A/N: There will be an increase of update starting this week. I will be updating on Saturday and Sunday, every week. If ever I would add another day, I will inform you. But as of now, that's all I could do. Happy reading ~ Mel. 

*Photo above is of Alona Tal - portrayed by Rhea, Kyla's secretary.

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"If you don't mind me asking, do I know you from somewhere?"

"I'm sorry. I don't think we've met before, sir."

"Really? I thought that you looked familiar..." Before he could remember, a staff approached them, interrupting his thoughts.

"Harold, would you please take a guest to the conference room?" Coleen asked the head concierge on the hotel.

He hadn't prolonged the moment with unnecessary talks and got directly to his job. "This way please, sir."

With a brief thank you, I heard his footstep walking away from the counter. I hadn't noticed I've been holding a bit of my breath until I huffed in frustration. I wearily snuck a peek at his retreating back.

"Did he notice me?" I whispered towards Coleen yet my eyes were glued at his impeccable navy suit. It was fitted perfectly on his lean physique. And I knew from personal experience how lean and muscular he was underneath all that clothes.

"I'm not so sure... Did you say how many times you two...?" she started but trailed off as she shifted to another topic in line with my own thoughts. Her eyes were following him as well.

I peered away from his beautiful back and turned to my ogling friend. "Too many that I could count. I don't think it was possible with just one night."

Hearing my response, she looked at me in wonder. She sucked in a dramatic breath and fanned herself. "You lucky minx."

I rolled my eyes at her melodramatic response and handed back the paper. "Well, now he's gone, I have to go. I'm late for work. I need to get my ass up there or Leech's going to kill me." I grumbled in distaste, addressing the nickname we've come up on my boss.

It was ironic how his real name was close to the nickname we used to describe my boss. Brian Leach was the head of the Sales and Marketing department. His fame whore, sexist, narcissistic prick personality was beyond help. He also liked to take other people's accomplishments as his own – hence the nickname leech.

"Leech knows he couldn't live a day without you. He wouldn't fire you, honey."

"Oh please, you're just sugarcoating what you see. That guy is only a saint in front of blondes. And from what I saw in the mirror this morning, I still have brown hair."

It was her turn for an eye roll. This wasn't the first time we addressed my bosses' evident preference towards blondes. Almost everyone working in the sales and marketing department were blonde girls. At one point, I had asked HR about it. They were aware of his troublesome preference as well, yet no one bothered to question it. At least, those blondes in my department weren't the stereotypical kind. And I'm sure a few of them weren't even natural.

So, how I got the promotion even though I wasn't a blonde myself? I had the charm and Brian wasn't solely capable of promoting anyone in the department. One of the higher-ups found my work ethic admirable and gave me the position as assistant marketing executive. Plus, I was also a kiss-up like my boss.

I had been driven in promoting the hotel for the past few years. When I knew how to play my bosses game, I got few recognition that caught people's eyes, which ultimately led me to my promotion. After we've hosted a lot of events, V.I.P. parties, and business conferences in the four years I've been working in the hotel, I'm proud to be part of achieving that growth. My ambitious side wouldn't allow me to linger behind Brian's shadow. I had to shine.

Arriving at my office, located at the second floor of the hotel – where most of the offices were stationed – the managing receptionist greeted me. Sarah looked crisp and professional in her black fitted dress and white blazer. In her late thirties, she hadn't looked a day older than twenty. She gave me a brief glance as I made my way towards the hallway leading to the marketing department.

"You're late today. Had too much drink last night?" she stated when she got back staring at her desk monitor.

"Coleen and I got carried away." I muttered in admission without breaking stride.

"Brian was looking for you."

"I'm sure he was."

"Good luck with that," she smirked and briskly waved. "And oh! Did you see the new guy?" She called, finally breaking my pace.

I turned and gazing the side of her face. When she felt my stare, she looked up and grinned cheekily. "You'll meet him. He's cute."

The pit of my stomach told me I already know who it was, but my head was in denial. With a quick goodbye, I left her and carry on walking towards my office. Reaching the main open space of the sales and marketing department, everyone wasn't pretending to be working on their desk like it was our fifteen-minute break. I glanced at my watch to be sure and saw I was already twenty minutes late for work. If I was sober and it was a normal day – without a sudden appearance of my last fling – I'm always on time. But today wasn't that day.

As I got to the glass divider of my office, my secretary – Rhea, got up on her desk stationed outside my office.

"Why are you late? They've already started. Did you read my text or even check your phone at all?" The mixture of alert and worry in her voice told me I was in more trouble than I perceived.

"Why? Is there something happening today?"

"I knew you'd ignore it, especially this Monday. Coleen told me she was drinking with you yesterday... but let's not talk about that. You need to get your butt in the conference room right now. They're having an on-call meeting."

"What? I'm included in that? Coleen didn't say anything to me."

"She isn't your secretary. I am, Kyla," she huffed in frustration and grabbed my things. "Now, you need to go." When I didn't budge, she gestured toward the hallway I came in. "Go! You need to go!"

With a push, it got the job of snapping out of my trance. I scurried away towards the conference room across the hall. When I passed by Sarah, she looked up and stared at me in confusion.

"Did you know I'm included in this meeting?" I inquired.

She held up her hand and seemed to check something on her computer. Without looking up, she replied. "Yes. And you're already late for that as well."

"Why did you have to forget something like that, Sarah? Why?" I groaned in annoyance and almost started sprinting towards the room. I didn't wait for her excuse. I was too wrapped up on getting in that meeting – praying my boss wouldn't make this excuse to lecture me about insubordination and tardiness.

I barely caught my breath when I arrived at the door. After another second to cool my ragged breath, I fixed my dress and then knocked. I hadn't waited for anyone to answer, expecting they were occupied with the meeting. Once I opened the door, all eyes were on me. I wasn't fazed by the sudden attention until my gaze met his. One look was all it took to make me conscious with myself.

"I'm sorry for interrupting," My voice was frail and odd. I've never been one to sound meek, even in a room filled with important people.

Rather than their usual ignorance for latecomers, my boss taught it was the appropriate time to show his distaste towards me. "Finally you decided to show yourself, Kyla. Sit down."

I tried not to flinch at his words and took the empty chair two places from him. All the while I kept calm at his probing glare. I knew he knows who I am. After I sat down, the speaker – who was Kenneth, our general manager – continued his speech. It was somewhat difficult to concentrate on him, since he sat beside Jensen. And every time I peered over him, I caught his eyes glancing my way. I might be overthinking it, but from how his jaw clinched whenever our eyes met for a second, it wasn't just in my head.

"And starting next week, there will be a transition of my position to Mr. Hawksley. I will still be overseeing his work as co-general manager, but the President appointed him as the general manager effective immediately."

It took all of us a second to grasp what Kenneth was saying. The first to react on his last statement was Lauren, who looked bothered and uncertain about the change.

"Does the new management mean the crew will also go through the change?" A few echoed her question, which created a frantic buzz in the room.

As Kenneth was about to calm the crowd, Jensen spoke up for the first time since I entered the room. "I wouldn't be replacing anyone's position. I would love to work with what the current GM's staff and see the efficiency myself. My brother told me this branch was one of the best, and I want to be the judge of that. Only if I see an insufficient work ethic with one of the crew, which doesn't match my goal, I'll consider changing a staff member."

It silenced the room like a snap of a finger.

"I think that's fair," Lauren spoke up first before everyone echoed her words again in agreement.

I studied the look on each of my co-workers face and noticed a slight smug look on my boss. For him, it was a good opportunity to kiss ass on the new boss. When he opened his mouth, it proved my gut feeling.

"That's very understandable, Mr. Hawksley. And I assure you the staff in this branch is top notch and we handle business here with sophistication."

"I hope so," Jensen countered dully. His smile towards Brian seemed rehearsed. Before I could read more into it, he turned to Kenneth. "Would that be all for today? I'll like to get a brief tour around the hotel, if I may."

Kenneth almost jumped up on his sit. "Of course, sir!" He then faced everyone briefly and dismissed the staff. Before anyone dispersed the conference room, Jensen spoke again. Catching his stare, I wished I had just stayed in bed that morning.

"Can the latecomer walk me around instead? Since I hadn't gotten acquainted with her," he pointed.

Everyone in the room turned their eyes on me. A few female staff looked jealous for intimate reasons, but the other half were just trying to find a chance to kiss up to the new boss as well.

"I don't think I have the time..." I started, speaking up after apologizing for being late. But then Brian cut me off and answered on my behalf.

"Ms. Tristen still has work to do this morning, Mr. Hawksley since she was late coming in. If you like, I could volunteer myself."

If it were a different situation, I would've argued with Brian. But it wasn't a normal situation. I'll gladly accept Brian kissing ass to the new boss right now. So while he was offering his hand and saving mine, I slowly backed away towards the door as a few of the staff did. But Jensen wasn't finished yet.

I saw Kenneth briefly said something to him before addressing Brian and me. "Mr. Leach, head of marketing right?" He waited for Brian to nod before continuing. "Being the head, I think you can do me a favor and offer one of your staff's time. Take it as punishment. And I promise you, she'll do her intended work after she'd given me a tour of the hotel."

I'm not sure what kind of idea he was planting in Brian's head, but it was enough to make the narcissistic, sexist suck up to agree. "Of course, sir. Please don't take too much of her time. We have another meeting before lunch."

"Understood, Mr. Leach. I will return her before then."

With a nod, Brian excused himself and left Kenneth, Jensen and I in the room. Looking at the empty chairs, I hadn't noticed I was the only one who hadn't left. Now that Brian was gone, my only chance of escape was Kenneth. But it was a loosing battle.

"Is there anything else I could help you with, sir?" Kenneth asked while I stand close to the door, ready to bolt.

"No. I think I'll be fine under Ms. Tristen's guidance from now on. You can return to the office, Kenneth."

"Good, sir. Then I'll excuse myself." When Kenneth reached the door, he briefly gave me a knowing look before stepping out.

Once we were alone, all walls and pretend calm façade I had were gone. "What do you think are you doing?" I jeered angrily. Even though my voice was low, in a sound proof room, it was easy for him to hear me.

"Don't pretend we are strangers. I'm the one who should be pissed right now. And by the way, I know that was you in the lobby with your friend, Coleen was it? And why are you being so shy now? Plus, why did you disappear without a trace yesterday? I thought we had a great night. To think you weren't the kind who liked one night stands," he snorted in disbelief and gradually walked towards me.

"Well... I... ah... I wasn't..." I stuttered, my head scrambling to find a way to explain – more like find an excuse – of my actions. "I had plans." I decidedly stated, which was partly true. I met the girls a few hours after that morning.

"Which was?" He inquired, seeing the bluff.

"I had lunch plans with my friends."

"And it didn't occur to you to leave a message, at least?"

When we a good arms length from me, I took a cautionary step back. "No. We didn't make any plans what comes after that night. And besides, we both know what really was the agenda. I see no fault in leaving without a trace." I firmly stated.

Jensen regarded me for a second before sighing in defeat. "Right, whatever makes you feel less guilty? How about let's get this tour started?" He gestured to the door behind me.

I studied his poker face before turning around to the door. Once we were out of the suffocating room, there were enough eavesdroppers roaming the hallway to keep our conversation from going further. I composed my posture and walked on ahead, gesturing each area of the floor and its function. After a brief tour in the business section floor, we've gone back down to the lobby. It was difficult not to sneak a peek at the reception desk, which I knew Coleen was there – possibly ogling at us. I imagine the interrogation I'll go through during lunch today.

Following the lobby, we moved towards the two in-housed restaurants that have four-star statues in its name. Entering the busy area, the head maître d' greeted us.

"Ms. Tristan, good morning. How may I help you today?" he asked, peering over at Jensen with curiosity. Since he wasn't present at the meeting, he wasn't aware who he was.

"We're just looking around the place," I paused and gestured towards Jensen. "This is Mr. Hawksley. He's the new gen..." Before I could finish, he interrupted me.

"I'm an acquaintance of hers. I'll be joining the staff tomorrow, so she's showing me around the place," he stated with a charming smile in place.

Even though I knew the maître d' catering us was a straight male, it didn't go unnoticed how his faced flushed. I had to roll my eyes on that. He sure got talent to make men blush. But of course, I knew about his charming, swoon-worthy, smile.

"Oh, I see. Well, welcome to The Grand Hotel, Mr. Hawksley. It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance," he stated and offered his hand towards him.

Jensen briefly shook it and gave a friendly pat on his shoulder as he walked past the podium. "And nice meeting you too. Good job manning the front fort."

Stunned at his carefree character, I followed and hastily excused myself to the dazed maître d'. If he'll continually make such an impression to a man like that, I'm not going to like seeing a female staff on the receiving end from his deathly charming blow. There would be multiple swooning ensued today, which I'm not prepared to tackle.