Pervert.
In the end, my overheard confession gave her all the ammunition she needed to secure it. I don’t want to know about anything else she got up to.
“Is she still there?”
“Yup, but on her last warning.” He gives me an encouraging look. “You did good, coming here.”
Smiling goodbye, I let Dale lead me to the security office where a woman called Honey takes my photograph and furnishes me with an employee card. This time I smile professionally.
For the first time, I meet my two team members, Imani Youssef and Jack Porter. They’ve been working here for two years, and ten months respectively, holding the fort until the senior manager’s position was filled. It’s good to put a face to the woman Luca spoke with while I was his VIP manager. In a way I owe her, the conversations I overheard giving me confidence in Luca’s discretion.
It’ll be our secret.
“Hello,” I greet.
Imani’s hair is a mass of thick, black curls, her face expressive and happy when we meet. “Oh, thank god you’re here. I’ve been doing two jobs for too long now,” she jokes. But there’s a clear message there, and I need to rise to the occasion.
I shake her hand, Jack’s too, who tells me, “Good to meet you.”
“Thank you. You both, too.”
Dale tells me, “We tracked down your HR records from WM, and I’ve spoken to Mr. Wolfford, so I know you come highly recommended and full of great ideas.”
“My HR records?” I squeak out.
“Yes. Exemplary,” he states, and I have to hope somehow, between Dale, Luca, and Arthur, my less than exemplary citation has been wiped clean.
“Thank you,” I murmur.
Dale shows me to my desk. A laptop and a new cell are laid out on top, alongside a regular phone pushed to one side. “Account details, passwords, chargers, and all the usual, necessary details are on here,” he advises, handing me a sheet of paper. “There’s also a bunch of numbers to add to your cell, including mine. I’m going to let you and your team members take over from here, but any questions at all, just let me or Luca know.”
“Thanks, Dale.”
He heads off. Jack and Immi, as I’m instructed to call her, show me around the office. Tucked into the rear corner of the hotel, the office is open-plan, benefitting from an abundance of light streaming in from the windows that wrap around us on two sides. Banks of four desks meet either side of an aisle. Imani points out the divisions as we walk the entire length of the office, briefly introducing me to relevant people who I’ll have a lot of contact with.
We grab coffees and start going through the portfolio and all outstanding projects, prioritizing them. Although I read through the corporate website a couple of days ago, I’m informed that there are ninety-one Hotel Balthazar’s in the U.S, the one in Vail making it ninety-two. It rounds up the worldwide total to two hundred, culminating in plans for an extensive media and PR campaign in due course.
It’s an exciting time to be at Chateau B.
“Oh, we don’t often see Mr. Wolfford down here,” Immi says cryptically. “Have you met him yet? Will he or Luca be your direct line manager?”
“Luca will,” I clarify. “And no, I’ve not met Mr. Wolfford yet.”
“Should I introduce you?” she continues, rising from her seat. “He’s really nice. Astute, sharp, but kind.”
Even from here, I can tell that before Immi has got anywhere near him that his head is angled in my direction. I’m not so sure this is a chance meeting or a careless stroll through the office.
Standing, I push my chair away from the desk and smooth down my pencil skirt, tugging the matching jacket into place.
Balthazar smiles at Immi as he approaches, murmuring her name in greeting as he closes in on our position. But ultimately, his attention is on one person only.
Me.
His black hair is threaded with gray, his eyes are an assessing blue. Six foot one of lean muscle is wrapped up in a black, tailored suit. He’s just an older version of Luca, but it’s interesting to see how he might age. At how distinguished and handsome he’ll be.
“I’m sure Dale told you, but this is our new boss,” Immi says excitedly. “Winter Harris.”
He stretches out his hand towards me, and I grasp it with a firm, confident grip, smiling brightly. Our eyes hold as he introduces himself, curiosity flashing. “Balthazar Wolfford. Good to have you on the team, Winter. Luca has shared some of your ideas with me already.”