Page 19 of Hot in the City
Yuki smiled, putting a little extra sweetness into it, looking up at him from under her eyelashes. She carefully put her cookie back in its little paper bag and brushed powdered sugar off her fingers. "Oh, that's the Federation Room. Not quite so grand. I can show you the way, if you like? It's a little tricky to navigate the mezzanine level."
"That's kind of you. But I wouldn't want to interrupt your coffee break, Miss—"
"Yuki. You can call me Yuki. And it's no problem, sir. I was just about to go and see the Events Manager up that way." That was a lie, but an innocent one. Her friend Melanie was in charge of events at the hotel, and she'd need to tell her all about this man. They always alerted each other to the hot guests, purely for ogling purposes. Being overly friendly or dating the guests was verboten by their stricty-pants German hotel manager, Mr Heyer.
"Ah, well. In that case I'd be delighted to have a guide, Miss Yuki. I'm Declan, by the way. Declan Moriarty." He extended his right hand, and she could have fainted with shock. Guests didn't shake hands with staff. But she took his hand, because of course she wanted to touch him.
It was a mistake because he was too sexy. She reached out and shook his hand, or rather he enveloped her small hand totally in his grasp. The heat of his skin was startling, and she bit the inside of her lip to stop a gasp escaping. Tiny ripples of some mysterious energy passed between them, heating her skin and sending prickles of awareness through her whole body. Like static electricity. It certainly felt like every hair on her body was standing on end.
Yuki shivered, although it was far from cold in the Aussie summer. "Mr Moriarty."
He gripped her hand and pumped it a couple more times, grinning at her like the Cheshire cat. "You can call me Declan".
"Declan." She nodded, feeling like Alice descending into another world, a backwards world where up was down, as her stomach had dropped through a virtual rabbit hole.
She let go of his hand and stuffed her cookie in her purse. "Please, follow me."
The girl called Yuki, a stunning wee lass, rose from her chair under the Christmas tree. She had been sitting there serene as a princess, or an angel, lit up and shining with a silvery glow about her. Declan had been drawn to her, couldn't resist talking to her.
Now she walked away from him at an impressive pace for someone in a skinny dress and heels. He almost yelled at her to slow down, but then...he might have scared her. He was a hotel guest after all, and she worked there. Just trying to do her job.
Her little black dress with the white accents told him she was staff, though he had been at the hotel a few days and hadn't seen her around before. She wiggled her way through the foyer, and he stared after her for a few moments, then half-jogged to catch up. He shouldn't flirt or banter with her. No, definitely not. Pretty as she was...
She stopped and flicked her long shiny black ponytail over her shoulder, glancing his way. "Are you coming, sir?"
Oh, but those words out of her pretty lips were a temptation to play. "Yuki, my dear. I'm simply admiring your athleticism. You practically hurdled that chair to get away from me." Not flirting at all. "Give a poor, short legged Irish man a chance." He pressed his hand to his heart.
Her lips twitched. "Short legged? You have about half a metre on me."
He shrugged. "True, but I don't have your gazelle-like grace. Or would you prefer, a flamingo?" This time she did giggle. The sound was delightful. "Your laugh is like heavenly music". He crossed the floor to catch up to her.
"Um, thank you." She shook her head. "This way." She gestured to a small ramp and a flight of stairs tucked away in a corner.
They walked up the stairs, Yuki ahead of him. "I haven't stayed in this hotel before, but I think I like it more than the Sydney hotel."
"Really? The Sydney Harbour views are amazing though. Well, I think so."
Declan nodded, pausing at the landing where she'd stopped. "Melbourne is my favourite place in Australia though. It's not just the coffee, to be fair, Dublin has good coffee too. I like the people here. More friendly. Genuine."
Yuki beamed at him. "That's exactly what I think. But don't tell my manager. He used to run the Sydney hotel." Yuki continued up the stairs, and he followed.
"Is that so?" He'd met Mr Heyer and hadn't been blown away by his friendliness. He talked down to his staff, and that was something Declan couldn't abide.
A minute later, Yuki directed him to the Grand Ballroom, at the top of the stairs and to the right, through a large sunlit atrium. "I'll be on the reception desk this afternoon if you need anything else, sir."
"Thanks again. And it's Declan."
"Right. See you later, Declan." She ducked her head, and he could have sworn he saw a hint of blush cross her cheek.
The delightful Yuki would be at reception? Then he'd be sure to pay her a visit. He watched her walk away, swaying as she went in her snug little dress. Great legs, even better arse. Petite, and pretty. So very pretty.
"Melanie?" Yuki skidded round the corner into the events office and knocked on her friend's office door. "Mel?"
The door opened, but Melanie had a phone plastered to her ear and pressed her index finger to her lips, signally for Yuki to hush.
"Yes, absolutely. I'll confirm the seating arrangements with the dinner crew and let you know." Melanie gestured for Yuki to come in and sit down. "Okay, thanks very much." She ended the call and sat on the edge of her desk.
Melanie tossed her brown curly hair back and her face positively glowed. "Charity dinner dance for three hundred all confirmed for New Year's Eve. Yes!" She punched the air, then smiled so wide she was almost as toothy as Declan. Almost. "Nailed it, my friend. Now what's going on with you?"
