Flameover - Esther E. Schmidt Page 0,1
bike to the clubhouse gives me what I need to clear my head, the small town gives me the low profile I crave in stark contrast to being here in Vegas.
I roll my shoulders and glance at the doors of the conference room. The reason I left Sunnyville yesterday and hopped on a private jet to Vegas was to show my face at a board meeting this morning. Also, since I wanted to attend a convention about hydraulic pumps, which was being held in the conference rooms of my hotel.
Main discussion points? Hydraulics, pumps, and water supply. I’m a firefighter, needless to say it catches my attention. Plus, it was held in my hotel and I needed to be here for the board meeting anyway. I have to say, the convention was pretty well organized too. I make a mental note to compliment the company who set it up.
My stomach rumbles, reminding me I need to grab a late dinner. I don’t feel up to eating by myself in the restaurant and decide to head for my room to order some room service instead. I grab my phone and check my messages while heading toward the elevators. I only manage a few steps before someone bumps into me.
“Sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry,” a modest voice whispers in a chant as she squats down to gather the papers she dropped.
Seeing I was half responsible, I squat down to help. “No need to be sorry. I wasn’t paying attention either. Here—”
I hold out the stack of papers for her to take and my words falter as soon as our eyes meet. Damn. I never knew liquid silver could be captivating. Her delicate features and her dark blonde hair tied in a bun while some strands frame her face give her an innocent appearance.
She swallows hard and those magnificent eyes go down as she releases a tiny chuckle and says, “Good thing you’re not the manager. I accidentally bumped into him yesterday and almost got my head chewed off.”
Anger instantly surges through me. “You’re kidding me, right? Did he really? I’ll be sure to address him about his behavior. What’s your name so I can address this incident accordingly?”
Her eyes go wide and she places her tiny hand on my forearm. “Please don’t. Seriously, it was my fault. I also bumped into you, didn’t I? Oh, talk about embarrassing. You work here? Great. Good thing the convention is over and my plane out of here is bright and early tomorrow morning. I’d better head up to my room, order room service, and stay out of people’s way until then. Shit. Where are my manners? I’m Leontine. Can you maybe point me in the direction of someone who can sign some papers for me? Well, other than the manager, obviously. Ugh. Never mind, I’ll just drop the documents off tomorrow morning before I leave. And I’m rambling. Again, I’m sorry. I’m . . . I’m gonna go. It was nice meeting you, bumping into you, whatever.” Her cheeks pink up and she fumbles awkwardly with the stack of papers she’s holding.
The corner of my mouth twitches. She doesn’t have a damn clue who I am and she’s utterly adorable. She glances at the papers she’s holding and when my eyes hit them, I can clearly read my name on those papers.
“I need to order room service too,” I muse and stare at my name.
“Would you like to join me for a late dinner? Seeing we were both heading for our room to order room service we might as well enjoy each other’s company along with it.” My eyes slide up when her words settle, and I watch how the red blush deepens on her cheeks as she starts to sputter in an effort to take the words she just voiced back.
A sly smile spreads across my face and I can’t help but tease her. “Now Leontine, are you flirting with me? Offering to take me up to your room.” Leaning in closer, I add on a husky whisper, “You’d better be prepared to hand feed me, because if so . . . I might return the favor.”
The hitch in her breath and the shiver running through her is enough to make me painfully hard.
She guides some of her dark blonde hair that’s fallen from her messy bun behind her ear and surprises the hell out of me when she says, “I’m sure that can be arranged.”
We stare at one another and