Built to Last (The Middleton Hotels Book 2) Read online

  I was going to get canned today, I knew it. He wasn’t going to let this slide and neither was that wench. I don’t know what possessed me to do it. It was childish but funny to me at the time.

  When I stepped into the lobby, I expected to be escorted out by security, but I wasn’t. I got to work and there he was walking with three other men and Roxie at his side. He paused for a moment to look at me after one of the men said something as he eyed me. Joseph’s face changed quickly to anger, then he walked them out. He came back to the hotel and approached the desk. “So Ms. Harrison, I have some leftover pizza if you want some.”

  “Nope, I don’t eat pizza. Well, at least not from anywhere but Chicago.”

  “Did you know it was contaminated?” he asked, pressing his hands with his fingers sprawled out on the counter and looking at me suspiciously.

  “No, it’s just uber greasy, and if you’re not used to greasy, it will take a toll on you.”

  He shook his head at me. Then he said, “I’m checking out today, but if Roxie plans to stay, just leave the room for her.”

  “Yes, sir,” I replied. God, I hated her and he was sleeping with her. My crush looked at me like he was annoyed again. It was hard to tolerate the fact that he touched and kissed that bitch.

  “It’s Joseph. Is that so hard to say?” he asked with his irritation pouring through his words.

  “It’s not, but you seem very annoyed with me.” My attitude was minimal, but I could tell that I was close to losing my common sense.

  “I’m not. I just won’t take recommendations from a person who doesn’t eat the food.”

  “Okay, well, I’m really sorry that you feel lousy now.”

  “I’m good now, but I hardly slept.” I wonder why. Maybe that bitch had a diseased cooch and he got sick from her dessert, not the food.

  I only felt partially guilty for giving him that menu, but I didn’t want to lose my job. “Again, I’m sorry, Joseph. Please don’t fire me.”

  “I’m not going to fire you unless you recommend it to a guest. I don’t want to be sued.” He shook his head at me again, then stared at me for a moment like he was trying to puzzle me out.

  “Understood,” I replied, ducking my head down.

  “You need to lighten up, Rachael.”

  “I’ll try.”

  He lowered himself to rest his elbows on the counter. “You seem light around everyone else but me.”

  “You are my boss,” I reminded him. No way in hell was I going to tell him it was because I was infatuated with him.

  “Nah, I’m the boss of the boss of the boss of your boss. Or something like that and you still tried to poison me,” he chuckled, making me want to kiss his handsome face.

  “Hey, I didn’t mean for you to get sick,” I replied.

  “Not even for your father?” he asked me.

  I didn’t know why he brought up my father. “My father? What does he have to do with anything?”

  “Isn’t your father Preston Harrison?” His blue eyes stared into mine like he wanted to know more.

  “Yes, and the last time I saw you, you were with your girlfriend at my father’s party.”

  “You were there?” He acted truly surprised. Then he added, “Girlfriend? I only took my assistant.”

  “I was too young and hidden in my ivory tower waiting for my prince to come and rescue me,” I teased.

  “If I’d known I would have gotten my horse.” He hit me with that smile again and all was right in the world again. I was a pathetic mess with this man.

  “Pity, now it’s too late. So you don’t like my father?”

  “We’ve had our differences since that night.” He didn’t look very pleased, but my father made enemies everywhere.

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” I replied, truly feeling guilty about my dad’s behavior. He was forceful and demanding and often times threatening.

  “Are you really?” Roxie angrily asked, arching her brow at me while tapping her heal.

  This woman was a bitch and I wanted to kick her in her twat. If she kept looking at me like that I was going to pop her in the mouth. For years, memories of her looking up at me and smiling before grabbing onto Joseph had made me sad. We’d seen each other over the years and it never ended on a good note. “Yes, I’m sorry that he didn’t feel well.”

  “What about me?” she hissed.

  I stared at her with contempt and replied with a smirk, “What about you? He’s to blame for you getting sick, but you seem fine to me.”

  He looked at Roxie then muttered, “Ladies, don’t get out of line. This is a place of business. Roxie, you should hit the road before traffic gets heavy.”

  “Yes, I need to get my things from the bedroom,” she purred.

  “Okay, well I need to have a meeting with the manager before I go, so I’ll see you in the office on Monday.” If they were dating, he really did try to keep it a secret. There was no emotion in his words, no goodbye smile, or even a wink.

  “Rachael, I’ll see you around,” he said, walking away with a smile.

  I tried to breathe and get myself together. That woman brought out the worst in me, particularly when she mentioned Joseph and she did it frequently. I continued to work for the next half-hour, and just as I finished checking in a guest, Roxie was at my desk.

  “Can I help you?”

  “Yes, just so you know, you’re working here on borrowed time. Joseph has your HR file on his computer and it was just updated this morning with your write-up. You’re being watched, so if I was you, I’d be careful.”

  “Have a good day. Thank you for staying at The Middleton Hotels-Arlington,” I said as sweet and sugary as pie.

  Chapter 5

  Joseph

  I stepped out of the meeting with the manager who informed me that Rachael had been written up recently for daydreaming while she was working. The bad part about it was it happened while staring at one of the guests. It wasn’t the first time she had been dreaming, but it was enough for me to feel a burn in my chest. From the moment I saw her, I was fucked. Thoughts of her looking at me longingly had played through my head throughout that hour-long meeting. I carried on because I wanted to learn all I could about Rachael. What started as a simple conversation about the nice receptionist turned into a gossip time for the supervisor. I didn’t appreciate how she relished in dishing out the dirt on Rachael. Nothing was too over the top except the daydreaming. That bothered the fuck out of me and it had nothing to do with wasting company money. The subject of her dreams fucked with my head.

  For as cool, calm, and collected I was, there had been something about her that turned me into a man I didn’t recognized. I smiled, laughed, teased, and had the strongest urge to take her up to the room and lick every part of her body before fucking her hard. I envisioned watching her strip for me as I laid on the bed with just a blanket over my waist. I groaned as the image became more intense.

  “Mr. Middleton, is everything alright?” the supervisor asked, shaking me out of my own filthy daydream. My cock was pressed against my leg and had made an unmistakable appearance. I tried to think of anything that would calm myself down and an image of Roxie in my head did the trick.

  “Yes, I’m sorry. But I’m to be doing spot checks on the hotel for the next few weeks. I want everything running as smoothly as possible. One mistake could damage our reputation.”

  “Yes, sir. Is there anything you need me to do?”

  “No, but I will be hosting a meeting here in a few weeks. Please inform the staff that I will need Conference Room A available,” I paused looking at my phone’s calendar. “On the 18th.”

  “That’s perfect. There’s no events booked then.”

  “Thank you. Take care,” I replied, getting up with my normal formality. I walked by the front desk and there she was talking to a guest.

  “I’m in room two-twenty, if you feel like stopping up there.” I wanted to rip the fuckers balls off right on the spot. With an outside demeanor of pure calm and professionalism, I approached the desk.

  “Rachael, is there a problem here?” I asked her while staring directly at her.

  “No, sir,” she said, refusing to meet my eyes.

  “Was there something you needed?” I asked the jackass who was staring at her cleavage. Jealousy raged through me, but it wasn’t visible on my face at all.

  “Just some time to convince her to marry me,” he smirked.

  “Well, sir, not on company time. She has work to do.”

  “I’ll see you around, Rachael.” He left, winking at her.

  “Another admirer?” I asked, hiding my irrational jealousy.

  “Yes, you know I have them by the truck load. New admirers by the hour,” she joked. “But really, thank you. He comes in here once or twice a month.”

  “No problem. Just let the supervisor know if there’s a problem.”

  “I will.”

  “Okay, have a great weekend.” I walked away, itching to snap and take her away from here. She was mine and the thought of men looking at her or even hinting at fucking her made me furious. I couldn’t even act because she was my employee. I didn’t want to fire her either. She wouldn’t look too fondly at me if I did. But there was one thing I planned to do immediately. As soon as I got to my room, I called the manager of the hotel and informed him that the concierges were going to have to wear a uniform like the one we had in Minnesota. It was still a great look, but this way I knew she was covered up. It wasn’t that Rachael dressed inappropriately. In fact, it was the exact opposite. She looked like she belonged leading board room meetings, but her large tits were practically bursting through her blouse under her suit jacket that only accentuated her curves.

  I looked around my room and I noticed that the bed had been
made and the room cleaned. I still had everything open in my bedroom, including my laptop with her record on it. Fuck, what was wrong with me? I never left something open like that, and who told the cleaning crew to come in here?

  Damn it, I got my things and left the building without running into her again. She had gone on break and I was grateful because I was seconds from claiming her.

  Chapter 6

  Rachael

  He was here again. Three weeks in a row, just sitting at the bar, sipping his coffee. His eyes were trained to me waiting for me to fuck up again. I got called into the office when he left. I was accused of flirting with the customers and the only one who could have said it was him. He saw that guy hit on me and I thought he was on my side, but I guess not.

  The man turned me inside out. I was pissed at him, and at the same time, I wanted to feel his hands on my body. My heart still belonged to him, even though I knew he didn’t trust me and was waiting for me to fuck up again. They were holding a conference here today, so he was supposed to be here, but the fact that he was watching me, judging me, made me want to scream. If I wasn’t worried about getting fired and admitting to my parents that I failed, I would ask him what the fuck his problem was.

  One of the other concierges Lance told me that a woman almost got me in trouble with the boss man. Then someone let it slip that he pulled my HR record and they saw it in his hotel room the first day I saw him. So that bitch wasn’t lying that he had been looking at my file. The Middleton brothers only did that for two reasons, a promotion or a firing. I’d been written up and Roxie made sure that Joseph was going to know about it. I had to start looking for a new job as soon as possible.

  I was going to get canned, I just knew it. I wanted to quit before they did that, but I didn’t want to give my parents the satisfaction of saying I told you so. My parents and I had the same arguments every day. I didn’t know how many times I told them that working built a great work ethic and character. They wouldn’t know; my father’s wealth had been handed to him on a silver platter from his parents. He gained even more money from marrying into my mother’s wealthy family.

  Joseph came to the front desk, just as I was about to go on break. I was about to walk away when he said, “Wait.”

  I stood there for a moment, waiting for the reason he stopped me. Didn’t they leave the canning to the lower bosses or the HR people? Why did he have to crush my dreams in every way?

  He was about to say something when that snotty assistant called out to him. They hosted a meeting here this morning, so she was here again. While his back had been turned from her, she gave me a look that would have me six feet deep if looks could kill. I wasn’t intimidated, only crushed. I couldn’t shake the infatuation I had with him even though I knew he was going to have me fired. Knowing that they had sex with each other killed me.

  “The executives are waiting for you to head over to the restaurant.”

  “I need to speak to you later,” he said, looking deep into my eyes. I just nodded because the look on his face wasn’t harsh. In fact, it was soft, almost affectionate.

  Hopefully, someone else would fire me because I was on the verge of tears as it was. I walked into the breakroom where several of my coworkers were gathered. Everyone looked at me like I was going to the gallows.

  “Sorry, girl. We heard about the HR write up and now this. I mean they can’t blame you for everything that gets fucked up in this place. His assistant was talking to Marlene and she said your name.”

  “Well, you know that Joseph Middleton is a perfectionist and that woman has it in for you. You’re too pretty for her to deal with.”

  Darla scoffed and said, “He’s fine as hell, though. If I wasn’t married and about ten years younger, I would be drooling like a giddy fool.”

  Any time Roxie’s name was mentioned all I saw was red. “Well, I hope he tosses himself off the building,” I snapped, tossing my lunch into the garbage. I had no appetite and I was about to turn in my notice.

  “That’s not nice and I know that you don’t mean it.”

  “I don’t, but I’m the reason that we have to wear a uniform at the desk now. Everyone was pissed at me.”

  “Um…according to the supervisor it was because the guys were harassing you. They thought it would be better if they didn’t ogle all the women.”

  “True, but it doesn’t stop them. In fact, I feel like it made me more approachable. I get hit on twice as much as before.”

  “I think you need to bring it up with management,” Darla suggested.

  “I will.” I wanted to kick Joseph in the shins.

  Chapter 7

  Joseph

  I made an excuse to leave the group for a moment. I ran to the breakroom area, I heard my name, and the next thing I heard fucking crushed my soul. I was grateful that I didn’t walk in there or I would have been mortified, which pissed me off. Straightening my shoulders, I went to my lunch meeting and ate very little. I’d been shrewder than normal, but it saved me ten million in the deal. Maybe that fire and burn in my chest wasn’t as bad as it felt.

  There was nothing left for me to stay here for. As soon as the lunch meeting was over, I checked out. Thankfully, the lunch had gone over longer than I expected, so Rachael was already gone for the day.

  The ride home was deafening in the silence. I stepped through my quiet, six-bedroom home, wondering why I bought it. I didn’t have anyone to share it with, and until I saw Rachael, I hadn’t even thought of a woman in here.

  I had built up like three years’ worth of vacation time, maybe I needed a few days away somewhere. I shook that thought off because I would still be alone wherever I went.

  Grabbing a beer from my fridge, I popped it open and took one long drink before slamming it down on the island. I needed Rachael. There was no doubt about that. She was single, so I just had to figure out why she hated me, which was easier said than done.

  ~~~~

  Over the past three months, I became a stalker and a complete slacker. At least once a week I came to the hotel to see her and use my pull to claim I was monitoring the hotel. I was in love with her and she hated me. It came to the point that the moment she saw me she’d roll her eyes and avoid looking at me all day. It was going to stop very soon.

  I had to know why she hated me, but then again, I had to go to the new properties Jacob purchased to make sure everything was running smoothly. My brother Julian and I were under the impression that Jacob had a reason for rushing the build. With my need to travel, I wasn’t going to have time to see her until we got back next week. It was going to be the longest time I’d gone without seeing her and I was going to fucking lose it.

  The fact that she was an employee wasn’t the only obstacle. I had a secret, an embarrassing one that no one knew about. At twenty-eight, I was still a virgin. Years of trying to be the most successful and most respected businessman had left me with little to no time for women. Until I met her, I didn’t know I had a lot of testosterone. Since her, all I thought about was coming inside her and in every different way. I turned into a teenage boy overnight. Daily, I ended up stroking myself until I passed out from exhaustion. It came to the point that I was no longer able to get off. Nothing was going to work for me except Rachael.

  “Are you ready to deal with Jacob?” Julian asked, hopping out of the car. I didn’t realize that we were already parked at the hotel. My thoughts were all on Rachael. The pain in my chest had been growing since she admitted to not liking me and wanting me to die. What the hell had I done that was that bad?

  Did she know I was the one to have their uniforms changed?

  Chapter 8

  Rachael

  When Denise asked me to take her place at the hotel, I thought it would get me away from Joseph and I could breathe, but all I felt was alone. I missed him beyond the point of understanding. It made no damn sense to me that I was still obsessed with a man who looked to find fault with everything I did. A part of me hoped that he wasn’t looking for a problem and that he was just as obsessed as me, but then I was reminded that I had been on probation and Roxie happened to show up that same day to set up a meeting for Joseph in the same conference room. She rubbed it in that Joseph wouldn’t have to waste his time monitoring the hotel now that the trouble would be gone.