibble the back of her right earlobe lightly, seductively whispering, “I’ve been looking for you.”
“Hi,” she said, turning in his arms and pulling back a bit so now his hands rested on her hips. “What are you doing here?” Damn, he’s sexy, she thought to herself, equally relieved and caught off guard by seeing him.
Carlos Rivera was a walking, talking desperate housewife fantasy. Standing just over six feet tall, with broad shoulders that tapered slightly into seriously strong hips and legs, his dark wavy hair and deep chocolate-brown eyes sealed the deal on the whole “Latin lover” vibe he threw off. Pair all that with the coveralls that he usually wore tied around his waist, showing off his sleeveless undershirt and all the muscles that protruded from it, and it wasn’t hard to understand why so many of the women who visited the resort stopped in their tracks when he walked by. It was like he had stepped right out of a dirty movie, ready and willing to “fix” whatever might have been broken. It was no wonder that he’d been on the receiving end of quite a few indecent proposals from various women—and a handful of men—over the years.
“I was fixing the drain next door and heard you call out as you entered this one. I called up Julie at the front desk and asked her if this room was occupied, and when she said it wasn’t I thought I might surprise you.” He pulled her in close again, leaning in for a kiss. When his lips met hers, she couldn’t help but immediately think of how rough they felt, not at all lush like Cullen’s. The thought jolted her, and she pulled away quickly.
“What’s the matter?” Carlos asked, looking concerned.
“Nothing, it’s just we’re both on duty,” she answered quickly, trying to come up with a feasible excuse.
“Never stopped us before,” he said, looking at her like she was his next meal and stepping toward her again. He pulled her close, palming her ass the way he knew she liked, and leaned in for another kiss. Before their lip
s could connect, she put her hands flat on his chest and lightly pushed him away.
“Yeah, but not today, okay?”
“Everything okay?” he asked. “You never ignore my light bulb requests and you’ve ignored the last three. Unless…do I need to go get the Twix bars?”
She smiled to herself. The guy knew her secret PMS cravings and had no qualms about supplying them when needed. He really was good to her. Wait, did he say…
“Three? You sent one the other day and I replied the next morning apologizing. I was picking up Josef and couldn’t respond.”
