Page 3 of Sweeter than Honey

“Oh! Speaking of,” says Chelsie, looking up at the clock above the elevators. “It’s only twenty-five minutes.”

“Shit, I should get downstairs,” I say. Then I look to the hotel entrance. “Is the donor here already?”

“I think that’s him,” Chelsie says, pointing to a man in a jean jacket who’s speaking to one of the other concierges. They point him in my direction.

“Hi, are you Lily Harper?” he says, holding out a hand.

“Yes, I’m the executive assistant for the hotel’s C-suite,” I respond, shaking his hand. “You’re the new donor?”

“That’s right,” he responds with a smile. “I got your email…it was very detailed.”

“Excellent, do you have any questions?”

“Only one: where do you need me?”

“The CEO’s office, it’s just this way,” I answer, leading him toward the line of elevators at the back of the lobby.

There are six elevators that take guests to their suites, and a service elevator that leads…well, to the other parts of the hotel that guests aren’t always privy to. But any elevator will take us to the office floor.

I press the elevator button and pull my phone out of my pocket, quickly navigating to my work email to pull up the forms the donor completed.

“Thank you for completing the forms,” I say, my fingers moving across the screen.

“No problem at all. Very thorough, huh?”

“We like to ensure that everything is covered,” I tell him, with a smile. Then I turn my eyes back down to my screen. “And I should double-check…what’s your blood type?”

“B negative,” he replies casually.

I look back up at him sharply as the elevator door chimes open.

“Sorry, did you say B negative?” I ask.

“That’s right,” he says, his eyebrow rising slightly at my expression. “Is that a problem?”

My stomach drops. I ignore the waiting elevator as my mind races quickly for the second time in my shift.

“It’s just, she’s very particular,” I sigh. “One moment, could you take a seat please?”

I gesture toward the comfortable, modern lounge chairs scattered throughout the center of the lobby. Without checking to see if he’s settled, I speed-walk back to Chelsie’s desk.

She’s typing quickly on her computer, a phone pressed up to one ear.

“Yes, we do have our premium double suite available that weekend,” she says, in her prim and professional customer service voice. “Unfortunately the beds are in the same room, but we do have a family suite that might be more appropriate for your situation…Yes, there is daycare available, from eight a.m. to six p.m. No…no, we can’t take them overnight, you would need to supervise your children when they’re not at the daycare…No, again, we can’t watch your children for you…Yes, I hear you that your children are little demon terrors, and that you never get a minute to yourself, and I understand the situation, but unfortunately, at this time, our daycare only goes until six p.m. Yes, Eastern time. Great, I’ll book you in now…”

Finally, she finishes booking the room and she hangs up the call. Then she sees the worried expression on my face.

“What’s wrong?”

I’m unable to hide the frantic note in my voice. “What’s your blood type?”

“O negative,” she replies. Her eyes widen when she realizes what I’m asking.

“Only if you’recompletelycomfortable with it,” I say quickly, trying not to glance at the dog-earred romance novel on her desk. “And you would be fully compensated, of course, with an added bonus for the late notice.”

A shy but delighted smile begins to spread across her face. “I…I mean, if youneedsomeone…”

“Fifteen minutes, Lily!” whispers Sid, as they push a luggage cart past us.