Page 1 of King of Desire

CHAPTER ONE

Honeyeh

My new bossMr. Stanley stops in front of me, giving me that critical eye like he’s trying to figure out what I’m about. Is he worried I’m lazy? Awkward? I swallow down a lump and attempt to give him a reassuring smile.

I don’t tell him, but I’d do backflips provided he keeps me on the payroll.

He takes his eyes off me to frown down at his clipboard. “How do you pronounce your name?”

“Ummm… Honey, just like what bees make, and then at the end you add an ahh, like in a-ha,” my smile grows bigger, almost manic. One of my college friends Charlotte married some real estate mogul, Mason Kincaid. She convinced her husband to have his company hire me at one of his restaurants as a favor. The pay is great, so much better than my last job, and I will do nearly anything to make certain this position sticks.

“Honeyeh, do you have prior waitressing experience?”

“I was a barista,” I clasp my hands leaning forward. “And I was picked for employee of the month multiple times for my hard work and friendliness.”

He looks up at the ceiling like he’s trying not to roll his eyes. “A barista. Great.” Sarcasm drips off the words. Then he adds, in a whisper, “I’ve been stuck with the flavor of the month.”

My brows draw together. What does that mean?

But I don’t ask as he checks a box next to my name. “You can do chair set up for the ceremony. Once it’s done, all the guests will make their way outside for cocktails in the garden. We’ll have to very quickly turn the room over for the reception portion.”

“Right. No problem.”

“I’m sure you know already, but the man getting married is a business partner and family friend of the Kincaids, so everything needs to be perfect today.”

I don’t know why I should know that, but I nod enthusiastically. “Hustle. Perfect. Got it.”

He looks me up and down again, frowning, “You won’t be given special treatment here because you’re a friend of the Kincaids,” he says with a sneer. And then he walks away. I don’t need special treatment, but I have a feeling that he might like me less for being Charlotte’s friend.

Two groups are forming among the staff, and I have no idea which one I should be joining. The first is all women, but the second has three guys and one girl.

“Over here,” a blonde calls to me, the only female with the male group. She gives me a friendly wave. “You’re in the set up and take down crew with us.”

I let out a breath of air, glad someone reached out and made my first day a bit easier. “Thank you.”

“I’m Brittany.”

“Hi. I’m Honeyeh.”

“What a cool name,” Brittany’s brown eyes take in all my details. “You’re gorgeous.”

My mouth opens and closes because I’m not quite sure how to respond. Women can be like that, sometimes, really open and friendly. Then again, they can also have an agenda, and the friendliness is a mask for the cut they’re about to deliver. “Thank you. So are you.”

Brittany preens under my compliment, and the truth is obvious. She did have an agenda, it was to illicit a compliment from me in return. But a girl who just needs her ego fed a bit is totally fine with me, especially since she can help me learn the ropes.

I could use a friend right about now.

“Thanks,” she gives me this exaggerated glam-girl smile. “I moved to Vegas to be a showgirl. I’m still working on it, but I think I’ve got my look almost dialed in.”

I nod, because there isn’t really much else to do. I have no idea what she looked like before. But in her uniform, she looks just like the rest of us. White Oxford, black pants, neatly tied-back hair.

One of the guys standing in the group claps his hands to get our attention. “I’m coordinator tonight. The guest list is small, less than twenty. We’ll set up ten chairs on either side of the arch.”

We start out of the small back room and move into the function space.

I nearly gasp out loud at the arch that’s been erected. It’s covered in bright, exotic flowers that infuse the muted room with bright color and beauty. It’s gorgeous.

Along the walls are giant arrangements of the same flowers.

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