The Redeemer (3 page)

She pictured him in his car outside.
At least he’s not sitting there in his beloved Holden . . . oooh . . . Oh yes! Prepare for round two, Xander Rhodes, you fucking piece of shit.

She clicked her mouse to awaken her computer and set to work. A couple of phone calls later and she sat back, not exactly thrilled with herself but feeling a little better. She needed to prepare for the staff meeting, to decide what she should say to the whole staff. Then, once she’d got that out of the way, she’d sit back and wait. A smug grin settled across her face but she wiped it off and began to formulate a plan for the staff meeting.

Fifty minutes later, the staff filed into the office. Some looked apprehensive, others looked downright nervous but Belinda looked like she was going to burst. Isla gave her an approving smile and Belinda’s face lit up.

Damn! That girl responds to even the slightest praise . . . perhaps there’s a chance that she can do this . . . oh hell, I may actually end up with Belinda as head receptionist . . . what have I done?

She was distracted by Dean’s arrival, seeing him respectfully yet determinedly make his way to the front of the small group who’d already assembled. He looked confused and agitated. ‘What’s going on?’ he mouthed.

Isla closed her eyes and shook her head slightly – a minute movement but enough to get the message across that she couldn’t reply.

Then, confronted by a wall of staff, standing stiffly and awkwardly in her office, she took a deep breath and forced a bright smile before she began. ‘Thank you all for arriving on time. I won’t keep you long as I know you’ve all got plenty to do and that the hotel is completely unstaffed at the moment. I’m sure you’ve all noticed that we now have two gentlemen working as hotel security—’

‘Hotel security?’ blurted Nadine. ‘They look more like male models. I’m sure the blond’s wearing Armani and have you smelled his aftershave? It’s enough to make your knicker elastic snap.’

‘I sure have and he can snap mine anytime,’ piped up Bobbi. ‘Why are they here, Isla? Are we expecting celebrity guests or something?’

Immediately, Nadine began to babble about which celebrity she’d like to visit until Dean turned to her and told her firmly to shut up. ‘I’m sure Isla will tell us what’s going on, if you give her chance,’ he asserted.

Isla smiled her gratitude at Dean then drew a deep breath to get to the ‘facts’ of the matter. But Derek blurted out, ‘What’s Xander doing sitting in his car outside? He’s been there for ages and when I just walked across the car park intending to ask him whether he was okay, one of those security guards apprehended me – and none too gently either – and forced me back inside. And I’ll tell you this, I felt a solid bulge against me . . . he’s packing something, I tell you.’

Nadine snickered loudly, triggering a fit of giggles from Bobbi, Belinda and two of the housekeeping attendants. Even Charlie was smirking.

‘I wouldn’t mind finding out what he’s packing,’ piped up Bobbi, making Derek blush.

He shouted over the raucous laughter, ‘I didn’t mean that and you know it. I reckon he’s armed. I’m not happy about working here if there are people carrying guns, Isla.’

‘Oh come on, Derek. Don’t be so dramatic. You watch far too much television, you know,’ accused Charlie.

‘For fuck’s sake,’ bellowed Dean. ‘Will you lot get a grip? It’s like being in a fucking playground.’

Silence descended and everyone turned to Dean, shocked at his outburst. It was totally out of character for him to be so bullish. He blushed furiously but glared back at them.

‘Thank you, Dean,’ Isla interjected. ‘No, sadly, we don’t have any celebrity guests appearing at the hotel any time soon. Mr Smith and Mr Jones are here to keep Xander off the premises.’

She raised her hand and held out her palm when several of the staff began to mutter. ‘Listen, please. This is important. Xander purchased the hotel from Gerald under false pretences. Gerald wanted it to be kept as a hotel and brought back to its former glory. Xander complied, presumably because he wanted to increase occupancy and takings until he could begin his long-term plan. Unfortunately for him, I found out about his plans and that he wasn’t above straying outside of the law to achieve them. I can’t say too much as there may well be legal proceedings and, even now, I could be inadvertently trampling on a prosecution.

‘The bottom line is that Xander was going to close the hotel and turn it into apartments leaving all of us out of jobs. He had some serious debts and was running up more so it is thought that his intention was to force the hotel into bankruptcy so you wouldn’t even have received any redundancy monies and you probably wouldn’t have been provided with a reference either. Can you imagine trying to get a good job in another hotel without a reference from your last employer? Not to mention how it would look if the last hotel you worked at went bankrupt.

‘Thankfully, a few legal loopholes later and I’m now the sole owner of Rouge Passion and I’ve taken the decision to employ the security guards to keep Xander Rhodes away from the hotel. That is for several reasons, some of which I’ll go into and some I won’t. Because of the potential prosecution, Xander cannot be allowed inside the building in case he tampers with any evidence and, for that reason, I’m insisting that none of you speaks with him, no matter how much he attempts to persuade you. He is a compulsive liar amongst other things. As a result of taking the action in an attempt to safeguard our jobs, my personal safety is now at risk. He’s sitting out there waiting for me and he’s obviously furious that I’ve spoilt his plans. He stood to make a lot of money if his plan had gone ahead, both legally and illegally. The man is ruthless and will say anything to get what he wants.

‘Therefore, if any of you speaks with him, I shall be forced to take steps down the disciplinary route. I don’t want to, believe me, but I have to safeguard this hotel and all of our jobs. On a personal level, I have every reason to believe that my personal safety could be further compromised if any one of you was talked around by Mr Rhodes’ lies. I know it sounds shocking, like something from one of Derek’s TV programmes but I assure you, this is very real. Xander Rhodes isn’t who we thought he was. But, with the exception of the security guards, it is business as usual at Rouge Passion. I’d better let you get back to your duties. We need to keep this hotel going for all our sakes. If any of you has any concerns or questions once you’ve had time for this shocking news to sink in, my door is always open. Okay then, that’s it. Back to work, folks.’

The wall of staff stood there, blinking and casting glances at one another until Nadine blurted, ‘You seriously expect us to go back to work after telling us that? There are armed guards out there and Xander is capable of all sorts . . . what about when we leave work today? What do we do if he follows us or apprehends us? Or worse!’

Isla pursed her lips. ‘Nadine, I have no reason to believe that there is a risk of harm to any of you.’

‘But how can you be sure of that? What if he threatens us if we won’t help him?’ she shot back, her voice rising to a shriek.

‘Calm down, Nadine. Of course I can’t be 100 per cent sure of that, just as I can’t be 100 per cent sure that some madman won’t attack you on your way home, or that you won’t get run over by a bus. But it is extremely unlikely. He’s waiting for me. He won’t leave to follow one of you because he could miss me leaving. But, as a gesture of goodwill, I will pay for a cab for any of you who are worried. Xander doesn’t have access to any of your personal files; they’re all here in this office so don’t worry about him turning up at your homes or anything like that. But if he makes any unexpected attempts to speak with any of you, whether it’s in person as you come and go here, or by telephone, email or whatever, you ignore him completely and report it to me immediately.

‘If any of you wants to book cabs for the end of your shift, let me know and I’ll sort it. If any of you would like to be escorted on to the premises when you start your shift tomorrow, again let me know and I’ll make sure that Smith or Jones walk out to meet you but they have Mr Rhodes and the hotel under surveillance so you’ll be perfectly safe without an escort. I’m sorry to drop this on you but I wanted to be upfront with you. Now, we still have a hotel to run so please, can we all get back to work?’

Thankfully, they filed out of the office, muttering and whispering as they went. Dean and Belinda stayed behind.

‘I didn’t think you were going to tell them anything,’ Belinda said accusingly. ‘How can I prove to you that I can be professional and keep your confidence if you tell them everything?’

Isla shrugged. ‘I had to tell them something but think about it, Belinda. Did I tell them everything? Or just enough to satisfy their curiosity and encourage them to stay away from Xander?’

Belinda drew in a sharp breath and then grinned. ‘Oh yeah, I can still prove myself to you. No worries. Head receptionist, here I come. Right, back to work for me.’

Isla shook her head as the blonde receptionist teetered off in ridiculous heels. Then she saw Dean’s face.

‘What’s going on, Isla? And please, if Belinda knows, tell me everything.’

‘You’d better sit down,’ she muttered.

Thanks Belinda. Thanks a lot.

He sank into one of the chairs facing her desk and looked at her expectantly.

What do I say? Do I tell him the Belinda truth? Or the real truth? I know he can be relied upon to be discreet. No, I can’t bring myself to tell him the actual truth, not when I know he has feelings for me.

She repeated what she’d told Belinda. He didn’t interrupt once. But as soon as she’d finished, he sat back and gave her a wary look.

‘He shouted across to me when I got out of my car,’ he confessed.

Oh shit. What the fuck did he say? Oh God. Do I even want to know?
She saw the anxious expression on Dean’s face.
There’s clearly something he needs to get off his chest so I’m going to have to suck it up.

She rolled her eyes theatrically. ‘Oh yeah. What lies is he sprouting now?’

Dean’s eyes narrowed. It looked like he was debating what to say.

Well, that makes two of us.

‘He said to tell you that nothing’s changed. That it’s still his hotel. He said you need to talk to him, that he can explain everything.’

Isla exhaled loudly, relief surging through her veins until Dean continued, ‘He said to tell you that he’ll stop at nothing to have all that he promised you. That you can do whatever you like, be as angry as you like, but that you don’t know everything and that you won’t understand until you talk to him. Then the security guards insisted that I ignore him and accompany them into the hotel immediately. All the time he kept shouting. He sounded desperate, Isla. Desperate and determined. Then, just as we reached the door he shouted for me to tell you that he’ll find a way and that he’s never giving up on you. What did he mean by that, Isla? That he’s never giving up on you? And what exactly had he promised you?’

Oh bollocks! Think Isla, think!

She shook her head. ‘God only knows, Dean. He’s a compulsive liar. The only promise I can think of was about making this place successful and me being the GM permanently. I guess he’s just applying pressure to try to make me give him a chance to worm his way out of this. He obviously thinks he can talk me around so he says he’ll never give up trying. He’s lost this place, Dean. This place was going to be a nice little earner for him when he turned it into apartments. Can you imagine the profit when he sold them? Do you know what property in Kensington is worth?’

Dean stared at her, his eyes probing hers as if seeking further answers to his questions until finally he stood up. ‘Okay, if that’s all it is. But I’m glad to hear that you’re taking precautions to prevent him hurting you. I get the feeling that taking on Xander Rhodes would carry serious risks, if all you say is true. He’s not going to give up, Isla. You know that don’t you? I hope you’ve arranged security to accompany you home and to stay with you overnight. In fact, you’re going to need twenty-four-hour security for God knows how long until this mess is sorted out. And even then, you could still be taking risks . . . um, Isla you’re welcome to stay at mine tonight, or any night come to that. You’d be safer with me there and your security detail outside. You know I’d look after you, don’t you?’

Isla smiled. ‘To be honest, Dean, I hadn’t thought about what I’ll do later. My priority was to keep him away from the hotel and I knew that would keep him away from me for as long as I’m here. The safest thing might be for me to move into the hotel for a while, that way I won’t have to take the risk of running into him. It will save me the God-awful commute too.’

Nodding, Dean turned his crestfallen face away and headed to the door. Isla felt awful. Lying to him was one thing but this was worse. ‘Hey Dean, would it be okay if I came to the bar later, when I’ve finished up here? I think I’ll need a drink tonight. And good company . . .’

He turned back with a weak smile. ‘Sure,’ he muttered and slipped out of the door.

Why do I feel like such a bitch for turning down his invitation to stay with him? Oooh, imagine how Xander would feel if I did . . . no, that would be totally unfair to Dean. I couldn’t use him like that and, besides, the last thing I want to do is to give Dean any encouragement. No, teaching Xander Cheating Pig Rhodes a lesson cannot hurt anyone . . .
except you
. . . oh fuck off – I’m not hurting. I’m just angry. And this isn’t revenge, I’m better off without him after all; this is a valuable life lesson in moral values for an amoral fucker to prevent him hurting anyone else.

She checked her watch and grinned in anticipation.

But there’s nothing that says I can’t enjoy it. And short of coating his balls with the food of a starving rabid wolf, tying him down and covering his cock in fire ants and shoving an Amazonian giant centipede up his arse, taking delivery of his pride and joy right in front of his eyes will have to suffice.