Chapter 150
After arriving back in St. Louis Tuesday evening, the family had decided on dinner and sleep before diving back into work Wednesday. Jordan had started training on Monday and his report told them things were going well. Trinity and Christian had been helping and were working well together with just a few mishaps and disagreements on how things should be done. Olivia was happily surprised that things were looking well for the Grand opening in just a few days.
Waking before the alarm, a rare occurrence for her, Olivia sighed happily as she snuggled further into the body in front of her, pressing kisses along Natalia's shoulder and neck. Natalia stirred slightly and pulled Olivia's arm tighter around her waist but didn't quite wake. Olivia smiled to herself as a delicious plan came to her mind.
Propping herself on an elbow, she repositioned so she could better reach her goal. With tiny kisses along Natalia's shoulder, she gently disentangled their hands and ran her fingers along the seam of Natalia's sleep shorts, dipping just barely inside to play along the warm skin just above her pubic bone. As Natalia shifted and moaned lightly, Olivia allowed her kisses to become more forceful and her teeth to nip at the skin just below Natalia's ear as her fingers moved further south.
Her hand moved from Natalia's hip to play through downy soft hairs before slipping further down, her index finger making contact just above Natalia's clit. Natalia moaned again and her hips jolted into the touch. Olivia chuckled a little and lightly bit at the earlobe she'd been tickling with her tongue. As she felt Natalia shift into her touch, she allowed her fingers to move downward again, her index and ring finger opening Natalia's lower lips as her middle finger ran though the wetness pooling and brought it up to the stiffening clit where she circled.
Natalia's hips were moving of their own accord, pressing into the gentle touch of her wife's fingers. She could feel herself waking but wasn't quite there. She hummed at the attention, her eyes still closed as she hovered in that place between sleep and awake. Suddenly a single finger was pressing into her and she was instantly awake as a gasp escaped her lips. Reaching an arm back, she tangled her fingers in Olivia's thick honey blond hair and pulled slightly as she felt teeth sink into her neck and a second finger join the first inside of her.
"Olivia…" She whispered breathlessly as she ground her hips back into Olivia's groin and tightened her hold in Olivia's hair.
Olivia kissed her cheek and sank her fingers further inside, enjoying the soft moans from her lover. "Good morning beautiful." She smiled out and began to slowly pull her fingers in and out and press her palm against Natalia's now completely stiff clit.
"Uh…good…mor…morning…" Natalia panted out and pressed herself further into the touch between her legs, wanting Olivia deeper inside. "God…Olivia…yes…"
"Mmm…you feel so good baby…So wet…so tight…" Olivia said directly into her ear, blowing as she ended the sentence and reveling in the shiver she felt shoot through her wife. She sped up her thrust with her hand and pressed her palm harder against the bundle of nerves.
Natalia was biting her lip to try and keep quit, knowing her children, sister, and Ashley were still asleep in the other rooms of the penthouse suite. "Uh…ah…fuck…Olivia…baby…" She moaned out as her hips picked up speed to match Olivia's almost frantic pace. She could feel her orgasm building, her stomach tightening and her clit throbbing. She was so close already. "I'm…I'm…" Before she could finish her thought she was coming, clear liquid coating her wife's fingers and hand.
Olivia kept her fingers inside, no longer pressing on her wife's g-spot, but still gently moving, drawing out her wife's climax. She pressed herself harder into Natalia's ass and sucked on the spot just below her ear as she waited for her love to come down from her high. "You are so beautiful when you cum."
Natalia was still shaking with aftershocks as she rolled to her back, causing Olivia's fingers to slip out, and brought her wife into a searing kiss. "You are amazing my love. What a delightful way to wake up." She said as they pulled apart, pressing their foreheads together.
Olivia leaned forward for another slow kiss. "Mmm, I agree." She said with a smile, glancing at the clock and realizing the alarm was going to go off any second. She reached over her wife and quickly turned it off. "What do you say to a shower before breakfast and starting our busy day?"
Natalia pulled Olivia to be fully on top of her and kissed her deeply yet again, slipping her hands into Olivia's silk pajama pants and squeezing her tight globes. "I think that's a very good idea my love."
Olivia groaned and kissed her again before pushing herself up and rolling out of bed. She held her hand out to her wife, and, once they were both standing, she wrapped her arms around her lover from behind and walked them into the bathroom.
After a very steamy shower, in more ways than one, the two women dressed for the day and emerged from their room, smiles splitting their faces as they walked into the kitchen hand and hand for coffee.
Ava raised a brow at her mothers', most certain she knew what had them both so happy, if the sounds she thought she heard coming from their bathroom were anything to go by. "Good morning mother." Ava said to Olivia, her mother's patented smirk firmly in place. "Morning Ma."
"Morning baby." Natalia responded with a kiss to her daughter's cheek as she added cream and sugar to her coffee.
"Good morning my darling daughter. What may I ask has you smirking?" She said, knowing full well what her daughter was smiling about.
"Oh, nothing, it's just a very rousing morning. Wouldn't you say mom?"
Olivia wrapped an arm around her wife's waist and placed a kiss to the side of her neck as she stepped up next to her at the kitchen island. "Yes, yes it is." She responded with a smile and another kiss.
Once the rest of the crew was up, they all ate breakfast and then headed out of the suite to start their day, knowing they had more to do then time to do it if they wanted to be ready for Saturday.
Olivia, Natalia, Ava, and Rafe, met up with Trinity, Christian, and Jordan in one of the large conference rooms to put together a plan for the day while Ashley and Isabel went straight to work in the banquet room to make sure everything was perfect for the opening.
"Okay." Olivia said, clapping her hands together. "We still have a lot to get done in the next few days. So, let's get started. Have either of you checked in on the kitchen?" She asked Trinity and Christian.
"Yes. Mrs. Spencer-Rivera." Christian answered. "We both went down there before coming here. Chef Vasquez was in the process of getting the kitchen staff ready for the day."
"Yeah, they were all in aprons and stood in a straight line listening to his direction." Trinity added with a slightly confused expression. Not familiar with how executive kitchens worked.
"I would expect nothing less from Pablo." Olivia stated. She could she the confusion on her female GM's face. "He will do that most every morning. It's meant to bring their focus to him and their tasks for the day. A good kitchen is kind of like the military. Everyone has a specific job and they all must work together to achieve their goal, the executive chef being the Sargent that everyone takes their orders from." She explained.
"Ah. That makes sense." Trinity said with a nod.
"Alright, Natalia and I will go down shortly to see how it's going. We need the two of you to go over the bookings for this weekend. Also, we need five rooms reserved for our family that will be flying in for the opening. Two family suites, two king suites, one with a roll away crib, and a two-queen suite." Olivia watched at Trinity jotted that down and then turned her focus to Jordan. "I assume you will continue training today."
"Yes ma'am. Today we will be focused on housekeeping. Making certain every room is fully stocked and that each staff member knows exactly what is expected of them. Rafe has offered to assist myself and two of my employees with that. Ava will be assisting with the wait staff, assuring they all know how to properly serve tables. Teaching them how to fluidly move around one another in a full dining room."
"That sounds good. And what of our front desk and front office?"
"We worked with them the previous two days, as well as concierge and back office. Part of tomorrow and Friday will be dedicated to going back through every department to make certain they are all prepared for the opening as well as daily task. We will make fake reservations, complaints, kitchen orders, everything. We will also be testing your security department, making certain they are prepared for anything that may pop up."
"Wonderful. Natalia and I will be popping in and out throughout the week, but our main focus will be on finding a banquet manager and getting them up to speed, as well as making sure Trinity and Christian are fully prepared to take over running the hotel."
"Alright ma'am. If you don't mind, the staff should be gathered in the main lobby by now and I'd like to get started sooner rather than later." Jordan stated.
"Okay, we'll catch up with you later. Ava, Rafe, call us if there are any problems or if our assistance is needed."
"We will mom." Ava said, following Jordan out the door and kissing both mothers' cheeks on her way.
"Don't stress yourself too much mom. Ma, keep an eye on her." Rafe said, worrying after what happened in Chicago last November.
"I won't let her over work herself, I promise mijo." Natalia responded, cupping one cheek, and kissing the other.
"I'm fine son, now scoot, you have work to do." Olivia said, ruffling his hair and kissing the side of his head.
"Ah, mom, come on, this hair takes work." He said good naturedly as he jogged to catch up with his sister.
Trinity and Christian shared a curious look. "Um, are you okay Mrs. Spencer-Rivera?" Christian asked, not understanding the worry Rafe was displaying.
"I'm fine, my children, and wife, worry entirely too much." At their still confused expressions, Olivia sighed and briefly explained. "I had a heart transplant almost three years ago now. There have been a few minor issues since. Stress can trigger an episode." She shrugged, trying to downplay how close she came to death, more than once. "I'm fine and will continue to be." She added with a pointed look at her wife who was squeezing her left hand and rubbing the wedding band on her finger. "Now, I believe we all have plenty of work to do. Please let us know once you've finalized the bookings for this weekend so we can look over them and then we'll give you your next task." With that, she turned and left the room, pulling her wife along with her.
As they entered the elevator and pushed the main floor button, headed for the kitchen, Natalia brought her wife into her arms, wrapping herself completely around her. "I love you Olivia."
"I love you too."
"Promise me you won't over do it this week." Natalia was silently berating herself for not thinking about her wife's health until Rafe mentioned it moments ago.
Olivia squeezed her wife tighter against her and kissed her head. "I promise honey. I feel great, better than ever. Nothing is going to happen to me. I promise."
Natalia simple nodded against her neck where her face was nuzzled. Staying wrapped up in her wife until the elevator pinged and the doors opened. She placed a tender kiss where her lips pressed against warm skin and then pulled back to place one on Olivia's lips before taking her hand and leading them to the kitchen.
After an eventful morning full of jumping from kitchen to front desk, to banquet hall, to housekeeping, and so on, Olivia and Natalia were finally taking a much-needed lunch break before they would begin interviewing another round of banquet managers. Olivia half wanted to just offer the job to Ashley, but she knew the job she already had in place for her after the opening was much better suited to the young woman, and, her son would kill her if she stationed Ashley in St. Louis while he was still in Springfield.
The two women had decided to test their kitchen staff a little and ordered room service in their suite. Making sure to order more than enough food just to make their new chef work his staff a little before the opening. It wasn't long after they'd settled in on the couch with a glass of wine that a knock sounded at the door. Olivia placed her wine on the coffee table and made her way to the door, opening it wide for the nervous looking young man to wheel in the cart. The boy placed the cart in the dining area and bid the women a good meal and afternoon before taking the offered tip from Olivia's hand and making a hasty retreat from his boss' suite.
Their meal was spot on, impressing Olivia more with their new chef. After eating and wheeling the cart into the hall, the two women sat cuddled on the couch, letting their meal settle before moving forward with their hectic day.
Natalia was leaning against her wife with her head on a strong shoulder. She softly rubbed over Olivia's full tummy. "This is nice. Being able to just sit with you for a few minutes."
Olivia kissed the top of her head and hummed. "Yes, it is. As soon as this hotel is open, I think we need to take a vacation."
Natalia sat up and looked at her wife. "Are you serious?"
"Yes. I think we could all use a little break after the past few months. Emma has Spring break the week after next, I think it would be good for us all to get away for a week, relax and enjoy each other."
Natalia thought about it for a minute. It was true, they really did need some down time. She had hoped to take their honeymoon sometime soon, but, their kids deserved a break too. "I think that's a wonderful idea. And maybe you and I can take an extra week and go on our honeymoon?" She asked hopefully.
Olivia pressed their foreheads together and looked into mocha eyes she loved to drown in. "I think that can be arranged."
Natalia smiled wide and kissed her wife briefly before pulling back. "So, where do you wanna go?"
"Vacation or honeymoon?"
"Both."
"Well, where would you like to go?"
"I don't care, anywhere, as long as I'm with you. I've never been anywhere, so…"
"You've never been anywhere but here and Chicago?"
"Nope. So anywhere is exciting to me."
"Okay, how about we take next week and each plan a trip? I'll plan our honeymoon," she wiggled her eyebrows, "and you plan our family vacation."
"Okay. Anywhere you don't want to go?"
"Nope. I'm fine with anywhere."
"Anywhere?" Natalia asked skeptically.
Olivia took her hand and kissed her knuckles. She knew her wife had always had to worry about money and was still getting used to the abundance of wealth she now had, which is why she was asking about limitations. She could almost see numbers flying around in her love's head. "Anywhere sweetheart. We can go literally anywhere in the world. Don't think about the cost, just plan the trip of your dreams and we'll do it."
Natalia couldn't help the huge smile that spread across her lips. She had always wanted to take Rafe on vacation but it was never an option for her while she was struggling just to keep food on the table. "I don't have words to express how amazing you are."
"No more amazing then you my love." She kissed her sweetly and then stood from the couch and extended a hand. "Now, we better get down to our office before we're late for our next interview. After this weekend, we can both dive into vacation/honeymoon planning."
Natalia took the hand offered to her and stood as well, kissing her wife as she did. "Oh, wait, I thought you wanted to go to Chicago and check in with them next week?"
Olivia was leading them out of their suite and into the elevator as she answered. "I do. We can go to Chicago on Friday afternoon after Emma gets out of school, spend Friday evening and Saturday morning there, then, we'll fly out of Chicago Saturday afternoon."
"Seems you have this well thought out. How long have you been thinking about this?"
The elevator dinged and they stepped out, heading down the hall to their office. "For a few weeks. I just, I want us all to have some carefree time together. Just you, me, and our kids. We have been so busy, and then with Clara and Isabel, I feel like our family hasn't had much time for just us. I miss our closeness. And Rafe can finally go anywhere he wants at any time without needing a reason or permission. I think it will be good for him." She said with a shrug.
Natalia's smile grew even more if that was possible. "You are the most thoughtful person I have ever met. I don't know what in the world I did to get so lucky, but I'm sure glad I did."
Olivia smiled then too. "I'm the lucky one." She leant down and kissed her wife gently before putting on her work face and opening the office door.
It was only a few minutes later that a petite redhead knocked on the open door. "Mrs. And Mrs. Spencer-Rivera?"
Olivia looked up from the résumé she and Natalia were reading over. "Miss. Montgomery." She stated, rising, and extending a hand with Natalia following suit. "Please, have a seat." She gestured to the seat across from her and Natalia as the two sat back down.
Once seated Olivia was quick to start the interview. She could tell the young women sat in front of her was slightly nervous, but confident. She answered their questions directly, making eye contact, kept on topic, and, to Olivia's delight, she talked about herself and what she could bring to the job instead of just her education and previous work history. Although she was no Greg, she was very similar to Collin, their banquet manager in Chicago. Olivia could tell just by looking at her wife that Natalia thought she was good as well. There was definitely potential for the young red head.
"Okay. I think that's all. Do you have anything you'd like to add?" Olivia asked her wife after thirty minutes. They had asked all the standard questions. Why do you want this job? Why should we choose you? How would you handle complaints/issues? Etc…, but this last question was always saved for Natalia to ask. She enjoyed it. It was the question that had stopped many interviewees from getting this position, and the most important one to Natalia.
Natalia loved being the one to ask this final very important question. In her mind, any applicants answer could make or break their chance of getting the job. "Just one more question. How important is family to you?"
Rachel thought for a moment. She had read up on the Spencer-Rivera's. She knew they were a family run business; she also knew of the hardship that had befallen their family, and that they were very close. It wasn't that family isn't important to her, just, she didn't have a very good one herself.
She opened and closed her mouth several times before she finally found words. "I would love to tell you that family is the most important thing to me, however, if I'm honest, I don't think I actually know what a real family is." She looked down at her hands as she finished, knowing with certainty that she would not be getting this job after that.
Olivia watched as emotions played across the woman's face. She saw the light that had been in her eyes since entering their office dim and knew the moment demons from her past started flashing through her mind. She had a feeling that she and this woman shared similar past, or at least that Rachel's family life had not been the best growing up. She couldn't stop herself from reaching over and taking her hand.
"It's okay. I suppose family may not be the best word for what we're asking." She released the woman's hand and sat up straight once more, glancing at her wife before continuing. "Here at Spencer-Rivera Hotels and Resorts, we value each and every member of our staff. Natalia and I, or one of our children, interview for ever position personally. We need to know what kind of person we are hiring. When you become a member or our team, you become like family to us, or, a very close friend if you prefer. I guess we are more interested in where your loyalties lie."
Rachel took a deep cleansing breath. That was a question she could answer. She squared her shoulders and met her potential boss' eyes once more. "I can assure you Mrs. Spencer-Rivera, if you give me this opportunity, my loyalty will lie solely with you and your company. I may not know much about family, but I know about loyalty.
I respect my employers and aspire to always exceed their expectations. You asked earlier why I left my last job, and I'd like to expand on my earlier answer. I told you that I didn't feel like it was the right fit for me. That I wanted to be somewhere I could see myself staying long term. While all of that is true, I also felt like nothing more than a name on a paycheck to them. Don't get me wrong, the Regency is a great hotel chain, however, I often felt as if I was just another face in a large crowd. I want to work somewhere where my boss knows my name. Where I'm more than just another check to be written but someone who holds value. I want to know that what I bring to the table is seen as an asset and not just getting the job done.
Loyalty is something that I treasure, in my personal and business relationships. I don't feel that it's something to be taken lightly. If you decide I'm the right fit for you, I will make certain that I not only do my job to the best of my ability and then some, but I will also make certain no one enters this hotel who intends to do harm in anyway, business, or personal. I know, as banquet manager, that I may not cross paths with everyone who enters through those doors, but, I will report anyone I see doing anything against you, your family, or your business."
Natalia and Olivia shared a look before Natalia turned back to the woman seated across from them. "I think you have a better understanding of family then you thought. Thank you for your honesty and for taking the time to meet with us today. We have a few more interviews, but you will hear back from us one or another by this evening." She stood and shook the young woman's hand, as did Olivia.
"Thank you both for your time. I look forward to hearing from you."
As the door shut behind her, Olivia and Natalia turned to each other, both thinking the same thing. Olivia was the first to lend voice to their thoughts. "I think we just found our new banquet manager."
"Me too." Natalia agreed with a smile. "I actually think she would be a good assistant for Trinity and Christian, if they end up needing one."
"I agree. And if they don't, which I don't think they will, then she can always be promoted when one of them leaves to run our next hotel." She said with a wink.
"Hey, slow down there hot shot. You promised me a vacation, no more hotels until at least after that."
Olivia wrapped her arms around her wife and kissed her soundly. "I wouldn't dream of it; however, I did hear of one for sale near Tulsa. Not too far away, I bet either one of them would be willing to move. Both being young and unmarried."
"Olivia." She chastised. "We are not buying another hotel right now."
"I know, but, maybe when we get back from our honeymoon we can go look at it?" She asked with her best puppy dog eyes.
Natalia rolled her eyes but couldn't help her smile. She could deny her wife nothing, especially when she gave her those eyes and stuck her lip out like that. "If we must." She finally said, feigning exasperation.
Olivia smiled, but said no more, not wanting to press her luck. Instead, she pulled her wife in tighter and kissed her for all she was worth. This kiss for the simple pleasure that was their love.