Surrender to You by Shawntelle Madison Page A

see her again. Today I would have to settle for the memory of our time together.
    “So what are your initial thoughts, Mr. Phuong?” I asked my guest.
    “Based on my assistant’s reports, you have made a sizable investment in the construction. The architectural details are phenomenal. May I ask why you’re even considering selling this property?” His expression was sincere, but this was what all of them asked. Why put so much love in and then let it go?
    I swallowed deeply. I asked myself that question often. “This is what I do. I’m passionate about creating properties, not maintaining them. A piece of me went into every part of this facility. I’m ready for the next challenge. Wherever that may be.”

Chapter 11
    Carlie
    Going for a walk with my boss, Mr. Butts, was closer to torture than productive work. The inspections, as Mr. Butts called them, were nothing more than him looking over my shoulder on a weekly basis. As meticulous I was though, Roland Butts took things to the next level. When I browsed conference rooms for any trash or chairs out of place, he was on the floor looking for
absolutely
anything.
    In the past I’d had all sorts of employers. The glassy-eyed ones were the worst. One summer I worked at a Brooklyn hair salon and half the time I wondered if the lady doing the weaves was even awake. She’d stare into space while sewing in hair the wrong way. Of course, later I learned she was up all night watching telenovelas on the local Spanish channel.
    Now I had a keen-eyed barracuda who patrolled the waters for a fresh kill and I was about to be served up today.
    Maybe his keen eye was the reason I got caught staring at Tomas while he spoke with a group of Asian businessmen in the lobby.
    “
Ms.
Jason…” Mr. Butts’s sharp comment caught my attention and sent me scampering after him. By the time we got to the Grecian baths on Dante’s Second Floor, his proverbial feathers were ruffled as I checked the pools. He also had yet to let me know if I was still working on a trial basis or if I actually had a job. “I have concerns, Ms. Jason.”
    “May I ask—” I began.
    “I mean I have concerns about your
relationship
with Mr. Goodfellow.”
    That made me stop short. He whispered the word “relationship” as if he’d said a bad word.
    “Let’s get something straight here.” Lying wasn’t something I wanted or needed to do at this point. “I did have a prior relationship with Mr. Goodfellow, but that was a long time ago. Way back before I’d even left for the U.K. We don’t fit together well. You may perceive something between us, but I see it as him irking me half of the time.”
    Butts casually rearranged perfectly placed towels while he berated me. “I have a strict policy about employees fraternizing with the executives. It creates issues with nepotism.”
    “Nepotism?” I picked up a tiny balled-up piece of paper someone left on the floor. “The guy is selling your workplace to the highest bidder. He has no interest in me. He’s interested in passing you and me off to someone else.” I knew very well what that group of businessmen was here for.
    “Who owns the hotel doesn’t matter, Ms. Jason. For all you know, we could be heading toward higher pay and better benefits.”
    I wanted to laugh so hard it hurt.
    “Have you ever worked overseas in a hotel, Mr. Butts?”
    Now that made him stop. “No, I haven’t had the opportunity.”
    “Try working for a company in Asia or Europe before you say ownership isn’t relevant. It’s a different game over there. We may have to provide the same level of service to our American customers, but the corporate structure will be different. For all you know, this kinky floor is going bye-bye if a conservative company buys the hotel.”
    Butts sighed. “A fine idea actually…A guest asked me to order
butt
plugs the other day. ‘Mr. Butts, have housekeeping bring more towels and some
butt
plugs, please,’ ” he grumbled in a