Someone Unexpected(7)

His date once again gave me a dismissive once over and wrapped her  perfectly manicured hand around his arm. Okay lady, I get it, you want  me to know that he's off limits. Maybe you should check with him on that  one. I gave him my sweetest smile as I locked eyes with him.         

     



 



"I'm sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. Blu. What can I do for you?"



His eyes were fixated on me giving me all of his attention. "The first thing you can do is call me Sebastian."



I could feel my cheeks flush and I quickly glanced at his date who was  staring daggers at me, and I smiled at her trying to diffuse her anger.



"Okay, Sebastian, what can I do for you?"



"I would like a Diet Coke and a glass of ice."



Huh? Did I hear him correctly?



I was careful not to raise my eyebrow at him. "I'm sorry, did you say you would like a Diet Coke?"



His eyes were intense as they held my gaze and he had such a serious  expression on his face. "Yes, I would like a diet coke, in a can please,  and make sure it's ice cold."



"Absolutely, Mr. Blu. Excuse me, Sebastian."



I turned to go back to the kitchen praying we had a cold can of Diet  Coke in the fridge. What kind of weird request was that? And why did he  have to ask me? The servers were waiting on him hand and foot.



I hurriedly searched through the refrigerator and, thankfully, I found a  few cans of Diet Coke on the bottom shelf. I wiped down the can of soda  and brought it out to Sebastian's table along with a glass filled with  ice.



"Here is the Diet Coke that you requested. Is there anything else that I can do for you?"



A tiny smirk played at the corner of his mouth. "Yes, I would like another can of Diet Coke and another glass filled with ice."



I felt my cheeks fill with warmth as I held his gaze. What kind of game are you playing?



"Of course, I will be right back."



I had to stop myself from stomping away because I felt like he was  trying to make me look silly in front of his guests. I grabbed another  soda from the fridge, wiped it down and set it on the table in front of  him with another glass filled with ice. Defiance brimmed in my eyes as I  held his gaze and then I forced myself to smile at him.



"Anything else, Sebastian?"



His eyes searched mine for what seemed like an eternity, I couldn't tell  if he was upset with me, and I began to feel uncomfortable because I  could feel everyone at the table staring at us. I hope I didn't sound  annoyed. The last thing I wanted to do was piss off the man who held the  key to my future.



"That's all for now, Elena." The way he said "for now" let me know that he had more in store for me.



I went back to the kitchen, my heart thumping, totally nervous that I  had pissed off the owner of the hotel. He shouldn't have cornered me  earlier because it threw me off. I prided myself on always being in  control of my emotions and I had finally met someone who shook me to the  core. Sebastian Blu was not the kind of man I was used to.



Later that evening, at the end of the night as guests were leaving, I  was helping to clear Sebastian's table when I felt a hand on the small  of my back. I turned to see Sebastian looking at me with that sexy smirk  and I literally jumped away from him.



"So you don't like my touch."



"You caught me off guard. Did you need something?"



He slowly ran a finger down my arm and I was totally flustered because  there were still plenty of people in the room and I was afraid someone  would see the handsome billionaire flirting with me. This was not the  way I wanted to be noticed and if he continued to come after me like  that people would start to talk. If I did get the promotion, people  would assume I got it because I was sleeping with Sebastian and that was  the last thing I wanted. As those thoughts ran through my head I  suddenly was very annoyed. I pulled away from him and my eyes were  steely as I held his gaze.



"I do not mean to disrespect you Mr. Blu, but I am very uncomfortable  with your advances. I work really hard for Blu Sierra Miami and I am a  respected manager. I wouldn't want any rumors to begin about us,  especially since I am up for promotion. I like to earn my positions in  life the right way."



He took a deep breath, put his hands in his pockets and held my gaze for  what seemed like forever before he said something. "Elena, the last  thing I want to do is make you uncomfortable, it's quite the opposite  actually."         

     



 



I was completely confused. "Why? Aren't you here with a date tonight?  How do you think she would feel if she knew what you were doing?" I  couldn't believe that I was rejecting this powerful man, but it was  pissing me off that he thought he could just have me.



An amused grin played at the corners of his mouth and his crossed his  arms and leaned against the table drinking me in with his eyes.



"And, what exactly is it I am doing, Elena?"



I could feel that my cheeks were burning so I knew they had to be  flaming red. How did I get myself into this? I had to be careful not to  him so I chose my words carefully.



"You are flirting with me Mr. Blu, and while I am very flattered I just don't think it's appropriate."



I could see that he was surprised by my rejection but he quickly  composed himself as he held my gaze. He uncrossed his arms, cleared his  throat as he straightened his jacket and gave me a generic smile.



"Have a nice evening, Ms. Sumner."



He walked away and I was left standing there, my mind and heart racing,  worried that I had just sealed my fate with the company. I began to pace  back and forth in front of the table. This is not good, this is not  good. I had rejected Sebastian Blu and I just knew that my time with the  hotel was over. I tried to push the fear of being fired out of my head  as I helped clear away as much as possible before the cleaning crew  stepped in.



I went into the kitchen to grab my purse and Ms. Parker stopped me on my way out.



"Elena dear, thank you so much for stepping in to help tonight. I think  the gala was a huge success and Mr. Blu seemed very pleased. Enjoy your  day off tomorrow and I will see you on Monday morning!"



"Thank you Mrs. Parker."



I went home feeling sick to my stomach about work and I hoped that  Sebastian wouldn't hold it against me that I turned him down. I climbed  into bed a little while later and stared up at the ceiling in the dark  replaying the night in my head. Sebastian was dangerously gorgeous and  it would be really easy for me to get caught up in him, especially since  he'd made it clear he was into me. But the last thing I needed was to  have people at work gossiping about us, and I was on the career track, I  didn't have time for a man to derail my plans. If I could get this next  promotion, that would mean a big bump in my pay and once I found  another roommate I could really start to save a lot of money. If I  stayed on track I could open my boutique hotel in a few short years. I  could not let Sebastian Blu ruin everything for me. I would have to find  a way to apologize to him and if I had to get on my knees and beg him  not to fire me, I wasn't above doing that.





Chapter Four  –  Next Steps



I tried to enjoy my day off but all I could think about was work and by  bedtime I could barely fall asleep, drifting in and out of sleep all  night, and when I woke up Monday I was dreading going in to work. I took  my time getting ready and mentally prepared myself to have to beg for  my job if it came to that. I walked into the hotel doing my best to  appear as if it was any other day and not the day I was expecting to get  fired. I put my things away and took a deep breath before going out to  the front desk to check on everyone. An hour into the day I started to  relax a bit because everything was just as it always was, and then I got  the phone call.



"Ms. Sumner, Mrs. Hargrove would like to see you in her office. A car is  waiting for you outside to take you to the corporate office."



I felt the blood drain from my face as I hung up the phone. My mouth  went completely dry and it felt like I had a softball sitting in the  bottom of my stomach. Mrs. Hargrove was fourth in charge at Blu Sierra  hotels under Sebastian and his brothers and I knew that this could not  be good. As I rode to the corporate office I had to practice calming  breathing exercises because I just knew I was going to be fired. Could I  sue them if the real reason I was getting fired was because I turned  down Mr. Blu? How could I ever prove that? I felt sick to my stomach on  the elevator up to the 30th floor and I sat in the reception area  waiting to be called, subtly performing breathing exercises. A few  minutes later a gorgeous, leggy blonde came to greet me.         

     



 



"Ms. Sumner?"



"Yes?"



"Mrs. Hargrove will see you now. Will you follow me, please?"