Page 73 of Release Me

Why does that seem easier said than done?

“Fucking Wolf, man.” Connor eases Darla into a parking spot at one minute to 9:00 a.m. “How doesone guycontrol all this?”

“With the silver spoon he was born suckling on.” Easing out of the car with a groan, I pause to take a good look at the new hotel. I have to hand it to the architects—Wolf Hotels may be a chain, but no one could ever label the actual hotel properties cookie-cutter. They all ooze luxury, and every single oneI’ve seen has character. Wolf Cove is a ritzy timber wood lodge; Miami’s has a southern Florida charm with Latin flair. This one? It’s an elegant boxy white exterior with rows of groomed palm trees and a giant mermaid water fountain leading up to the grand front entrance.

And it’shuge. Bigger than I’d anticipated.

“Where to, boss?” Connor asks, sucking back a mouthful of coffee, his eyes bleary from the rounds of Fireball and tequila last night. Siren’s Call, the beachside bar we chose for dinner, morphed into a party. Scantily clad women showed up and everything quickly went downhill from there. Thank God my bedroom is on the top floor and has a lock.

I check my watch. “To meetmyboss.”

“You think he’s gonna be a dick?”

“Shit.” I pinch the bridge of my nose to quell the hangover headache. The last few days have been such a blur. “I forgot to tell you …”

“You’re late.”Belinda’s nose curls with displeasure as she sizes us up and down in the lobby of the hotel. “And you smell like tequila.”

“Unexpected night.” For a guy who hasn’t touched hard liquor in a year, I have regrets. But they’re momentarily cast aside as I gape in awe at the vacuous space, the vaulted ceilings lined with windows to show off the azure sky beyond.

Connor greets her with a megawatt smile. “If I’d known you were in town, I would have called.”

“I wouldn’t have answered,” she throws back without missing a beat.

“You look well.” His gaze slides down to where the buttons of her flamingo pink silk blouse open just enough to showcase her cleavage. “Vibrant.”

Andnot at all fitting the traditional Wolf colors of white, black, and plum. Instead, the few staffers floating around are clad in shades of orange, pink, and leafy greens.

“As will you, soon enough.” Belinda’s white teeth flash with her sneer. “Orientation has already started so you’ll have to run to catch up. You’ll also need to stop by administration. They can finish up your transfer and get you a uniform. I guessed at your size based on what I remember.”

Don’t do it.I glare at Connor in warning, able to read his dirty thoughts from a mile away. I had them too, but I can control myself.

This fucker can’t. “You remember my size, do you?”

Belinda’s gaze narrows to slits. If it were humanly possible to shoot daggers from eyeballs, Connor would be hemorrhaging all over the marble floor.

The last thing I need is the general manager having it out for me on day one. “Can you find your way there, Con?”

Before he can answer, Belinda snaps her fingers in the air. “No need. Holly will show you.”

A petite brunette in a peach blazer and skirt charges forward.

With a wink at Belinda and a half salute at me, Connor focuses on his new victim.

Belinda’s sigh is soft. “I was stupid enough to think I would escape Henry’s punishment.”

I smirk. “Missed you too.”

She steps closer and, taking a cursory glance around to check for ears, she lowers her voice to say, “It was a terrible mistake that willneverhappen again.”

I can’t help but inhale her spicy perfume. It brings back fond memories. “If you say so.” I’d call it one wild, unexpected day at work. We didn’t instigate it. We never dreamed of it. Belinda is the one who was waiting for us at the old Wolf house during our routine check, who led us upstairs to help her deal with “an issue,” as she called it. What the hell werewe supposed to do when the blond smoke show stripped and demanded we follow?

She studies my face behind thick-rimmed glasses, and I sense a rare moment of vulnerability in the woman who can otherwise only be described as cold and calculating.

“It will never happen again, and no one’s going to talk about it to anyone, I promise.”

“I appreciate that,” she forces out, as if the words were difficult to conjure.

I smoothly shift the topic away from our sordid history. “How about you show me to my office?”

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