“Go for it if you think you can prove anything. No one saw me. Your security camera is disabled and your door was open. It wasn’t a prank, Ms. Mason. It was a matter of security and you have none at your hotel. I’m surprised you haven’t been robbed blind. If that hotel is any indication of what the rest of them are like, I wonder how you stay in business. I was able to walk freely through all the back offices. No one stopped me or asked me any questions. I don’t know where your worthless security guard was hiding. The only thing he could catch is a supersized meal.”
Stephanie had to stifle a laugh.
Jack continued. “I saw two people on my way up here, and they were so busy making out, they didn’t even see me. You need me. Your hotels need me.”
“No,” Stephanie replied. “I may need someone like you, but I don’t need you.”
Click. Jack hung up the phone.
Stephanie stared at the telephone. “He hung up on me! The nerve of that man.” She immediately dialed his number again. “I want the password!”
“I want a second interview. Meet me in the lobby in ten minutes and I will show you everything wrong with this hotel from top to bottom. After we’re done, make up your mind about my qualifications, not about me as a person.”
“Are you always so pushy?” she asked, playing for time. She knew giving him a second chance would weaken her position.
“I am when there’s something I want. I want this job. I can do this job. I prefer to think of it as being aggressive.”
“This goes against my better judgment, but make it fifteen minutes in my office so you can unlock my computer.” Stephanie could hear Jack smiling as he said okay.
She removed the sign from her desk and placed it in her closet. Taking her compact out of her purse, she checked her makeup and then reapplied a layer of lipstick. Stephanie popped a breath mint in her mouth, and then dabbed a few drops of perfume on her wrist and behind her ear. She had a million thoughts.
What am I doing? I must be crazy. That’s the only explanation for this. Why am I primping for this man? Mom would faint if she met him. That’s an idea. I’ll invite him to dinner one night. She did say I needed some excitement, but somehow I don’t think Jack Kaufman is exactly what she had in mind.
Exactly fifteen minutes later, Jack knocked on her door. Stephanie opened it and stepped back for him to enter.
He’s more handsome than I remember. That cologne is intoxicating. This was a very bad idea. “First things first. What’s the password to my computer?”
Jack grinned and walked around to her desk and sat down.
“What are you doing?” Stephanie asked.
“I’m letting you back into your computer.” He hit a few keys and looked up at her.
“Couldn’t you just give me the password?”
“I could do that, but then I would have to kill you.”
She paled and took an involuntary step backward. Jack laughed at the startled expression on her face.
“I’m kidding. I’ve never harmed women or children.” He hopped up from her chair. “Okay, now you can change the password.”
Stephanie moved suspiciously around him, making sure not to make any body contact. There was something way too intimate about him sitting in the chair she sat in. The chair was still warm from his body. She tried not to let on that she felt a tingle as she thought about her body being where his body had been.
But Jack noticed anyway. She’s incredible. I guess I didn’t imagine the way she was looking at me. She’s careful, but very interested. Well, at least she’s not cringing in fear. That’s a plus. She has backbone. I like that.
Picking up her notepad, Stephanie rose from her chair. “Okay, so let’s go take a tour.” She looked down at her watch. “You’ve already used up three of those fifteen minutes.”
Jack’s eyes narrowed on her. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”
She followed his eyes to her computer. Stephanie dropped her notepad and leaned over to lock the computer with her password. She faced him.
“You should do that every time you leave your office. So should your secretary, and if she ever comes back from her extended lunch, you can tell her.”
Stephanie rolled her eyes at him and followed him out the door. She knew he was right, but she was not about to admit it.
Thirteen minutes turned into an hour. Stephanie was enthralled as they walked through the hotel and Jack inspected everything. She was more than impressed with his knowledge, and she was surprised at the hotel’s shoddy security system. Halfway through the tour, Stephanie was convinced Jack was the person the hotel needed. Despite her concerns, she hired him.
Jack immediately blew off the first salary proposal and benefit package. He made several modifications and put the ball back in Stephanie’s court. They finally came to a mutual agreement they could both live with.
As part of the deal, she agreed to put him up in the hotel until he could find a place of his own. She knew the six-figure salary she was paying him was well worth the money. With the robberies and burglaries at the chain in the past year, she was desperate and he knew it.
On Jack’s first day of work, Stephanie called a special meeting to introduce him to her security staff. She let everyone know that in no uncertain terms, Jack had the power to terminate anyone for violating and/or not adhering to the security procedures he was putting in place. He went over some basic security dos and don’ts and passed out a security tips sheet. He let everyone know written procedures would be forthcoming.
After meeting and watching the current security guard, Jack immediately ran an advertisement for two new security positions. He knew the man there was not going to work out. He was fat, lazy, and didn’t want to have to leave the front desk, except for breaks and lunch.
Stephanie more or less let Jack write his own job description. He also made his own hours. He had to work some days and nights to get the feel for the place.
Jack also wrote job descriptions for security guards. They were no longer allowed to sit idle at the front desk. They now had to tour the building and the parking lot hourly, taking different routes each time. It was mandatory they each attend a month–long security training program given by Jack. They also had to pass the training final exam to keep their jobs.
Jack wasn’t surprised when the current security guard called in sick two days in a row. On the third day, he quit. Jack took over his shift, until he could hire and train a suitable replacement. He had interviewed several people, but he hadn’t found two who stood out. Jack hated to do it, but he would have to pull double duty until he found someone. His commitment to the job would impress Stephanie, but it would leave him little time or energy to pursue her outside of work. His plans for Stephanie Mason would have to be put on hold temporarily.
He was a patient man. He could wait.
Chapter 2
Jack looked down at his copy of Stephanie’s planner. Circled for tonight was a formal dinner at the Waterford Mansion. For several days, he had been trying to run into Stephanie outside of their work setting. He knew he wanted to see her again without all the talk about security keeping things strictly professional. He had no doubt that he could actually get into the party. The rest he would play by ear. But first, he had to find something appropriate to wear.
He fingered the tie around his neck, then removed it. He hated ties. He unbuttoned the white shirt he was wearing and tossed it on the bed. Instead he decided on a white turtleneck. Slipping on the black suit coat, he grabbed his keys off the dresser and left the room.
Jack smiled to himself, thinking about