Jackie Braun - Weekend in Vegas! - Saving Cinderella!

“And you’ll have had extra work because of me.”

“That’s my call to make.”

“But you didn’t hire me so that you could clean up my messes. If I’m to be useful, I have to get things right.”

That was, Alex thought, a version of what she had told herself as a child, and later as an adult. If she just did things right, her father would come home, her stepfather would visit her, Robert or Leo or Michael would be blown away by what a difference she’d made in their lives. She hated the fact that she’d even remembered that right now, but at least this time her concern wasn’t about winning love. It was about the job she’d been hired to do and about the National Travel Awards. As a finalist in the competition, the hotel was under the microscope, and she intended to help it shine.

“I hired you to help the customers, Alex. I’m the only one who gets to decide how you’re progressing.”

The only one . He really was a lone wolf—the nickname she’d heard him called. Alex couldn’t help thinking that she had spent her life wanting companionship while Wyatt appeared to wrap himself in his solitary status.

“You heard Randy criticize me. I hope you won’t hold it against him. He was just trying to give me good advice.”

“Randy sometimes gets carried away, but as I said earlier he’s good at what he does.”

“I see that,” Alex said, watching Randy smile at a woman who appeared to be complaining loudly about something. The woman’s voice rose, but Randy kept his expression calm, the low tones of his response soothing, until finally the woman nodded and walked away. “I fully intend to get along with Randy. Maybe I’ll ask him for some suggestions.”

“I’m sure he’d like that. But remember what I said. I hired you because of your ability to take control of a situation and connect with the patrons. A minor mistake or two won’t topple McKendrick’s.”

Maybe not, but Alex had tangled others up in her mistakes more than once. While she’d been fooling herself into thinking shy Leo would fall in love with her, the heart of the equally shy girl who’d loved him from afar for years had been breaking. Far worse than that, though, was what she’d inadvertently done to little Mia. Assuming that she and her most recent ex, Michael, had a future, she’d allowed herself to get close to Michael’s daughter, and the child had been heartbroken when things had fallen apart. The fact that she’d harmed a child in much the same way she had been harmed, scalded her. It was something she couldn’t forgive herself for. It was a reminder that there was a high price for some mistakes.

“Randy says you’re competing against another Las Vegas hotel for the award.”

He maintained an expression that told her nothing. “Champagne will be tough to beat. They’ll keep upping the ante right until the end.”

So the competition was a big deal. “What are the odds that you’ll win?”

“Winning isn’t guaranteed,” Wyatt said, his tone cool. But she could tell by the way his jaw tightened that the award meant something to him.

And why not? He’d designed the hotel himself. That made the award important, whether he wanted to admit it or not. It seemed he didn’t want to admit it to her . And why should he? She was an employee. A stranger.

“You’re the boss,” she said. “I’ll do my best to be as mistake-free as possible while I get acclimated.”

“I’m not anticipating lots of mistakes.”

She shrugged. “Neither am I, but everyone makes them. I’ve made my share.”

“Are we talking about the film crew and the CPR incident?”

“Among other things.”

Wyatt raised an eyebrow. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“That I might go through some rough patches the first few days?”

He studied her, his expression unreadable. “That you know CPR. And that you didn’t hesitate to help.” He held her gaze to make his point. There was something fierce and commanding about the man. Heat seemed to radiate off him, despite the fact that he seemed so outwardly cool.

Disregarding her warnings to behave, Alex’s heart-rate sped up. Warmth spread through her. She tried to ignore it, even though the man had eyes that could make a woman forget to be smart. “Well…” Somehow she managed to find her voice. “As embarrassing as it was, I’d do it again. But for now I’d better start learning the ropes if we’re going to win that award. I’ll just read the reference material that Randy tells me is in the cabinets, and surf the Internet for interesting factoids about Las Vegas.”

“Wyatt, there you are! I’ve been looking everywhere.”

The husky female voice came from Alex’s right, and she turned to see a gorgeous blonde woman moving toward them. She wore a sand-colored sheath dress that fit her perfectly. Her bare legs and arms were smoothly toned and tanned, and her megawatt smile was focused on Wyatt.

Alex instinctively took a step back. The woman knew Wyatt, and Wyatt was Alex’s boss, not her friend.

Wyatt, however, drew her forward. “Katrina, this is Alexandra, my new concierge. Alex, Katrina owns Gendarmes, a restaurant down the street.”

“Ah, one of your colleagues,” Alex said with a smile.

The woman’s smile dimmed. “Oh, yes,” she said, her tone clear. Alex didn’t rank. “We both have a shared interest in Las Vegas and…other things. Come on, Wyatt, we’re going to be late.”

A frown line appeared between his brows. “Alex, I’ll be at a meeting of some of the local hoteliers and restaurants most of the rest of the day. We’re coordinating some functions and we’ll be at Gendarmes, but if there’s an emergency I can be interrupted.”

Alex almost thought she heard Katrina hiss.

“Thank you, but I’m not expecting any emergencies,” Alex said.

Still, after the two of them had gone Alex admitted that she’d felt the telling sting of jealousy when Katrina had walked away with Wyatt at her side. Allowing herself to feel that way would rank as an emergency. Not to mention how incredibly stupid it would be. Developing an infatuation for one’s boss was such a cliché and just…wrong. Besides, while she’d pursued love with reckless abandon and lost before, she’d at least had good reason to expect success in those cases. Wyatt McKendrick was a sure ticket to heartbreak. She just couldn’t allow herself to fall for someone incapable of loving her. Never again.

Love, Alex had discovered, was a lethal weapon in the hands of the wrong person. She was the wrong person and always had been. Her current dreams were within reach, and she wouldn’t cheapen them by setting them aside to covet the impossible. Fantasizing about Wyatt wasn’t allowed, and she was just going to have to nip that trip to Jealous Town in the bud.

So she devoted herself to learning the ropes. She read everything on the desk, thumbing through pamphlets and cruising Internet travel sites. She answered basic questions, made reservations for people and directed them to where they wanted to go. In a slow moment she wandered over to Randy’s desk and picked his brain.

He looked at her suspiciously, but then told her what she needed to know. “You’re really throwing yourself into this, aren’t you?” he asked.

“I agreed to take the job. I’m going to do it right.”

“Could I give you a word of advice?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t do it to please Wyatt. Women always fall in love with him, but he’s a guy who likes his personal space. He doesn’t get close to anyone, male or female. And while he occasionally escorts a woman for both business and…other obvious reasons, he doesn’t stay.”

“Grr.”

“Don’t tell me you’ve already fallen?”