Trusting A Sheikh (Playgrounds of Power 1) Read Free Page A

at her victory. "And the room rate is really just the start of the financial rewards of entertaining these extremely wealthy clients – they demand the best of everything, and that's our job to source."
    "Yes, of course," Mr. Dance replied, to Chloe's amusement almost beginning to argue her own case for her. "And the Gloucester must of course be known for providing the very best in service."
    "So you see, it wouldn't possibly be worth the hotel's investmentin my services to deploy me in any other capacity than ensuring that the residents of your Presidential Suite are anything other than absolutely satisfied with their stay."
    "Of course, my dear." Chloe decided to ignore that one. "And we wouldn't dream of asking you to do anything else, not at all."
    Chloe fought hard to avoid rolling her eyes at the size of the man's ego, and how easily she had managed to play him.
    "I don't want to take up any more of your time – I'm sure you must be extremely busy with the opening. Could you ask one of your staff to show me around?" she asked sweetly.
    "Yes, of course, very busy," he replied, gesturing one of the smartly dressed young women behind the check-in desk over. "Katie, my dear, will you show Miss Rouhani around? Anything she wants."
    "Of course, sir," Katie replied. "Miss, how can I help?"
    Chloe waited until the overbearing Mr. Dance had left earshot and asked, "Is he always like that?"
    "Who, James?" Katie giggled. "He's not so bad once you get to know him, he's quite sweet actually. I think he's a little bit stressed at the moment."
    "Perhaps that's it," Chloe agreed. "Could you show me around, Katie? The whole place if you don't mind."
    "Of course. Do you want to start with the Presidential Suite?"
    "No, let's leave that til the end. Just walk me through like you would any other guest."
    Chloe was in fact a guest of the Gloucester Hotel – it was one of the stipulations of Kingsland's contract that a suite was always to be made available for her usage, even if that meant turning away paying guests, so that she could always be on hand to help out clients.
    Katie led her through the hotel lobby, and Chloe couldn't help but be impressed by the attention to detail that had been paid by whoever had renovated the large hotel. Even as small a detail as the material of the floor was impeccable – everywhere she looked, Chloe saw the most extraordinary marble she'd ever come across. Instead of going for a more conventional plain black, the designers had chosen a stone that seemed to be flecked with rubies, creating an impression that the floor was consumed with fire every time the light reflected off it.
    It was a clever touch, and one that helped create an extremely intimate atmosphere without ever straying too close to being too dark, too morose. As the two women walked through, the sound of their clicking heels drifted into nothingness in an oasis of absolute calm.
    "So what do you know about the hotel?" Katie asked.
    "Honestly, just the top line details," Chloe replied, ticking them off on her fingers. "Most expensive hotel renovation in the last decade, most expensive Presidential Suite in London, most exclusive clientele in Europe – that's the kind of thing my customers are interested in."
    "It wasn't always that way, you know," Katie said. "Before the renovation, this place was getting a bit, well, dated."
    "It's got a very good reputation, doesn't it?" Chloe said, surprised – it wasn't often that the Kingsland Group took a chance on a hotel, especially one that was described as dated .
    "Oh, of course," Katie said airily. "But we were trading off our reputation a bit. A lot… In the fifties and sixties, this was the only hotel worth staying in, in London. Everyone stayed here – the Beatles, the Stones, even President Eisenhower when he flew over to meet with the government."
    "So what happened?" Chloe asked, interested.
    "Nothing drastic . The service here has always been second to none, but the old girl has