Love at your service

Thank you for the great reviews! I\'ll do my best to keep them coming. By the way, good advice about the spacing!!!

Chapter 4
The breakfast buffet was served in the restaurant. But when Jess entered the restaurant, she lost all of her appetite. It reminded her too much of last night\'s dinner with Ben. She went back to her room and ordered some tea and toast from room service.

She quickly went over her notes and resume, in a last preparation for the interview. She knew that she looked good in her black business suit. It had a skirt that fell to her knees and the jacket was tailored. Underneath it she wore a silk ivory blouse. She had pulled her hair together with a band and as usual wore little make-up.

Just as she was finishing her cup of tea, the phone rang and Jess answered it. It was a female receptionist, telling her that Mr. Levinson had arrived and was waiting for her in the lobby. She answered that she would come down straight away. She hurried to the elevator, suddenly nervous about the interview. Everything depended on it. If she wouldn\'t get this job, she would be stuck in Glenwood Springs again, working for Edna, the dragonlady! What a dim future that was!

The elevator took her to the ground floor and she walked over to the reception desk to ask where she could find Mr. Levinson. A porter came over and asked her to follow him. She followed him through sliding doors that led to the Executive Conference Level. He stopped in front of a heavy oak door and knocked twice.

\"Yes please\".

A voice on the other side of the door sounded. The porter opened the door and let her in.

\"Good luck\", he whispered.

She gave him a smile in return and entered the small boardroom. A young man was sitting behind the boardroom table and when she entered, he looked up from his papers. He had blonde hair and blue eyes that looked at her from a friendly face. He looked at her surprised and with interest.

\"Yes, how can I help you?\"

\"Mr. Levinson?\"

He got up from his chair and walked towards her. \"Yes, that\'s me\".

\"Good morning. I am Jess Van Zant. We have an appointment, the front desk called to tell me your were here\".

Todd Levinson looked at her puzzled and he went over the notes that he held in his hands. Was there something wrong?

\"Ms. Van Zant? I am sorry, but I was expecting a Mr. Jordan Van Zant\".

Jess laughed as she remembered her letter, addressed to Mr. Van Zant. \"I am sorry if my name has confused you, but I am Jordan Van Zant. My full name is Jordan Jess Van Zant, but everybody calls me Jess. I am afraid that my father had his hopes set on a son and when I was born, he chose to name me after his father. When I spoke to your secretary, I explained the misunderstanding to her. I had assumed that she had informed you. My apologies though. I hope this doesn\'t effect my chances?\"

\"Of course not, Ms Van Zant. Can I call you Jess?\"

\"Please do. Jordan always makes me feel a different person\".

\"Ok Jess, please take a seat\".

They set down on both ends of the small table and Todd poured her some icewater from a crystal jug.
\"Let\'s start by showing you some pictures and plans of the hotel. It\'s located about three blocks from here. The style will be similar to that of most our hotels. That is, it is built like a mansion. Mr. Carter doesn\'t like hotels that appear to be housing offices in stead of hotelrooms. That is why all of our hotels have no more than 200 rooms. This keeps them intimate and personal in style, which is also how we like to approach our guests\".

Jess admired the drawings of the hotel, it was indeed unique in its style, almost colonial. She would have to agree with Mr. Carter that it appeared much more attractive than the impersonal mega hotels that were built nowadays.

\"Did you meet with Mr. Carter last night?\"

\"What do you mean? Was Mr. Carter staying at the hotel as well?\" A vague feeling of discomfort came over her. What if Mr. Carter had seen her with Ben? They hadn\'t exactly been discreet in the club or later on going to her room. If he had seen her, he would of course have drawn a not-so-positive conclusion about her! She quickly put a stop to her feverish thoughts. No way would he have seen her! He hadn\'t known to be looking out for a woman, they had thought she was a man. Thank goodness!

\"Yes, he did. He was supposed to sit in on the interview, but he was called away for an emergency meeting\".

\"O, that\'s a shame. I would have liked to have met him\". What a relief, Jess thought, even if he had seen her, he would never know.

\"Well, if you will turn out to be the right person for the job, you will meet him in the future\".

One hour later, Jess emerged from the boardroom. She felt drained as she walked up the stairs to her hotel room. A bit of physical exercise would do her good. When she arrived at her suite and opened the door, she could almost smell Ben. Housekeeping obviously hadn\'t been to clean her room and everything here reminded her of him.

The interview with Todd had gone really well. Talking to him had almost felt more like talking to a friend or brother than future employer. They had agreed on many things, especially the personal approach of guests, hands-on management style and learning-by-doing work ethic that she had always exercised towards her staff. Todd had invited her for a tour of the new hotel in the afternoon and she had happily agreed. It would be nice to see what the hotel looked like. The casino inside would be small and exclusive. She had always preferred working in luxury hotels. It gave you the opportunity to really \"spoil\" the guest. No request was ever out of the ordinary and everybody went out of their way to make a guest\'s stay unforgettable.

Todd Levinson had shown her the promising pictures of the hotel, but they weren\'t the real thing. Besides, she wanted to see where it was located in Las Vegas. It wasn\'t on the strip, but more to the outside of the city. And if she were to start working and living in Las Vegas, she might as well get to know the place a little! Jess started to pack her bag, because it was time to check out. Just as she was about to leave, somebody knocked on her door. She opened it on her way out, and a porter was standing in front of her with a large bouquet of lavender. Lavender?

\"Miss Jess?\"

\"Yes, that\'s me. Are these flowers for me? How odd. Who are they from? \" How strange, nobody, apart from Rita, knew that she was staying here. And Rita sure wouldn\'t send her flowers!

\"I don\'t know ma\'am. They were paid for in cash, but there\'s a card there\".

\'Well, thank you very much\". She handed the porter a tip and quickly went back into the room. She searched the bouquet and found a small white envelope inside. Her heart was racing as she opened it and took out a little card. In very elegant handwriting, it read:

My beautiful Jess,

I am sorry I had to leave so suddenly. I would have loved to spend this day with you as well, but I was called away on business. You looked so lovely asleep, that I didn\'t have the heart to wake you. Last night was magic. From now on, whenever I smell lavender, I will think of you...

Ben

O, no! Why did he have to do that! She had barely been able to put him out of her mind and now, the flowers. The lavender was beautiful and smelled lovely and the reason why he had chosen them was so sweet!
As she held the flowers to her chest, she sat down on the bed and wept. She couldn\'t stop the tears from rolling down her face and her body shook from her sobbing. She felt a sharp pain in her heart and realized that last night with Ben had meant so much more than just a night of passionate sex. He had been so incredibly gentle with her and had given her so much pleasure. Sex was not the right word. To her it had felt like making love. Finally, she had experienced what making love was all about and now she never would again. She couldn\'t imagine ever experiencing the same emotions with some other man.
Was she in love with Ben? How could that have happened in one night?

The thing was, that she had grown up with parents that didn\'t know how to express their feelings. Her youth had been filled with the resentment of her father towards her, especially after her brother Aidan had been born. He had taken Aidan fishing and camping in the summers, but had neglected to spend time with Jess. And her mother was too focused on her own unhappiness to give any attention to anybody else. She hadn\'t known what love was until she had met Jason. And even with him she hadn\'t been sure about her feelings.
And now all of a sudden she felt these really strong emotions for a man that she hardly knew. Were they just a result of her imagination? Did she want to love so desperately? Was she in love with \"being in love\"? Or was Ben really special. But then again, what did she really know of him? For al she knew he could be as cold and collected as Ray Winfield or a momma\'s boy like Jason Tremont.

There was no point in fussing about it though. She would never see Ben again. And that\'s exactly what he wanted, so she had better stop thinking about him the way she did. They had had a great night, no strings attached. At least now she knew what great sex could be like and that she was not the frigid woman that Jason had made her out to be. The bad sex with Jason hadn\'t been her fault, he had just been too selfish to think of her needs. She had experienced both receiving and giving pleasure and she had Ben to thank for that.

She took another look at the bouquet in her hands and smelled them. This time the memories of her being together with Ben put a smile around her mouth. She stood up and walked to the door, picking up her suitcase. She took one last look around the hotel suite and knew that she would always remember what had happened in here. Slowly she walked out of the room and closed the door behind her.

At 3 pm exactly, Jess stood in front of the Carter Hotel Las Vegas. As she got out of her taxi, Todd was already waiting for her.

\"Hello Jess, great that you could make it. Let me give you the grand tour\".

The exterior of the hotel looked as good as the pictures and drawings had promised. \"What I can see of it so far, is absolutely beautiful, it\'s so unlike the other hotels here in Vegas\". During the couple of hours that she had had to herself until her meeting with Todd, she had toured passed all of the main hotels in Vegas. Most of them were exactly what you would expect, big and flashy with neon lights from floor to ceiling.

The Carter Hotel was a welcome change from all that. It was a white building with two enormous pillars on both sides of the steps that led to the entrance. The main building housed the lobby with its Front Desk, Concierge desk and Bellstand on the ground floor. More steps led up to the bar with on the left a bistro and to the right the entrance to the restaurant. The bistro would be open all day serving breakfast, snacks and light meals. The gourmet restaurant would serve lunch and dinner. The Executive Chef was European and accordingly the menu would be French and Mediterranean inspired. In the basement the future guests would be able to enjoy all the relaxing and invigorating treatments of the Health and Beauty Spa. There was an indoor as well as an outdoor pool, individual Jacuzzi\'s, sauna, Turkish bath, solarium and a fully equipped gym.

On the second floor the ten conference rooms were located, of which two Executive Boardrooms. They were modern with lots of daylight and equipped with direct phone and fax lines and wireless high-speed internet access.

Todd was an excellent guide, he told her about all the facilities, introduced her to some of the staff that were already at work. There would be a grand opening reception in three weeks time. Everything had to be finished and had to look perfect. Jess was already excited just thinking that she might be working at this wonderful hotel as well. She had no idea what her chances were. She got along great with Todd, but that didn\'t say anything about her chances. She knew that he had spoken to other candidates today, so she would just have to wait and see.

They left the main building and walked to one of the two wings of the hotel, where the rooms and suites were located. There were several types of both and Todd showed her one of each. They ranged from small but elegant rooms to very luxurious and lavish two bedroom suites, even more beautiful than the one she had stayed in at the Grand. What she liked was the fact that all rooms had different interiors and color schemes, giving them all an individual feel.

When they returned to the lobby, Todd invited her for a drink in the bar which she gladly accepted. She still had some things that she wanted to ask him about.

\"Thank you for coming to the interview today, Jess. I am sure it was inconvenient having to come here and staying overnight?\"

\"Are you kidding? I loved every minute of it!\" She blushed as she thought of last night with Ben!. \"I mean. I had never been to Las Vegas before, so it was very good for me to come and see it. After all, I would be moving here, so I will have to like it at least. Now I have had the opportunity to look around and I must say that I like what I have seen so far\".

\'\" Well, that\'s good. Of course I haven\'t made a decision yet, but I promise that I will let you know as soon as possible. The hotel is opening in three weeks, so we have to move quickly, but I won\'t make a hasty decision\".

\"I understand. If I do happen to get the job, can the company assist in finding housing?\"
She hadn\'t really thought of it until now, but if she were to start in three weeks, there wouldn\'t be much time to find accommodation.

\"As a matter of fact, we have several apartments around Las Vegas for Management staff, since most of them come from somewhere else in the USA. They are no penthouses, but the rents are low and they are close to the hotel\".

\"Ok, well, it\'s probably time for me to get going. My plane leaves at 7 pm and I still have to pick up my luggage at the Grand Hotel. It was really nice meeting you and I hope we will again in the future. You know where to reach me\".
She and Todd both stood up, shaking hands.

\"It was a pleasure meeting you Jess, I will be in touch\".

He walked her out and got her a taxi. The taxi took her back to the Grand Hotel, where she asked the driver to wait for her while she got her luggage. The porter recognized her and hurried into the hotel to get her suitcase.

\"How thoughtful of you. Thank you very much\".

Earlier today she had given her bouquet of lavender to the Front Desk asking them to put it somewhere for decoration. She couldn\'t take it back home with her on the plane and she didn\'t want to just leave them or dump them in a bin. At least now she wouldn\'t be reminded of Ben all the time.

Later that evening, when she arrived at Denver airport, Rita was there to pick her up. As soon as she had collected her suitcase and had cleared customs, she saw Rita waiting for her. Rita had short blonde hair that was cut in a boyish fashion. She was petite and had a slim figure that Jess had always envied. It was so unfair that Rita could eat all she want and more and never gained as much as a pound! Even after the birth of the twins she had quickly got her old figure back.
Jess put her suitcase on the floor and the two women hugged each other tightly.

\"Hi sweetheart, it\'s good to have you back! Are you sure that you want to hide yourself in crazy Las Vegas!\"

\'\"O, I missed you too. And the boys, why haven\'t you brought them?\"

\"The two were sound asleep when I left, so you will have to come and see them tomorrow. Let\'s go to your place now and talk. How did it go? Do you think you got the job? And does it pay well? Because otherwise you might as well stay here!\"\'

Jess laughed at her friend rattling on. That was the great thing about their friendship. Rita was always the talkative one, where she herself was the quiet one. They had first met in school when they were 10 years old. Rita had been the popular girl in class, when Jess first went to school. She was new in town at a new school and she had been extremely shy. Well who wouldn\'t be after 3 new schools in 3 years time.
Her father went from job to job, working as a car mechanic, cleaning windows, gardening, anything really. The problem was that he couldn\'t hold a job for very long, because he always got bored too soon. He would start getting to work late or calling in sick at the most inconvenient of times or not showing up at all. And then they would fire him and it would start all over again. Because of this they often moved to another town and Jess never had any real friends.

Until she met Rita Copely. From day one they had become best friends. Rita had introduced her to the rest of her friends and they had spent all of their time together. They had shared all of their secrets with each other and Jess had often stayed over at Rita\'s house. Her parents had always treated her as if she was another member of the family.
When Rita had met George, they were both seventeen. But it was love at first sight and as soon as they had finished college they got married. They had the kind of marriage that Jess longed for as well. They were crazy about each other, but also left each other the space to do their own separate things. George had started the hardware store with his brother and Rita worked as a doctor\'s assistant up until she had the twins. After their birth she had preferred to become a full-time mother.

Even though they had went to separate colleges, they had remained close friends, especially since Jess had moved back to Glenwood Springs again. When she had started dating Jason Tremont, Rita was the one that had questioned the relationship from the start. But Jess had refused to listen to her, thinking that she had been out of the dating-game for too long to be able to judge her relationship. She had proven to be right though, but she had never uttered a word about it when they broke up.

Ever since Jess told Rita about her plans to leave Glenwood Springs again, she had been trying to convince her not to. Jess thought it was sweet that she didn\'t want her to go, but after the mishap at the Vista Inn and Jason not leaving her alone, she thought it would be best for her to leave and go to some place where she was new. Like Las Vegas.

Rita and Jess walked over to the car park, where Rita had left her Jeep. Rita opened the back for her, so she could throw in her suitcase. Then they got into the car and Rita drove the car through the busy rush hour traffic to the I-70. It would be another 4 hours probably before they would be in Glenwood. Rita was a good driver and it didn\'t take long before Jess felt her eyes grow heavy. Rita was just about to fire off another round of questions, when she noticed Jess fast asleep with her head resting against the car window. She sighed and realized that the answers would have to wait until they got home. For some reason she found that her best friend looked different. She couldn\'t quite put her finger on it, but she was sure she would find out or her name wasn\'t Rita Mackey!