At the moment, Heath Bishop was riding the separate elevator that would take him straight to the top floor. The elevator was built for the owner’s convenience on not having to ride the regular elevator with other guests.
As for his day so far, it was more interesting than he thought it would be.
He came from England and thought that he was going to spend the rest of his life there. But his father, Logan, suddenly arrived there to pick him up. His father had some business going on in Europe as well and Heath thought he was going to eventually take over those, but it seems his father has other plans for him.
And so, there he was, in the States, taking over his first building of Bishop Lodgings.
Logan basically just dropped him in front of the hotel and told him that if he needed anything or any assistance at all, simply take it to the general manager of the building. His father had explained to him what sort of person Claire Sparks was, but he never expected to meet her and actually have her pass his expectations.
She took care of the guests and the employees. Before, when he was walking around, he spoke to the workers and asked them about Claire. All of them enjoyed her company and wouldn’t have anyone else as their manager.
Heath was surprised when he first saw her. She had strutted by when he was at the entrance desk towards the daycare in the building. His curiosity was immediately peaked and he followed her after confirming with the receptionist that she was the manager he’s heard of.
He never would’ve thought she was the kind who dealt with kids just as well as adults.
The elevator bell rang and he stepped out. Right in front of him was the door to the top floor suite–his personal suite–and he took out his card key and slid it through the pad. The door clicked open and he stepped in.
His body automatically relaxed from the sight. It was large with plenty of space to move around. Since his father just left him here, he was thinking about looking for a house or apartment another time. For now, he could use the top floor as his home.
But that means he would have to call his father to drop off his luggage. The mad old man forgot to take that out of the car before he told his chauffer to drive off. Just what was he planning by sending him here suddenly?
Unfortunately, the questioning would have to take place another time.
As he walked into the room, he saw a bouquet of flowers in a vase on the coffee table. He walked over to brush his fingers against the petals and saw that there was also a card tucked into the flower heads. Heath took it out and read the contents, surprised to see that it wasn’t a normal greeting card for the rest of the guests. This one was hand written.
Welcome to Bishop Lodgings Heath Bishop,
I hope that you will take care and guide us throughout the time we will spend and work together.
General Manager,
Claire Sparks
The corner of Heath’s lips curved lightly before he flipped the card over to see her office number written in blue ink. He flipped it over and reread the card once more before placing it down beside the vase.
Heath’s attention was immediately caught by the large glass doors leading to the outdoor patio. There was a spa with two chairs and a small round table placed at the side. Logan must’ve spent some time up here with Ava. But there was not a single trace of his father or his wife in the top floor. Meaning Heath could officially claim it as his own.
He went back inside before taking off his suit and hanging it on the back of a chair. The top floor really was the best suite in all of Bishop Lodgings. But at the moment, Heath just wanted to rest. From what he saw, Claire did a great job keeping everything in check. He would have to confide in her plenty more times about the building and its people.
When he entered the bedroom, he stared at the large bed, perfectly made. He undid his tie and unbuttoned some of the top buttons on his shirt before slipping his shoes off. Then he finally lied atop the covers of the bed.
For now, he would take a quick rest.
>>>>><<<<<
When Heath woke up, he saw that the sky was still bright, but the sun was setting. He looked at the alarm clock beside his bed and saw that it was nearly four in the evening, meaning he took a two hour nap only.
He would eventually catch up with his sleep later.
Heath stood up and rubbed his jaw as he yawned. He felt the rough stubble and had the thought of really needing to shave. As he put his clothes back on and tried to flatten any wrinkles, he made his way out and spotted the flowers once more. And the hand written card.
His lips upturned when he remembered Claire freely playing with her niece and nephew without a care in the world.
After catching himself in the mirror and fixing himself to look decent in front of people, he headed out and back down the elevator. His cellphone vibrated in the pocket of his pants and he took it out, seeing it was a message from his father.
It was a simple question. He asked how Heath was doing with a mocking smiley face at the end of the message. Heath replied, telling him to bring his damned luggage back to the hotel so he could have clean clothes and shave.
When the bell dinged, Heath stepped out and placed the phone back into his pocket. A woman entered the hotel and Heath’s eyes followed. She looked awfully familiar, though he couldn’t quite tell from where he’s seen her before.
But then he saw her make her way towards the daycare, and it made sense. She was Claire’s niece’s and nephew’s mother. Just then, Claire appeared and made her way towards the daycare. Heath watched her as she strut by again, without noticing him.
Her heels clicked against the hard floor and her hips swayed enticingly in her short black skirt. Heath remembered seeing some of the kids innocently looking up her skirt, making him wonder if she was wearing anything underneath it.
When that thought flashed in his mind, he stiffened with surprise.
No. He couldn’t be having lustful thoughts about Claire. Their relationship would purely be business. Besides, she looked like she didn’t have any interest in him from their meetings. She looked more cautious than attracted to him. Would it eventually wear off when they worked together more? Then maybe she’d smile at him.
That thought left him just as confused as the first one.
Maybe he’s having weird thoughts about Claire Sparks because he hasn’t taken a woman to his bed lately. One night would easily solve that problem.
Heath made his way to the daycare as well, his feet automatically taking him to where Claire was.
>>>>><<<<<
“An’ then! An’ then! Auntie Claire’s gonna buy me ice cream!” Clay grinned up at his mom, Mai, as she helped him put on his shoes.
“Oh, really?” Mai heard the clicking of heels and turned around with a questioning look towards Claire. “Did she, now?”
Claire just grinned at her sis-in-law. “I can’t help but spoil the brat, Mai. Can you blame me?”
“Mmhm.” She simply said with flat lips before finishing putting the shoes on her son. She lifted him onto his feet and stood up straight, looking down at her daughter, Belle, to see that she had already put on her shoes and was ready to go. “Well, if you get a tummy ache, mommy will know who’s to blame.”
“Clay!” Belle whined. “It was a secret! Now we won’t get ice cream!”
The boy’s eyes innocently widened in shock as his face fell. “Why?”
Claire laughed and walked over to him before patting his and his sister’s heads. “Don’t worry.” she leaned down and whispered loudly, “We’ll go when your mommy’s away working.” Both of them nodded eagerly, making Claire’s smile widen before she stood up straight to come face to face with their mom. “C’mon Mai, you know I’m just joking around.”
She raised a brow. “Oh really? What about that one time I came to pick them up and both their mouths and tongues were blue?”
Claire shrugged. “They ate blue markers. Blame Elli. She wasn’t watching them properly.” She jabbed a thumb at her friend who was standing at the side, balancing a baby on her hip.
Elli laughed. “Yeah, that’s exactly what happened.” She sarcastically said and her assistant, Jenny, giggled.
Mai rolled her eyes. “You sure you don’t actually belong in this daycare? As one of the kids?”
“Oh, you wouldn’t want that. I’d probably bully Clay since he’s such a crybaby. I was a pretty mean kid, you know.”
Mai’s lips twitched. “I bet.” She herded her kids to stand in front of her before she looked up at me again. “You coming to dinner tonight?”
Claire pursed my lips before shrugging. “Maybe. But I’m most likely working overnight though, so don’t get any expectations.”
“I’ll mention that to Simon.” Mai said before hugging Claire. “Don’t overwork too much. And the kids like it when you come over for a meal. Simon too. Your brother barely sees you with both of you working all the time.”
Claire hugged her sister back. “Not tonight. But I promise soon.”
They pulled away. “Okay, kids. Say bye to Auntie Claire.”
“Bye Auntie.” Belle came to hug her knees and Clay followed his older sister. Claire grinned down at them before bending at her knees to peck her niece on the forehead and slobber a wet one to her younger nephew’s chubby cheek.
“Ew!” Clay said, wiping his cheek with the back of his hand.
Claire just laughed. “Alrighty. Kiss me goodbye too.”
Her nephew gave her an even wetter one on her cheek, making her cringe back and copy his action. “Ew.” she whined, making Clay giggle. She turned to her niece and Belle did the same as Clay, making Claire clench her teeth and take it like a big girl. “Ew, Belle!” Belle just giggled too, making Claire laugh and grin at her before standing up.
She looked at Mai, a smile still on her face. But she saw that her sis was staring towards the doorway with wide, questioning eyes. That could only mean one thing.
Claire turned towards the door and saw Heath leaning one shoulder against the doorframe, observing Claire. His face was blank, but Claire thought she saw a spark of humor in his dark eyes.
Quickly, she strode over to him and tugged his arm for him to follow. His lips quirked before he followed after her, wondering exactly where she was taking him. He had a pretty good idea as to what she wanted to talk about though.
Back in the daycare room, Mai saw the smile tugging at the man’s lips right before he turned all the way around to follow after her sister-in-law. She immediately turned to Elli, the babysitter, with curiosity clear on her face.
“Who was the hunk?” she asked.
Elli smiled with humor. “I’m pretty sure Simon wouldn’t like hearing that coming from you.”
Mai waved off her comment. “Just answer the question.”
The babysitter chuckled before nodding towards the door. “That was Heath Bishop. He’s the new boss around here. The previous one’s son.”
“So he’s Claire’s boss?” Mai said shocked, looking back at the door, even though the two of them were far gone now.
Elli shook her head, making Mai turn back to her confused. “Claire’s not interested.”
She gawked. “Not interested?” she hissed with shock.
Elli nodded. “Claire’s more cautious around him. She thinks he’s just a spoiled brat coming to take over his father’s hotel for the reputation and money.”
“And she told you that?”
“Yeah.” Elli shrugged. “Pretty much. It’s obvious from the way she behaves whenever he’s around. And he just came today too.”
Mai sighed with disappointment. She knew Claire and when Claire wasn’t interested, she would never get interested. Even though Heath looked at her with a soft face and a smile, he wouldn’t be able to have any other relationship with her besides purely business.
“That’s too bad.” She said quietly. Heath was the first guy Mai saw who ever gave such a look to Claire. But if he just met her today, then why was he already throwing looks like that towards her in the first place? Maybe it’s because they just met and it’ll eventually fade after they spend more time together? “He looked like a nice guy.” Mai added.
Elli chuckled. “Claire’s still checking out that part about him too. And until she confirms it, I’m on her side.”
>>>>><<<<<
Claire had eventually brought Heath to one of the small party rooms that were vacant. He trailed after her wordlessly and stayed silent even after she shut the door and walked further into the room.
He knew that she didn’t exactly like him. And he also knew that she also didn’t like it when he saw her playing with her niece and nephew. What he didn’t know was why.
“I don’t mean to be rude, Mr. Bishop, but what were you doing at the doorway of the daycare?” she turned around with suspicious eyes.
Heath stared for a moment before answering honestly. “I saw you and followed you.”
“You-?” Claire almost burst. But she calmed herself just in time and turned around so he couldn’t see the distress on her face. She took a few deep breaths before she was cooled down. Only then did she start to think as to why he would follow her.
There was only one possible reason.
“I understand that you’re getting used to the environment of Bishop Lodgings. You’re wondering if the employees are doing their job and living up to the reputation of a five-star restaurant. That includes me.”
Heath kept his mouth shut. That was far from the reason he followed her. It was simply because he was curious about her. But this was a chance for him to see how Claire Sparks really saw him. Just like the other workers, she was wary of him because they didn’t know how he functioned and if he would treat them the same way his father did.
“But I assure you,” Claire continued. “We all do our best. I always tell the employees to ensure the guests are satisfied and leave the rest to me.” She hesitated before adding. “If you’re unsatisfied with anything, come to me and I will do my best to…please you.”
She knew her voice sounded bitter, but she didn’t bother to hide it. It was best if Heath Bishop found out just how she thought of him rather than have him misinterpret any of her actions. It was better that he knew now rather than later.
Just a fraction, Heath’s eyes narrowed in observation. “You don’t like me.”
Claire was taken aback at how direct he was. She was trying not to take the direct approach, but he started it first so… “It’s not that I don’t like you. But I don’t exactly do either.”
Heath remained silent for a second before saying, “At least you’re honest.”
Her lips quirked. “I’d prefer honesty over honeyed words.”
He nodded his head in understanding before staring straight into her eyes. “I’ve noticed that the employees in the hotel adore you. They listen to your every word.”
She just nodded. That point was easy to notice. They knew she took care of them and so they liked her. It was her job after all. But even before she became the manager, she made sure those around her were comfortable with her and openly told her if something was going wrong.
“Just as I’ll tell you about anything bothering me, please do the same to me.” Heath offered. “If there is something that I’m doing wrong or interferes with your or anyone else’s work, just inform me and I will correct myself.”
“Of course.” Claire said. But actions spoke louder than words. He may be like this now, but later on, he could show his true personality and not give a crap. Fortunately, she was prepared for anything Heath Bishop had to throw at her.
“And Claire?”
She focused her sight on him. “Yes?”
Heath observed her for a bit longer before his eyes went hooded and his lips curved at the corners into a smile. “I like a woman who can openly show affection towards children.” And with that, he turned around and exited the room.
Leaving Claire frozen and surprised. And contradictory to what she said before: unprepared.
She just told him she didn’t exactly like him, but he bluntly stated he liked her. Was he maybe not as bad as she thought of him to be? Or maybe he was nice to all women. She’s met plenty of guys like that before.
But something else told Claire that wasn’t it. But at least now she knew that he didn’t find her playing with her niece and nephew ridiculous. Some of the men she’s been with found her affection towards the kids to be surprising and they never would’ve expected that out of her. And some didn’t even understand why she played with the kids since they were repulsed by them.
Claire had made sure to immediately leave those kinds of men. She loved Belle and Clay as if they were practically her own. If the men she dated didn’t understand that or wouldn’t accept it, then it’d be best for both of them to not be together.
A part of her was glad that Heath accepted that part of her. There would be plenty of times during the working day when she would visit the daycare to check up on her little brats. Of course she made sure to only do that when she had extra time to spare, but Claire had a feeling Heath wouldn’t disapprove.
As she stepped out of the room, she couldn’t stop the smile that curved her lips. Though just a small fraction, her opinion of Heath Bishop has risen.