“Yep, this is typical Marty.” Barry took them out of the drawer and then locked it again. “He is an amazing worker, and he does do very well,” Barry added as he sat up again. “He’s got a friendly phone manner and gets on very well with most of the guests. He also doesn’t have a problem with working the night shifts, which is always a bonus as they are the most difficult shifts to cover.”
He shook the papers. “But when it comes to remembering things like this, especially if he’s due to go on vacation, then he’s easily distracted. I should’ve guessed. I’ll be another five minutes or so. Why don’t you grab a courtesy coffee from the machine over there? That will give me time to input your details into the system. I’ll be sure to back-date your start date, so you won’t lose the shifts you’ve already done.”
“Are you certain my being here isn’t going to cause any problems?” Sage was worried about Marty’s job, and then there was the little matter of knowing the two most infamous kraken shifters in the country were in the building.I think I’d melt into the floor if I actually met them face-to-face.
“Everything’s fine. Just keep doing what you’re doing,” Barry said with a grin. “Nothing really changes when the bosses are here, especially in this department. It’s not like they’ve ever had any reason to come down to the hotel lobby. The bosses get everything they want delivered straight to their rooms. You don’t even have to worry about passing on messages for them. They have their own direct lines to the kitchen and all the other departments, too.
“Besides,” Barry added with a chuckle as he turned back to the computer screen. “I’m sure they’ll be too busy with party preparations to be worrying about what’s going on down here. Go and enjoy a coffee.”
“Only if you’re sure. Thank you.” Putting down his backpack, Sage tucked it under the counter and then made his way to a café station that was tucked away in the back corner of the lobby. He recognized that all the brands featured on the machine were upmarket, though he’d never tried any of them.
Seeing a caramel version that sounded nice, he pressed the button on the machine, picking up the cup when it was finished. He took a cautious sip as he perched on the edge of the nearest chair, feeling very exposed for some reason.
My place isn’t sitting in the lobby of this hotel. My place is behind the desk, and that’s only for three more nights, including this one.
Sage tried to relax. Snippets of the hateful words his parents had yelled at him over the phone dueled with the worries he had about the objects of his desire being only a dozen floors above him.This is a crazy way to end my year,he thought as he sipped more of the delicious-smelling brew.I sure hope Marty’s enjoying his time with his family. Someone has to get something positive out of all this.
As for Sage, he decided to enjoy his time at the hotel while he was there. When his shift ended on New Year’s Day, he’d have no reason to ever have George open the door for him again, or to write out emails with weird requests to send off to the kitchen.I might even miss it,and that thought surprised him. Being a hotel receptionist was a world away from studying in research labs.Just a bit.But it really wasn’t that bad.
Chapter Six
Meanwhile, up on the Penthouse Floor…
Nic
“My tentacles are tingling. Are yours? Surely that means our mate is in the building? This has to be it. He’s here.”
Nic looked over to where an excited Luc was propped up at the other end of their pool on the rooftop of the hotel. It had been a long-ass day, and well after night had fallen, they were no closer to achieving anything beyond arranging for the statues to be moved from the middle of the front lobby to the basement.
He was tired, nervous, and worrying about everything from the time restraint the Oracle had placed on them, and what their mate might be like, through to how to deal with Luc’s excitement when he wasn’t feeling it himself. Nic had no idea why.
Their only clue about their mate so far was Barry letting them know there was a human who was temporarily working at the front desk for five nights - covering the graveyard shift, which was from eleven at night until seven in the morning. Now, in other words.
“I’m guessing it’s after eleven then,” he said, aiming for a casual tone. “I was feeling something in my tentacles, but it could’ve been cramp or an itch for all I know.”
That was clearly the wrong thing to say. Luc actually glared at him. “Why are you trying to bullshit me? Your kraken will be feeling the same way I am – he can sense our mate. Our mate is here.”
“He’s hardly here, here, but fine, we can assume he’s in the hotel.” Heaving a sigh, Nic pulled himself out of the water, letting his tentacles recede as his human legs appeared. “I’ll goand check the computers because I’m sure that’s what you want me to do, isn’t it?” He hesitated and added, “I’m just...Don’t you think we should claim each other first? Surely it would be less stressful on a mate if they knew we’re already an established couple.”
“We’re known all over town as an established couple,” Luc said firmly. “Our mate would’ve had to have been hiding under a rock if they didn’t know who we were. Go and see if our mate is at the reception desk.”
What if I don’t want to?Nic had tried to swing Luc around to his way of thinking on the way home. “We’ve got five days,” he’d said. “We have the time.” And then, when they’d arrived at the hotel and finally tracked down where their elusive human was likely to be, Nic had tried again. “We could claim each other first, and then claim our human on New Year’s Eve. It would be romantic, and a great way to start the New Year, don’t you think?”
Is it too much to ask for some intimate private time with you first? We’ve been together so long…But Luc had been determined and had put his foot down. He wanted the three of them to claim each other all at the same time, so that their mate didn’t feel as though they were the third wheel coming into an established relationship –even though he is, and nothing is going to change that.
Nic could understand Luc’s point of view, and if he wasn’t so nervous about meeting their third, he might have been happier about the whole thing. Stalking across the patio and into the apartment that he shared with his mate, Nic didn’t bother putting on any clothes. It was their private space, and no one, not even the staff, entered without permission.
That was the one thing that he and Luc had insisted on when they had first taken over the hotel. The business had been flagging when Nic and Luc bought it, but Nic could see the potential. He’d always wanted a home base – a grand building standing tall among its peers. The Regis fit their needs perfectly. Or it had.Things are going to change,Nic thought, and that was something he couldn’t muster any excitement for, even though he’d previously thought finding their third was the answer to his and Luc’s prayers.It’s easier to hope for something when it’s an abstract concept.
One of their spare bedrooms had been given over to a mass of computer screens, all wired into the hotel security system. The dedicated security office was on the second floor of the hotel, but Nic and Luc liked to keep their eye on things as well. There were cameras in every public part of the hotel, and it was one of the reasons that the Regis was one of the safest places to stay in town.
Flicking a switch, Nic watched as all of the screens came on, some showing nothing but empty hallways, others showing the staff going about their duties. He noticed food being delivered to various rooms, which was a good sign. It meant the kitchen was still busy.
Because they catered to a paranormal clientele, Nic and Luc decided to pay extra to keep staff on twenty-four hours a day, and it had paid off. The extra money for room service, extra housekeeping, and various other services – yes, some wolf shifters liked a bath and a trim in their shifted form –helped keep the hotel not only profitable, but somewhere all paranormals knew their needs would be met.
Nic scanned the screens looking for the front lobby cameras. There were three of them covering every inch of the front of the hotel. If there was going to be any trouble with guests who’dgot their bookings wrong, or guests that didn’t want to pay, or objected to the additional charges they’d racked up to their room, that was all going to happen at reception. Discreet signs were posted at the entrance and by the elevators, reminding their clientele that they were being recorded.
Nic checked on the gargoyles at the front door first. They were another important part of the security, stationed there purely and simply, because there wasn’t another paranormal around - with the exception of a kraken - who could actually face off against a gargoyle. George and his brother were in place.
