Page 36 of Tasty Cherry
By the time we get a solid break from check-outs, I feel certain every lobby guest and employee has figured out that I have it bad for one of our new interns. I can’t stop looking at her.
She notices me, too. I catch her glances as she and Brooklyn help families until there are none left.
Jessica lets out a long, “Whew! That was a Monday!”
“Mondays are always special,” Aisha says.
“How about I take the interns through the offices behind the desk?” Jessica asks.
“Perfect,” I say. Get Mila out of my view. She’s far too distracting.
The three of them take off, and Aisha and I remain at the desk. I plan to head somewhere else in the hotel, but I feel her gaze on me. Aisha misses nothing.
Might as well head this off. “You have something you want to ask me?”
“Are you and Mila a thing?” Aisha examines her long, sparkly black nails like she didn’t just drop a hefty accusation.
I better get this right or Mila will be the subject of speculation from here on out. “I met Mila randomly without realizing she was about to become an intern here. I had nothing to do with the intern hiring, so I wasn’t aware she was part of our crew when I mistakenly brought her to the lobby.” All true.
“How well did you know her?”
“Not at all.” That’s mostly true, if we don’t count the way I know exactly how her back arches when she orgasms.
“Not at all, huh?”
Focus, Sebastian. “It’s my understanding she only arrived in Boulder on Saturday. We ran into each other in town. When I saw her again here, I assumed she was simply checking in for her vacation.”
“Well, that’s boring.”
Now, that’s what I wanted to hear. “I’m not really involved with the interns.”
“You’re not, huh?” Aisha leans on the desk and drums her nails on the surface. “I heard you brought in someone of your own, a hot number with an attitude to match. Maverick, I think? I haven’t seen him yet. Raya sent him to wash dishes.”
Did she? “I’m hoping we can turn him around with our professionalism.”
A woman and her husband come out of the elevator and head our way. “Lead by example,” I tell her as I leave the desk.
Aisha shakes her head at me, but greets the guests with a friendly smile and begins their check-out procedure.
I’ve been in the lobby more than I normally would, and that’s going to get noticed. Bertie stands by the door, arm propped on the handle of a cart, grinning at me.
Yeah, he knows, too.
I’m going to have to stay very clear of Mila if I want to quash rumors.
Time to do paperwork. Or something. Whatever gets me away from the front desk.
I head to the small office Raya and I use when we need to address problems with guests away from the lobby.
It’s a cozy spot meant to be calming, with cool blues and greens on the walls and a lighted aquarium. It’s functional, too, with a computer and intercom system that hooks into every area of the hotel. Because we don’t do actual work here, it’s always tidy.
I sit in the leather office chair. I have to get a grip on this distraction with Mila. How long is she going to be at the front desk? It’s the one rotation that keeps her near me.
The computer beeps to life with a quick passcode. Raya surely added their schedules to the network.
I dig around and finally find the intern plan. Maverick was supposed to go to HR today. He must have really made her mad to switch him to the dish room.
Owen and Ilsa are with room service. Maybe I’ll go check on them to spread my intern interest around.