Undercover Billionaire Boss: A BWWM Contemporary Romance (3 page)

* * *

S
taying
on schedule was not an issue for Christian. Besides, he intended to spend as much time as possible in the hotel. As he walked under the crystal and gold chandelier hanging from the middle of the lobby, his mind was at work, weighing what he had seen today. The standards of the hotel were on par with the strict standards of the rest of the resorts and the staff appeared happy enough.

Christian strode in long steps, unaware of the figure he cut with his easy confidence and quiet magnetism. Despite the clothes, people were drawn to him and turned to stare as he walked by. It felt good to be out of the hotel and himself again. He would feel better once he was out of the uncomfortable shirt and cap.

He spied his black Bugatti waiting for him, parked three blocks away, with his driver—who was also his bodyguard—behind the wheel. Before he slid in, Christian looked behind him to make sure that no one who worked at the hotel was behind him. The chances were slim, but it had never hurt him in the past to be careful.

“Hello Jim.”

“Hey boss,” Jim said with a wide grin. “If I hadn’t seen you two hours ago, I wouldn’t have recognized you.”

“I don’t recognize myself either,” Christian said and grinned back at his long time employee.

Jim eased the car out of the parking lot and headed toward the main drag. Thirty minutes later Christian hopped out at the entrance of his condo building, and, with a wave to the doorman, took the elevator up to the fifteenth floor. Though he didn’t live there, the entire building belonged to him. The penthouse apartment had been vacant and he thought it a convenient place to set himself up for the next few months.

As soon as he walked through the front door to his expansive living room, Christian began shedding off his disguise. He tossed away the cap first and placed it on a glass table as he walked across the living room to his bedroom.

He had gotten the cap from Jim, who asked no questions. Christian liked his driver for his discretion. Jim knew that if Christian wanted him to know something, he would tell him, thus Jim never asked a thing, which suited Christian just fine.

Next, Christian went to the adjoining bathroom and slipped off his contact lenses and stripped out of the clothes. Only after he had taken a shower did Christian feel at ease and like himself again. His hair still looked terrible, but he could find someone to fix that in a few months.

He sank into a deep, comfortable chair and looked around approvingly. His assistant had done a good job furnishing the place on such short notice.

His mind drifted to his interview with Raina. One thing was for sure; despite his irritation at Roger for bungling the management of his properties, the next month or two would be interesting. He wondered how he would keep his desire for her in check as they worked together.

Fortunately, it was likely their paths would not cross too often.

Or is that “Unfortunately”?
His subconscious chided him.

Christian surprised himself with that thought. His last relationship had ended so poorly he had sworn off relationships completely. The last thing he needed was to start wanting to get close to a woman.

Women invariably disappointed him. Most wanted him for his money and the power his name held. After the last girlfriend, who’d turned out to be just another gold-digger, he had given up on finding a woman who would like him for himself.

He couldn’t blame them though, he acknowledged wryly. His name opened up doors to all the swankiest parties of the year. But women often got a shock when Christian refused to attend those types of events, preferring to spend the evening ordering in, or at a quaint private restaurant. All his relationships—if you could call them that, ended when both parties realized that they could not get what they wanted from the other.

Women wanted a prize and Christian wanted honesty.

While Christian was generous with his money, he was less so with his time, and he couldn’t be bothered to deal with the trivial frivolity and trappings that came with wealth, which appealed strongly to most women.

Or, at least the women I’ve met
. The thought appeared out of nowhere. He wondered if that type of life would appeal to Raina. For some reason, he doubted it.

He realized fleetingly that his position as a maintenance man would give him a chance to meet normal, women like Raina and Kelly. Women who, like himself, had charted their own paths in life and worked for everything they had.

Yes
, Christian thought with a rueful smile,
he would enjoy getting to know Ms. Raina McMillan.

R
aina’s brow
was creased in concentration. Absentmindedly, she ran her fingers through her hair. She glanced at the two files in front of her. There were two new suppliers with whom she was not familiar, but she knew that before a company supplied the hotel, they were vigorously vetted, with information such as their business licenses and sales tax numbers recorded.

Besides, the list of approved suppliers came from the highest levels of the company. She just gave a cursory glance at the supplier names, signed at the bottom, and added them to the pile behind her. She pulled out another supplier’s record and started running through the numbers.

The phone by her side rang and Raina, lost deep in thought, jumped. She glared at it, deciding not to answer. It was half an hour past her scheduled working hours, but she was working late again as usual. Whoever it was could just leave a message.

She turned her attention back to the papers in front of her. Something was not right with the figures. The actual delivery schedule of supplies had decreased, yet the files showed that the soaps they were already running out of should have lasted for another two months. Raina sighed. A computer system would have sorted out all these problems, yet, every time she pointed this to Roger, he just waved her concerns away and said it would cost too much to implement something like that.

The pone kept ringing, making it unable for her to concentrate. With a sigh, she grabbed it. “Hello,” she said onto the phone distractedly.

Raina murmured in response, and then ended the conversation, approving the Human Resources Manager’s decision to put Christopher’s office in a small room, off the housekeeping department. She had forgotten all about Christopher, with so much on her mind. She hadn’t seen him in the last couple of days—she probably ought to check up on him and see how he was getting on with things.

Returning to scrutinizing the documents, Raina looked up abruptly, after an eerie feeling that someone was watching her. Hers was an open door policy and she did her best to adhere to that at all times. Her mouth went dry when she saw Roger Del Mar, leaning against the frame, staring at her intently.

How long had he been there?

Disconcerted, Raina stood up and unconsciously smoothed down her skirt. She saw Roger’s eyes roam over her curves with a leer and she snatched her hands away from her legs.

“Hello Mr. Del Mar?” Raina said.

“Roger. How many times must I remind you, my dear Raina?” Roger said smoothly.

Raina preferred to use his surname as a reminder that theirs was strictly a business relationship, not that Roger paid any notice.

“Roger,” she said curtly, turning away from him. “I’m quite backlogged here, I’m afraid I—.” But he cut her off.

“That’s better,” he said as he marched into the room and walked towards her, stopping so close to her that she could smell his vile cologne and rancid cigar breathe.

Roger had not aged well, Raina thought, looking at the premature creases on the side of his mouth and forehead.
He must be what, in his mid-fifties?
But he looked nearly seventy. She swallowed hard and forced her breath to slow down. The last thing she wanted was Pervy Roger to know how uncomfortable he made her.

“You look beautiful, as always,” he whispered.

He then did something he had never dared to do before. He placed a hand on her hip. Raina jumped back as though she had been burnt by a searing hot poker. Roger’s response was to laugh, exposing his straight but stained teeth.

“Why do you resist me Raina? You know I could make life very pleasant for you,” Roger said. He leaned a little closer to her and whispered in her ear, “And I could make life very unpleasant as well …”

The threat lingered there between them, hanging heavy in the air.

Raina pulled back from him as she felt the contents of her last meal threatening to escape from her stomach. She looked at his oily grey-brown hair and leering mouth, and she swallowed the disgust that rose up her throat. Raina thought of her mortgage and the children. She had to be very careful. If she wounded his pride, he would fire her without a single thought. She had seen it happen to others too many times.

“You’re a very handsome man and any woman would be honored to date you,” Raina said, a fake smile plastered on her face.

Roger’s eyes darted around and then settled on the glass wall by his side. Raina watched him as he inspected his face and straighten his mustache hairs.
God, the man was vain!

“But Roger, I don’t mix work with pleasure. I value you too much as a colleague to want to jeopardize our working relationship, however tempting it is.” Raina had to choke out the last sentence.

He screwed his eyes until they appeared as two slits.

“So you’d rather resign so that we can date, is that what you’re saying? If that’s the case—“

“No, that’s not what I mean,” Raina said in panic. “Oh, and before I forget, there’s something I want to talk about.”

She fled behind her desk and proceeded to show Roger the discrepancies with the supplies and the invoices. He showed little interest and used the time to scrutinize her from across the desk instead.

“Don’t worry your pretty little head about that; I’ll take care of it.” Roger said.

Raina had no choice but to let it go, but she couldn’t stand a minute longer in the office. The air was stifling and she felt as though Roger had taken up all her space with his presence.

“I have to run; you know how it is. So much to do!” Raina said with a smile. She kept her voice light and cheerful. “So glad you stopped by, Roger.…”

She fled as fast as she could without also being insulting. Her walk was clipped and she took sharp turns through the tight service hallways to try and lose Roger.

She heard him yelling behind her, “We’re not done yet—"

Roger’s voice trailed off, but Raina pretended not to hear what he had said. The implication was clear, and she was tired of it.

Her hands clenched tightly into a fist. If she did not need her job so much, she would have walked right out and never returned. Tears stung at the corners of her eyes as she walked/ran through the corridors. She was so lost in her thoughts, that she only realized that she had bumped into someone when she felt strong arms wrap around her.

“Hey there, where’s the fire?” Christopher said. He caught her with an “Ooof,” and let her fall into him.

Raina buried her face into his chest without thinking about it. Her hands briefly clutched his shirt and his smell—clean and woodsy—filled her nostrils. It was barely more than a few seconds, but in those short moments Raina felt safe.

When she came to her senses, she jumped back. Her eyes were filled with tears and she kept her head averted so that he wouldn’t see them. She laughed shakily.

“Sorry about that. I’m in a bit of a rush; I want to catch some guests before they check out.” Raina said and fled without a single glance at Christopher’s face. She could feel his stare as she rushed down the hallway. She felt a twinge of remorse at having dismissed him so quickly. She would apologize later. Right now she needed to get some space between her and—well, everyone.

Once in the open lobby, she felt her breathing slow down and she reduced down her pace. She marched to the reception desk and intercepted two guests, welcoming the distraction that giving good customer service provided her.

“Hi, I’m Raina, the manager.” Raina said. “Did you enjoy your stay with us?”

* * *

T
he next morning
when Raina got to the hotel, she started her usual rounds. This involved visiting most of the areas of the hotel, especially those frequented by the guests. She circled the ground floor, noting the expensive chrome-plated fixtures were perfectly polished, artfully arranging magazines on tables and straightening vases overflowing with fragrant flowers.

When she was done, Raina took the huge elevator to the lower level and reveled in the silence there. Some days it seemed she barely had a chance to breathe. In the polished reflection of the elevator doors she noted her crisp, professional-looking suit approvingly and tucked a stray curl back in place. Her makeup highlighted her best features—her wide brown eyes, her full lips—but was subtle and elegant. She looked both “no-nonsense,” but also approachable and friendly.
It was,
she thought as she smiled wryly at her reflection,
a hard balance to pull off.

As the elevator doors opened, she took a deep breath to steel herself for the day. She exchanged curt greetings with a few housekeepers who were cleaning the rooms which had recently been vacated. She took a peek at another room with the door ajar and to her pleasant surprise she spied Christopher atop a ladder fixing a bulb in the chandelier.

“Hello there,” she called out.

“Hey yourself; feeling better?” Christopher said, without taking his eyes away from the chandelier.

“Yes, I am,” Raina said, noticing his legs muscles and rear end that were accentuated by his perfectly fitted pants.

She felt herself grow warm when her eyes wandered further up, resting momentarily on the bulge in his trousers. She turned away in shame. This wasn’t like her. She was not given to ogling at men, especially those that she worked with.

Raina had not lied to Pervy Roger. She always kept away from her coworkers, and especially her subordinates, which had saved her a lot of headaches in the past. She’d seen too many office romances turn sour and she strongly discouraged dating amongst her employees.

Still, Christopher, with his well-muscled body and a deep voice that seemed to come from the very base of his stomach, could make a woman question her principles.

“Can I help you with something?” His deep voice held a trace of laughter, almost as if he knew what she had been thinking.
But that was, of course, impossible,
she told herself. Still, she felt embarrassed at having been caught staring at him like a school girl with a crush.

“Are you settling in well?” Raina asked in what she hoped was a normal tone of voice. It sounded a bit strangled to her own ears. She wiped her damp palms against her skirt and hoped he wouldn’t notice.

“I am, thank you. Your friend Kelly is very …
helpful
.”

Christopher said the word “helpful” in a suggestive way, which meant that Kelly was trying her luck with him. As much as she liked Kelly, the information gave her a bad taste in her mouth.

“I just bet she is,”
Raina muttered under her breath.

“What was that?” Christopher asked as he descended the ladder.

“I said I bet she’s very helpful!” Raina responded in an artificially chipper voice. He gave her a curious look.

“Ah, yes. Well, yes. Helpful.” He cleared his throat and then asked the question he had clearly been waiting to ask her. “Was that another of the bosses I saw leaving your office?” Christopher said.

Raina sighed aloud. “Yes, he’s the regional director.”

“I take it you don’t like him much?”

“He’s fine,” Raina said tightly. The last thing she needed was for Roger to hear she’d been bad-mouthing him. “Look I have to go; just wanted to check on you.”

With that she swung on her heels and left the room. No matter how much she despised Roger, she only spoke about him to Kelly, whom she trusted implicitly. It was unprofessional to discuss your boss with your colleagues, no matter how nasty those bosses were.

Before returning to her office, Raina took a peek into Kelly’s office and was glad to still find her there, going over timesheets. It was stupid, but she wanted to hear from Kelly herself what was going on between her and the new handyman.

It wasn’t like she was jealous or anything, she told herself, she just wanted to remind Kelly that it would be frowned upon to get involved with a coworker.… Raina sighed to herself and rolled her eyes. Even her inner voice sounded lame to her.

“God, Raina! Can you believe the gall of that man? I’m telling you, one day I’ll slap him so hard that his fake teeth will fall out,” Kelly said, her voice interrupting Raina’s reverie.

“Rog?” Raina asked in a dry tone. “I don’t even want to know what he said to you, after he was through with me.”

Kelly shuddered. “I managed to avoid him for the most part, but he had Ellie, in the kitchen, in absolute waterfalls of tears.”

Raina grimaced. She would have to make sure Ellie was okay. Maybe give her a day or two off to make up for it. “I’ll check on her in a bit.”

“Oh, but guess what else?” Kelly’s demeanor changed and she grinned widely. “I have juicier news. Christopher—the maintenance guy, I think he likes me.”

Raina kept her composure, smiling tightly at her friend. Her hands balled into fists at her side. Christopher sure did not waste time. Then again, neither did Kelly.

“Oh? Why? Did he ask you on a date?” Her tone was deliberately casual.

“Not yet, but I know that he will. I’ve caught him staring at me more than once. He’s so sexy, have you seen his ass, and the chest on that man? Yesterday he’d taken off his long sleeved shirt and his undershirt was clinging to him like a second skin. Mmm hmmm … I can just see myself in his arms all night.…”