Brian and Grace had eloped.
My best friend Kate had called earlier, wanting to tell me before someone else did. My throat struggled to swallow the news and I seriously considered pouring myself a drink. I didn’t care about Brian anymore, it was just the final blow after an already tough several months.
Skating my fingertips along my collar bone, I checked for some kind of physical sign of wear and tear. All the nasty things life dished out and built up had to go somewhere, right? Any day now I suspected I’d find a growth or a tumor.
“Rough night?”
My gaze snapped up and saw a very handsome, very imposing man sitting on the other side of the bar.
His chiseled jaw was lined with day-old scruff and his thick chocolate hair was a little longer and slightly unruly. At one point it must have been perfectly combed, but judging by exhaustion in his dazzling green eyes, I guessed it had been a long day for Mr. Suit and Tie.
I batted my lashes to keep the tear that had been sneaking up on me at bay. “I’m fine, thank you. What can I get for you?”
He looked me over for a long moment, as if determining if I was telling the truth—which I wasn’t.
“Gentleman Jack on the rocks. Although from the looks of things maybe I should be offering you a drink.” His deep voice rolled over me more smoothly than the liquor he ordered, and the sound spread chills over my skin. Heat was licking on its heels leaving my body confused and achy.
“Man problems?” he asked.
I started pouring the drink. “Yes, but the particular man in question is now somebody else’s problem.” I forced a smile. “And even though I’d love to take you up on that drink, it’s against corporate policy.”
“And I take it you are one of those good girls who always follows the rules?”
When he put it that way I sounded so boring. No wonder Brian left me for another woman. “Unfortunately, yes.”
He nodded. “A bartender with morals. Interesting.”
The way he said interesting, his intense eyes running the length of me, made me feel anything but boring or good. It made me feel like doing something dangerous.
“Who hired you to tend bar?” Suit and Tie asked. His tone held more than a slight edge of disbelief.
I set his drink down in front of him, maybe a bit harder than I should have. “Excuse me?”
His gaze slid over me. That one heated look was apparently all the explanation I was getting. Too bad that one look also made those stupid goose bumps come back.
“I am just covering at the moment.” He nodded, those green eyes strolling up and down my body once more as if he had the right to do so.
“You must be new,” he rasped and took a long swallow of his drink. “I would have remembered seeing you.”
“I’ve worked here six months now. You stay here often, Mr. …?”
He grinned and took another drink. “Preston. And yes, I travel a lot and stay here often.”
“Well, pleasure to have you back.” I gave my best “hospitality is our specialty” smile and tried to ignore the buzzing beneath my skin. The man was intimidating and starkly beautiful. His body was hard, like his unnerving eyes, but something about his presence was soothing. This was a man who was in control of his world and knew what he wanted. Power and confidence radiated from him but there was a relaxed essence surrounding him. The way his white collared shirt was rolled up at the sleeves, exposing his tan, strong forearms and Rolex—
Shit! He was not only a regular of the Strauss Hotel but one of “those.” Between his demeanor and obvious money, he must be the kind of VIPer my whole team prepped for. I didn’t remembered seeing a Mr. Preston on the check-in docket today, but between the chaos of being understaffed, my growing worry over my parents, and feeling nauseated about Brian and Grace eloping, I hadn’t been on my A-game in terms of paying attention to details.
“What’s your name?” He smiled over the edge of his glass and a whole different feeling fluttered in my stomach.
“Megan!” Hector called from across the room. He hustled over to me. “Thanks so much, I owe you.”
“It’s no problem.” I turned my attention back to the man at the bar. “Nice meeting you.”
I grabbed my purse from behind the counter just as the customer in the corner booth raised his empty glass in the air.
“I’ll get that,” Hector said, and went over to the guest. I stepped around the bar and tried not to look at Suit and Tie when I passed him.
“Aren’t you going to help me with my bags?” he asked.
Now, I had to look at him. Mistake. There was a hunger in those brilliant greens that was hard to ignore. And I was too mentally exhausted to care that my long neglected body responded in every way.
“Excuse me?”
“You work here, don’t you? Aren’t you going to help me with my bags?” He pulled out his wallet and set money on the counter. I looked at the empty stool on each side of him.
“You don’t have any bags.”
He picked up his briefcase that rested near his feet and held it out to me.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. You wouldn’t want me to complain to management about your lack of hospitality.”
“I am management.”
“Then all the reason you should know better.” A smile sliced across his face more shocking than the color of his eyes. Good lord, no man had a right to look this good.
He didn’t let me respond, simply handed me his briefcase and placed his hand on the small of my back, instantly guiding me out of the bar. I really hated my body in that moment. Just the warmth from his palm, resting possessively low on the small of my back, sent shivers racing and thoughts about what his touch would feel like skin on skin. Thankfully, the elevators were close. He hit the penthouse button, a floor that was reserved for Strauss family members or the very highest esteemed guests. Again, I mentally hit myself for not being ready for this man’s arrival.
“I didn’t see you down on our log, Mr. Preston.”
“I’m a day early.”
My brain struggled to mentally go through the check-in list for tomorrow but unfortunately, I had forgotten to look at it before hustling to cover the bar tonight.
“Don’t worry. I won’t put it on the comment card that you don’t know who I am or are unprepared for me.”
“We’re prepared!” I said a bit quicker than I meant just as the doors dinged open to the penthouse floor. He extended his arm, offering me to exit first. I did and took a left down the hall. A single door was at each end of the wing. The layout was massive. The penthouse had a separate office on the other side of the hall with its own outside door.