"Rafael"?
Both Emma and Rafael froze and turned their heads to the right. Even if he had initially been tense, Rafael eased up.
"Hey Max".
"You know him"? whispered Emma.
Rafael smiled. "Old family friend. Don't worry". He turned his attention to Max as Emma took that as a cue to head back inside the suite.
"Rafael, have you forgotten about the flowers"?
"No worries Max, they'll come and remove them from your suite this morning". It was a lie. Rafael had indeed forgotten all about the flowers. In his defense, he'd had other things on his mind since he'd left Max the day before.
"Alright then", said Max, "don't forget".
"I won't. Have a nice day Max".
"I'd wish you the same but from what I can see, it's not necessary".
Rafael smiled and headed back inside. When he did he headed for the bedroom and found Emma. She had dressed and had made the bed. She was wearing a pair of white cotton shorts, a navy colored top and a pair of white sneakers. Her hair was up in a braid and she looked stunning.
"I'm going to take a quick shower. I'd offer you to join me, but you're dressed, and breakfast should be here any minute".
She moved towards him and placed her hands on his chest. "I'll take a rain check, because if I get in the shower with you right know, I don't think I'll be able to only just wash".
"Is that so"?
"Huhuh". She simply replied. She kissed him and left the room.
As she headed towards the living room, she felt as though she was walking on air. Being around Rafael made her feel like she was on top of the world, she was happy.
There was knock on the door and she walked over to open it.
"Good morning Ms. Fontaine", said the guy who was standing in front of her.
Behind him, she could see the trolley with everything she had ordered for breakfast… and it was a lot. She hadn't mentioned that it was for two people and she could only imagine what the people in the kitchen must think about her eating habits. She was certain that it had in some ways brought on jealousy from some of the women. 'If I ate that much, I'd be fat, how on Earth does she stay so slim? It must be so nice to have such a metabolism. It must be in her genes'. To which, she was certain some others would reply something along the lines of 'don't worry, it will eventually catch up to her and she'll get fat, like we all do'.
Emma laughed internally. If only they had known, that as a baby, she was super chubby, that her pediatrician had put her on her first diet when she was nine and that as a teenager, she would be a victim of the yo-yo effect. This job was so tiring, so demanding, that even if she ate, or rather when she could eat, all the calories were burned off very quickly. She would have rather had weight loss due to actual physical exercise and not exhaustion.
"Good morning", she replied smiling.
The guy walked in and pushed the trolley in front of him. "Where should I put this"?
"Next to the dining room table would be perfect, thank you".
As he headed for the table, she went to her purse and pulled out a ten-dollar bill. When he came back towards her, she handed it to him.
"Thank you so much. Have a nice day".
The guy looked at her in disbelief, then smiled as he took the bill. "You too Ms. Fontaine. Enjoy your breakfast".
"Wow! Now that's some breakfast"!
She turned and looked at Rafael as he emerged from the bedroom. He was wearing the same clothes as the day before, which was logical, and his hair was slightly damp.
"I didn't know what you liked".
He walked over and joined her. "I'm a very easy man to please".
He grabbed an extra cup from the bar and headed over to the table. "You want some coffee"?
"Yes, black please. You want some juice"?
He nodded and smiled as he placed her coffee cup in front of one of the plates.
They were half-way through breakfast talking about some of the different places they had travelled to when Rafael's phone beeped.
He took it and pinched his lips. "I'm terribly sorry. I have to go". He then realized that he didn't want it to seem as though he was bailing on her. "It's work".
Emma smiled. "Of course, and you don't need to apologize".
He took one last forkful of scrambled eggs, removed the napkin from his lap and stood. He stopped when he reached her and bent over preparing to kiss her.
"I'd like to see you later if that's alright with you"?
"I'd love that".
He kissed her then headed towards the door and left the suite.
Emma finished her breakfast then wheeled the trolley out in the doorway before returning to the suite where she decided to catch up a bit on her emails… which would end up being a mistake.
When he got to his office, he told Krishna to organize the evacuation of the flowers from Max's suite and to donate them to the local hospital, once all the cards had been removed. He made it clear that none of the cards should be opened or read, and be brought to his office instead. When he sat down at his desk, he took his phone out.
Thanks for the advice
You're welcome. So, has Ms. Fontaine fallen for your charm yet?
Rafael smiled.
Let's just say that its in the works. Mateo OK?
Yep. Hey, did you know that my dad knows Emma Fontaine?
No, serious?
Totally serious. He raved on about her for like more than an hour last night.
You didn't tell him that she was here at the hotel, right?
Of course not. But, just be careful OK?
Why?
Because, celebrities come from a completely different world. And…
And what?
Does the name Sebastien Page ring any bells?
No. Why? Should it?
He knew it wasn't a coincidence that Jane was talking about a Sebastien as they were talking about Emma. It's true that he'd been on such a mission yesterday, that he hadn't even 'researched' who this guy was.
Let's just say that he and Emma have history and he doesn't seem like the kind of guy you want to mess with.
Promise, I'll be careful and you're wrong about Emma. If anything, her world is million of miles away from celebrity life. Gotta run. Give Mateo a kiss for me.
Ok.
A half an hour later as he was looking at the budget forecast, Petra walked into his office.
She furrowed her brows. "You look like.. I don't know. A mix of crap and good. Did you not sleep well or something? And weren't you wearing those clothes yesterday"?
"I'm trying to cut back on laundry costs and even though my night was a bit animated, I slept quite fine".
"Animated? Now you've got me intrigued".
"I exercised last night. You know how I can be overtired and not sleep well when I exercise too much".
She rolled her eyes. "Don't remind me".
She sat down in the couch. "So, everything worked out fine with Max"?
"As always. Besides, it was nothing important or catastrophic. He just likes the attention".
"Speaking of attention. Maybe we should focus a bit more on making sure Emma is having a good time".
Rafael lifted an eyebrow. "What do you mean"?
"I don't know. I mean what if she gets lonely? She's been here a couple of days and maybe she'd like a little company".
"A little company? Geez Petra, it sounds like you're about to hire an escort".
"What?! No. I mean have you seen her around the hotel? Is she talking to people? Are we being friendly enough"?
Rafael tried hard not to smile. Oh, he was being friendly enough for all of them that was sure. "I recall seeing two days ago by the pool. She talked a bit with Nigel. I spoke briefly with her, but didn't want to intrude her privacy, she did ask for discretion".
Again, he wanted to laugh. He had intruded her privacy in every way possible.
Petra sighed. "It's too bad we don't have another celebrity staying here at the moment, they could keep each other company. See why I want to put in place that celebrity campaign"?
"Well, what about Rogelio, Jane's dad"?
"What about him"?
"Well, for one he's a celebrity, he's in Miami, he's family and two, from what I've heard, they've already met in the past and Rogelio is fond of her".
"You're serious? Rogelio knows Emma"? She paused for a moment then thought that it was better than nothing. "Fine, but maybe we should check with her first. What if she doesn't feel the same way"?
"Alright. I'll let you take it up with her".
Petra stood. "I can't I've got a meeting with a couple and a wedding planner all afternoon. Would you mind doing it? I know you're not really a big fan of celebrities, but…".
He cut her off. "I'll see what I can do".
"Great and maybe…"
"What"?
"I know it's not your job and I'm sure she doesn't need a babysitter, but until you can arrange something with Rogelio, if they get along, later on tonight, do you think you could, well, I don't know, keep her company. Maybe put in a good word for the hotel, loosely talk about the celebrity campaign.."
His eyes grew wide open in disbelief, but he was only playing a part. "You want me to keep her company? I don't know Petra".
'Rafael, please. I know I'm asking you a lot. I promise if you do this for me, I'll return the favor".
He rolled his eyes. "Fine, but only because you asked. And what should I do with her"?
She shrugged. "I don't know. Take her somewhere fun or for a walk on the beach. Take her shopping for all I care, just make sure she stays happy"!
With that Petra hastened out of Rafael's office. The minute she had closed the door, Rafael couldn't help but grin. He loved it when Petra had great ideas like that one.