Loving The British Billionaire (BWWM Romance) (2 page)

“From my momma.”

Chandra hugged her close for a minute more before she sent her off to her own room to start packing up. She handed her daughter several boxes and went back to her own work. Dale had the good graces to leave them be and went off to the bar to drink with his friends. Chandra knew that he would be horny and apologetic when he got back to the house and she did not want to be there when that happened. Angela was right, as she always was. It amazed Chandra how clear everything was without all of the adult biases that everyone collects.

Since she had planned to take her car, the boxes were too much and she had to go back through her meager belongings. She had to cut two boxes out and what she finally left with was the bare essentials. There was still a box or two of memories, but the rest she just left. The job they were going to came with an on-site apartment that they would be living at and according to the recruiter, it was fully furnished. Chandra figured she would piece together whatever it was they needed later, when she actually knew what they needed.

The pair left before Dale got home and stayed the night in a hotel before leaving for the six hour trip south of where they lived. The resort was in a tourist town in Tennessee and she was excited to be going, even if it was just her and her daughter. Chandra had learned a long time ago that no love lasted. She felt that way for the first twenty years of her life and then she had Angela. Now she knew that the only true lifetime love was for a person’s children. She really didn’t know what she would do without her daughter sometimes.

Chapter 2

Chandra was nervous. It was her first day of work and after getting all unpacked and situated in their small apartment, it was the moment of truth. Chandra had gotten the job, but half of her assignments were completely new to her. She tried to pay attention in the ten-hour-long staff meeting that started and ended her first day there. By the time she left the small room that had been packed with almost thirty people, her head was spinning and she needed a large glass of wine to make it through the night.
 

The instructions were pretty simple to her. Listen and smile at the rich folks. Don’t be rude or you are fired. No fraternizing with the guests and that was about it. She knew what she was there to do and while she was not as excited as the others, Chandra was excited for the opportunity. Her sizes had been recorded before and she was handed a bundle of assorted uniforms, each one specific to a different job. There were no job titles there, just a lot of work and a lot of people to do it. Chandra highly doubted the last part, but she just hoped she didn’t get stuck cleaning toilets or something.

There was a list the next morning that had everyone’s assignments for the rest of the week. After they were evaluated in several jobs, they would have more permanent vocations for the three month summer season. Like Chandra, most of the people would go to wherever they came from and live off their earnings for the rest of the year. She needed time and the extra money to finish her online business degree. She was only a few credits shy of her degree and she was convinced that once she got that, everything would start to look up. The job at Stoney Country Club was the best way for her to do it. She just had to smile and hold her tongue for the next three months, get the end of summer bonus and move on.

Her second day was filled with bartending and though the clients were uppity at times, Chandra enjoyed the work. She was able to talk to people all day and the woman she was paired with was a fast talker like her. The two women became fast friends and once they realized they had two daughters about the same age, Chandra knew it was fate. They both had to work opposite shifts the rest of the week and they decided to babysit for each other, just to keep an extra eye on the girls. There were many activities for them to do during the day, but both mothers thought it was best to have one of them around anyways. They were still at an age of impressionability and some of the rich kids could lead by bad example.

“You don’t want no young love blossoming, I take it?”

Chandra laughed and shook her head. “I think Angela knows better from watching me, I’m afraid. Besides, she is too young. Do you let your daughter date yet?”

“Of course not, are you crazy? You know how men are, always trying to get in…”

Kelly nudged Chandra and she turned around to find a man waiting at the bar with an empty glass.

“Oh.”

Chandra had meant to apologize for not seeing him or maybe even ask him what he wanted to drink, but she couldn’t. Her tongue got thicker in her mouth and her mind muddled as she looked at the man in front of her with dark hair and laughing blue eyes. He apparently had heard their conversation and that made Chandra feel embarrassed. His large body towered over her as she walked closer, her hands touching his as she reached for the glass on the bar.

“What can I get for you?”

His eyes darkened and for a moment, all of the humor was gone that was so prevalent before. “I can think of so many things, but for now some more scotch.”

His voice changed the way she saw him. While he had been easy on the eyes before, the British accent made his looks more devastatingly handsome. He was even more attractive to Chandra because of her love of accents. She started to give him one of her smiles, but remembering the strict rules about fraternizing, she gulped and nodded her head. Chandra turned around and went to get the top shelf bottle. She could feel his eyes on her and her hands were slightly trembling with the attention. Turning back around, Chandra handed him the glass and his hand made contact with hers once again. Their eyes met for a moment.

“Thank you…”

“Chandra.”

“Thank you, Chandra. Your very presence has made my day a little better, which I assure you is no small feat.”

She smiled as he turned to walk away. It seemed in that moment that everything was going to work out for her. Chandra believed in signs and if that gorgeous man wasn’t a sign, she did not know what was. She pocketed the hundred that he had left as a tip. Her day could not get much better than this, she thought to herself as the dark-haired man looked back once with his smoldering blue eyes once last time. She watched him walk to a table and when she saw the women, she figured that he was already taken anyways.

Chapter 3

Keith couldn’t help but look back at the beautiful barmaid. He had spent most of the night watching her interact with everyone, waiting for the perfect time to say something to her. When he had finally gone up to the bar for a refill, his own words were lost and he had said nothing really. Her beauty was exotic and different, not the regular blonde-haired, fake-chested women that usually frequented the staff at the club. Keith felt himself drawn to her and it was the way she wore her white outfit that had made her stand out from all of the other girls.

It was not just the way the garment had contrasted so well with her caramel colored skin, but how her curves filled out the uniform. Her breasts were full and she had long legs that begged to be pushed open. His mind was instantly on the naughty things he wanted to do to her, but he was not exactly there alone.

“Keith, why didn’t you get me something to drink? I swear you would have me wither up before you would give in to a little chivalry.”

Keith’s mouth was taut and he smiled back at his soon-to-be ex-wife. They were there under orders to try to make it work. Mara would not agree to a settlement until they exhausted all help from a marriage counselor that had been dragged into the midst. This was the therapist’s last ditch effort and while Keith was supposed to be focusing on his marriage, he was already divorced in his mind. Their marriage had been over for years and he was ready to see it finally end. Going in, he thought it would never happen, but as the years went by, divorce became an option for him.

He stood back up and went back to the bar. While happy for a reason to see her again, he didn’t want to look like a desperate idiot either that was stalking her. They were there for another week, so even if he could convince her to give him a chance, Mara there was blocking any chance that he had. Keith cursed her in his head.

“Back again I see. More already?”

“No, um…lady at the table wants another drink. She had…”

“Oh I know. She has been in here for quite a while. I am surprised she is still standing. I would have been passed out cold hours ago.”

“Ah yes. Well she is quite attuned to alcohol and we all think that she just absorbs it faster than, well, anyone on the planet, but she won’t get tested.”

It got a giggle from Chandra and even as he said it back in his head, it didn’t seem right. Chandra made his wife’s drink and though he didn’t know her, he felt guilt for not saying something about it. He had the strange idea that he did not want to start a relationship with a lie. Keith shook off the idea in his head and thanked her as before.

“You come back and let me know if you need anything at all, sir.”

“The name's Keith, and I will.”

He walked back even lighter than before. Even the sour look on his wife’s face would not deter his good mood. Keith was a regular at the club and he sent one of the employees to find out where she was going to be working the next day. He had a good idea of how the company worked and he knew that she was going to be bounced around day after day. Keith wanted to make sure that he was there to see her, though getting Mara to do anything more than drinking was near impossible.

He excused himself after another hour while his wife was getting flirty with another man. Keith could only hope that she would find a lover that would make her forget the farce of the marriage that they were currently living. It would leave him open to pursue his own desires and the one he was most interested in was Chandra. He looked back one last time at the woman behind the bar. His eyes urged her to look, to feel him, but her eyes did not rise to meet his. There was something about the mysterious woman that made his heart pause when he saw her.

***

Around an hour later, an envelope was slid underneath Keith’s door that gave him Chandra’s full schedule for the next month. Keith was not usually so enamored with a woman, but he was feeling free and Chandra looked like the very essence of freedom. He made a note that she would be poolside the next day and he really hoped that he could shake the wife long enough to spend some time getting to know her a little better.

Chapter 4

“So did you see Keith Barns looking at you all night?”

Chandra looked over at Kelly, confused. They were sitting down at the table folding clothes from the small Laundromat for the employees. The two women had already finished off a bottle of red wine and were a glass into the next one. Kelly got louder, while Chandra got thoughtful.

“Who?”

“You know, that fine ass man that kept coming up to the bar every five minutes, looking like Mel Gibson.”

“You are crazy, he did not. He was fine though.”

“Right!”

The two women laughed and then shushed each other when they realized how loud they were being.

“Don’t wake the girls up.”

“You're the one that started all this man talk.”

“I know, girl, damn I need to get me some. I hear that a lot of the staff here get it on with the guests, you just can’t get caught.”

Chandra had known exactly who Kelly was talking about before and he was the same one she thought about when the idea of getting it on with one of the customers came to mind. She didn’t believe that they had a right to say who or what she could do when she was out of work anyways, so the rules were silly to her.

“Well, girl, I have lifeguard duty in the morning. What are you up to?”

Kelly’s face screwed up. “Housekeeping. Can you believe that shit?”

“Come on, it's not so bad.”

“Have you ever had to clean up strangers’ beds and showers before, it’s gross. I hope that does not go on my permanent rotation.”

“Don’t we all have to do it at some point?”

“Well that depends on who you get on your knees for. We all get paid the same, but some people, namely women, will get far more enjoyable jobs if they can find the right guest to ease their way.”

“You cannot be serious.”

“Dead serious. You need to get up on Mel Gibson and get you a secure spot for this season. If not, you're going to be doing housekeeping and laundry.”

“Is that what you plan to do?”

“Honey, I already got something in the works. You just wait and see. This is not my first go-round with these types of places. I have already spotted a couple hot, older men here that have taken a fancy to me. Snag them up while you can because most of the guest will be here all season and the young girls around here will snap them up before you get a chance if you wait too long.”