Read Online Engage (Billionaire Series) by Evelyn Harper - Free Book Online
Authors: Evelyn Harper
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amused at her tension. “Are you from
the city?”
“No,” Jennifer
forced herself to take a deep breath and slowly release it. If she didn’t calm
herself down, Philip was going to have second thoughts about hiring her and,
now with the promise of something so much better, she didn’t think she could go
back to working the front desk. “I’m from a very small town called Belfast.”
Philip gave her a puzzled look and she knew what he was going to ask. Everyone
did. “It’s in the western part of the state.”
“How’d you end up
in the city?”
Jennifer wasn’t
sure if Philip was trying to take her mind off of her anxiety or was truly
interested, but she was grateful either way. “Well, after college, when I moved
back home, there weren’t a lot of opportunities for the kind of work I wanted
to do, so when I finally left, I knew the best place to go was New York City.”
“But you had a hard
time getting hired,” Philip made it a statement rather than a question.
She nodded. “In the
end, it was luck, or fate if you believe in that.” Her body began to relax as
she told the story. “I was doing what pretty much everyone does when they’re waiting
for the job they really want – waitressing. Then, one day, this customer struck
up a conversation with me and I ended up telling her about my degree and how I
wanted to work in a hotel. Ruth was her name. She turned out to be a front desk
manager at a mid-level hotel, mostly vacationing families. She told me that she
was impressed by how I handled myself and offered me a job. I was there for a
couple of years and then got a call to come in for an interview at The
Preminenza. Ruth still denies it, but I’m pretty sure she set it up and gave me
a great recommendation.”
“And that’s how you
ended up playing the lobby piano at almost midnight,” Philip grinned.
“Yes,” Jennifer
couldn’t help but smile back. “What about you? How did you get into the hotel
industry?”
Philip’s charming
grin flattened immediately as he leaned back in his seat. “That’s not really an
interesting story.” He glanced at his watch. “You didn’t get much sleep last
night. Why don’t you try to catch a few hours? I’ll wake you before we land.”
Jennifer gave
Philip a puzzled look, but he kept staring straight ahead. She was too
exhausted to push the conversation any further, both physically and mentally.
Even though she didn’t think she’d be able to sleep on a plane, she found
herself starting to drift off. Her last thoughts were about Philip, wondering
if he’d tell her more about himself, if he would be happy with her work, if
they would ever finish what they’d started that morning.
“Our first meeting
will be with Takuya Saitou,” Philip spoke for the first time since waking
Jennifer less than an hour ago. “He’s managing the construction and design of
the new hotel being built here.”
As she followed
Philip off of the plane, Jennifer forced herself to focus on being
professional. She wanted to prove herself to Philip. More importantly, she
wanted to prove to herself that she was good enough for this job. She smiled at
the well-dressed Japanese man who greeted them at the gate, impressed with the
natural flow of Japanese that flowed off of Philip’s tongue. Mr. Saitou’s
English was slightly accented but nearly flawless and the conversation stayed
in her native language, for which she was grateful.
“My staff will take
your luggage,” Mr. Saitou gestured to the uniformed men standing nearby. They
all bowed before coming forward to take the bags Jennifer and Philip had
carried from the plane. Jennifer still wasn’t entirely sure what was in hers.
“The limo is this way.”
As they climbed
into the back with Mr. Saitou, their host faced them both. “We shall be at the
office in about fifteen minutes. Please, relax. Let us talk of other things.”
“I appreciate the
offer, Mr. Saitou,”
the city?”
“No,” Jennifer
forced herself to take a deep breath and slowly release it. If she didn’t calm
herself down, Philip was going to have second thoughts about hiring her and,
now with the promise of something so much better, she didn’t think she could go
back to working the front desk. “I’m from a very small town called Belfast.”
Philip gave her a puzzled look and she knew what he was going to ask. Everyone
did. “It’s in the western part of the state.”
“How’d you end up
in the city?”
Jennifer wasn’t
sure if Philip was trying to take her mind off of her anxiety or was truly
interested, but she was grateful either way. “Well, after college, when I moved
back home, there weren’t a lot of opportunities for the kind of work I wanted
to do, so when I finally left, I knew the best place to go was New York City.”
“But you had a hard
time getting hired,” Philip made it a statement rather than a question.
She nodded. “In the
end, it was luck, or fate if you believe in that.” Her body began to relax as
she told the story. “I was doing what pretty much everyone does when they’re waiting
for the job they really want – waitressing. Then, one day, this customer struck
up a conversation with me and I ended up telling her about my degree and how I
wanted to work in a hotel. Ruth was her name. She turned out to be a front desk
manager at a mid-level hotel, mostly vacationing families. She told me that she
was impressed by how I handled myself and offered me a job. I was there for a
couple of years and then got a call to come in for an interview at The
Preminenza. Ruth still denies it, but I’m pretty sure she set it up and gave me
a great recommendation.”
“And that’s how you
ended up playing the lobby piano at almost midnight,” Philip grinned.
“Yes,” Jennifer
couldn’t help but smile back. “What about you? How did you get into the hotel
industry?”
Philip’s charming
grin flattened immediately as he leaned back in his seat. “That’s not really an
interesting story.” He glanced at his watch. “You didn’t get much sleep last
night. Why don’t you try to catch a few hours? I’ll wake you before we land.”
Jennifer gave
Philip a puzzled look, but he kept staring straight ahead. She was too
exhausted to push the conversation any further, both physically and mentally.
Even though she didn’t think she’d be able to sleep on a plane, she found
herself starting to drift off. Her last thoughts were about Philip, wondering
if he’d tell her more about himself, if he would be happy with her work, if
they would ever finish what they’d started that morning.
“Our first meeting
will be with Takuya Saitou,” Philip spoke for the first time since waking
Jennifer less than an hour ago. “He’s managing the construction and design of
the new hotel being built here.”
As she followed
Philip off of the plane, Jennifer forced herself to focus on being
professional. She wanted to prove herself to Philip. More importantly, she
wanted to prove to herself that she was good enough for this job. She smiled at
the well-dressed Japanese man who greeted them at the gate, impressed with the
natural flow of Japanese that flowed off of Philip’s tongue. Mr. Saitou’s
English was slightly accented but nearly flawless and the conversation stayed
in her native language, for which she was grateful.
“My staff will take
your luggage,” Mr. Saitou gestured to the uniformed men standing nearby. They
all bowed before coming forward to take the bags Jennifer and Philip had
carried from the plane. Jennifer still wasn’t entirely sure what was in hers.
“The limo is this way.”
As they climbed
into the back with Mr. Saitou, their host faced them both. “We shall be at the
office in about fifteen minutes. Please, relax. Let us talk of other things.”
“I appreciate the
offer, Mr. Saitou,”
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