Page 1 of The Cocky Neighbor

ONE

ERIC

The rain poured down on the hard concrete like it was trying to turn the hard slab into mud. I hated rainy days, especially because it seemed like every person in this city forgot how to drive when the roads were a tiny bit wet, which was made even more evident by the red sedan in front of me taking their sweet time cruising down this one lane road despite not having anyone in front of them.

Tapping my finger on the steering wheel, I willed the car in front of me to go faster than the ten miles under speed limit that it was currently driving at. I got that they were trying to be safe in the rain, but this was a back road that was relatively safe and didn't usually get much traffic. And besides, didn't they know people had places to be? I glanced at my rearview mirror to see the line of cars riding my ass, who were probably just as annoyed as I currently was about this delay in their morning commute.

It didn’t help that my luck seemed to be against me. I was going to be late for work on the one day where I needed to be early. I never had trouble waking up in the morning, so I was usually at the hotel before the day shift started. Today was a different story, however. For whatever reason, my alarm didn't go off, and coupled with the late night I’d had the previous day, I had woken up an hour later than normal. My morning routine was thrown completely off of schedule as I rushed to get ready.

Corporate had notified us that there would be changes coming to our hotel. They stated that talks were happening to have Roslyn Hotels bought out by another company, but personally, I never thought it would actually happen. These "talks" had been going on for years.

I'd only met our CEO a handful of times while working here, but I could glean what kind of person he was. He was a white-haired man in his seventies who had the energy of a teenager. He was loud, passionate about his work, and guarded his investments with the vigilance of a hawk. That coupled with the fact that Roslyn Hotels was something he had developed from scratch, I had a hard time believing that he’d actually go through with the deal.

However, I was proven wrong when we received the email yesterday announcing the Wright Group as our new parent company. The Wrights were a powerful family in Corio City who'd basically helped build the city to what it was today. It wasn't shocking to hear that their company was the one to acquire one of the most popular hotels in the area, but what threw us for a loop was the note at the end stating that a rep from the Wright Group would be dropping by the next day to familiarize himself with the operations.

I wasn't sure what their plans were, but the last minute notice of their arrival sounded like it was going to be a surprise inspection, and as the general manager, like hell I was going to let them find any fault at my hotel. Of course, today just had to be the one day that I was late, and that was not the good first impression I'd wanted to leave on them. I was praying that the rep from the Wright Group wouldn't arrive until later in the day.

Gripping my steering wheel, I continued the snail's pace following behind the red car in front of me, then like the heavens were taking mercy on me, the rain clouds broke. The miraculous sun shone the path before me and seemingly gave the driver in front of me the ability to drive again.

We slowly sped up to the normal speed limit, and I let out a cheer as I checked the clock on my dashboard. I was still going to be a few minutes late, but it wouldn't be as disastrous as I feared. Perhaps I could still get there with plenty of time to get ready to greet the rep and make a good impression.

One could hope.

Fortunately, the rest of the drive to the hotel was smooth sailing. Ten minutes later, I was backing into my assigned parking lot by the back door of the hotel—one of the perks of being a manager.I quickly turned off my car, grabbed my things, and sprinted into the hotel.

There wasn't much activity in the morning since most guests checked out closer to their assigned time. Of course there were the early birds, but those were few and far between. The silence in the hotel should have been normal, but something was different. Instead, there was an eerie quietness as if the entire place knew that I was late and was waiting on bated breath for me to be scolded by the higher-ups.

It was aridiculousthought. I pushed it to the back of my brain, but I couldn't shake off theforeboding the lingered on my skin. Turning the corner to the open rest area that was designated for employees, I found my coworkers all huddled together with their backs facing me.

"Why are you all gathered here?" I asked. All heads swiveled in a mechanical manner toward me with apprehension on their faces. The group parted in two, leaving space in the middle.

My coworkers—some of whom I'd worked with for five years—gave me pitying eyes as I walked down the path they made for me. A shiver passed through my body, and I couldn't shake off the feeling that I was about to be sacrificed.

I continued forward, like a sheep being herded onto the butcher's block.Alfred, one of my best friends and my official "work husband", stood in the front, blocking my way. He shot me an apologetic look before stepping aside to put me right in front of a handsome man.

The stranger was tall—probably matching my six foot—and very handsome with sharp features, striking blue eyes, and a five o'clock shadow that only made him even more alluring. His beauty wasn't even diminished by the ridiculous purple suit and yellow dress shirt that reminded me of a certain Italian cartoon character. The entire outfit was made even more outrageous by the leopard print necktie he wore.

His terrible sense of fashion should have been what caught my attention, but I found myself noticing his slicked back hair and stiff posture as he stood there with his hands clasped in front of him. I immediately knew who this man was.

I flung my head to shoot a glare at my supposed work husband. What happened to the whole "for better or worse" thing? Didn't that apply to work spouses as well?

Alfred mouthed "sorry" and shrugged. I glared at him for another second before a smooth and authoritative voice had me turning around again to face the beautiful man who was most likely my new boss.

"Great of you to finally join us, Mr. Wells."

So much for making a good impression.

TWO

LIAM

Today was going to be a good day. My older brother had closed the deal to acquire the Roslyn Hotels that had been in the works for years. It was something worth celebrating, and despite the fact that he had put me in charge of managing the main hotel branch in our city, I was going to make the best of it and not mess up.

God how I hated acting the stiff, authoritative role, but it was expected of me as a member of the Wright family. We were meant to lead, and despite my brother being the one who would become the head of the family and inherit the company, it didn't mean that I was completely free of my responsibilities.

While my family had given me a lot of freedom to pursue my own passions, I still held a role in the company. I didn't have my hands full everyday with the family business like my father and brother, but was expected to step up when it was needed, like now.

With my brother working behind the scenes to make sure the hotel chain was smoothly integrated, he put me in charge of overseeing the chain's main branch in Corio City, which happened to be their most popular one as well. The idea being if the main branch was able to integrate with our company's practices, the other branches would follow along.

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