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Maybe possible for me?
Chapter five
Drew – The Meet Cute?
“Wyatt. Drew Wyatt,” I tell the front desk clerk over the phone. To avoid causing chaos at the hotel by tossing the Bellamy name around, I decided to register under my mother’s maiden name instead. Troy of all people scowls at me, clearly planning to give me crap for it.
“Uh, I’m sorry but didn’t you say you couldn’t be the one to check out the hotel because your face is too well known?” I ask, as I finish booking my room from my kitchen counter.
“I figured it’s such a small town that no one will really know the family name,” he says, as he types away on his laptop.
“You know what happens when you assume, right?”
“Yeah, yeah.” He waves a hand dismissively.
“Our company has grown to the size it is now in just a few years,” I remind him. “So always assume the owners of a hotel, big or small, know the Bellamy name. There’s some free business advice for you,” I smirk. And you already know that, you hypocrite.
His return smirk gets a stiff look. He doesn’t like being called on his crap, especially when I do it. “Have fun in paradise, Mr. Wyatt.”
The plan is simple. Scope the place out like a tourist, gather the info my brother needs, and keep my head down in the process. No one needs to know anything personal about me or my reasons for being there, because there’s no way in hell I’m staying longer than necessary.
The flight to Florida is as dull as I expect my stay to be. The in-flight meal tastes like cardboard even in Business Class these days, and I almost doze off during the generic tech-thriller movie. But soon enough, it’s over, I’ve driven to my destination in my rental car, and I’m standing at the check-in desk at the Seaside Inn.
“You’re all checked in.” The older clerk, whose name tag says Susan, smiles as she hands me my room key. “Would you like some help with your bags?”
“No thank you,” I say as I make my way to the elevators.
The less I have to talk to people, the less they get to know about me. On the flight over, I rehearsed a story in my head about who I am, why I’m in Florida, and all that crap that strangers feel entitled to ask simply because we chose the same vacation spot.
For the time being, I’m just a guy from Upstate New York on a short (I hope) vacation. I’m not married, have no kids, and I just needed a break from my corporate job as a headhunter. Simple…easy to follow and remember. It’s not too far off from what I do for work and gives me little opportunity to slip up.
If I keep my head down, I shouldn’t have to talk to anyone for more than a few minutes at a time. I’m relying on my grumpy demeanor to give people the hint to leave me alone.
Once I get my key to 217, I decide to change into swim trunks and a t-shirt before checking out the amenities.
“Slow down, bud!” I hear a girl call out, and faint sounds of a struggle.
Before I can even reach the elevator doors, a giant furry monster rounds the corner, pulling a small girl helplessly behind him before slamming into me.
The dog’s yanked his walker off balance in his enthusiasm. Just before she hits the ground, I see this small girl is actually a young woman. She falls too fast for me to catch her, but the dog immediately takes notice, turns around, and starts licking her face as if to apologize.
For a moment, she and I exchange a silent stare. I can’t tell if she’s admiring something in me, but I know for certain I’m doing that with her. I’ve never seen such blue eyes before. Before I can even offer a hand, her wide-eyed expression squints and changes to one of annoyance.
“Uh, how about instead of just staring at me, you offer to help me up?” she snaps, breaking her silence. “I guess chivalry is truly dead,” she sighs, as she gets to her feet. Damn, this woman is feisty!
She keeps rambling on and I can’t keep up with all that she is saying. I know I should probably be apologetic, even if it was the dog’s fault for coming around that corner like a racehorse in the home stretch. I try my best to apologize, even though, again, it wasn’t my fault. No one can say I don’t have a gallant streak somewhere.
“Why the heck are you smiling like that?” she snaps.
Uh, because I’ve never been snapped at by someone as cute as you are. But then shock wipes the comeback off my tongue. Wait, I’m actually smiling? Yeah. I was. And that part was her fault. “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you behind this guy.” I point to the furry creature now sitting by her feet, looking at her with eager eyes. “You’re kind of tiny, and he’s the size of a baby elephant.”
“And that’s your excuse for standing there like an unusually cute bump on a log? You should know what they say is true about tiny women.” She puts her hands on her hips.
“Big attitude?” I smirk.
“Look at that, you’re catching on already.” Her voice drips with sarcasm.
“Well, I’m not just unusually cute, I was in shock for a moment.” I grin briefly, dishing back some attitude in return. “Forgive me, I’m not used to being around feisty little pixies like yourself.”
