Fool For You Page 7

  After lunch I made my way around the rooms, examining the maids as they prepared them for our next guests. As much as I tried to focus on their work while they turned down the beds, restocked supplies fluffing pillows and placing mints, I found my mind wandering. Not just in daydreams it lingered back onto the memory of Corey holding me against the wall. Our bodies pressed together, our breathing quickening while we reached a climax so intense, It was unimaginable. After zoning out at least a dozen different times, I decided leaving the staff to their duties was probably for the best. When I barricaded myself into my office, the flashbacks were no better as I worked on the very desk Corey took me on mere hours before. Letting a guy effect my work was not something I had ever allowed and I refused to start now.

  Around 3:00 that afternoon, my desk phone rang for the first time since I took the job. My line was a separate number from the front desk, so I wouldn’t be disturbed all day long with calls.

  “Danielle Hamilton.” I announced, in my most professional tone.

  “Look at that, I get an answer the first time I try.” The voice was undeniably that of my strong-willed Grandma Violet.

  “What were you expecting, Grams?” “Oh, I don’t know. When your mother was running that place I could have called her every hour, every day and still wouldn’t have received an answer.”

  “What a relief to know I’m more reliable than her.” Nothing about the life I created was similar to my mother’s and my Gram knew that. I didn’t just up and leave the life I craved, only to be compared to my drug abusing mother.

  “Oh, you know what I mean—it’s just nice to know I can actually depend on someone for once.”

  “Well, you can definitely count on me, Grams.”

  “Wonderful! Now, I won’t keep you long but I just wanted to bring up a couple of things.” There was no point continuing my notes on the areas I did get around to viewing. Every time my Gram brought up ‘just a couple of things,’ I knew I was in for a long chat.

  “And that would be?”

  “First things first—I know the Inn is still mine but I want you to feel in charge. You are a very hard worker and I trust your instincts; so unless I feel you are making a terrible mistake with something, I will stay back.”

  “Mhmm.” Providing enough of a response for her to continue on was all she required. Besides, I would have been more interested in our conversation, if we hadn’t already had the same one a dozen times before.

  “Also, at the end of every month I would like updates on how things are running. Where our financial situation lies and how our customer ratings are going.”

  “Of course.”

  “There may also be times that I’ll just pop in to make sure things are running smoothly. You can understand that I’m sure, right?”

  “Yes, I understand.”

  As she droned on about something, a piece of paper at the corner of the desk caught my attention. Black writing was scribbled on it, next to my perfectly scripted notes. It was clearly out of place. I tuned into my Grandma’s babbling for a second to make sure I wasn’t missing anything important—like maybe the code to some secret panic room. When I was able to reassure myself, that I could continue zoning out, I grabbed the note.

  Guess this time it’s my turn to leave my number. I still have that receipt by the way. See you soon Danielle 25. ; )

  -Corey 27

  A smile spread over my face before I could stop it. On the back of the note was his number and without hesitation, I added it into my contacts list.

  “Now Danielle, we do have a night shift and I’m not saying you need to stay with them every night but just now and then. They enjoy when you take the time to check in on them—makes them feel a part of our Hamilton family.” I caught my Gram’s words and agreed mindlessly with her.

  While she continued on, I created a new text message to Corey in my phone.

  So when you communicated with my Gram about work, did she repeat everything to you, over-and-over again?

  It wasn’t likely Corey was going to read my text and get confused about who the sender was, so I decided to forgo adding my name.

  “So how do you like things so far?” At least I picked the right time to tune back into the conversation.

  “Things so far have been…great.” If only my grandmother knew what made it so great; I’m sure she’d fire my ass and send me back to New York in a heartbeat.

  “Wonderful, oh Danielle, I really do think you are going to love this place the way I do. Hamilton Inn truly is home to me.”

  My phone buzzed in my hand, signaling a new text message—from Corey.

  Only about a million and a half times a week—why? U getting an earful about something?

  “I’m sure this place will never mean as much to me as it does to you though, Grams,” I answered after she repeated the question; then reverted my attention back to the text.

  Oh, just everything—nothing I’m not used to.

  “We’ll see, Dolly. Now your Gramps and I want you to come over for dinner on Sunday night; could you do that?”

  “Yeah, I’ll be there.”

  “Wonderful—well take care, Dolly. See you Sunday.” Another text message came in, just as I hung up the phone.

  You’re so lucky, Dani ;)

  As much as I enjoyed texting Corey, I knew if I didn’t stop then I’d easily spend the rest of the day talking to him. Not that it would be a bad thing—just wouldn’t be able to get anything else done. To be on the safe side, I placed my phone in my purse—to resist all temptations.

  Then I poured myself back into my work and before I knew it, Bailey was knocking on the office door, poking her head in.

  “Hey Bailey, what’s up?”

  “Well, it’s 5:30 and I was just about to head out, unless you had something else for me.”

  “Oh no, you go on home. By the way, I’m thinking about hanging out here until the night crew starts so I can meet them.”

  “I’m happy to stay here with you.” Her body straightened into the serious businesswoman mode.

  “Bailey?”

  “Yes?”

  “Go home.” I said with a smile. A slow appreciative ease spread over her features as she nodded.

  “My family’s always called me something of a workaholic.”

  My smile brightened. “There’s nothing wrong with that, as long as you still remember to take time off for yourself.”

  “I’ll work on it.” She answered before heading out.

  The night crew typically worked the 11pm to 7am shift and there were only about half a dozen working. A couple of them were night cleaning crew members, while others worked in the kitchen doing prep for the next day. There was also a night manager working the front desk, taking care of guests’ needs, in case there were any. Beginning at 10:30 the night staff started pouring in, heading back to our staff lounge. My first reaction was to pounce and immediately introduce myself; I decided to at least let them clock in before attacking.

  At eleven on the dot, our night manager took her place at the front desk. From the little bit of research I’d done prior to her shift starting, I learned her name was Gwendolyn and she’s about the same age as my Grandma. Gwen had been with us since my grandparents opened the place. There was a vague recollection of her in my memory but nothing solid. She adjusted a rising chair behind the desk and upon first site I knew I’d like this woman. Her face was kind and her salt-and-pepper colored hair pulled back into a low bun on the back of her head. Gwen turned to see me and immediately her face lit up.

  “Even without an introduction, I know exactly who you are.” I took a spot next to her at the desk. “Seen a lot of pictures of me?” I ask with a laugh.

  Gwen shook her head. “You’re a spitting image of your grandma at that age.”

  “Really?” Hearing about my family from back in the day was always something that brightened my spirits. My childhood wasn’t one many would have wished to have as their own. So even as a kid I let m
yself pretend for awhile my family; was the doting family I longed for.

  “Oh yes, of course you resemble your mother as well, but you are Violet.”

  “I’ll tell her you said so, next time I see her.”

  “Very good, now was today your first day?” She asked, flipping through the guest registers.

  “Yes it was; I just wanted to stay around and catch up with all of you.”

  “Well that was very kind of you, sweetie. Violet told me that you know what you’re doing—worked in New York at some pretty big company, is that right?”

  “It is—I loved it there.” Thinking about the magazine I’d worked for only made me miss it more. Drawing in new sponsors and interest was the main purpose of my job and I did it well.

  “I’ll bet, I’ve always wanted to visit. Although, I think if I were to go there some day I’d lose my mind with how quick paced that place is. I’ve lived in a small town my entire life and that is the pace I know and love.”

  “You’ve been here a while too, haven’t you?”

  “Yes dear, I surely have.”

  “Well wonderful—at least I don’t need to worry about training you on anything.”

  “Oh no, you certainly don’t but I’m happy to be your eyes and ears; if I see someone slacking off or if someone may need some assistance, I will let you know.”

  “That would be wonderful, Gwendolyn. Well, I suppose I better go check on the rest of the staff.”

  “Alright darling, stop by before you leave to say goodbye!”

  “Of course!”

  Gwen returned to the duties she knew better than I ever would, as I went in search of the next workers. The night cleaning staff was only scheduled part time hours so I found them first; in case they finished their duties before I met them. There were two cleaners—one was a couple years younger than me, and the other was a woman in her 40s. Both worked five-hour shifts and were able to explain to me their duties and expectations as if reading them right off the list of job descriptions. The one note I did take about their positions was that they wore nothing with the Hamilton Inn name on it. That I didn’t like.

  Even though they could spend the entire five hours there without seeing a single guest—there was always a possibility that someone would need something. The guests should know—without question—who was there to assist them; I wanted to make up simple T-shirts, polos and sweatshirts with our name and logo for that purpose.

  Three people worked in the kitchen, all of them were guys. Two of which ranged in age from 40 to 50, but the other looked to be early 30s. He was definitely an attractive man I couldn’t help but notice the muscles in his body as he worked with the food to prep. Jase was his name, he wasn’t a lean muscular guy like Corey. Instead he was built with the bulging arm and chest muscles—a guy like that was fun to look at but not my preference to date, though he did have a great face. Not to mention how cocky he was—from the moment I entered the kitchen, he took it upon himself to explain every little thing about the space and their tasks to me. All the while taking every opportunity to touch my arm or place his hand at my lower back. At one point he even cornered me into doing some of the vegetable chopping, while his arms caged me in and his breath was hot on my neck.

  The whole time I found myself silently comparing Jase to Corey. Jase’s smile didn’t light up his face while he spoke, the smell of after shave was too potent and my body didn’t react at the slightest touch. Since I promised myself nothing serious though, I decided to keep this guy on my repertoire, just in case the dynamic between Corey and I changed. Not that I saw it happening anytime soon but I also didn’t want to commit to one person. The whole reason I went searching for some attractive guy the other night was to embark on something casual so I wouldn’t have to experience yet another heartbreak. Maybe I’d have to consider throwing in a couple nights with a different guy. For right now though, my body only craved Corey’s.

  It was a little after one in the morning, when I left the Inn. Everything seemed to be under control, providing me with a sense of ease that this staff truly was fantastic. By the time I returned home I was completely exhausted. I sent a quick text to Bailey that I would be in a little later the next morning. When I passed by the answering machine it blinked with a few new messages. I was far too out of it to check them. So instead, I took a hot shower and passed out the second my head hit the pillow.

  Unexpected Encounters

  The next morning I sat with my cup of coffee and listened to the automated voice, telling me someone at the Prison was calling to talk with me. There were three similar messages that my mother left throughout the day. It wasn’t as if it was new to me that my mother was in there, but It was still bizarre to receive calls from her as an inmate. The calls left an unpleasant feeling coursing through my body and I wished more than anything that I could forget about them. Unfortunately, I knew it wasn’t possible to forget something of that magnitude.

  It took me longer than usual to get ready for the day, with my mind still at home, stuck to my answering machine. As simple and harmless as the messages seemed, it left me completely scatterbrained. After making my bowl of cereal, I first put the milk in the cupboard and the cereal in the fridge, but thankfully caught that. Unfortunately, that was just the beginning of my very long morning. I attempted putting my legs through the armholes of my long sleeve shirt and almost began brushing my hair with my toothbrush. With a day starting like that, I should’ve done society a favor and gone back to sleep; except that wasn’t the type of worker I was.

  My cell phone buzzed a few times with text messages from Bailey, Corey, and Gabriella. The only one I chose to read at the time was Bailey’s, to make sure the Inn wasn’t burnt to the ground or something equally as devastating. The text was just a reassurance that the Inn was in good hands and to take my time coming in for the day. Bailey was undoubtedly used to handling the place on her own. It wasn’t until noon that I made it in for the day and there was a voicemail waiting for me in my office too. After ten minutes of staring at the blinking indication, I took a deep breath and pressed play.

  A sigh of relief hit me at first that it wasn’t my mother again; however, it was my grandmother telling me that my mom wanted to talk. That was one thing I preferred to ignore. Living in New York for so long, I had been able to listen to the problems my mom and Gram had with each other, without being directly involved. Hearing the stories about the two of them was surreal to me and I was able to look at it almost as if their lives were just another crummy sitcom. Now, I was thrown into the middle of this not-so-funny situation and the reality of it was killing me.

  My state of mind didn’t improve throughout the day and when I left at six that night, there is only one sure fire cure—chocolate. The local market had the best dessert selections and it was there, with a basket filled with various delicious treats that I ran into Oliver. A smile lit up his face and my eyes couldn’t resist traveling over his perfect physique. Could this man look less gorgeous—just once? There I was—a walking disaster—with I’m sure the words ‘hot mess’ tattooed across my forehead. Then there is Oliver; perfect fitting jeans, black sweater showing off his toned upper body perfectly enhanced by a to-die-for smile.

  “Hey Dani.” Oliver threw his arm around one of my shoulders with a small squeeze. “Sheesh girl, is it that time of the month?” he asked with a laugh; gesturing towards my twelve-thousand calorie basket. My face instantly flushed with embarrassment, as I forced a smile to brush off the comment.

  “It’s not for me. We…uh…the Inn needed some more desserts because we ran out of some ingredients and won’t get more until Friday.”

  “Sure,” He said accepting my excuse with a grain of salt.

  “So how are you?” I asked, in an attempt to change the subject off my terrible eating habits.

  “Doing well. So mom's in the slammer huh? Well, that will be an awkward Christmas, celebrating at the prison. Hope you prefer orange to red and green." he said with a wink. M
y jaw just about made a dent in the hard-tiled floor at his comment. Was he being serious right then?

  After taking a minute to compose myself, I responded. “I haven’t seen my mother since I was 18.”

  “At least you know where to find her now.” Ollie shot me a smile, that I’m sure was meant to make my knees weak—but right then all I felt was irritation and disgust at his comments. “Hey, I need to run, but there was something I forgot to tell you last time we ran into each other.”

  My heart fluttered in a traitorous fashion. “Oh yeah, what would that be?”

  “I think you look really good now, since you’ve put on a little weight. That stick skinny thing in high school wasn’t the best look for you, but I like this.” A corner of his lip turned up, as he reached out and gave my side a little pinch. He flashed me his oh-so-charming grin once more before brushing a strand of hair off my shoulder.

  Shooting a seductive smile at me, he said, “Hopefully, I’ll see you around Dani.” With that he was gone and I stood there in utter shock. Was that supposed to be a compliment!? Now that I’ve put on weight—oh yeah, every girl wanted to hear that from the guy they’ve been in love with forever. Ass. There was a split second where I considered putting back my chocolate treats, but after the day I had plus those comments—chocolate was my savior. Corey’s bar was also sounding like a viable option too, but I needed to be alone. I knew Corey would know how to make me smile and cheer me up—he always did such a great job. To be honest, it wasn’t just the physical effect he had on me. I enjoyed being around him and even when he was doing things to bug me—like that consultation—he still made me smile. Yet, there were just some times when a girl needed a night to be sad and indulge in junk food.

  * * * * The next morning I was up by six after a restless night’s sleep. I tossed and turned restlessly when I wasn’t dreaming about the comments Oliver made. My dreams ranged from resembling a beach ball, to attacking the chocolate city—eating everything in sight. I tried just about every remedy to go back to sleep before resigning myself to rise with the sun. What I really needed was to prove to myself that I was in shape and that I was not nearly as big as I felt in my dreams.