While I waited for Amanda to show up, I needed to survey the damage from the fall. I had a feeling that I had pawprints all over my clothing, like I’d been run over by a pack of hounds.
I pushed into the bathroom and was relieved that I was in a Ashford property. It was a grand space, with a seating area and plenty of mirrors. I swiveled back and forth in front of one to make sure that I still looked okay and was relieved that my swingy white dress was still in good shape. I tried to wear white to my initial meetings, tosubliminally underscore the wedding-ness of it all, but swapped to bright colors as each bride’s big day approached.
My phone sounded off with an unfamiliar tone. The factory setting tone, which I’d quickly changed after I’d bought it months before. Did it switch back because of an update?
I picked it up off the counter to squint at the new text.
I understand that you want him fired immediately but there are protocols we need to follow. Supposition isn’t just cause, and we need a paper trail to protect ourselves against a future lawsuit. As it stands, there’s nothing we can do. I’m sorry but I refuse to leave the company exposed to even more reputation damage.
I was usually on top of every single detail for every single wedding I was working.Nothingescaped me, which was why the message made zero sense. Who wanted to fire whom? And what paper trail? I was an independent contractor—I didn’thaveany employees to fire.
At that moment, I realized that the weight of the phone in my hand felt off. And the case had a tiny divot along the edge I’d never seen. Damn. This wasn’t my phone, it washis. And double damn, Grumplestilskin was an even bigger asshole than I realized. Wanting to fire someone without just cause was super shitty, but based on what I’d just experienced, it tracked.
So now I was dealing with two pretty major problems; I was without my lifeline on an incredibly busy day, and worse, I was going to be forced to interface with the world’s grumpiest man. Again.
I was a problem solver by nature. It was the reason why my calendar was booked out for months. So instead of spiraling about how upside-down my day had become, I opted to focus on making it right. First up; calling my phone to try to connect with him.
I did one final primp in the mirror and headed back out to the dog-free lobby to once again fix something that I hadn’t broken.
2
DREW
Istewed the entire way to my next meeting, half because I couldn’t believe that I’d been duped into giving Mrs. Barclay and her beasts another shot, and half because I couldn’t stop thinking about the gorgeous stranger who’d forced me into it. I was a master negotiator, so how was it possible that she’d broken me so quickly?
Yeah, she was fucking stunning, but I’d spent plenty of time with gorgeous women. This one, though? There was something about her unwillingness to back down, and the way she stuck up for that little old lady, that had me giving into her in spite of myself.
I consoled myself with the reminder that I’dbarelygiven in. Those dogs were a constant nuisance. I had a feeling they’d be back to terrorizing the check-in area by the end of the day, which meant I’d get my way before long.
Not that I was being intentionally cruel to Mrs. Barclay and her trio of menace. I didn’thatedogs. But having them underfoot where someone could get hurt or something broken was bad for business.
I leaned back against the seat and sighed. I was on my way to a meeting that was critically important to the luxury hotel/resort empire I ran as CEO but also invisible to many of my guests.
Mattresses.
It was time for Ashford Resorts to upgrade every mattress in every room across all of our properties, and while my team had done the research, it was now time to make a commitment to one manufacturer. I could’ve left the final decision to my team, but my fingerprints were on every decision, major and minor. And this one wasmajor, a budget line item that raised eyebrows at the shareholder’s meeting. Some might call my involvement micromanaging, I called it being accountable. I was deeply invested in my guests’ comfort. Especially for a decision as important as a good night’s sleep.
Ornotsleeping, in many sexy instances.
The mattress meeting at the manufacturer’s US headquarters would be quick, just handshakes and formalities, then I could get back to Carmel and refocus on the rest of my never-ending to-do list, which now included finding a point person to arrange mattress donations. I hated waste as much as I loved an upgrade, which was why I’d decided to donate our old mattresses to homeless shelters throughout the country.
Much like my brothers, Iworkedin my business. None of us were idle figureheads at the individual Ashford Corporation branches we ran—Harrison at Ashford Jets, Logan at Ashford Voyages, and me at Ashford Resorts. The pressure sometimes felt especially heavy on me since the hotels and resorts were the original foundation of the business, but all three of us worked our asses off. Sometimes it felt like a competition to see who could put in the most hours, a drive that we’d inherited from our workaholic father, Oliver.
I felt my phone vibrate, and then, a song rang out…
Wake up it’s sunshine baby, the start of our day, sunshine baby, let’s get away!
What the? I slapped at my pocket trying to grab my phone to figure out why it was spewing the most obnoxious song I’d ever heard. When I finally got it free I realized that …
This. Was not. My phone.
Fuck.
The lockscreen was a close-up of a turtle in a flower crown, which was cute, sure, but also weird as hell. It dawned on me that I’d accidentally picked up the dog defender’s phone.
I answered the call warily. “Yes?”
“I have your phone.”
