Just Good Friends

Just Good Friends

By Alton Brit

Copyright 2014 Alton Brit

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

About Alton Brit

Connect with Alton Brit

Other Books by Alton Brit:

Finding a New Normal

Preview of A Wedding Surprise

Chapter 1

Kevin Murphy, where are you? Lauren stormed into the Terrace Restaurant a few minutes after three o'clock in the afternoon with fire in her eyes. Of all the inconsiderate, bone headed stunts he had pulled in the past, this one had to take the cake. She looked around the dining room and saw no one. Finally, she spotted one of the hostesses leaning on the bar, talking to a bartender. April, she called, into the bar, where is your boss? April looked around for help and found none. When she looked back to the bar, the bartender had disappeared. Lauren didn't wait for a response. Who do I have to thank for the two trucks blocking the front door of my hotel? She continued to fume as she waited for a response from anyone.

Gil was in his office when the uproar began. He heard the tirade coming from the dining room and rushed to investigate. He coolly and calmly approached the irate Hotel Manager, silently, from her blind side. He was thankful the dining room was not full of customers. Gil continued his quiet approach, stopping just behind the distraught hotel manager. Lauren had no idea anyone was behind her until she heard his voice.

The best I can tell, you can thank yourself.

When she finally got a response to her question, she froze in her tracks. It was just the sort of thing Kevin would say, but something about it didn't seem quite right. There was something different about the voice. With her hands clinched at her sides, she tried counting to ten, but gave up at three. Oh, she was mad. Kevin Murphy had gone too far and this time he was going to pay, big time.

At Lauren's initial outburst, every employee on duty at the Terrace, as they called it, scrambled to locate a better vantage point to observe, hopefully without detection, the fury they fully expected to be released in the next few seconds. Lauren stared at April, who waited for a distraction so she could flee to the relative safety of her station by the door, or anywhere out of Lauren's line of sight. Lauren took a deep breath and slowly turned toward the voice. April seized her opportunity and fled to the hostess station. Instead of the sneering face of Kevin Murphy that she expected, Lauren encountered a man's hand extended. From force of habit and good manners, she reached for the offered hand even though she was furious. As their handshake began, her eyes rose to meet the gaze of the most incredible man she had ever seen.

Gil smiled and said, Hello, I'm Gil Stone, the new manager of the Terrace Restaurant and you must be Lauren Williams.

Her intended verbal attack of Kevin Murphy was forgotten instantly as sensory overload caused her mind to temporarily turn to mush. His smile was friendly, but his touch was electric and his handshake was warm and inviting. At that instant, she forgot why she had even stopped by.

He had to be at least six feet, five inches tall. He had broad shoulders, thick wavy brown hair, beautiful blue eyes and a smile that totally mesmerized her. That was just the assessment on her first glance. At the same time, she felt her heart rate begin to accelerate, her hands began to sweat and she was short of breath. She found it impossible to speculate as to the countless other delightful qualities she might discover if she could conduct a more thorough investigation.

When the fog of the first few seconds began to clear, her first clear thought was that she should have worn heels this morning and she should have skipped the cheese cake last night. With those thoughts swirling through her mind, she did the best she could do. She stood as tall as her five foot three inches could stretch, took a deep breath, and willed her voice to work again.

She smiled sheepishly and said, Yes, I'm Lauren Williams. I'm the General Manager of the Morris Pointe Hotel and Conference Center.

I'm pleased to meet you Ms. Williams. Like I said, I'm Gilbert Stone. My friends call me Gil. I'm the new manager of the Terrace Restaurant. Again, he flashed that smile.

It's Miss, and please call me Lauren.

Okay, Lauren it is. I get the idea that we have a problem. I'm certain it's something that can be worked out.

She suddenly realized she was still holding the man's hand and quickly released it. Wow, what was that? She felt like she had just let go of a live wire. It wasn't enough to knock someone down, but it was a definite tingle. Gil smiled and flexed his fingers to help restore his circulation.

Gil looked at his hand and then back at Lauren. Wow, what is it about this woman?

Problem? Um, oh yes. There are two trucks unloading at the front door. They are blocking our guests.

Gil smiled, again. Well, Lauren. At about one o'clock this afternoon, two painters showed up to paint my loading dock. They told me that someone in your office told them it would be alright to paint it this afternoon. I'm sure you will recall that your hotel has an event planned for this evening. My assistant manager tells me that no one from your office informed us about the painters. The long story short is that I told the drivers to unload there, if they could be quick about it. If you will turn around, you will see that they are already gone.

A half dozen sets of eyes, from various locations in the restaurant turned toward the front door, then turned back to see what would happen next. Lauren and Gil's predecessor had endured a stormy coexistence during his tenure as the Terrace's manager. Disagreements were not uncommon. How would this new guy get along with the hotel's GM?

Gil, I'm so sorry about the confusion. A puzzled look came over her face. Did I really just say that. What is wrong with me?

She wasn't the only one that was confused. Looks of astonishment were exchanged all around the restaurant.

I am too, Lauren. Gil smiled again.

Those of the staff brave enough to still be observing, continued to watch in open amazement.

Again, I apologize for the mix up. I need to get back to my office. Gil, Welcome to Morris Pointe.

Thank you. I'm sure I'll be seeing you around.

Without further interaction, they retreated to the relative safety of their own offices.

He smiled as he closed his office door. Full, kissable lips. Short, adorable and a spitfire too. Auburn hair, hmm. Not my usual preferences, but Hot Springs may just work out after all.

She walked across the hotel lobby smiling. Several staff members noticed. Mmm, I could get lost in those arms. She shook her head as if trying to shake a crazy notion from her head.

At 3:25, Gil emerged from his office and walked to the hostess desk. I would like to meet with everyone in the main dining room for about five minutes at 3:45. It won't be a long meeting, so you can watch for customers while we are meeting. He repeated his announcement three times, as he made his way through the various areas of the restaurant. At 3:45, he walked from his office and took a seat at the head of a long row of tables that had been pulled together.

"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. I would like to thank the person that set up the tables. This will only take a few minutes. I'm Gil Stone. As you probably know, I'm the new manager at the Terrace. Until last Thursday, I was the assistant manager of the restaurant at the Pinnacle Group's Las Vegas Resort. I'm glad to be here at Morris Pointe and I look forward to working with and getting to know each of you. I don't want to take too much time this afternoon, so I'll get right to the point. As I see it, your job here is to take care of customers and make them happy. My job is to support you so that you can take care of the customers. It is as simple as that.

You may be wondering what you should call me. You can call me Gil, and I want to encourage you to do that. If you don't feel comfortable with that, call me Mr. Gil, or Mr. G. Now this is important. If you ever find yourself facing a challenge and need my support while dealing with a situation, I would like for you to refer to me as Mr. Stone. That way, we will both know that you feel you need support. Likewise, if I see a situation developing where I feel I need to intervene, I will refer to you as Mr. or Ms., as appropriate.

He looked to the individuals around the table and saw some looks of understanding and nods before continuing. "I want you to feel free to talk to me at any time. With that said, know that there will be times when I can not talk. There will be times that I'll tell you that it will have to be later. Rest assured, I will follow up.

"For the next two weeks I plan to keep everything as is. I will tell you now that I surely will change some things later on. I understand we operate on a weekly schedule. This week's schedule will also be next week's schedule. During the next two weeks, I will be working with the Bar, Kitchen and Front End Staffs to get feedback on the current scheduling practices and policies and how we will move forward. Also, during the next two weeks, I would like to meet with each of you individually for a few minutes. I'm going to set up a schedule of fifteen minute slots, from two til four o'clock every afternoon for our visits. Don't schedule our visit on your day off. For the first two weeks, you are going to see me a lot. I plan to be here from open to close. After that, I'll pull back a little.

"If you have a suggestion for something that you believe will improve the Terrace, I want to hear it. If you want to tell me something that will put one of your fellow employees in a bad light, I don't want to hear it. I will learn those things, soon enough, on my own.

Oh, and one more thing. I get the idea that there may have been difficulties with the hotel. I expect those days are in the past. If there are any issues that arise with the hotel in the future, I expect to be informed immediately. Together, we can make the Terrace, the best restaurant in town. Let's all get back to work. Thank you for your time.

With no further business to discuss, Gil returned to his office and the wait staff began to put the tables back where they belonged.

At ten o'clock the next morning, Gil knocked on the door.

A voice from inside said, Come in.

He walked into Lauren's office carrying a tray with two coffee cups. She was more than a little bit surprised to see him standing in her office. She wrapped up a phone conversation and ended the call. She stood up and walked out from behind her desk to a small conference table.

Do you have time for a cup of coffee? he asked.

Lauren looked at her watch and then back up at Gil. Um, okay, sure.

Gil handed her a china cup.

Thanks. Have a seat. Lauren pointed to a chair at the table. She sat down in one of the other empty chairs.

Do you take anything in your coffee? Gil asked.

Two sugars.

Coming right up. Gil pulled two sugar packets from the basket on the tray and handed them to her.

As she stirred her coffee, she started to smile.

What is it? Gil asked.

Oh, nothing really. It's just that your predecessor and I never sat down at this table for coffee, ever.

I thought I detected some tension yesterday when we met.

She laughed. You could say that. When I was sent here to be the hotel's manager, a little over two years ago, Kevin felt he should have been given the job. He had been the restaurant manager for almost five years. He didn't like me from day one. He never even gave me a chance. It was always a point of contention to get any cooperation from him on food service for the conference center. Over the last year and a half, we lost five long time accounts that used to schedule about eight meetings a year. I complained to my superiors several times about his lack of cooperation, but nothing seemed to happen. They kept telling me that the Terrace's profits were at an all time high, so they were reluctant to make any changes. In fact, I was taking most of the heat for the lost conference center business. About a month ago, I got a call from my boss about a complaint he had received. It seems that a high ranking executive attending a conference about a month ago was made aware of problems with the coffee at their morning break. As the story goes, the coffee was delivered cold. I usually get the complaints about things like this, but for some reason, this time, the problem was referred to Kevin. He basically blew them off. He offered to sell them some more coffee, but wouldn't make it right. Reportedly, things got rather heated and Kevin was said to have told this exec that he didn't care who he was and that he could go do something to himself that is physically impossible. Little did Kevin know that this exec's boss plays golf with my boss's boss. I was contacted and asked for a list of all the conferences we had hosted in the last six months, along with their points of contact. I was on a business trip last week and didn't know Kevin was gone until yesterday when I stormed into your place. By the way, I'm sorry about that.

That's okay. It was just a misunderstanding. I just hope you and I will be able to get along.

I'm sure we can, she said. I talked to Brad Tanner, one of my assistant managers after you and I met and he said that the bar manager told him all about it. Someone from headquarters showed up at the restaurant at about two o'clock on Tuesday afternoon and invited Kevin to leave. According to Hank, the bar manager, Kevin was given a check to pay him through the end of the week and he was told to clear out his desk and be gone by 2:30. Hank was told that he was the acting restaurant manager until Monday when a replacement would be here. I'm told that the restaurant staff has been in high spirits since Tuesday.

Gil drank a sip of his coffee. That doesn't surprise me. I know they have been a very welcoming group, so far. I didn't really know what to expect. You know, with The Pinnacle Group, sometimes things move along rather quickly and at other times, things move at glacial speeds. Last Tuesday night I closed the restaurant at our resort at Las Vegas. Before I got to the restaurant on Wednesday, I got a call from my boss telling me that I was being promoted to manager at the Terrace Restaurant at the Morris Pointe Hotel and Conference Center at Hot Springs, Arkansas. I didn't know Pinnacle Group had a hotel in Hot Springs. For that matter, I didn't know where Hot Springs was. I got a call Wednesday afternoon telling me that Thursday would be my last day in Las Vegas.

You're kidding.

No. I was told to be at the airport Friday afternoon to fly out here. I arrived in Little Rock at about seven o'clock and caught a shuttle to the hotel. By the way, I'll be your guest for at least two weeks or until I can find a place to live.

Wow, that was fast. What about your car?

Oh, I left it in Vegas and a car transporter picked it up Monday. It is scheduled to be delivered here, next Friday. If I had known it would take so long to get it here, I think I would have insisted on driving instead of flying.

You said you got here Friday night. I hope you weren't sitting in your room all weekend.

No, I rented a car Saturday for the weekend. I drove around quite a bit on Saturday afternoon and again on Sunday. I turned the car in yesterday morning.

Well, what do you think of Hot Springs and Morris Pointe, so far?

I'm truly amazed. Honestly, I had no idea where this place was. It is beautiful and I've not seen so many trees in a long time. The view from my room is spectacular.

Where did they put you?

1201.

You did get a good one. I think the view from the 01 rooms are the best in the house and the top three floors are the absolute best.

You are right. It is fantastic.

Have you met anyone on my staff yet?

I've met Brad Tanner, and of course you, he said, flashing that smile again.

Oh, no. Am I actually turning red? She thought she had outgrown that sort of thing, years ago. Gil noticed her flush, but didn't mention it. Oh, good, you've met Brad. He is my right arm here and a good guy, too.

Lauren immediately sent the conversation off in another direction. What about your family and your furniture and stuff?

Gil held up his left hand and pointed to his ring finger. No family. It's just me. I left the key to my apartment with a buddy and he will let the movers in tomorrow. I faxed a copy of my lease along with a list of all the utilities to headquarters and someone there will make all the arrangements to close everything down. In a few days, I'll start looking for a place to live. I plan on being here from open til close for the first couple weeks, to get a feel for the place.

For the next few minutes, they engaged in small talk. They discovered they were both members of the Class of 2004. She graduated from North Carolina State and he was a graduate of the University of Oregon. They both grew up in single parent households, Gil with his mom and Lauren with her dad. For each of them, Morris Pointe was their fourth assignment with Pinnacle Group.

Gil glanced at his watch, took a deep breath and stood to leave. I don't want to take up any more of your time this morning. I do have one request though.

Sure, name it. More towels? A roll away bed? A scheduled wake up call? She grinned.

He smiled. Inside, she melted. I would like to drop in for your next staff meeting to meet all your management team and key employees.

I'm sure that can be arranged. What is your corporate email address?

gil.stone@mphcc.com How about yours?

lauren.williams@mphcc.com We should probably exchange cell numbers too. Lauren reached over to a business card holder on her desk and retrieved one. She handed it to Gil and took the one he offered.

That is my old card, he said, but the cell number is right. I need to add getting new business cards to my list of things to do. I will see you around. Stop by my place anytime and I'll buy you a cup of coffee.

I hope you won't be a stranger here either.

Gil left her office. He tapped Brad's door and waved as he walked past.

Brad was on the phone, but waved.

Lauren was sitting at her desk, staring out the window, five minutes later when there was another knock on her office door.

It's open, come in. Lauren looked up to find Maria, her assistant, peering at her over her reading glasses.

What is it? Lauren asked.

How did your meeting with the new restaurant guy go?

It went fine. Why?

Because you usually meet with the housekeeping staff on Wednesday mornings at 10:30 and it is now 10:45.

Oh, no. Lauren grabbed her notebook and headed for the break room.

For the rest of his day, Gil concentrated on familiarizing himself with the vendors, staff schedules and the upcoming schedule of special events for the Terrace.

On the following Monday night, after eight straight sixteen hour days, Gil realized his original plan to work from open to close for the first two weeks was not practical. Alan, his assistant manager, pulled him aside and told him that the Terrace would not collapse if he took off a couple days to rest. Gil also realized he would never find a place to live if he insisted on working all the time. He was excited about his new job but he was also exhausted. Gil told him he would see him on Thursday and left Alan in charge. Tuesday morning Gill slept in. At ten o'clock he rolled out of bed and after showering, he made a call to a real estate company to begin the process of looking for a place to call home.

Wednesday morning, Gil got up early and went down to the restaurant for breakfast. By 7:30, he was back in his room. At eleven o'clock there was a authoritative knock at his door. He walked to the door and looked through the peep hole. He smiled and pulled it open.

Good morning, Lauren. To what do I owe this pleasant surprise?

I've been trying to reach you all morning. You didn't answer your office phone, your room phone or your cell phone. I thought I should check on you.

I'm touched. You were worried about me. Do you want to come in?

No, I just wanted to check on you. I wouldn't say that I was worried, but you told me you were going to work every day for the first two weeks, so I sort of expected you to answer your phone.

Gil smiled. About that. Monday night, Alan told me that if I didn't take off some time to rest, I would end up face down in a bowl of grits. By the way, what are grits? Or is it what is grits? Anyway, I took his advice and even carried it a step further by turning off the room phone and I put my cell on silent. It has been great. So far, I've only been inside the restaurant to eat.

Good for you. You probably needed the rest.

I seem to have a really good staff. Gil looked over her shoulder as if looking to see that no one would hear his next statement. Eight, sixteen hour days in a row nearly killed me. I thought it would be a good idea, but it wasn't. He hesitated and when Lauren didn't say anything, he said, I'm sure you had something on your mind his morning, if you came all the way up here. So, what's up?

I want to talk to you about an event that we have coming up in two weeks. Since it is our first big event since you arrived, I would like to make sure we are on the same page and that all our activities are coordinated.

That sounds like a great idea to me. The other day, I had intended to suggest that we get together weekly to discuss upcoming events.

That's a good idea. Actually, this morning I was going to see if you would like to go to lunch with me. After a half second of awkward silence, she said, to talk about the event, of course.

Of course. I'm up for it as long as we can go somewhere other than my restaurant.

Have you eaten all your meals here since you arrived?

Except for lunch yesterday while I was house hunting, I've eaten every meal here since I turned in the rental car on Monday.

Well, we can't let that continue. I know a great little place, not too far from here. They serve serious comfort food. People around here call it home cooking, but my dad never cooked like that for me at home. Honestly, I wasn't overly excited to go there the first time, but Maria, my assistant, insisted. I'm so glad she did.

It sounds different.

It is absolutely different from your place, but it is wonderful.

Let's go.

After a short drive, Lauren stopped in front of a entirely unremarkable building. Grandma's was painted on the sign in front.

While they waited their turn in the buffet line, Gil looked around the little diner. Of course the tables were covered with red and white checked table cloths and there were matching curtains on the windows.

Lauren, pulled a glass from a stack and proceeded to draw a glass of sweet tea. You will want to try this, with lemon, she said, dropping a lemon wedge into her glass with tongs. Gil followed suit. After all, he was on her turf. When it was his turn to order, he wasn't exactly sure what to select, so he chose chicken fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy. He figured that would be pretty safe. For his second vegetable, Lauren insisted that he try the purple hull peas. He followed her recommendation, although he had no idea what purple hull peas were. The last choice was either a roll or fried cornbread. Again, he followed Lauren's example and ordered the cornbread.

Lauren led him to an empty table for two, beside the front window. They unloaded their trays and stacked the empties on a nearby table. His peas were served in their own little bowl. He noticed that the server added juice to the bowl after serving up the peas. She also put a soup spoon on his tray. Cautiously, Gil cut up his chicken and began to eat. The food was extremely tasty.

Gil expected Lauren to only want to talk about work, but as their conversation progressed, there was much more general conversation and not very much shop talk.

So, Gil, what do you like to do when you aren't working?

"I really like to scuba dive, but