Fall into Him Read Online Free PDF Page B

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,” Philip rested his hands on his
knees, “but as I am sure you're aware, this is only supposed to be a short trip
for finalizing the costs of construction. My assistant and I will not be
staying long. Of course, should there be any problems, I would return.”
     
    “Problems, Mr. Haas?” Mr. Saitou's tone remained friendly, but he had
taken the cue from Philip and was now all