Page 10 of Pressure

When Lance came back five minutes later, he was looking grumpy.

“Everything OK?” she asked as she closed her laptop.

“Yeah. Why don’t we get you booked over at the Glenview? We’ve still got several hours until the board meeting.”

She nodded and packed her things.

She followed Lance to the Glenview about a half hour away from Solitaire. It was an upscale hotel, not something she was expecting in the small Colorado town.

When she parked and got out of the car, Lance was waiting for her near the entrance.

“One of the fellas at the club owns this place now and a lot of members use it when they’re in town for the weekend,” he said as he motioned her through the sliding doors.

As they approached the front desk, a gorgeous woman with tan skin and dark hair that hung well past her shoulders stepped out of the office.

“Ma… Lance,” the woman said, surprise on her face. “You rarely stay here. What a pleasant surprise.”

“Sorry to disappoint, Isabelle. I’m just dropping someone off. What are you doing here? I thought you’d moved to one of Hunter’s Philadelphia hotels to be close to Garrett.”

Marissa couldn’t help but notice the young woman blush at the mention of Garrett, whoever that was.

“I did, but Lori is taking an extended leave and Hunter asked if I could come back here temporarily and Master… err… Garrett is right in the thick of an election cycle, so I hardly see him anyway. It’s been good to spend time with my sister.”

Marissa fought the urge to roll her eyes at the woman’s rambling. She just wanted to check into her room.

Lance leaned against the desk and flashed a smile at her. “Hey,” he said, his voice dropping low. “I’m really sorry about last weekend. I shouldn’t have bitten your head off that way. Forgive me?”

Lance had never been bad at apologies, that’s for sure. The sweet tone to his voice almost had Marissa wanting to forgive him for something. Almost.

Isabelle leaned across the desk and kissed Lance’s cheek.

Marissa cleared her throat. “Can we move on with this little sap fest so I can get a room please?”

Lance turned and scowled at her while Isabelle’s eyes grew wide as if she might tear up. Yep… princessy.

Inhaling deeply, Isabelle tapped keys on the computer and looked up with a bright smile. “What kind of room would you like?”

“Just a basic room will be fine. I’m not sure how long I’ll be here, so keep it open ended for now,” Marissa said, pulling out her credit card.

Lance put a hand on her wrist to stop her. “Put it on the club’s expense account, Isabelle. We’re paying for Miss Sullivan’s accommodation as part of a contract for some work she’s doing for us.”

“You got it.”

A young woman with a name tag came rushing behind the desk. “Sorry, Miss Alvarado. I didn’t mean to be gone so long. I can finish that if you want.”

Isabelle waved her hand. “It’s fine, Shelby. These are friends of mine anyway.”

Marissa watched the exchange. Shelby seemed just a tiny bit afraid of Isabelle. She had a hard time picturing the woman as manager of anything but apparently, she was running the hotel.

“Here’s your key, Miss Sullivan,” Isabelle said. “I look forward to speaking to you again sometime.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet,” Marissa muttered as she tucked the key into her back pocket.

Lance gave a tight smile and gripped her elbow. “Thanks, Isabelle. Can you tell your man I’ve apologized a dozen times now so maybe he’ll stop being pissed at me?”

Isabelle giggled. “You know how he feels about me. I’ll talk to him. I know you didn’t mean any harm.”

Marissa tried to pull her elbow away, but Lance kept his grip tight and steered her toward the elevator. When they stepped in, he jabbed at the close doors button repeatedly until they slid closed and the elevator lurched upward.

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