One week later, her heart pounding like racehorse hooves, Teddy careened down the hallway toward the conference room. Leo had called an urgent meeting and he was sure to be steamed that she was late, but she couldn’t help it. She had been held up and sidetracked by an emergency.
It had been a grinding week with the Spanish slave driver at the helm, short-tempered and exacting. Each morning at 6 a.m., a most ungodly hour, Teddy had stumbled out of bed with a resolution to succeed, but by nighttime, she had toppled into bed, exhausted after working 12-hour shifts. So exhausted, she hadn’t had a moment to touch base with any of her friends.
And her room was a mess. The closet was way too small to hold all the things she’d brought, so the room was cluttered with open suitcases and jumbled clothes and purses hanging out of them. When she had mentioned the lack of housekeeping service, Guerra had rudely said, “Trainees get clean linens once a week; the rest is up to you, Princesa. You will make your own bed and keep your quarters tidy and clean”.
Whatever. She could keep it any way she liked, but the truth was she was getting tired of the messy clutter. On her first day off, she would have to spend it organizing her room and getting rid of half the stuff she’d brought. Running a huge hotel like the Riviera was a lot more demanding, time consuming and complicated than she had anticipated.
On the plus side, she had met many wonderful employees and knew them by name now. But most of them had been too busy to answer her many questions, so she had tried to figure things out on her own…and that had led to a few unfortunate slip-ups.
Things had gotten off to a bad start when she had mistaken Maurice, the executive chef with a superiority complex, for the janitor. After trying to smooth the haughty peacock’s ruffled feathers with an apology and compliments on his fine cuisine, they were on speaking terms—but barely.
Teddy’s stint in the catering department had been less than stellar. She had been so busy trying to master the Excel spreadsheets that she had entered the wrong symbols and grossly miscalculated the price per guest for the spa extravaganza event on Sunday, sending everyone into a tizzy. What had really sent Chef Maurice over the edge was when Jim, the catering director, told him that Teddy had mixed up the caviar order. In a hissy fit, Maurice cancelled it altogether and banned her from catering for good.
Oh well, no sense in dwelling on past mistakes. She was learning something new each day and she hadn’t complained once to anyone. No matter how much it galled her, she was going to cooperate with Leo. For Daddy’s sake…and most importantly, his health.
As she approached the corporate offices, Teddy grooved to the chill music on her iPod. Her heart rate slowed down a bit as she passed Maria Eugenia’s empty desk and arrived at the conference room door. Her hand was on the doorknob ready to turn it when the door was flung open and she found herself face-to-face with Guerra.
Frowning, he pulled Teddy’s ear buds out and handed her the dangling white cord. “Where have you been? I was about to have you paged.” His impatient tone hit her like a blast of winter air.
“Sorry I’m late, but I was detained by—”
“Never mind the reason,” Leo interrupted. He held the door open for her. “You are late and that’s unacceptable.”
Teddy followed him inside and nodded to Maria Eugenia and the department heads gathered around the conference table.
“Sit down. There’s no time to lose,” Leo said, grim-faced.
“What’s the big emergency?” Teddy wondered why everyone looked so tragic.
“Salmonella poisoning has wiped out most of our serving staff,” Leo said.
“Salmonella?” Teddy crinkled her nose. “How did it happen?”
“Most the staff got sick last night after the employee party,” Leo replied.
“The one you hosted?” she asked Leo with a raised brow. Too bad you haven’t come down with it too, she thought, hiding a malevolent grin. It would serve him right for the grief he’d given her all week. A sudden image of Guerra doubled over with stomach cramps and running to the toilet prompted a helpless giggle and she fought to suppress it. She didn’t want the others to think she found the salmonella outbreak amusing, which she didn’t…only if it afflicted a certain descendant of the Spanish Inquisition. “I’m glad I didn’t eat the sushi. I did wonder about it being left out like that in the warm air.”
Leo shot her a quelling look and turned his attention to the assembled group. “I’ve alerted the health department and they’re investigating it.”
“Good. We can’t have something as awful as salmonella wiping out the employees.” Teddy gave a disapproving shake of her head.
Guerra gritted his teeth and ignored her comment. “We are operating at a skeleton crew and there’s a shortage of labor because of the food and wine festival this weekend. All employees including department heads will need to cover the service jobs 24/7 until we can get replacements. Those working double shifts will get paid time and a half.” His steady gaze surveyed the room. “Are we in agreement?”
“Yes, absolutely,” Ashley said, as if the very thought of not agreeing was blasphemous. “Count on me for total support, Leo. I’ll help in any department, doing anything you need.” She smiled her ingratiating little smile that was so sickeningly sweet it made Teddy’s teeth hurt.
All the employees and department heads in the room followed suit with expressions of support. All but Teddy, who wondered about those service jobs.
“Thanks,” Leo said. “Any questions?”
Teddy raised her hand. “What type of service jobs do you mean?”
“Servers and greeters for tonight’s gala and bellhop and housekeeping service, among other things.”
Teddy acted nonchalant even though doing housekeeping was out of the question. Surely that plan didn’t include her.
While Leo read the employee names with their duties, Teddy checked her iPhone and was thrilled to see a text from Ronnie, a childhood friend she hadn’t seen since last summer. Ronnie lived on Starfish Island, a two-hour drive from Miami Beach. As soon as Teddy could get away, she planned on seeing her. She’d have to wait until the meeting was over to make plans with her.
Teddy looked up when Leo said, “I appreciate everyone making an effort during this crisis. If you have a conflict, speak up now.”
Liz Montoya, a nervous brunette who worked in catering, raised her hand. She was recently back from maternity leave and still weaning her baby boy from nursing. She also had a two-year-old rambunctious toddler at home. “I’m sorry, Leo, but I’m not sure I can work tonight.” She gnawed at the end of her plastic pen and stared at him with anxious eyes. “It’s almost impossible to get a babysitter at such short notice.”
Leo nodded. “I’m sure you’ll do your best, Liz. Discuss it with Martha. She’ll work with you.”
Teddy felt something grainy inside her eye and it started to water. She took out her tiny, jeweled mirror compact and peeled back her eyelid to locate the particle. Bulging her eyes out, she rolled them around and fluttered her lashes.
“Theodora,” Leo snapped. “What are you doing?”
“Something is stuck in my eye,” she said, blinking rapidly until she located the culprit—a tiny lash. She gently extracted it and held it up to inspect further. “Gosh, it was only an eyelash, but so irritating.”
The ill-tempered look Guerra gave her said he found her equally irritating. “You will work as a server tonight.”
Oh God, this was going from bad to worse. She shouldn’t have gotten sidetracked with her phone; she had missed half of what he’d been saying.
“You want me to be a server?” she asked to be sure she’d heard Leo correctly. When he nodded, Teddy fumbled with the mirrored compact and it slipped from her hands and landed with a loud crack on the marble floor. In dismay, she watched the mirror shatter. She wasn’t usually superstitious, but a broken mirror was not a good sign. She quickly pulled a tissue from her cross body bag and knelt on the ground, scooping up the broken shards as best she could with the tissue.
Leo let out an exasperated breath. “Meeting is adjourned until 5 p.m. We will meet at that time in the grand ballroom for an additional training session. Everything has to go like clockwork tonight. I can’t stress it enough. Have a productive day, all.”
While the others filed out, Leo approached Teddy and stood beside her.
What now, Teddy wondered grumpily, her nose just inches above Guerra’s highly polished, black wingtip shoes. Was he going to assign her to scrub toilets? With a scowl, she took the hand he offered, woefully unprepared for the shock of awareness his strong hand on her softer one elicited. Her legs went wobbly as tiny hairs rose on the back of her neck and all rational thoughts left her mind. She could only think about how delicious it felt to have her hand engulfed in his warm grip. She froze, flustered by her body’s swift, unexpected reaction to his touch as her widened eyes met his narrowed ones.
Leo stiffened and released her hand. He’d felt it too; there was no doubt in Teddy’s mind—the spark had been that powerful. In his sharp, tailored suit, Guerra oozed power, self-confidence and leadership as he stood with his legs braced apart and his hands behind his back.
Dark, enigmatic eyes studied her intently. It had been like that all week and she’d often felt his concentrated gaze on her. Teddy’s tummy fluttered and her throat went dry. She did not want to be attracted to Guerra. What was wrong with her? She’d always gone for the easygoing types who were uncomplicated and eager to please her. Guerra was far from easygoing. He had no interest in pleasing her and he was so damned complicated her head hurt just trying to read him.
“What gives?” she said, shaking off the vulnerable stirrings of attraction. She peered into his eyes with raised brows.
“I’ve made a decision.”
“One of many,” she murmured.
“You won’t be serving tonight,” he said, surprising her.
Blessed relief wrapped around her as she gave him a half smile. “Excellent decision. What made you change your mind?”
His penetrating eyes didn’t waver from hers. “It’s hard work to be a server. You wouldn’t be able to handle it.”
Teddy had her doubts too, but she wouldn’t admit it, not to the man whose penetrating eyes mocked her. “Did you come to that conclusion because I dropped my compact?”
“The compact only confirmed my suspicion about your vanity. You would be too worried about ruining your pretty little manicure to handle the job right.”
That stung. On top of everything, Guerra saw her as a vapid girl with too much vanity. Gosh. She’d only been staring in the mirror to clear her eye of the irritating particle. “Aw, you think my manicure is pretty?” She studied her lovely French manicure and decided skipping her lunch break yesterday for the manicure had been worth it. “Don’t worry your grouchy head about me. I’ll handle tonight just fine,” she said with false bravado.
She turned on her heel and left without a backward glance. Guerra’s impression of her was so infuriating and unfair. She had worked hard all week. So what if she liked a nice manicure? There was nothing wrong with that. Guerra’s muffled snort followed her out the door, but Teddy ignored him as she went in search of Martha.
In the hall, she waited for Liz to finish speaking with Martha, and then approached her when Liz left. Battling a surge of insecurity, Teddy drew in a steadying breath and expelled it with a whoosh.
“Hey, are you OK?” Martha gently touched Teddy’s arm.
“Uh, no. I am panicking about tonight. Leo said he doubted I could handle being a server, so I opened my big mouth and said I could handle it just fine. What is wrong with me?” She clutched her hair. “Am I totally delusional?”
“No. Not at all. You are understandably nervous about something you’ve never done.” Martha’s soothing tone helped, but not enough to make Teddy feel confident.
“I shouldn’t have agreed to it,” Teddy moaned. She threw her hands in the air. “As if I had a choice with that one,” she said, gesturing toward Leo’s office with her chin.
Martha pursed her lips thoughtfully. “You shouldn’t be working the event tonight. It’s not right.”
“Whether it’s right or not, I’m going to go through with it. I can’t back down now.” Nobody can make you feel bad unless you let them. Recalling Mom’s wise words bolstered Teddy’s nerve and she straightened her slumped shoulders.
Martha’s eyes sparked with high umbrage. “You should be at your father’s table. Unfortunately, Lola vetoed it and Leo is backing her. He’s out to teach you a hard lesson, but I don’t agree with his methods.”
Teddy clutched the leather strap on her cross body bag, wishing she could wrap it around Guerra’s neck. “Yeah. Neither do I.”
Martha sighed and shook her head. “I’ve been trying to stay out of it, but I can’t anymore. I’m going to talk to Leo about having you work behind the scenes instead of serving tonight.”
“Aw, Martha. I appreciate you wanting to protect me, but this is one challenge I can’t back down from.” Teddy kissed her cheek and gave her a quick hug. “It’s sweet of you to offer, but I’ll negotiate with the dictator myself.”
Martha patted Teddy’s shoulder. “All right, dear. But whatever you do, please be on time tonight.”
“Of course. I was only late to the meeting because the front desk clerk got violently ill. I stayed with Rebecca in the ladies room until she stopped vomiting long enough to call a family member to come get her. Now I know why she was so sick. The poor thing probably has salmonella too.”
“How awful,” Martha said sympathetically. “I sure hope nobody else comes down with it.”
“I wouldn’t mind seeing Leo laid low by it,” Teddy muttered.
Martha’s eyes shot open as a chuckle escaped her compressed mouth. “Bite your tongue, Teddy. If that happens, we’ll really be in a bind.”
Teddy shrugged. “I know. It was just wishful thinking. Well, I’d better get going. See you later.” She put her ear buds in and let the beat of reggaeton rev her up as she went in search of Guerra.
A few inquiries later, she found him in the main kitchen talking to Chef Maurice. “Hi, Maurice. Something tells me your feast tonight is going to be amazing,” Teddy said cheerfully.
Maurice looked as if he wanted to make sushi out of her. He didn’t even bother to respond to her compliment. He was still miffed with her for mistaking him for a janitor and it was obvious the short man hated having to look up to reach Teddy’s gaze. In her stilettos, she was several inches taller than Maurice who looked to be 5’6” at the most. What he lacked in height he made up for in the ugliest insults and foulest language imaginable.
Teddy staunchly smiled at Maurice’s scowl and turned to Leo. “May I have a minute with you in private?”
“Sure.” Guerra glanced at his watch. “Five minutes.” He ushered her out of the kitchen and into the hallway.
The feel of his firm hand on the small of her back gave her a sizzling little thrill. Damn him. Teddy disliked having to answer to him and she hadn’t forgiven him for taking over her presidential suite, but every time he was around, she couldn’t tamp down her excitement. If she wanted to hold onto her dignity, she’d have to ignore her body’s organic response to him.
He had watched her like a falcon all week, and she’d dreamt about him every night. Intensely sensual, fitful dreams that woke her with an insistent throb between her thighs and an overall feeling of despair. She didn’t want to be attracted to him and couldn’t afford the weakness, but his mere touch or a glance from his dark gypsy eyes made her tummy flutter and her body heat up.
“What did you want to see me about?” he asked when they rounded the corner.
She gazed into his eyes earnestly. “I have a bit of a problem.”
Leo remained silent as he studied her with a quirked eyebrow.
“My family’s acquaintances will be at the ball and they’ll be sure to recognize me if I work as a server. Can I do something else?” The words tumbled out of her mouth as he watched her intently, his hooded eyes fathomless.
After a weighted pause, he said, “Yes.”
“Yes?” Teddy breathed a sigh of relief, surprised at how quickly he agreed. “Oh good. Thanks.”
“You will work in the kitchen,” he said like a despot.
“Fine,” she said, though the thought of working under Maurice’s iron hand made her shudder. “Do I need to go to the meeting in the grand ballroom?”
“No, that’s for the servers. Come to the kitchen instead.” Leo rested his hands on his hips. “Don’t think you’re getting off easily by not being a server, Princesa. The kitchen is a hotbed of nonstop labor with little time for breaks.”
She shrugged. “So? I have lots of energy.”
“You’ll need more than energy. You’ll have to be a team player and follow Chef Maurice’s orders to a T.”
Ugh, Chef Maurice. She abhorred the self-important little jerk and steered clear of him after he’d called her a brainless twit over the caviar incident. Jim, the catering director, had had to peel Maurice away from Teddy when the rabid chef had yelled at her, spewing spittle in her face.
“I am a team player,” she said defensively. “I’ve been one all week.” Hadn’t he noticed? “Chef Maurice and I will get along just fine,” she lied.
Leo’s lips twitched. “Is that so? Then you won’t mind working your tail off.”
Was that a twinkle in his eyes? Teddy could hardly believe it. “Well…I wouldn’t want to work it off completely,” she countered, all sass.
Leo smiled for the first time that week, stunning her with the impact. Even white teeth gleamed against his dark olive complexion in a smile so blatantly masculine and sexy it made her toes curl. Damn him. His smile was a hidden weapon. Caught unaware, Teddy returned his smile, but it faded when she remembered her wardrobe malfunction in his office. Was that the source of his sudden amusement?
Heat rose from the back of her neck and spread over her cheeks, and she turned away so he wouldn’t see her vivid blush.
“Hasta luego,” she said, breezily waving good-bye over her shoulder.
“Check with Ashley about getting a kitchen uniform,” he called after her.
She didn’t want to have to go to Ashley for anything. “What time should I to go to the kitchen?”
“5 p.m. and don’t be late.” He was beginning to sound like a broken record.
“I won’t be late,” she replied. She could handle working in the kitchen. She loved to cook and was good at it
Teddy smiled. Finally, she’d have her moment to prove that she wasn’t a spoiled princess. Not that she cared about Guerra’s convoluted opinion of her, but still…