I must have been off in my own world because even though I thought that I was doing my job by keeping an eye on Sebastian’s section, I felt someone tap me on the arm and it caught me by surprise. I turned to see Marissa looking nervous and I immediately got worried.
“Is something wrong, Marissa?”
“Mr. Blu has been trying to get your attention for the last few minutes.”
My heart dropped into my stomach. Oh crap! He needed something and I had made him wait. Dammit. This isn’t going to look good for me. I took a deep breath and gave Marissa’s arm a quick, gentle squeeze as I whispered to her.
“Thank you.”
I shifted my eyes to Sebastian, feeling totally flustered, and he looked amused as he watched me try to compose myself as I quickly walked over to him.
His date once again gave me a dismissive once over and wrapped her perfectly manicured hand around his arm. Okay lady, I get it, you want me to know that he’s off limits. Maybe you should check with him on that one. I gave him my sweetest smile as I locked eyes with him.
“I’m sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. Blu. What can I do for you?”
His eyes were fixated on me giving me all of his attention. “The first thing you can do is call me Sebastian.”
I could feel my cheeks flush and I quickly glanced at his date who was staring daggers at me, and I smiled at her trying to diffuse her anger.
“Okay, Sebastian, what can I do for you?”
“I would like a Diet Coke and a glass of ice.”
Huh? Did I hear him correctly?
I was careful not to raise my eyebrow at him. “I’m sorry, did you say you would like a Diet Coke?”
His eyes were intense as they held my gaze and he had such a serious expression on his face. “Yes, I would like a diet coke, in a can please, and make sure it’s ice cold.”
“Absolutely, Mr. Blu. Excuse me, Sebastian.”
I turned to go back to the kitchen praying we had a cold can of Diet Coke in the fridge. What kind of weird request was that? And why did he have to ask me? The servers were waiting on him hand and foot.
I hurriedly searched through the refrigerator and, thankfully, I found a few cans of Diet Coke on the bottom shelf. I wiped down the can of soda and brought it out to Sebastian’s table along with a glass filled with ice.
“Here is the Diet Coke that you requested. Is there anything else that I can do for you?”
A tiny smirk played at the corner of his mouth. “Yes, I would like another can of Diet Coke and another glass filled with ice.”
I felt my cheeks fill with warmth as I held his gaze. What kind of game are you playing?
“Of course, I will be right back.”
I had to stop myself from stomping away because I felt like he was trying to make me look silly in front of his guests. I grabbed another soda from the fridge, wiped it down and set it on the table in front of him with another glass filled with ice. Defiance brimmed in my eyes as I held his gaze and then I forced myself to smile at him.
“Anything else, Sebastian?”
His eyes searched mine for what seemed like an eternity, I couldn’t tell if he was upset with me, and I began to feel uncomfortable because I could feel everyone at the table staring at us. I hope I didn’t sound annoyed. The last thing I wanted to do was piss off the man who held the key to my future.
“That’s all for now, Elena.” The way he said “for now” let me know that he had more in store for me.
I went back to the kitchen, my heart thumping, totally nervous that I had pissed off the owner of the hotel. He shouldn’t have cornered me earlier because it threw me off. I prided myself on always being in control of my emotions and I had finally met someone who shook me to the core. Sebastian Blu was not the kind of man I was used to.
Later that evening, at the end of the night as guests were leaving, I was helping to clear Sebastian’s table when I felt a hand on the small of my back. I turned to see Sebastian looking at me with that sexy smirk and I literally jumped away from him.
“So you don’t like my touch.”
“You caught me off guard. Did you need something?”
He slowly ran a finger down my arm and I was totally flustered because there were still plenty of people in the room and I was afraid someone would see the handsome billionaire flirting with me. This was not the way I wanted to be noticed and if he continued to come after me like that people would start to talk. If I did get the promotion, people would assume I got it because I was sleeping with Sebastian and that was the last thing I wanted. As those thoughts ran through my head I suddenly was very annoyed. I pulled away from him and my eyes were steely as I held his gaze.
“I do not mean to disrespect you Mr. Blu, but I am very uncomfortable with your advances. I work really hard for Blu Sierra Miami and I am a respected manager. I wouldn’t want any rumors to begin about us, especially since I am up for promotion. I like to earn my positions in life the right way.”
He took a deep breath, put his hands in his pockets and held my gaze for what seemed like forever before he said something. “Elena, the last thing I want to do is make you uncomfortable, it’s quite the opposite actually.”
I was completely confused. “Why? Aren’t you here with a date tonight? How do you think she would feel if she knew what you were doing?” I couldn’t believe that I was rejecting this powerful man, but it was pissing me off that he thought he could just have me.
An amused grin played at the corners of his mouth and his crossed his arms and leaned against the table drinking me in with his eyes.
“And, what exactly is it I am doing, Elena?”
I could feel that my cheeks were burning so I knew they had to be flaming red. How did I get myself into this? I had to be careful not to him so I chose my words carefully.
“You are flirting with me Mr. Blu, and while I am very flattered I just don’t think it’s appropriate.”
I could see that he was surprised by my rejection but he quickly composed himself as he held my gaze. He uncrossed his arms, cleared his throat as he straightened his jacket and gave me a generic smile.
“Have a nice evening, Ms. Sumner.”
He walked away and I was left standing there, my mind and heart racing, worried that I had just sealed my fate with the company. I began to pace back and forth in front of the table. This is not good, this is not good. I had rejected Sebastian Blu and I just knew that my time with the hotel was over. I tried to push the fear of being fired out of my head as I helped clear away as much as possible before the cleaning crew stepped in.