“Fine, but it’s in the past.”
“Yes, and that’s why I’m telling you even though we still have more to do before next week’s Grand Opening Gala, they are coming to help.” He lowers his hands to cup my ass through my pencil skirt before adding, “Now, I think we have just enough time for me to take you back to your office, bend you over your desk, and help work out some of this stress by making you scream my name.”
His lips have just crashed down on my lips when I hear Katja’s voice echoing in the empty lobby, coming from the direction of the front circular door. “Hello! We’re here!”
I yank out of Z’s embrace, trying not to feel mortified for being caught making out in the middle of the lobby by my boss—well, technically she is also my best friend too.
Spinning around, I’m just in time to rush into her welcoming arms for a tight hug. As we pull out enough to see each other, the grin on her face settles my nerves. Maybe Z is right, I need to lighten up.
“I’ve missed you!” she gushes before teasing me. “I’m not sure if I’d greet all of your guests in the future with a front row seat to you and Z preparing to rip each other’s clothes off, but since I’m so happy for you two, it was a wonderful way to welcome me.”
“Sorry about that… I didn’t expect you for at least another thirty minutes.”
“We landed early so we just grabbed a taxi.” As we release each other, Katja’s attention scans the lobby. Her eyes light up as she adds, “This place looks amazing! You’ve done a marvelous job of transforming the space. It somehow feels both spacious and yet intimate at the same time.”
Pride washes over me with her observations. “Thanks so much, but a lot of the big design decisions were yours before I got involved.”
“Maybe, but you had to execute on them, and I can see so many personal touches everywhere I look. I can’t wait for the full tour.”
Dex had carried in their luggage and greeted Z, but now he’s waiting to give me a hug. “Katja is right. You and Z have done a great job, but the full tour can wait. I’d like to get all this stuff up to our room and rest for a few hours to fight off jet lag. Are we still on for having Christmas Eve dinner together tonight?”
“Of course. Chef should be finishing up any time. I hope you don’t mind I asked him and his team to leave our meals in warmers so he could go home and spend tonight with his family. All of the employees have been working so hard getting ready for the opening and next week they’ll work insane hours. I felt it was important for them to enjoy the holiday off.”
“I love your idea,” Katja agreed. “Unfortunately, The Whitney is super busy for the holidays. I hate when I have to make some employees work, but it can’t be helped. I usually pull a few management shifts to help give them time off, but this year even that didn’t work out since I’ll be here in London.”
Dex is already pulling their suitcases in the direction of the elevators. I reach behind the front desk and pull out the envelope I’d prepared for Katja with their room keys already programmed.
“You’d better hurry up,” I say as I shove the envelope into her hands. “Looks like someone is in a hurry to get you behind closed doors.”
Katja’s grin lights up her face. “I don’t know why he’s in such a hurry. You’d think he’d be satiated since he talked me into joining the mile-high-club on the flight over here.”
I can feel the blush rising on my cheeks. “But wait, I thought you guys flew commercial this time?” I question.
“Oh, we did, and let me tell you, those tiny bathrooms on the plane really do make it challenging, but my love somehow managed to find a way to make it work.”
It blows my mind to be lucky enough to have such a close friend who is also my boss. I’m pretty sure most bosses don’t share such salacious details with their employees.
I watch until the elevator doors close behind them before spinning to head toward the closed restaurant. I need to double check to make sure our table for four is set perfectly for the dinner we will enjoy a few hours from now.
“Oh no you don’t.” Z catches my wrist and holds me back from my task.
“I just need to—”
“No. You don’t need to double-check everything. I heard Chef promise you he’d have his team have everything ready for tonight.”
“How do you know that’s where I am going?”
“I know all of your tricks, young lady. And I even love most of them, but you’re going to have to learn to trust the people you’ve hired.”