Page 19 of Tasty Cherry
Uncle Roger is about to owe me big time for this.
“Brooklyn, I think you’re next.” We head to another door.
She walks up, leaning over to use the card hanging around her neck.
Owen can’t stop staring at her, taking in the back of her jeans. There might be a cockfight between him and Maverick over her. I may have to keep watch over this group more closely than the usual new hires. We’ve never had five young unattached interns arrive at the same time before, much less living on the same hall.
“Got it!” She lets out a squeal as the door unlatches. “This is exciting!”
“Do you want me to wait for you and make sure you can get back?” I ask.
“I’ll do it,” Owen says. “I’m good with halls, and directions, and stuff.”
“Cool,” Brooklyn says. “I’m not. Meet you right here in ten?”
Owen’s face lights up. “Absolutely.”
Yeah, real close watch. Maverick’s about to be behind the eight-ball on this, and I have a feeling he’ll take it out on Owen.
I turn to the other side of the hall. “Yours is over here.”
He’s pleased that he’s so close to Brooklyn. When his door clicks open, I tell him, “Ask anyone for directions if you get lost. It’s a big place, but the staff knows you’re here.”
“Will do. Thank you, Mr. Young, sir.”
“Call me Sebastian.” I give him a wave. “See you soon.”
I have a few minutes before I have to be back at the offices. I wonder which wing of the hotel Mila is staying on. It’s going to take some willpower to avoid looking up her room. I left things in her hands. She can ask for me.
It feels unlikely.
Even so, I decide to stop by the lobby to check on Bertie under the guise of needing the carts. See what he knows.
But when I get there, he’s not around, and neither is Aisha. Jessica is manning the front desk alone. There’s no one in the lobby. We’re in the lull between check-out and check-in.
“Hello, Mr. Young,” Jessica says. “How are the interns?”
“I took three of them to the staff wing.” Since there is no one here to casually ask about Mila, I decide to head back to the offices. I can’t make a big show of seeking out Aisha or Bertie over this. It will be too obvious.
Jessica is fairly new, but both Aisha and Bertie have been here long enough to know about Haley, and the effect of that relationship on my sister, and that I haven’t seen anyone since. They’ll clue in if I seem interested in someone new.
I push through the staff exit to the back hall. Once the meeting is over, I’ll ponder my options. I could send Mila a complimentary basket like we do the VIPs. Or a cookie tray. Or…
Just stop, Sebastian. She’s temporary anyway. Two hotels equal not being local.
But there is that matter of her virginity.
Maybe that’s what I really want to know about. Why me? Why now? Why a stranger?
Of course, I have access to her phone number if I want it. Her address. Anything. But I won’t abuse my privileges here. If Mila wants to be left alone, I’ll simply have to accept it.
Raya steps outside her office when I return. “Oh good. Do you think we have time to send the last two to their rooms before we meet, or should they leave their things on the carts and move in after? I gave them their badges.”
“The other interns will be on their way back,” I say. “But it doesn’t matter. We can make small talk while we wait.”
“They’ll need someone to show them the way,” Raya says. “And if you go, you can scoop up the others if they’re lost.”
“Sounds like a plan.”