Women like her weren’t used to making the first move. They normally had to fend guys off. Well, he wasn’t just any guy.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought, especially with the way you’ve been all googly-eyed over Ms. Sutherland,” Marlin said as he put out his smoke, then moved down the bar quickly to replace a beer in front of one customer, and a gin and tonic in front of another.
Even if Marlin didn’t seem to be paying attention, the man had eyes in the back of his head. He kept the drinks coming so customers never had the opportunity to think about leaving. It was why this lounge was making the most money in the resort, or the island for that matter, by a long shot.
“Speaking of Haley, have you seen her today?” Crew tried to ask casually, but by the triumphant look in Marlin’s eyes, he hadn’t succeeded in downplaying the way he felt.
That’s why women were nothing but trouble, Crew warned himself.
“Yeah, she was in here about an hour ago. Had some soup and crackers, then said something about seeing the show tonight. I bet you’re wanting to join her in that nice, dark theater.” Marlin mocked him by making a kissing sound.
Seriously, the man was too old to be acting like a horny teenager.
“Maybe,” Crew said noncommittally.
He couldn’t give all his secrets away, after all.
Just as he got up to leave, his phone rang. With a frustrated groan, Crew picked it up, waved goodbye to Marlin, then headed toward his office. Perfect. A little longer until he got to meet up with Haley.
Chapter Eighteen
Crew’s luck was out again, for things weren’t going at all smoothly at his other lounge. The business there wasn’t nearly as good as at Marlin’s, and, worse, one of the employees had gotten into a fight with a patron and the manager had to fire the man on the spot. The guy was just lucky Crew hadn’t been the one dealing with him.
Crew couldn’t stand it when staff got unpleasant with their customers. Even if the customer was in the wrong, there were professional ways of handling it without making his resort look low-class.
Adding insult and injury, one of the cocktail waitresses got sick, and his other bartender slipped and sprained an ankle. This was certainly one of those nights in which Murphy’s law ruled — anything that could go wrong, did.
So Crew did find himself behind the bar pouring drinks, and he wasn’t happy about it. His manager was scrambling to call in replacement staff. This was all part of owning a resort, though. Everyone had to pitch in from time to time, even the owner — or sometimes the owner’s family members. Crew would give anything, or almost anything, to have Ashton there with him. Hell, his younger brother had spent several years in Hawaii bartending while taking lessons in surfing, partying and being a jackass playboy. The kid was a pro, but he’d turned things around, thankfully.
Much to Crew’s dismay, it didn’t take long for the Double-Ds to hunt him down. He watched their eyes light up when they saw him trapped behind the counter. Twin feline grins spread across their faces as they nudged their way up to the bar. Two men eagerly jumped up to give them their stools and, on top of that, paid for their drinks.
Crew couldn’t complain. The women had expensive tastes, and their swains’ credit cards were racking up some serious income for him. If he ever wanted to sell the resort, the profit margins needed to stay well in the black. So, suppressing his shudders of disgust, he pasted on his most gracious and good-tempered smile as he leaned toward them. Surely a little light flirting couldn’t get him into trouble.
“Are you ladies enjoying your stay here at the Catalina Couture?” he asked, keeping his voice low and warm.
“Mmm, well, the night sure has become a lot better now. We were in the film that won the ‘Great Communicator’ Award,” one of them answered.
Crew barely managed to keep his laughter from exploding. He somehow pictured them for a much different type of film than one that would win an award from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation.
“Yes, we can be seen sitting at the bar during a seriously intense scene midway through,” the other one piped in eagerly.
“After the filming was over, another director came and spoke to us. He was greatly impressed. We’re meeting him next week. Soon, we’ll be front and center on the red carpet.”
Crew had no doubt which kind of director wanted to meet with them. He was sure that if he himself were interested in triple-X movies, he’d see the two of them front and center and wide open.
“That’s wonderful. I’m sure I’ll see you in the next big Hollywood hit,” he said, amazed he was able to keep a straight face. The two of them beamed at him.
“I’m Kadence, and this is my bestie, Roxanne.”
He could not care less what their names were. But a businessman’s gotta do what a businessman’s gotta do. “Lovely names for lovely ladies,” he said as he refilled their glasses. Keep drinking up, girls. The poor saps they were completely ignoring kept on shelling out cash, and it would probably work in the men’s favor.
“You are such a charmer, Crew. What are you doing later tonight?”
The invitation in both their eyes was easily read. He had no doubt that one little nod of his head would have him in bed with the both of them. Nope. He’d never been big on threesomes and he never would be.
“Ah, ladies, you are too much for me to handle. One night with you and I’d never be the same man again,” he said as if filled with regret.
“It doesn’t need to be just one night, sugar…” Kadence’s red-tipped nail trailed down his forearm and Crew was coming to the end of his patience. His flirting wouldn’t win him any great-communicator awards.
“Crew, you’re free to go do your real job now.” Crew turned with relief as his replacement showed up with a smirk on her face. She could read him well, and she knew he wasn’t enjoying himself.
The two girls stuck out their bottom lips with a pout. No doubt they’d learned that at acting school for extras.
“It’s been a pleasure visiting with you lovely ladies this evening, but duty calls,” he said, backing away.
Their disappointed sighs grew fainter and fainter as he fled the bar and made a straight path to the theater. It was time he found Haley. If she’d gone off elsewhere, he was tracking her down one way or another.
Slipping inside the dimly lit room, Crew looked around, wondering how he was going to find Haley in the throng of people crowding the intimate tables arranged strategically around the warm setting.
Like the rest of his resort, the room was filled with a mixture of modern and old-world charm. Tables for two and four were positioned so everyone had a perfect view of the stage, but people weren’t knocking into each other.
Along the back wall, where the lights were at their lowest, round bench seats circled tables that were just large enough to hold drinks and appetizers. He saw couples snuggle together while listening to the magical voice of his latest hire, a young woman whom he wouldn’t be surprised to hear on the radio quite soon.
Her voice carried the customers off to another world as she sang of lost love and burnt bridges. He wasn’t normally a fan of mushy love songs, but with her vocals, it didn’t matter what she was singing about. Hand her the Congressional Register and they’d still listen…
Crew finally spotted Haley in a small booth in the back corner. Since she hadn’t noticed him yet, he took a moment to appreciate her understated but profound beauty, the dim glow of the lighting leaving half her face in the shadows.
The vocalist had Haley as mesmerized as the rest of his guests; like theirs, her eyes stayed glued to the small stage up front.
Crew was gratified to see his staff moving quietly from table to table, not disturbing the performance in any way, but keeping the guests supplied with drinks and plates of nibbles both warm and cold to keep any loud stomach rumbling at bay.
In the middle of an original song about young heartbreak, Crew slid in next to Haley, finally capturing her gaze and seeing her eyes grow round in pleasure. He knew he was a goner.
In such a ridiculously short amount of time, he was falling head over heels for this woman. She took his breath away, and he found himself wanting to give her the moon and stars. Oh, good grief. Shaking his head, he blamed his sappy thoughts on the lyrics and voice bewitching the room. Who wouldn’t think of happily-ever-afters here? He’d created the room with just that in mind — though not for himself.
Trying to gain back the breath that seemed to have left his chest, Crew leaned closer and took Haley’s lips, running his tongue along the soft lines of her lush mouth until she lifted her hands up and grasped his neck, deepening the kiss as if their recent time apart had been painful for her, too.
Before their embrace got too heated for public consumption, he reluctantly pulled back and looked into her glowing eyes. The light from the soft wall sconces and dripping chandeliers made them almost translucent. Losing himself in them was exactly what he wanted to do.
“It’s good to see you,” he whispered as he nuzzled her neck.
“I will spend the day apart from you any time if I get another kiss like that,” she said huskily. He wanted to take her from the room right then and show her just how much he’d missed her.
“Good evening, Mr. Storm. Shall I get you your usual?”
With a sigh, Crew leaned back and nodded at his waitress. “Add spinach dip and fresh baked chips, and have Joey throw in a bowl of soup.” He was starving. Normally, only appetizers were served in the theater, but that didn’t apply to him.
“Oooh, I’ll have the same, but can I have some bread, too?” Haley piped in.
His waitress nodded and hurried away.
“You haven’t eaten yet?” he asked.
“No. I was running around town today and forgot. Then, I was so entranced by the show, food was the farthest thing from my mind. Now that you brought it up, though, I can’t think of anything else.”
“We can leave and I will take you to a real dinner. Or, better yet, we can go to my room and order room service. I have a sudden desire for strawberries and champagne, preferably eaten off your skin.”
Haley’s eyes shone as she seriously considered his suggestion. One word, and he’d have gladly left the table and hauled her away.
“No. It would be rude to walk out on her performance. She’s doing a beautiful job. We’ll have the soup as an hors d’oeuvre, then the strawberries for dessert,” she promised.
Crew’s body instantly hardened at her bold words. Where was the shy yet determined woman he’d first met? It seemed she was slowly being replaced by this more confident, alluring female, and he could barely keep his hands off her.
Though the vocalist’s performance remained flawless, Crew kept glancing at his watch. His overheated body had been pressed against hers for only one night, and now he needed a repeat performance.
The food came and it helped to get the edge off at least one of his hungers, but did nothing for the insatiable need still tearing at his insides. When the final song ended, Crew clapped loudly, a little for his singer, and a lot because now he could get Haley alone.
