fresh clothes and the walking boot. To her surprise, her ankle didn't feel too bad. The pain medication had kept it from throbbing too bad through the night and she hoped walking down to the lobby wouldn't cause any more damage.
Once in the lobby, she looked around for Laylah. She made it over to the front desk. "Hi, I'm–"
"Ms. Wilson. Yes, I know. How are you?" The bubbly twenty-something desk clerk was all smiles.
Isabelle saw her name tag. "Amber, hi. Is Laylah around?"
"No, she's not in until one. Is there something I could help you with?"
"I'm not sure. I really wanted to speak with her directly. I can come back."
"I'm technically the manager while she's gone. I assure you, I can help you with whatever you need."
"Well, I don't know how to say this, but I'm sort of stuck up here and I don't have most of my stuff. I'm afraid that the only credit card I have isn't going to cover all of my charges and I don't know what to do."
"I believe Laylah was going to speak with you today when she got in. Don't tell her I told you, but, she mentioned comping your stay. We all feel terrible about what happened to you on Saturday, so your room, any room service charges, basically anything you need is on us."
"Wow, I wasn't expecting that. I don't know what to say. Please tell her to talk with me when she gets in later."
"I surely will, Ms. Wilson."
"You can call me Isabelle."
Amber nodded and smiled.
Isabelle was able to make her way back to her room and ordered breakfast. Within the hour she was watching a daytime talk show and devouring bacon, eggs, and pancakes. The hotel's coffee wasn't nearly as good as the coffee at Mini's, but there was no way she could walk all the way over there. She didn't want to leave her room and risk bumping into Donovan anyway. She made herself believe that it was better to just end it now, before either of them got hurt. I'm probably the one who would get hurt, anyway. A man like that could have his pick of any woman and he would be tired of me in no time.
He sure is cute, though. Isabelle sighed as she finished her milk. Free food, huh? Almost too good to be true.
Denial was the only thing keeping Isabelle sane. She didn't know when she'd be able to make it back into town, but if she did, she had no job and nowhere to live now. She finished the last of her pancakes while half-listening to the women on the TV blather on and on about the latest makeup and clothing trends for the upcoming summer season. Apparently, they were of the 'more is more' camp when it came to makeup and 'less is more' rationale for clothing sizes.
Donovan mindlessly made it through his morning meetings. With the fire in Applewood officially contained, there wasn't much left to do but wait for the next one to pop up. He'd spent the rest of the morning writing a scathing report to the Applewood city council regarding their incompetent city manager and his approval of the controlled burn on Friday. It was a relatively peaceful Monday morning for the firehouse. He never wished for a fire to come along, but he needed something to think about other than Isabelle.
"She could never understand me." Donovan looked down at his phone. He'd fought the urge to call her hotel room and ask her if she wanted something from Mini's. Jake and Axton had already told him to just let her go. His life was complicated enough, but he couldn't stop himself from craving her. It wasn't just about craving her sweet honey. He truly wanted her, and he didn't know how to stop himself and his bear from wanting all of her.
His phone rang, zapping him out of his daydream.
"Hey, Laylah, what's up?"
"Don, I don't know what to do. I've talked to corporate, and they want to send a lawyer up here to deal with Ms. Wilson. Did she say anything to you about a lawsuit?"
"What? No. She didn't say anything about suing. Where's this coming from?"
"They're just trying to cover their ass, I guess. Well, I fired Jen yesterday. I felt horrible about
Once in the lobby, she looked around for Laylah. She made it over to the front desk. "Hi, I'm–"
"Ms. Wilson. Yes, I know. How are you?" The bubbly twenty-something desk clerk was all smiles.
Isabelle saw her name tag. "Amber, hi. Is Laylah around?"
"No, she's not in until one. Is there something I could help you with?"
"I'm not sure. I really wanted to speak with her directly. I can come back."
"I'm technically the manager while she's gone. I assure you, I can help you with whatever you need."
"Well, I don't know how to say this, but I'm sort of stuck up here and I don't have most of my stuff. I'm afraid that the only credit card I have isn't going to cover all of my charges and I don't know what to do."
"I believe Laylah was going to speak with you today when she got in. Don't tell her I told you, but, she mentioned comping your stay. We all feel terrible about what happened to you on Saturday, so your room, any room service charges, basically anything you need is on us."
"Wow, I wasn't expecting that. I don't know what to say. Please tell her to talk with me when she gets in later."
"I surely will, Ms. Wilson."
"You can call me Isabelle."
Amber nodded and smiled.
Isabelle was able to make her way back to her room and ordered breakfast. Within the hour she was watching a daytime talk show and devouring bacon, eggs, and pancakes. The hotel's coffee wasn't nearly as good as the coffee at Mini's, but there was no way she could walk all the way over there. She didn't want to leave her room and risk bumping into Donovan anyway. She made herself believe that it was better to just end it now, before either of them got hurt. I'm probably the one who would get hurt, anyway. A man like that could have his pick of any woman and he would be tired of me in no time.
He sure is cute, though. Isabelle sighed as she finished her milk. Free food, huh? Almost too good to be true.
Denial was the only thing keeping Isabelle sane. She didn't know when she'd be able to make it back into town, but if she did, she had no job and nowhere to live now. She finished the last of her pancakes while half-listening to the women on the TV blather on and on about the latest makeup and clothing trends for the upcoming summer season. Apparently, they were of the 'more is more' camp when it came to makeup and 'less is more' rationale for clothing sizes.
Donovan mindlessly made it through his morning meetings. With the fire in Applewood officially contained, there wasn't much left to do but wait for the next one to pop up. He'd spent the rest of the morning writing a scathing report to the Applewood city council regarding their incompetent city manager and his approval of the controlled burn on Friday. It was a relatively peaceful Monday morning for the firehouse. He never wished for a fire to come along, but he needed something to think about other than Isabelle.
"She could never understand me." Donovan looked down at his phone. He'd fought the urge to call her hotel room and ask her if she wanted something from Mini's. Jake and Axton had already told him to just let her go. His life was complicated enough, but he couldn't stop himself from craving her. It wasn't just about craving her sweet honey. He truly wanted her, and he didn't know how to stop himself and his bear from wanting all of her.
His phone rang, zapping him out of his daydream.
"Hey, Laylah, what's up?"
"Don, I don't know what to do. I've talked to corporate, and they want to send a lawyer up here to deal with Ms. Wilson. Did she say anything to you about a lawsuit?"
"What? No. She didn't say anything about suing. Where's this coming from?"
"They're just trying to cover their ass, I guess. Well, I fired Jen yesterday. I felt horrible about
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