“If there was another choice, I would take it. There are no other options. You need to win the hunt and then win the female. Do all you can to get her to accept you and to agree to mating with you. All I ask is that you enter into this with an open mind. You might just be pleasantly surprised.”

Like hell he would.

****

The next morning…

The bus had arrived early. Okay, only by about a minute, but early nonetheless. Julie had run after it for about a half a block but the driver hadn’t stopped. The next bus was late by four minutes. Go freaking figure. Now she was being summoned to the Executive Housekeeper’s office, for being five minutes late. Really?

This day couldn’t get too much worse. She’d be assigned the worst rooms, the worst trolley. This sucked.

Julie pulled in a deep breath. She smoothed her uniform down, put a smile on her face and opened the door.

“It’s about time.” Gretchen Harridge was a middle-aged, severe woman. She reminded Julie of a nun, but only if said nun was seething with underlying aggression. She had yet to see the woman smile, even once.

Her hair was cut short and her face devoid of all make-up. Her mouth was upside down in appearance. Her eyes were on her laptop. She continued to type for a few minutes. Julie remained standing at the head of her desk.

At long last, Miss Harridge removed her glasses and raised her eyes to Julie who tried not to take a step back. The older woman shook her head slowly.

It was only five minutes. This woman needed to take a chill pill. Suck it up, Julie. “I apologize for being late. This is only the second time in all the months I’ve been employed at Lofty Heights Hotel. I’m reliant on public transport.”

“Take a seat.” Mrs. Harridge pointed to the old, linoleum covered chair in front of her desk. Her office was cramped. As with most hotels, the housekeeping department was in the bowels of the hotel. The laundry, staff change area and housekeeping office had been squeezed into a small space, not much bigger than a hotel room.

Her desk was covered in stacks of paperwork and open files. The shelved walls behind her were filled with more of such files. They were labeled things like orders, staff, room checks and maintenance.

Mrs. Harridge cleared her throat. She sighed. “We have to let you go,” she said, without batting an eye.

Julie narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean?” She tripped over the words. “I do a good job, I’m conscientious. Callie was planning on putting me forward for a permanent position, when one became available, that is.” She huffed out a breath when she realized that what she was saying was having no affect on her department head. None whatsoever.