Top Floor (Rendezvous #1)

Chapter 5

The evening was arriving, meaning most of the guests would be coming back to the hotel from either the beach, or just out and touring the area. Claire made sure to walk around and assist any of the guests or keep the employees in check to help anyone in need of assistance.

Luckily, her niece and nephew had already left, meaning she could focus on work. Which was a good thing since the hotel was getting busy. Many of the guests were going to the dining room to have their dinner, or they would have room service bring their meal directly to them in their rooms.

Claire helped with any delivery needed to be made and mostly overlooked the employees. She occasionally went back to the daycare and checked up on Elli and Jenny, making sure they were doing well with the kids. Claire had been meaning to hire someone new to help Elli and Jenny, but Elli always refused whenever she brought it up.

Elli said the room could barely fit them, and to add another adult would just make the place crowded. And there was the point that Elli and Jenny did perfectly fine on their own when dealing with the all kids. And in the end, Claire couldn’t just ignore her friend’s words, so she allowed it to be.

Just as Claire exited the daycare to go and check up on Chad, the front doors slid open and Claire automatically froze and clenched her teeth before internally swearing. It was man with a woman standing beside him.

The woman was a total stranger, like usual, but Claire would’ve been able to recognize the male from a mile away.

Aiden Johnson: one of the many spoilt brats that Claire had to deal with. However, Aiden was one of the smarter ones, unfortunately. She was wondering where he was. Usually, he would’ve arrived at Bishop Lodgings almost a week ago. And here she thought he’d finally gone off to another hotel. But here he was.

Claire smiled at them, forcing her lips to relax as they approached. She had dealt with Aiden so many times that they already knew each other by name. And even if not by name, then definitely by face.

“Mr. Johnson.” Claire greeted warmly. But she saw the nervous look the receptionist shot at her before he also greeted Aiden, though a little stiffly.

“Ms. Clark!” he smiled back at her, as if they were the best of friends. But she saw the gleam in his eyes. “It’s so nice to see you again! I believe I’m a little late from usual.”

“It’s no problem.” She turned around and went to the receptionist who quickly retrieved Aiden’s cardkey and handed it to her. She then turned around and personally gave it to Aiden who took the card, purposely brushing his fingers against hers. “Your room was ready for you and your friend the whole time.” Claire withheld the urge to wipe her hand on her skirt before she turned to the woman beside him, obviously his ‘company’ for his small trip.

She definitely wasn’t the first. Or last.

The woman smiled politely to Claire before Aiden spoke again. “Yes, I assumed so. If you’ll excuse us, we’ll head to our room right away. It’s been an exhausting flight.”

“Of course, sir.” Claire smiled. “Please enjoy your stay.”

“Oh…” he walked past her before looking back with a smirk on his lips. “I intend to.”

Once he was out of sight, Claire’s smile immediately fell from her face as the receptionist at the counter continued to give her a nervous look. All the employees were uneasy about Aiden. He was the type of guest who was able to get one of them fired for a stupid and selfish reason of his. And the chances were definitely higher now since they just got a new boss.

And Claire wouldn’t be surprised if Heath turned out to be like the rest.

“Don’t worry.” she told the receptionist. “You probably won’t get the sharp end of the knife since you’re up front.” He hesitantly nodded his head.