As he waited for the front-desk guy to process his guest pass, a throat cleared behind him.
“If it isn’t Xander Bonetti. What brings you to the Pacific View Resort this evening?” Kwon asked.
He took his guest pass from the front-desk man and thanked him before turning to Kwon and Carmichael, waving his key card. “Haircut. How are things going here?”
Carmichael snickered but wisely smothered his grin when Xander shot him a glare. The guy could give him as much shit as he wanted, but only during off-hours, and most definitely not in front of clients. Xander took some perverse satisfaction knowing that it was absolutely killing Carmichael to stay quiet.
“Good,” Kwon said. He gestured to Carmichael. “We were just doing a final review of the training program for the front-desk and concierge staff.”
Carmichael cleared his throat and was seemingly back in business mode. “We start training tomorrow. It’ll be in phases so we don’t disrupt the current schedule. We’re looking at three to five days.”
“Nice.” Xander glanced at his watch. Five minutes. “I’ll leave you guys to it.”
Kwon’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Oh, you weren’t kidding about the haircut?”
He shook his head.
“Are you with Lisa or Freya?”
“Freya.” Again, his gaze shot to Carmichael. To anyone else, the other man looked relaxed and professional. But Xander knew there was a smart-ass remark on the tip of his friend’s tongue. When Carmichael shook his head, Xander smothered his own smirk.
“You should have her give you the scalp massage,” Kwon said, glancing down at the tablet he held. “I’m telling you, the woman’s hands are like magic.”
Xander’s eyes narrowed, and he bristled. A surge of something sour stirred his gut. The irrational hothead in him—the earlier version of himself that he’d worked damn hard to tame and beat—plowed forward. The urge to punch Kwon in the face was so damn strong. It didn’t matter that the guy was a top-tier Muay Thai practitioner and would most definitely give him a run for his money. None of that mattered, because what the hell did Kwon know about Freya’s damn hands?
As Kwon glanced up from his tablet, Xander took a step forward. To do what, he wasn’t quite sure. Before he could find out, Carmichael stepped toward him, slapped a hand on his shoulder, and squeezed. Hard.
“Dude,” Carmichael said in a low voice. “You’re going to be late for your haircut.”
Taking a deep breath, Xander stilled. What the hell was he thinking? He wasn’t the damn hothead he used to be. He was one of the fucking heads of Hudson Security. He damn well needed to remember that and fucking act like it. Slowly exhaling, he met his friend’s gaze and gave him an appreciative nod.
Schooling his features, he glanced at Kwon and nodded. “I’ll see you again soon, I’m sure. Have a good night.”
After slapping Carmichael on the shoulder, he muttered, “Thanks, brother.” Then he turned and hustled out of the lobby.
When he arrived at the spa building, he scanned his key card, waited for the tell-tale click, and pulled open the door. Theeucalyptus and lemon scents washed over him, though it did little in the way of relaxing him. He didn’t want to think too hard about why Kwon’s seemingly innocent comment about Freya had sent a rush of jealousy surging through him and had him reverting to a damn Neanderthal.
“Hi! How can I help you?”
The chipper voice pulled him from his musings, and he glanced at the young lady behind the counter. The same one from two days ago. Donning a well-practiced smile, he stepped to the check-in desk. “Hi, Audrey. I’m Xander Bonetti. I have a four-thirty haircut with Freya.”
“It’s good to see you again, Mr. Bonetti. I have you all checked in.” She waved to the salon’s waiting area. “You’re welcome to have a seat while you wait. If I can get you anything, just let me know.” Audrey’s grin took on a coy quality, and he recognized the interest flickering in the woman’s eyes.
He toned down his smile. “I’m good, thank you.”
He wandered into the salon’s waiting area and took in the repaired space. At one end, at the sinks, a woman he assumed was Lisa spoke animatedly with her client. The other woman was laughing, her head resting in the sink while Lisa pulled foil strips out of her hair. At the opposite end of the room were four brand-new workstations complete with fancy leather chairs, expensive-looking lights, giant framed mirrors, and an array of tools and bottles.
Impressive didn’t begin to describe the difference. Just days ago, bullet holes had riddled the walls. Every mirror had been shattered.
Glancing around, you’d never know it.
“It’s pretty remarkable, isn’t it?”
Xander turned at the melodic voice and smiled.
Freya.
The stress from earlier faded away at the sight of her. And what a sight she was. She was dressed in black from head to toe, the only color she wore was a sage-green canvas and brown leather apron with the Pacific View’s logo on it. Her long black hair tumbled around her shoulders in waves. She had some kind of shimmery stuff on her eyelids that made her look fresh and bright like summertime, and her lips were painted a bright red that had him wanting to mess it all up.
