Page 4 of Holiday Hook-Up
I flipped my hair off my shoulder and crossed the massive room, taking in the sight of my coworkers all dressed to impress. I’d always thought Penny was gorgeous, but tonight she looked jaw-droppingly stunning. Paula, looking frazzled as ever in the eye of the party planning storm, wore a red dress that hugged her curves. She even had her face all done up. Of course my boss looked as goofy as ever, but at least he was festive—in a Gary sort of way.
Thinking on my feet, I grabbed Paula a glass of white wine from the bar while I got myself a second vodka cranberry, and headed her way. I was on a mission to scout out information about our elusive owner, and fast before a certain maintenance guy got here. If I’d learned anything about The Ridge in the four months I’d worked there, it’s that Paula was queen bee. Anything and everything that went down, she knew first. Who knew where she got her info from, but it was usually spot on.
“You look like you could use a drink. Here.” She took the full glass of wine with eager hands, sipped and then sighed in relief.
“I needed that. Thank you.” She eyed me, clearly taking in the amount of skin I had on display. A far cry from the conservative front desk dress code she’d normally seen me in. “Look at you all dressed up. You’re looking like asnack. The girls in housekeeping taught me that one.”
I laughed at how cute she was. Like the sassy aunt I never had. “Paula, I’m not just a snack, I’m a whole meal,” I said, placing my hand on my hip with extra dramatic flair.
“Ooh, I like that saying even better. I’m keeping that one to tell Bob later. Not that he needs any more ways to compliment me. He’s already incredible. Just last night he-”
“Uh, Paula?” I asked, cutting her off before I heard entirely too much about her love life. “There’s some gossip spreading around, and I was hoping you could spill the tea.” She looked at me with wide questioning eyes, sipping the last bits of wine from her glass. “‘Tea’ means juicy gossip. Another phrase to add to your slang catalog.”
“Oh, I like that one too.” She nodded. “What tea are you talking about? Not something with Darius again?”
“No, not with him. That’s in the past.” Her bringing him up had me feeling queasy all of a sudden. Maybe he wouldn’t show up tonight. Even though he texted me as I was leaving work. A text I promptly deleted.
Baby girl, you going to let me get some of that sweet ass tonight? I’ve been thinking about you nonstop. Even when I shouldn’t.Utility room will be empty. I made sure of it.
She took in my outfit again and lifted her lips in a grin. “I think I know. You want to know about the owner? Mr. Connor?”
Mr. Connor. That’s his name. Well, at least I had one bit of information. But I knew Paula could do better than that.
“I was wondering. You know, a little bit of curiosity. It’s good to stay on my toes,” I answered, picking at one of my sequins in feigned disinterest.
Paula ran her palm over her clipboard, biting her bottom lip. She always played this whole charade where she’d act like she was trying not to gossip. She’d chew her lip or her nails, glancing all around her, contemplating what to say. This would go on for two minutes—tops—before she’d erupt like Mount St. Helens, spewing all the steaming hot lava tea.
I waited, watching her mask of uncertainty lift to reveal her true inner busybody. There it was, and it only took ten seconds this time.
“Okay, but you didn’t hear it from me. All I know is right in the middle of my party planning, I got a call from this woman. She claimed to be Mr. Connor’s assistant but all I heard was that they wanted to help us throw an amazing holiday party. They got here this morning and true to her word, they did all this.” She glanced around the room, eyes sparkling. “The assistant and her team really came through.”
I nodded, gesturing for her to go on.
“Apparently, Mr. Connor will be here at some point. He may even be at the party as we speak. Although I’m sure he would have introduced himself.”
“But you don’t know if he’s actually here tonight?” I asked.
“Sorry love, those assistants were pretty tight-lipped. Maybe Gary knows more than I do. There he is now.” She nudged her head toward Mr. Woods, standing off to the side in conversation with a few disgruntled looking bellhops. Poor guys were probably being subjected to a barrage of terrible jokes.
“Thanks, Paula. And again, the party rocks.” I forced a smile, even though I was hoping for more information than what she had to offer. I guess it was a dead end. At least until the man himself made his appearance known. There was no way I would fish for more information from Gary. That was a surefire fifteen-minute conversation full of cringe that I’d greatly like to avoid by all means possible, thank you very much.
I glanced behind me toward my work friends all chatting and laughing. Sitting with them would be a decent time. They were all nice enough. But for whatever reason, the sequins on my dress started to feel like too much. My hair was not primped enough for a party like this. Did I look like I fit in as much as I tried to?
Another drink would fix my issues. Yup. Isn’t that what Cinderella would do if she were a poor foster kid from Philly at her first ball? As I waited behind a couple in line, I remembered who I was surrounded by and who I needed to watch out for, and the idea of losing control—even a little bit—plunged off an icy cliff.
The bartender eyed me up and down, waiting for my request. “A Coke please.”
Perfect timing. The restaurant staff filed out from the kitchen, filling the buffet with trays of deliciousness. At least grabbing a bite would give me something to do.
The girls called me back over to their table with my plate of pasta and salad, so I joined them, half listening to them gossip about finding a few sex toys left behind in a room the other day. That kind of thing happened weekly here so it wasn’t a big deal. If anything, I felt bad for the person who forgot them. Those babies weren’t cheap.
Their idle chit chat had my mind wandering. Even though it was Christmas break, I was still thinking about the big paper I’d just finished for my destination marketing class. Somehow I wrote a detailed marketing plan filled with data to promote a bed and breakfast at a beet farm.A freaking beet farm!Who on earth would want to travel there? Manure enthusiasts? Someone with a farmer kink? I managed to finish it in the nick of time.
On the plus side, if I could get an A in that class and finish out my internship with a bang, my advisor would set me up with her contact at Resorts Worldwide. One beet farm paper could catapult me to my dream career, or at least put me on the right path to get there.
“Who’s ready for Secret Santa?” Gary called, his voice booming into a microphone.
Another Christmas tradition first for me. Too bad I already knew Melvin was my Secret Santa. He spotted me earlier in the break room and told me that he bought me a nice set of fishing bobbers, since he knew I loved to fish. I smiled and nodded, a look that probably came across as a mortified grimace. I’m sure I could re-gift them to someone here who would use them. At least I had fun buying a gift for my buddy Chris. A nice Nike hoodie and a stash of his favorite candy.
