“Please just ask him to reach out to me when it’s convenient for him.” I smile and turned away from the desk.
“I’m sure it won’t be long.”
My lunch should be delivered shortly, so I might as well wait in my room for the manager to reach out to me. But it also gave me an opportunity to check my email. Even though I was supposed to be on vacation, that didn’t prevent people from asking me questions. And maybe it would provide me a distraction from worrying about Lily.
I press the button for the elevator and once again that deep voice spoke to me from behind.
“We have to stop meeting like this,” he said.
Then maybe you should stop following me.
The doors to the elevator opened and I stepped inside I pressed the button for the third floor. Before the doors closed, I found my eyes roaming over the stranger. This definitely was not the person who had been watching Lily. Although this man looked fierce, from his strong joy to his absolutely muscular physique, he did not appear to be an employee of the resort.
It seemed like an eternity, but my eyes leisurely traveled up from his sneakers over his muscular calves to his cutoff jean shorts. Thankfully he wasn’t shirtless, but he might as well have been. His T-shirt fit him so snugly I could see every beautiful ripple of muscle from his abs to the massive mounds of shoulders and biceps. He was one gorgeous man. The person that had been watching Lily didn’t compare at all to the prime specimen standing in front of me.
This man was fierce-looking and I couldn’t even see his eyes behind those mirrored sunglasses. But as an attorney, I was used to men trying to intimidate me. It didn’t work with them and it definitely wasn’t going to with this guy. Staring directly into his sunglasses, I saw my own reflection. Holding my head up high, I said, “I agree, so hopefully this is the last time.”
Before the elevator doors closed, I saw a smug grin cross his face. He oozed arrogance. It was nauseating. When the elevator stopped, I quickly made my way to my room. Once inside, I opened my laptop, ready to dive into work so I could stop thinking about the stranger. But as I looked at the screen, I realized the man hadn’t said anything inappropriate to me. So why did I give such a snippy response? And as far as that smug look on his face, it was better than what he could’ve had. Oh my God, I practically ogled him from head to toe. If anyone had something to say, it should have been him.
Part of me was embarrassed about this out-of-character behavior. Normally I’m careful and have full control of everything I say and do. I decided to blame it on the heat, or maybe the lack of substance in my stomach. Whatever it was, if I ever saw him again, I should probably apologize. Then again, it was a big resort, and with any luck this would be our one and only encounter.
Who am I fooling? I’ve already bumped into him twice in less than an hour.
There was a knock on my door, and instantly I wondered if the stranger had followed me to my room. But when I got up and peered through the peephole, I saw it was a gentleman in a suit. Something about his demeanor reminded me of the stunning man from earlier, but they did not look at all alike.
“I figured I would bring your lunch since I was on my way to see you anyway,” the man said when he sensed my eye on him.
I opened my door to take the tray from him and asked, “I don’t understand. You were coming to see me?”
He nodded and replied, “I am Bennett Stone. You asked to speak to someone who is in charge here. I’m not one of the owners, but I can assure you I have authority to handle anything that may be an issue for you.”
I waved my hand to invite him in and closed the door once he was inside. “Thank you so much for coming to speak with me. It really might not be anything, but it left me feeling a bit….”
Bennett waited and then said, “Scared?”
That wasn’t the word I would use to describe my feeling. I shook my head and replied, “I would say concerned. It’s in regard to one of your employees. Well, maybe it’s not an employee of yours but I believe it’s affecting one of your employees.”
I could tell I had Bennett’s full attention. “Would you like to sit down and tell me what has you concerned?”
I sat on one side of the couch and he took the other. I didn’t want to sound flaky. Bennett didn’t know me from a hole in the wall. This was a gorgeous vacation spot, and most people wouldn’t have even noticed the man watching Lily, but when you have nothing else to do but people-watch, it kind of stood out. I wasn’t about to tell him that either.
“You have a waitress, Lily. She’s the one I’m concerned about.”
“Did she do something wrong? If so, I’d be happy to send her for more training, if it’s that sort of issue,” Bennett offered.
“No. Not at all. She’s very attentive. But I noticed she seemed…nervous. She didn’t mention anything to me, but there seem to be someone…watching her.”
Bennett raised a brow. “Watching? Do you mean he was checking her out?”
I shook my head. “I’m not sure, but it didn’t seem like that. He seemed to be hovering just out of Lily’s sight for a long time, watching her. He may have been her boss, and watching her so closely to make sure she was doing her job properly?”
Bennett said, “But that’s not what your gut is saying.”
“No, it isn’t.” I was glad Bennett was taking this seriously. “I’m not even sure there’s something to be concerned about. I’m not used to your ways here. It was just my observation. I could be wrong.”
Bennett took a moment to think. “I have learned over the years to trust my gut,” he said, finally. “My understanding is you’re an attorney. A criminal prosecutor. I assume you had to learn to rely on yours as well. Thank you for taking the time to bring this to our attention. I will have my security team keep an eye open for anything unusual. Would you mind meeting with one of my team members? It would be helpful if we had a description of the gentleman we’re looking for.”
“Of course. Would you like me to come down now?” I asked. Part of me hoped I could just give him the description and be done with it.
Bennett shook his head. “I don’t want to interrupt your lunch. Besides, I want to speak to my security team first.” He got up from the couch and headed toward the door. Before leaving, he turned and said, “Miss Wellington, please be assured that if anything unseemly is going on, I will put an end to it.”
The force of his conviction and the sternness of his face almost made me feel bad for whoever was watching Lily. If you need backup, I know another guy here who can be intimidating, too.
I rolled my eyes. Why was I thinking about that man again? Maybe it wasn’t just arrogance that I picked up on. Maybe it was his sex appeal. Goodness knows, he had plenty of it.
I’m going to need a second shower, and this time a cold one.
Chapter 3
James
I was in Tabiq for one reason only, and that was to see if Bennett had a job for me. Not just any job, either, but one I’d actually want to do. If he tried offering me a security job walking around and keeping an eye on tourists, I knew my answer already. I didn’t want it. Playing babysitter to the richer than God didn’t appeal to me. They probably never worked a day in their life, or at least, not a long, hard day.