We ride through empty streets, so fast it feels like the wind is going to strip me of everything, my hair whips around me, and wind assails us from every direction. Despite my initial fear of the bike, Cruise makes me feel safe. With my arms locked around his waist, I know I’m safe.
We speed through the night, up a slight hill, to look down on the city, past a field of brown grass that might’ve once been a farm, past a run down trailer part, and a dilapidated church, and a row of signs advertising the Seascape Villa Hotel. We pass the high school, and a row of old fashioned businesses included a barber shop and a seafood restaurant with an overflowing parking lot.
“This is Seascape,” Cruise tells me, when we’ve stopped at a red light, to let a minivan pass. “The hotel, and the trailer park—it’s where many of the employees live. The high school, the abandoned park, the barber shop.”
“I love all of it,” I tell him.
“All I ever wanted was to get away from it.”
Chapter 13
“Thank you for tonight,” I say to him, and I mean it. This is a night I will never forget. He opened himself up to me, completely, and I don’t think he does that for many people.
“Thank you for sticking by me through all this bullshit,” he answers.
“I—” I falter not sure how to express what I want. “I want you to know that whatever happened—the money that disappeared, I don’t believe you were guilty. But I also don’t care. That isn’t who you are now.”
I turn to walk back to the hotel, but he calls out to me. “Stay at Villa Seven tonight.”
“Come to my room instead.” The last thing I need is another walk of shame.
“You know, I’m not really supposed to be in the hotel. That’s the deal I struck with Dad, when I moved into Villa Seven. That I’d stay out of the main building.”
“I’ve seen you in the hotel just about every day since I’ve been here.”
“I’m not very good at following rules.” He grins, and his blonde hair falls into his eyes.
“Then come to my room with me. No one will find you there.”
He pulls me toward him as soon as we hit the bed.
His hands are sure and soft as he undresses me, but his kisses are insistent. I would have thought that telling me all his secrets would have provided him with some kind of release, but he’s as intense as ever.
His hands move over my naked body, down between my legs, stroking and stroking until I feel like I’m going to die from the pleasure.
He poises himself over me, holding himself on his strong biceps and gazing down at me.
“Cruise,” I whisper as he slides inside of me, and then his lips are on mine as he keeps fucking me, harder and faster until we both come at the same time.
He pulls me toward him, wrapping his strong body around me.
I close my eyes, thankful for the day we’ve had together, but wondering if he’ll wake up angry again.
But my fears are unfounded.
Cruise sleeps through the night, and we wake together.
He kisses me, and I’m ready to sink into him, when I remember that today is the day I’m revealing my grand plan for the hotel.
“What grand plan?” he asks, pulling on his shorts and looking for a shirt.
“Renovations,” I tell him. “You’re part of the plan. We’re going to surprise your dad. Just wait here, or down at the Villa, I’ll find you when I’m ready for you.”
Even his suggestive smile isn’t enough to distract me from what I’m going to set in motion today.
“I want to have a staff meeting,” I tell Sheila. “Can you call everyone together?”
Half an hour later, the staff room is overflowing with more employees than I even knew we had. When Richard returns, I have to get him to introduce me to everyone. I have a feeling that no matter what his faults as an owner, he knows the name of all of his employees.
“I’m Maya Bennett, the new night manager,” I tell the assembled staff. None of them ask what I’m doing talking to them before lunchtime. I take that as a good sign.
“Mr. Bancroft hired me, both to run things in the evenings, and to start revitalizing the hotel, that’s why he hired me straight out of hospitality school.” This could be true, or it could be a total fabrication. I’m hoping its true, though, because if not, he’s probably not going to be happy with me on his return.
“Mr. Bancroft will return in just a few days. Before that happens, I’d like to surprise him by getting this place updated until it shines. I’ve made a list of duties. Some of you will have extra cleaning duties, getting rid of cobwebs and dusting forgotten corners. Some of you will be painting, a fresh coat of paint can make a huge difference. Some of you will be reporting to me with ideas for further revitalizing the hotel. Take a list. If any of you object to doubling up on jobs over the next few days, you need to tell me now.”
The employees look dazed, but none of them voice any objections, and each of them takes one of my lists.
Two hours later, I’m working beside Cruise, painting the flower boxes in the villas.