I Fell For The Boy His Daddy Was A Bonus

Chapter 8

Chapter 8: A Five-Star Hotel Ran Out Of Slippers

Earlier that evening.

“What’s your name, darling? You are beautiful,” said the man who was introduced to Scarlett as Mister Sanders. He was the president of a small enterprise, a group of hardware stores, to be exact.

Scarlett had never served the VIP rooms at the Herbal Twists Restaurant Management only gave the opportunity to the tenured attendants. She had heard that VIP guests gave a lot of tips. On one occasion, her co-worker was rewarded with two thousand dollars. She never understood how one could give such a generous tip. However, Scarlett also heard stories about how customers were a little too demanding. Thus, she never looked forward to getting those extra tips.

This time, however, she was forced into the situation. A few days ago, she brought Liam home without the approval of her boss. Now, she had to choose between getting fired and serving VIP guests.

“I said! What‘s your name?” Mister Sanders repeated, alerting Scarlett completely.

“My name is Scarlett,” she curtly answered, trying to avert his gaze. “If there is anything else you need, I‘ll b e right outside -”

“Hold on. Hold on,” Mister Sanders said. A malicious grin became plastered on his face. “That‘s not how it works here, sweetheart. In the VIP rooms, you sit with the guests!”

Behind her, her manager, Miss Cook, confirmed, “That is right, Scarlett. Whatever the VIP guests’ request, you have to follow.”

“Why are you hesitating, Scarlett? Do you need this job or not?” Miss Cook asked, her eyes piercing through Scarlett‘s frame.

“I – I need the job,” Scarlett said bitterly and, as Mister Sanders tapped on the seat beside him, she sat unwillingly

“Good. Be a good girl, Scarlett. Mister Sanders will reward you greatly for being obedient,” said Miss Cook with a mischievous grin, right before exiting the private room.

The next few minutes were bearable for Scarlett. The man, together with two of his friends, was merely chatting about work. Mister Sanders only kept staring at her, more specifically at her face.

Sadly though, her luck ran out the second Mister Sanders got drunk over several glasses of wine. The middle-aged man suggested, “You know that pretty face of yours could be put into good use, especially that gorgeous lips of yours.”

He put his arm around Scarlett and proposed, “Something along the lines of, going down on your knees -”

Scarlett immediately got up. She clenched her hands against her skirt and said, “That‘s below the belt! And it’s not part of my job. I’m leaving.”

Before she could flee, however, Mister Sanders grabbed her arm and demanded, “You are not to leave before serving me fully! Do you want to get fired?”

“At this point, I don’t care if I will lose my job! I‘d rather be homeless than lose my dignity.“ Her leg found its way in between Mister Sander‘s thighs, her heel hit his crotch.

Mister Sanders groaned in pain. His hands were quick to cover his groin area. “You bitch! You are going to pay for this!”

Scarlett ran to the halls, trying to flee from Mister Sanders, but along the way, Miss Cook bumped into her. “Where do you think you are going, Scarlett? Go back there to Mister Sanders! You have to do

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anything he says!”

“Are you suggesting that I become a prostitute? I will report you!” Scarlett yelled before she pushed her way through Miss Cook’s frame.

“Report me? Huh! Don‘t you think I don‘t know you, Scarlett? Even if you will find money to hire an attorney, do you think someone will go against the James and Powel Law Firm? Humor me!” Miss Cook answered while grasping Scarlett’s wrist. “One call to Luca James and you will be in a more feeble state. G o back there, or else!”

Her manager’s words provoked her resentment that Scarlett pushed her away. They wound up in a struggle, resulting in Scarlett to kick off her shoes. As soon as she became free of Miss Cook, she ran off.

She reached the exit and despite the rain; she fled, stepping onto the cold pavement with her feet. Scarlett headed in the direction of her apartment, but she soon halted her steps, hearing someone call her name. “Scarlett! Scarlett!”

The rain made it difficult for her to see, but after blinking repeatedly, she could make out the figure standing behind a luxury car. She stammered through her words, “K – Kaleb?”

“Scarlett! Where do you think you are going? Mister Sanders is waiting for you! Come back here or I will personally seek out Luca James!” Hearing the call of her manager, Scarlett panicked.

She turned to Kaleb and pleaded, “K – Kaleb? Can – can I get a ride home?”

“Get in!” He said outright.

It seemed like a blur to her. The next thing she knew, she was sitting in the front seat of Kaleb‘s Knight XV, her body still shivering from the cold.

Kaleb was driving at high speed. His eyes were fixed on the road, and his hands were clenched tightly against the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white. Scarlett saw how his face was so serious, that it nearly shut his eyes.

“What happened back there? Tell me,” Kaleb inquired, his tone was cold as ice. “Why were you running barefoot?”

Scarlett sucked in a breath and while her mouth parted, no words came out. It took more than a second for her to reveal, “They wanted me to serve a VIP room, but the guest wanted more than what I can offer.“

Silence stretched between them, and Scarlett lowered her gaze. Eventually, she heard Kaleb ask, “Has this happened to you before?”

“No,” she replied. Sucking in a deep breath, she revealed, “It‘s because I took off from work a few days back to bring Liam home. I was supposed to get fired, but my manager gave me a chance. The condition included serving VIP guests. It was my first today… It was decent enough at first until… the geezer requested for a lip service.”

A scoff left her lips before she concluded, “Well, I guess, either way, I’m out of a job. I’ve never been good at keeping my job, anyway.”

“I‘ll make sure they regret what they did to you, Scarlett,” Kaleb said while taking a turn.

“You don’t have to really. I’ll just find another job – wait... this isn‘t the way to my house. We are going in the opposite direction – never mind, I‘ll just take the bus,” she said, feeling ashamed at being driven by Kaleb once more.

“You are not going home, not in your condition,” Kaleb said, his eyes remained glued to the road.

“I‘m not?” She asked with a brow raised at him.

“I’m taking you to the penthouse. I promised Liam to bring you home with me and I’ll do just that,” Kaleb answered. “He wants to have dinner with you.”

“But… I’m all wet,” she protested.

“I’ll take care of that,” Kaleb said without sparing her a glance.

It took only half an hour for them to arrive at the Third Diamond Hotel. Kaleb got off the car first, instructing Scarlett to wait for him. The entire time, as Kaleb walked over to the other side of the vehicle, Scarlett was looking down at her feet. She did not have any shoes! How in the world was she going to head inside a five-star hotel with no shoes?

The passenger door opened, and she turned to find Kaleb, extending his arms for her. He said, “Let me carry you.”

‘What? What did he say?‘ She could not process it. ‘Kaleb Wright is going to carry me? Why?‘

Before she could object, his long and strong arms scooped her out of the car, her slender frame was easily pressed against his chest, and her mouth fell open, shocked at his gestures.

Her eyes did not miss the curious glares she received from the hotel staff, from the security to the ladies at the front desk, and even from a few guests that lingered in the lobby entrance.

“Um.” Recognizing how uncomfortable she felt, she resisted, forcing her body upward. “I think I should walk.”

“No, you don‘t have any shoes. How could you walk barefoot? Thus, I must carry you,” Kaleb protested, maintaining to walk inside the lobby.

“Don‘t the hotel have bathroom slippers that I can buy?” she asked, curiously.

“No, we ran out,” he quickly answered.

“Ran out?” She probed in disbelief.

“We ran out. Period. We are fully booked today, and everyone, all the guests including their children and maids, all asked for slippers. Some of them asked for doubles. They wanted to take them home. So… We ran out,” Kaleb said, his face continuing to peer in the elevator‘s direction, not giving her a second glance.

‘A five-star hotel ran out of slippers?‘ Scarlett, “...”

It took her a second to recover from his tale, but eventually, she wiggled her way down, and her feet landed on the marbled floor, despite the strength of Kaleb‘s arms. She insisted, “But really. I don‘t mind walking barefoot.”

Scarlett sighed in alleviation, but when she gazed at Kaleb’s face, she swore he saw a hint of dismay.

“Scarlett,” said Kaleb.

“Yes?” She answered before biting her lip. Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

“You don’t have any shoes. We have safety and health protocols here at the hotel that everyone must strictly follow, even if my family owns the hotel chain,” Kaleb revealed, his voice deep. “You cannot… Walk barefoot.”

“Oh, sorry.” And just like that, Scarlett reluctantly climbed up to Kaleb’s arms, surrendering to the idea of being carried all the way up to the fortieth floor of the hotel building.