“I can manage my own medications, Zantar.”
His only response was a not-so-subtle lifting of his eyebrows, obviously not believing her.
“Well, if that’s all you need,” the good doctor said, interrupting their silent argument, “I’ll be on my way. I understand that I have many other patients to look at this afternoon.” He glanced down at her hands and sighed with a shake of his head. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen hands that bad before. Please take care of your skin. You haven’t gotten an infection yet, but those blisters look very bad and very painful. The cream I gave you will help, but protecting your hands for the next week will help more than anything.”
And with that, he walked out of the enormous room.
Leaving Faye alone with Zantar.
“I should probably get back to work.” Faye glanced up at Zantar, wondering how he would react to that statement. Not well, she realized when she noticed his lips compress with irritation.
“I believe the doctor mentioned that you are now on medical leave,” he replied succinctly, crossing his arms over his massive chest and creating the impression of an immovable force.
Faye smiled at the fanciful thought, but her amusement faded quickly when his eyes flared with anger. “I really need to work. And just because the doctor says that the hotel should pay me for the hours I’ll miss on medical leave, that doesn’t mean that it will happen in reality.”
“I will ensure that the hotel pays you, and all of the employees, who must miss work because the management staff broke the health and safety laws.”
She tilted her head. “How do you know that the hotel broke the law? Isn’t it the way of the world that the corporations generally retaliate against the employee?” She did her own arm crossing and glared right back at him. “I’m pretty sure that they will somehow get out of this little debacle. Big corporations always do.”
His expression became more determined. “Not always,” he muttered.
“Yes,” she argued. “They do. The little person, the lowly worker, people like me, rarely get a fair shot in the world. There’s corporate corruption everywhere and it’s rampant. Anyone who thinks differently is just delusional.”
He moved closer, his hands fisting on his hips as he loomed over her now. “I will ensure that you and the others impacted by this toxic mess are compensated fairly. I have connections within the Skyla government,” he paused and sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Connections that are very high up and they will ensure that everyone who was injured by this chemical cleaning agent is adequately compensated.”
“But I’m not a citizen of this country, Zantar. And foreigners, especially workers such as me who have a work visa, have even less ability to fight inequalities. Plus, many of the workers on the cleaning team are women. Females get brushed aside more often than you realize.”
He moved even closer, his arm whipping out to wrap around her waist as he pulled her against him. “You will not be brushed aside, Faye,” he assured her. “You have my word on that.”
She smiled, putting her hand on his arms to steady her balance. “You’re a very…” she paused, licking her lips and allowing her eyes to roam over his broad, delectable shoulders “Well, you’re hot, Zantar. But I don’t think that you’re powerful enough to…”
He kissed her, stopping whatever rude comments she might have uttered. He put a hand to the back of her head, keeping her steady. But Faye wasn’t pulling away. If anything, she wanted to be closer. She wanted to sink into his strength and feel every part of him against her body. She wanted…him! For the first time in her life, she’d found a man that she wanted to be a part of.
Her fingers lifted higher, touching the skin on his neck then moving to his hair. Soft hair, she absently realized. It was shocking to find something soft on this man that seemed to be hard as granite. Everywhere!
“Your…!” A voice interrupted.
Faye jerked backwards, startled once again and fighting the urge to snap at the next person that interrupted their kiss. It wasn’t fair! It was as if the world was conspiring to keep her from kissing this man!
“I’m so sorry!” the man burst out.
Faye looked over her shoulder, needing to glare at the person who had interrupted this time. If it was the doctor again, she would…well, do something really horrible!
“What is it?” Zantar demanded, putting an arm around Faye’s waist and pulling her closer.
“Uhh…” This new person looked from Faye to Zantar, obviously wishing that he could simply back out of the room. “The…uh…meeting?” he finished lamely.
Faye felt Zantar’s arm tighten around her waist, proving that he was just as irritated as she was at the interruption. But he nodded at the man who backed away. Then Zantar turned to face her again. “I’m sorry, Faye, but I need to go to this meeting. Will you stay here? Will you wait for me to finish?”
She shook her head. “No, I can’t do that. I really do need to get back to…” she didn’t finish her sentence when his eyes lit up with frustration.
“You’re not working Faye,” he told her firmly.
“I am.” She was just as adamant, needing the hours and the paycheck. “If I don’t work, I don’t eat.” She said that with a flippant tone, not wanting him to know how true that statement really was. She even started moving towards the bedroom where her cart had been left behind. Even though she’d been assigned to clean the penthouse suite, which was significantly easier to clean, she probably had a several other rooms within the suite to finish before her boss came through to inspect.
“You’re not working, Faye. In fact, I want you to stay here with me while your hands heal.”
Faye paused, startled by his “request”. Stay here? In this beautiful suite? Oh goodness, she couldn’t imagine living in this kind of luxury, even temporarily!
However, staying here would put her in a very awkward position. “That’s not going to happen, Zantar.” She was already at the bottom of the staircase when she made that announcement. She turned around and looked at him. “Will you meet me for coffee again tomorrow morning?”
He was just as stubborn. “You will have coffee here. You’ll stay the night.”
She laughed, shaking her head. “No way. We’re not there yet.” She glanced around, obviously making sure that they wouldn’t be overheard again. “But I hope that we will be there very soon!” And with that, she rushed up the stairs to the bedroom. Looking around, Faye determined that there wasn’t anything that truly needed to be cleaned here in the bedroom. The bed had already been made and everything else looked remarkably pristine. She pushed her cart out of the bedroom and back to the employee elevator. She’d check the other rooms in the suite quickly and…!
“You are done for the afternoon, Ms. Lafayette,” the butler announced angrily.
Faye looked at him, startled by his words. “But I still have to…”
The hotel manager stepped into the small space from the elevator that had just opened up, his eyes glaring at her. “You need to leave the hotel immediately!”
Faye stared at the man, a choking sensation filling her. She was being fired! She’d caused problems and now she was fired!
“I understand,” she said with a defiant lift of her head. She’d done nothing wrong! But there were always consequences for the worker-bees in this world. It didn’t matter if those consequences were unfair. “I’ll just get my personal belongings out of my locker.”
Oh, she was going to give Zantar an earful tomorrow when she met him for coffee! Not that she could afford coffee! Not anymore!