Chapter Text
Chapter one
No matter how busy, I still enjoyed the holidays. Of course my shift wasn’t really all that hectic no matter the time of year; working overnights at a hotel has its perks after all. On the best of nights, I barely even saw anyone when breakfast started and that was at the very end of my shifts. Nights like tonight, however, Christmas eve? Full of people calling or simply walking in, looking for some sort of room vacancy. Of course I felt terrible turning people away, however I simply had nothing to offer them in terms of rooms. A list of nearby hotels and inns were slowly crossed off as they too ran out of vacancy.
Then there were the drunk folks. Mostly younger kids on winter break from college or the older people coming back from some out of town party or wedding. It baffled me, too, that someone would have their wedding on Christmas eve. I’d learned a routine by then: stay in the back office if you heard people walking unless you didn’t hear any of the doors opening, or saw someone entering with luggage. Thankfully the door to the back office was was right near the computer I typically sat at to chat with friends or work on whatever projects I might have going on and I so happened to glance over on this night to see a man with long black hair standing right at that door, offering a patient smile and a quirked brow.
I quickly stood and hurried out, watching him back up with near silent steps to be in front of the main desk where he belonged.
“I’m so sorry about that,” I sputtered with a small laugh. “Sometimes I get a little caught up in things.”
“Not a problem,” he reassured, that same smile still on his lips. “Johanson, checking in.”
“Right, of course,” I breathed, signing into the computer and biting the inside of my cheek as I scrolled through the list of names still yet to check in. It wasn’t many, almost never was and I frowned, eyebrows scrunching down. “I’m sorry, I’m not--”
“It’s probably under Johnson, it’s not often they spell my name correctly,” he said with a small but curt laugh, dark eyes glancing off to the side before returning back to me.
Second name on the list, pulling up the reservation and matching I.D. with the address listed. They really did spell it wrong, something that while wasn’t done often still bothered me.
“I’ll fix that for you, sir,” I responded, a small, short hum as I did so, rechecking the I.D. to make sure it was right. “And perfect. Breakfast is from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. The wifi is complimentary, as is a water if you’d like?” I offered with a smile up at him.
He was incredibly tall, at least half a foot taller than myself and while I wasn’t the tallest, I was at least average for a man my age… maybe an inch or two shorter.
“No thank you,” he answered, leaning in a little to rest his elbows on the counter, quirking that sharp eyebrow again. “Will you be here all night?”
An odd question to most, though normally it was asked by women looking for some ounce of security. A small nod, blinking up at him curiously. Closer like this, his eyes were still dark but they weren’t black like I thought before. A rich brown perhaps, though it was still hard to tell.
“Yes sir, there is someone at the front desk 24/7,” I responded with a smile in return. “Here are your room keys.”
Two plastic cards about the size of a credit card, tucked neatly into a paper envelope with a paper card explaining the internet password instructions.
“Would you be needing anything else tonight?”
He looked down at the packet handed off and accepted it, slender fingers brushing against my hand as he did so. He was cold, remarkably so, though maybe it was from just having come inside from the snowy cold. A glance at the number on the packet and a soft hum as it was slid into a breast pocket.
“You aren’t spending the holidays with anyone?” he asked casually, ignoring my own inquiry.
Personal questions like this weren’t totally out of the norm, especially for a night auditor such as myself. People thought the position odd, someone willing to work so late especially if they thought I had someone to return home to.
“Ah, just my cat I suppose,” I admitted with a much more shy smile. “I work a lot.”
“Mm, and I imagine these long nights must bore you after a while? No guests for long periods of time?” he asked, dark eyes sliding down then back up.
It took probably too long for me to realize he was checking me out. Me? It’s not like I was terrible looking, but this guy was absolutely gorgeous, not someone I pegged for being into me. Or maybe he was just bored, lonely from the holidays.
“It’s not so bad. I keep myself busy with cleaning and stocking.” A mostly honest answer, though those things rarely took up much of my time.
I’d heard of coworkers being asked up to guest rooms for something other than an immediate maintenance problem, but never had I been asked. Then again, I may have been jumping to conclusions, I wasn’t exactly being asked now.
Black hair was being tucked behind a pierced ear as he picked his briefcase up from the ground, slipping on a pair of sunglasses that I didn’t think weird until later. Who wears sunglasses at night, indoors?
“I’m sure I’ll see you at some point,” he hummed, turning and heading for the elevators.
Sharp shoes clacked on the polished floors as I watched him leave, almost too awestruck to hear the phone ringing. Scrambling, the phone was answered in time, giving my long spiel of which hotel, where and who I was. No, sorry, we are in fact sold out tonight. Try giving this other hotel a call. Yes of course, have a good night. A breath after the call ended, glancing towards the elevators before closing the door to the back office, ensuring it was locked, then heading the short way to the kitchen.
Part of our hotel’s policy was to keep coffee hot and ready, 24/7. Even if no one had even looked at the machines in more than five hours. As fresh coffee was being made, old coffee was being dumped, still steaming hot and yet still apparently a hazard to drink.
“Excuse me, sir?”
A short yelp, immediately biting the inside of my cheek after and quickly apologizing, holding firm to the pot I had been emptying. Standing at the entrance of the kitchen, something easily accessible to guests through the dining room, was a man, offering a wide, teasing grin.
“Shit, my bad,” he laughed, running a large hand through chestnut hair. “Didn’t mean to scare you, kid.”
Clearing my throat, I set the pot down on the counter and offered an apologetic smile. Was tonight the night for attractive guests?
“It’s quite alright, I’m fine. How may I help you?” I asked, trying to keep what little composure I had after nearly dumping boiling hot coffee all over myself.
“I was just hoping to check in, saw a sign that the front desk employee was down here? Guessing that’s you,” he said, that grin still clear on his face.
He was darker than the other man, though that certainly wouldn’t take much as pale as he had been. More rugged almost, jeans and a sweatshirt instead of the fancy suit. I nodded, quick to clear my head of any suggestive thoughts and offered a smile of my own as I walked passed.
“That’s me! Right this way,” I responded cheerily, walking briskly to the desk.
I felt almost naked not being behind the desk when a guest came around, like my protective barrier was gone though I supposed that was a bit silly. Not once had I had a guest even threaten me, thankful for it. I was just a nervous person in general, I suppose.
“Last name?” I asked, smiling up at the other man as I waited patiently, hands hovering over the keys.
“Holloway, Beaux’s the first,” he added, leaning on his forearms that rested on the desk.
A whiff of pine, something a bit comforting for some reason. A wood worker then? Or just lived in the woods probably, something prevalent in the area.
“Could I please see your I.D.?”
Handed over with no problem, pursing my lips as I tried to focus my eyes on the tiny lettering most I.D.s seemed to have. An issue for someone with dyslexia, but keywords matched up just fine and I handed the car back with a smile.
“Just one key will be fine,” he piped up before I even had a chance to say anything else. “And I come here every year, so you can save the spiel,” he added with a wink. “Breakfast from 6 to 10, check out at 11, I know it well,” Beaux laughed, a hand dragging back through that thick, light hair even though it fell right back into place.
“Certainly. Will you be needing anything else tonight?” I asked, hands clasping together to rest on the desk. An easy interaction, my favorite ones of course. No hassle, no issues with cards or I.D.s.
A shake of his head, warm brown eyes almost twinkling a little as he stood up straight, accepting the key packet and glancing at the number.
“Everything’s perfect. Oh, you ain’t seen a fella come in yet, have you? Long black hair, probably wearing sunglasses. Johanson is the name.”
“Ah, I am sorry but I can’t give out that information unfortunately,” I explained with an apologetic smile.
“Don’t you worry your pretty little head about it. I’ll just give the bastard a call. Always has his cell on him,” he laughed, giving a short wave before grabbing his backpack and heading towards the elevators.
It wasn’t uncommon for people who worked in the same business or in town for the same reason would stay at the same hotel but show up at different times and ask for the other. But it was still a privacy and safety issue and who didn’t have some sort of communication device in this day and age.