Two Months Later
South Beach
“…we have about twenty-five check-ins in the next half-hour. We’re booked at both restaurants and…”
As the GM of The Shore Club Hotel was listing off facts and figures for the day, Delaney’s mind wandered off as it normally did at that time. She had left Islamorada almost as soon as she could get out. Her old boss at the Ritz had given her a recommendation at The Shore Club, a ritzy, boutique hotel on South Beach. She was now the Front Desk Manager of the hotel, a huge step down, but after all that had happened at The Chancellor, she was thankful to be working in the hotel industry at all.
“Delaney, is your team ready?” Marco Rodrigo was the GM and a tiny, feisty Latino man. He wore a gold ring on his pinky finger and was always rushing to and from meetings. He was never in his office and hotel staff often complained that he was hard to get a hold of but when he did show up, he took care of business.
“Yes, sir.” Delaney looked around at her team of front desk agents. She was still getting to know them and in the two months she had been there, she’d kept her guard up. It had been too difficult losing not only her relationship with JC, but also with Ashley, Chris, and Joey. She hadn’t heard from them since she’d left, even though she’d left a card in Ashley’s mailbox before leaving for Miami.
It was a different world here at The Shore Club. Somedays it was better, other days Delaney missed her life in Islamorada so much that it hurt. But she knew it was for the best. She’d made one of the biggest mistakes of her career at The Chancellor and she was bound and determined to keep a clean slate now.
She headed out to the front desk and saw a line of people waiting to be checked into the hotel. The Shore Club was hip, new, and fresh because it was on South Beach. While there were plenty of famous people and well-to-doers who stayed there, the clientele was much younger than that of The Chancellor. Most of the people checking in looked like they were fresh out of college and using their father’s credit card to spend the weekend like a real socialite. One or two were yuppie looking business men who Delaney could already tell would be heading to the nearest upscale strip club. Yes, it was a different feel all around. And because of how it had ended at The Chancellor, Delaney appreciated it.
Her shift was from seven in the morning until seven in the evening five days a week. She usually took Sunday and Monday off, but because she’d closed herself off, she didn’t really do much with anyone. She’d considered going to a mixer at a local bar one night, but by the time it had started, she’d talked herself out of it.
The apartment she was renting wasn’t far from the hotel. It was right in downtown Miami and overlooked the bay. While most people she knew would kill for an apartment like that, Delaney had only gotten it because of its convenience to work and only took advantage of the views when she remembered.
For the most part, her mind was always on JC and late at night when she was trying to fall asleep, she’d think about the last time she’d seen him. She missed him desperately, but knew better than to try and ever find him. She’d finally reasoned with herself that he was a chapter in her life that had closed. He’d taught her a lesson and if that was all that he had been in her life for, then she was going to have to close that door.
The trouble was, she couldn’t. He was all she ever thought about and sometimes, fantasized about. He’d been the best sex she’d ever had and it was going to take a long, long time to ever forget him.
“Welcome to The Shore Club.” Delaney greeted her first customer with a bright smile. She didn’t feel at all what she was portraying on the outside. “May I have your name for check-in?”
“Yes…yes…yes…yes.” Chris was nodding and rolling his eyes as he talked on the phone. Ashley sat across from his desk and watched him in action. She could tell he was on the phone with a big-wig hotelier or someone from corporate that was going on about something that Chris didn’t care about.
In the two months he’d been at this job, Ashley had watched her fiancé take control of the hotel in a fresh, new way. He’d fired Morgan almost on the spot, he’d made Todd the Assistant Hotel Manager, Joey the Food and Beverage Manager, and it was encouraged for all hotel employees to have a drink at Chancey’s on the house if they were off during happy hour. Overall, The Chancellor had become an all-around fun place to work and the employees told Chris all the time how much better it had become-even those who hadn’t really known why JC was let go or left or didn’t know why Delaney suddenly quit. There was almost a light-heartedness to the atmosphere.
“Who was that?” Ashley asked when Chris hand hung up. He put his face in his hands and shook his head.
“Ugh. Lance. Again.” Chris shook his head. “I guess he would check in daily with JC and I’ve told him before I don’t need him to do that. So instead he calls and just tells me about the stupidest stuff.”
“You’re too nice.” Ashley rolled her eyes. “Why don’t you just not answer the phone?”
“Because I get duped into thinking he’s actually calling about something important.” Chris sighed and looked out the picture window behind his desk. “I still can’t believe I have this job.”
Ashley couldn’t believe it, either. It was overnight that Chris had accepted the position and almost immediately he’d promoted Todd and Joey. Chris’ schedule hadn’t changed too much, except that he worked more often than not on weekends but could take off more days now.
Ashley had kept the card from Delaney in her mailbox in her office desk drawer. She’d been debating on how to respond. She missed her friend, especially when she would meet up with Joey and Chris after work for drinks. Sometimes Todd and Andrea would join, but Ashley didn’t feel the connection like she had with Delaney. That and the fact that Andrea had also been one of JC’s flings had given Ashley a bad taste in her mouth.
She wanted to reach out to Delaney but was uncertain how to go about doing it. She could easily find out where she’d gone, but Ashley needed more time to process it all. Looking back, she knew Delaney had just gotten mixed up too fast in JC and the hotel. Deep down, Ashley knew that her friend hadn’t been trying to get to the top by sleeping with JC; it had just happened. But it made her shudder thinking of the weeks that Delaney had blatantly lied to her face and that was what made it more difficult to want to reach out and forgive her.
“For what it’s worth, Chris, I think you’re doing a great job. And I’m not just saying that because I’m your fiancé.” Ashley smiled at him and came around the desk to peck his lips. Chris playfully grabbed her butt and pulled her down into his lap. “Chris!”
“What? I told you I’d pull you in here for sexual favors.” He wriggled his eyebrows at her and Ashley threw her head back and laughed.
“No, we aren’t gonna do what other managers did before you.” She gave him a pointed stare and hopped off his lap. “I have to get back to the spa. I’ll see you after work.” She kissed him again and headed out of his office.
Chris sighed and looked down at his office phone. Ashley was right. He was too nice to Lance. He somewhat felt sorry for Lance because after JC had left, Lance was rather alone over in HR. Chris didn’t need useless information –rather, gossip- that Lance would feed him. If he did that with JC, that was fine, but Chris wasn’t JC and didn’t thrive on who was sleeping with whom or who was applying for a promotion. He wanted to be a different GM and hearing all of that made it difficult to make educated decisions on what to do with the hotel. He realized just how much JC must have depended on Lance and John down in valet in order to keep the hotel running the way he wanted it to run. He kept them around to give him the “goods” on who was doing what, or who, or anything else that made someone suspicious in JC’s eyes. But Chris didn’t need any of that. He wanted to be partial and fair. Something he guessed the hotel hadn’t run on in quite a while.
He checked his watch and saw it was nearing time for rounds downstairs. He put his phone in his back pocket and left his office, heading for the lobby.
JC stared out at the vast expanse of the ocean that could be seen from his kitchen window. The water was calm and because of the bays and inlets in Islamorada, there weren’t any rough waves. Crystal clear water fed into the marshes and beyond. He could look out of that window forever and not ever get sick of the view.
The flashbacks had returned. They weren’t as vivid, but JC would wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. It was always about his birth mother, Lisa. Lisa leaving him with Karen and Roy. Lisa returning but JC shutting her out. Lisa dying and JC never getting to say a real goodbye. He knew it had to do with Delaney. Because he hadn’t gotten to say goodbye to her, either. Not really.
Two months. Had it really been that long? Sometimes it felt like two years. Other times it felt like only two weeks. He was still in Islamorada living off the six months’ severance package he’d been given by the hotel. He knew he had to start looking for another job and soon. His name was a joke in the hotel industry and he knew it. But he had no other experience and didn’t know what else to do.
The truth was, he had loved his job; He’d just taken it all for granted and used all of his power to his advantage. If only he hadn’t acted upon impulsiveness, if only he had reasoned with himself, if only he’d been nicer, if only….He could do this all day long but it wouldn’t stop.
His biggest regret was Delaney. He couldn’t stop thinking about her. He would wake up looking over to the other side of the bed and almost wishing her to appear. At night, he’d sit on the back porch drinking a beer and picturing her next to him. He’d only been with her for almost a month and yet she had imprinted on his mind more than any other woman ever had.
He knew she’d left Islamorada but that was about all he knew. And the only reason he even knew that was because he’d driven past her house a week after they’d been let go and seen the FOR SALE sign. Islamorada was small enough that word got out and he knew she’d moved elsewhere.
JC picked up his coffee mug and sipped from it. The liquid burned his tongue and he cursed under his breath as he moved away from the kitchen window and walked into the living room. Several times he’d debated on whether or not to call the one person who would know where Delaney was. Lance was the only person at the hotel who’d really give him any information. He had to have known because as the head of HR, all of Delaney’s mail would have to be forwarded to her new place of residence. His heart ached thinking that she could be on the other side of the country or even worse, the other side of the world. Taking a position at another hotel in another country wouldn’t be unlike her. She’d mentioned it to him on occasion and this would have given her ample opportunity to go.
JC picked up his phone and looked at it before dialing Lance’s number. He could at least find out where she was and go from there.
“Thank you for calling Human Resources at The Chancellor. This is Andrea. How may I assist you?”
JC cringed when he heard the voice on the other end of the phone. He cleared his throat and tried to sound as monotone and nonchalant as possible. “Lance Bass, please.”
Andrea recognized that voice anywhere. “Mr. Chasez?”
JC didn’t say anything for a second but finally sighed. “Uh, yeah?”
“Oh, um, sorry. I’ll connect you.” Andrea fumbled with the phone and JC could hear her on the other end. He’d probably made her uncomfortable if anything.
Andrea couldn’t get rid of him fast enough. Her fingers trembled as she connected her old boss to her new one.
“Lance Bass,” came the familiar voice on the other end of the line.
“It’s JC.” JC shifted on the couch and rested his feet on the coffee table.
“JC? Hey, man, it’s good to hear from you. How are you?”
“Well, I’ve been better.” It was the best answer he could give him.
“I’m sure,” Lance said.
There was an awkward pause and JC realized Lance probably couldn’t say too much to him. He was so damn loyal to whomever was in charge and JC wondered if he thought the phone call was just to get information about the hotel. He figured he should cut to the chase.
“I was just wondering, uh, would you be able to tell me Delaney’s forwarding address?” JC bit his lower lip. “I know it’s probably going against protocol, but I, uh, I just wanted to send her something.”
Lance was quiet on the other end. Then, “Well, no, I’m not supposed to but as long as you don’t tell Mr. Kirkpat-I mean, Chris, then yeah, I’ll give it to you.”
“You have my word.” JC vowed. “I won’t say anything.”
“Just a minute.” Lance said and JC could hear him typing into his computer. He was bracing for the worst. California. Hawaii. Alaska. Or Australia. Or –
“JC? She’s got an address for Miami.”
JC could feel everything inside of him scream relief. Miami was just an hour away, if that. It wasn’t even on the opposite coast of Florida. “Miami? Really?”
“Yeah. Looks like she’s….oh, she’s working for The Shore Club.”
“On South Beach?”
“Yep. Looks like it.”
“Ok, thanks, Lance. I really appreciate it. And I promise I’m not going to breathe a word to anyone.”
“Thanks, JC. I hope things start looking up for you soon.”
“I hope so, too.” JC hung up and stood to his feet. He had to shower, change, and get on the road to Miami.
And hope and pray that Delaney was on duty at whatever position she now held at The Shore Club.
It was nearing 7PM and almost the end of Delaney’s shift. Her feet ached and she was already looking forward to soaking in a nice, long, hot bath when she got home. Her lunch break had been hours ago and the thought of picking up Thai food on her way home was making her stomach growl. That was the beauty of living in such a diverse city like Miami – she never lacked for different ethnic foods to sample. Not that Thai was so out there or anything, but after living in Islamorada, she had had her fill of seafood restaurants.
She double-checked the reservation list. Normally, most of the check-ins had already happened earlier in the day but there were a few high profile guests coming in late that night and she had to make sure everything was in order for the next manager on duty.
Her stomach growled again and one of her colleagues turned and looked at her, chuckling.
“Sorry,” she apologized but smiled. “I haven’t eaten since one.”
“Hey, no need to tell me. I totally get that.” Her name was Eden and she had joined the front desk team the same time as Delaney had been hired. She was fun to work with and often Delaney would find herself making jokes with Eden about difficult guests they’d had to deal with. That was as far as it had gotten because she’d sworn to herself that she wouldn’t mix business with friendship ever again.
JC gave his keys to a valet and headed into the lobby of The Shore Club. It was much smaller in comparison with The Chancellor and not at all as ritzy. It was definitely a typical South Beach-style hotel with art deco surrounding its interior and upscale, but subtle fixtures.
He didn’t have to look hard to spot Delaney. She was on the other side of the lobby talking to a colleague behind the check-in desk. His heart raced upon seeing her. Her hair had gotten longer in just two months or maybe it had always been that long but he’d not paid attention. As soon as he’d seen her, he knew he’d missed her more than he’d ever missed anyone in his life.
Delaney started the process of shutting down her computer and opening the cabinet where her purse had been stored below. She placed her bag in front of her and glanced at the clock by the computer. 7PM on the dot.
“Okay, Eden. I’m out of here.” Delaney turned to her colleague. “See you tomorrow?”
“I’ll be here with bells on.” Eden winked at her and gave a small wave goodbye.
“See you then.” Delaney turned to walk from behind the desk and gasped when she saw him standing in front of her. “Oh shit. Uh, I mean, oh my god. JC?”
JC stared at her and pursed his lips into a thin smile. “Hey.”
“How did you know-I mean, how…what..what the hell are you doing here?” Delaney hadn’t meant to come off as rude as she’d sounded but she was in shock and felt as though she had no control of anything coming out of her mouth.
“Does it matter? I wanted to see you. I needed to see you.” JC was soft in his response and Delaney could feel everything inside of her come to life. She turned and glanced behind her. Eden was staring at them with a confused expression.
“Uh, um, ok. Let’s, um, let’s go somewhere. I mean, to talk. Are you hungry? I need to eat dinner.” Delaney hadn’t realized she was talking a mile a minute.
“D, it’s ok. I know I surprised you.” JC put his hand on her arm and Delaney felt a chill run down her spine. Nobody called her “D” but him. It was his name for her. And she hadn’t heard it in what felt like ages.
“Yeah, you did.” Delaney walked ahead of him, not entirely sure of what she should do next. She stopped in the middle of the lobby and turned to face him. “What are you doing here?”
“I-I just, I wanted to see you.” JC locked eyes with her and she couldn’t force herself to look away. “Can we go somewhere? Just to talk. I just want to set things right with us. And I…I had to see you.”
“You said that.” Delaney whispered and shook her head quickly, her forehead resting in her hand. She heaved a sigh and then looked back at him. “Fine, then let’s go get something to eat. I hope you like Thai food.”
