Roberta Leigh - Give A Man A Bad Name

‘If you wore Thai clothes it might remind you to curb your tongue! I’ll lend you some of my cheong-sams,’ Nan encouraged.

‘Do you think I should wear them the whole time?’

‘Well, women staff at the hotel do, though I suppose you could change when you’re off-duty. Except that you were wearing one when he first saw you, and that might be part of your attraction.’

‘Won’t the staff find it strange if they see me pretending to be Thai?’

‘Not if you say you’re doing it to play a joke on someone. Then they’ll never give you away.’

* * *

Apart from a great sense of humour, Thais were among the most generous people on earth, Marly mused one morning after Christmas as she riffled through the brocades, silks and cottons Nan had placed in her wardrobe. Even though she knew cotton was cooler for day wear, she plumped for a peach silk, its long narrow skirt slit up the side to facilitate walking, the tight-fitting, short-sleeved top cut short to show an intriguing two-inch expanse of skin between top and skirt. It was a more constricting outfit than her normal casual summer wear, but needs must when the goal she hoped to achieve was going to give her so much satisfaction.

She reminded herself of this as she touched eyeliner to her chestnut-brown eyes, and centre-parted her hair for it to fall sleek and straight to below her shoulders.

If my family saw me now, she thought humorously, they’d walk right by me!

She proved this conclusively when a security guard she had seen for the past seven days stopped her and asked whom she wished to see as she crossed the hotel lobby and mounted the stairs to the mezzanine floor and offices. Hiding a smile, she answered him in Thai, telling him who she was.

His astonishment was gratifying, and in a conspiratorial whisper she fed him the story Nan had suggested. He chuckled and slapped his thigh, and enjoining him to warn his colleagues to keep her secret, she went into her office.

The air-conditioning kept the Riverside comfortably cool, yet despite this she found working in a cheong-sam too warm, and was wondering how to make herself comfortable when Alex Hamilton strode in, thick, tawny hair ruthlessly brushed flat, though an errant strand in the front was beginning to curl.

Gracefully she rose, placed her palms together, and waied him.

‘Don’t do that to me,’ he said instantly. ‘It isn’t necessary.’

‘We always greet our superiors this way.’

‘I’m not your superior; I’m your employer.’

‘You are playing with words, Mr Hamilton.’

‘You agreed to call me Alex.’

‘Not in the office. It wouldn’t be seemly.’

‘Now how did I know you were going to say that?’ he smiled, coming to stand directly in front of her. ‘I must be psychic!’ Wood-smoke eyes ranged slowly over her as if committing her to memory. ‘Since we met, I haven’t been able to stop thinking of you.’

Many men had said the same to her, but none had made her heart beat faster, as it was now doing, and she wondered if it was because of the intensity of his gaze, as if she was the only woman in his world worth concentrating on. But then he was the sort of man who would do everything with intensity: loving and hating, working or playing. And playing the field too, she thought grimly. Like it or not, he was a born heart-breaker.

‘Have you been thinking of me ?’ he broke into her thoughts.

‘Oh, yes.’ He looked delighted, and she added prosaically, ‘I’ve been working out the software you will require, and I’d like to discuss my ideas with you.’

‘I’ve more than a few ideas for you myself,’ he quipped, the smile on his lips dying as she froze him with a look.

‘Please don’t make it embarrassing for me to work with you, Mr Hamilton, or I’ll have to ask 3S to find a replacement.’

‘Are you always such a stickler for protocol?’

‘We are brought up to believe in it.’ Marly pretended to hesitate, then said diffidently, ‘You may find it interesting to read a book on our customs. There are several good ones available.’

‘I’ll ask my secretary to get them all! It won’t do me any good if I keep offending you!’

‘You haven’t offended me. I always make allowances for people.’

His startled expression showed he was unused to being put in his place, and she hoped she hadn’t overplayed her hand. But the wry smile he gave her was reassuring, and she glided over to her desk, wondering how to appear gentle and shy while talking high technology. It was going to be tricky but she had to manage it.

‘While I was waiting for you to return from abroad,’ she said, careful to keep her voice soft, ‘I prepared a questionnaire I would like each hotel guest to fill in when they arrive.’

‘What sort of questions?’

For answer, she took a four-page folder from the drawer of her desk and gave it to him.

Raising an eyebrow in surprise at the size of it, he perched on the side of her desk to peruse it. From beneath her thick, straight lashes, she studied him. This morning he was formally dressed in a dark business suit—the only concession to the tropical climate being its lightweight material.

It was the first occasion she had seen him close up in daylight, and not even the bright sunlight could find a flaw in the symmetry of his features. Indeed he was so preposterously handsome that he might have been thought effeminate, were it not for the firmness of the wide, sensual mouth, the imperiousness of the long, firm nose, and the strength in the well defined eyebrows, several shades darker than the tawny hair swept back from his high forehead.

‘This questionnaire is very in-depth,’ he commented, raising his head. ‘I’m impressed.’

‘Thank you. If I know the likes and dislikes of everyone who stays here, I can devise software to help you solve any problems that may arise with food, recreational facilities, bedroom requirements and—’

‘Bedroom requirements?’ His mouth quirked, though his voice remained serious.

‘Yes, Mr Hamilton.’ Her voice was as serious as his. ‘Some guests dislike room service entering their suite, others object to their beds being turned down, and when it comes to air-conditioning, your staff say the complaints are legion.’

‘And how! We’ve even had requests for duvets. Duvets in the tropics,’ he reiterated. ‘They must be bloody mad!’

Deliberately she flinched, and he stopped short. ‘Anything wrong?’

‘I’m not used to obscenities.’

‘I’d hardly call bl—’ He stopped abruptly. ‘Sorry.’

‘I accept your apology,’ she said primly, wondering how he’d react if she repeated some of her brothers’ colourful language.

‘I don’t believe your fellow countrymen never swear,’ Alex muttered.

‘Only when they lose their temper. But you hadn’t. You were merely expressing a thought aggressively.’

She hid a grin as chagrin darted across his face, and silently applauded herself for making him feel uncomfortable. ‘Forgive me for commenting on your behaviour, Mr Hamilton. You’re my superior and—’

‘Not that again,’ he cut in. ‘And stop this “Mr” nonsense. When we’re alone, it’s Alex.’

Afraid she had annoyed him, she smiled at him tentatively, and the way he studied her mouth gave her the assurance she required. Alex Hamilton might have a love ‘em and leave ‘em reputation, but right now he was definitely at the love ‘em stage!

‘May we continue our business discussion?’ she asked.

‘By all means. But first you should realise that most luxury hotels offer the same facilities we do, but where I believe we can score points is by making our guests feel at home.’