Conceited Concierge: A Hero Club Novel by Renea Porter (little readers txt) 📕

our donuts, we found a little table outside to sit. “I’m going to eat one, then save my other one for later,” I explained.

“I’m just gonna eat both.”

“Do it, Levi. I won’t judge.”

I picked out my blueberry donut. “This is literally the best donut I’ve had in my life.”

Once we had our fill, we stopped at Oldtyme photo booth. We dressed in western clothing and took a photo. It was loads of fun dressing up.

“For our memory book,” Levi said once we got the photos back.

“Is that right?”

“Yep. You’ll be glad we got these.”

“You’re so conceited.”

“It’s called facts, Cupcake. One day you’ll give in and be mine.”

My mouth dropped. The guy had been forward but not this forward.

“You seem pretty convinced.”

“Again, I’m stating facts, Cupcake.”

“It’s not even worth arguing about.”

“Because you know it’s true.”

“Stop, while you’re ahead.”

We wandered in to an antique shop and looked around. Then we passed a jail and a few restaurants. I was still carrying my other donut so I wasn’t hungry for a full meal. We found a shop that sold stained glass liquor bottles and, of course, I had to buy one for myself. It was too pretty not to.

Levi stopped in from of a shop listed as Temecula’s Psychic. “Wanna go inside?”

“Definitely not. If you want to, have at it.”

Passing the Psychic Reading sign, Levi stopped again. “We have to go in this one,” Levi said adamantly.

Reading the sign, it said they had chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate covered bacon, and gourmet caramel apples.

I smiled. “Now you’re talking.”

Levi pulled the door open and we headed inside. “You haven’t lived if you’ve never tried chocolate covered bacon. Oh my god.”

The sweet smell wafted through the whole shop. “Well, I have never had that and I don’t see the appeal.”

Levi quickly purchased some and handed me a piece. “It’s the perfect combo of sweet and salty.”

Taking the piece, I broke a smaller piece off because I was not sure I was gonna like it. Sticking my tongue out I tried to taste it before putting in my mouth.

“Go ahead, eat it. I wouldn’t steer you wrong,” Levi coaxed.

I did it. Plopped it right in my mouth and “Oh my god,” was all I could say. “That was good.”

“Have another.” I greedily took it. “I can see the appeal now.”

“See.”

We headed back in the direction of where my car was parked, but we stopped to duck inside a wine shop. “Let me grab a few bottles to take to Aubrey and Chance’s tomorrow night.”

“Good idea. I’ll go half with you, so it can be from both of us,” I insisted.

“Sure.”

We were back to where my car was, bottles in hand. There were lots of restaurants but I couldn’t muster enough energy to eat anything else. “Guess we can head back.”

“Here, you drive.” Levi caught my car keys midair.

 Sliding in the passenger side, I wanted to relax for a few minutes.

Back at Cotton House Hotel, Levi walked with me and said, “Thanks for today. It was fun.”

“It was really fun. I enjoyed it a lot, and I have my other donut to devour tomorrow morning for breakfast.”

“See you tomorrow then,” Levi said.

I was left dumbfounded he didn’t have a cocky comment.

“See ya.”

Chapter Seven

 

 

LEVI

 

I didn’t like when I didn’t get my way. Girls were usually never this hard to pursue. But Rylee was not giving in. Did she truly not like me in that way? If she didn’t, she wouldn’t have let me tag along today. She wouldn’t accept the coffee I bring her every morning. She wouldn’t find me in the bar and sit next to me. Maybe she wanted to take it slow. I understood she recently got out of a relationship. I would have to be patient and be her friend more than anything.

I pulled out my phone and texted Chance.

Grabbed booze for tomorrow. I know Aubrey likes wine. - Levi

Sounds good. See you tomorrow, mate. – Chance

***

The next morning, I was up and ready. Today was my last day of training and I’d be on my own with little guidance. I was taking this new venture seriously because I wanted to do well with my new job. If a request was extreme or extravagant, I would need guidance.

I stopped and grabbed two coffees, and found Rylee in the employee area. She was reorganizing the room and sprucing it up.

“Good morning.”

“I swear, you’re a godsend.” She kissed me on my cheek. What was that about?

“Why are you looking at me weird?” she asked after taking a sip of the hot liquid.

“I’m not.”

She chuckled. “Yes you are.”

“I’m not. Anyway, see you later? So, we can ride to Aubrey and Chance’s place.”

“Sounds good. Thanks, again.”

“Sure.”

Work passed fairly quickly. I passed our final test of the job and all I needed was my concierge certification. Of course, Raymond was super nice to work with and I liked the one-on-one training. There was two of us training, one for morning and one for evening duty. We agreed to cover for one another if we needed to. Knowing I was already good with people in my previous job, I knew I could handle this and make customers feel important. But rich people were different from the grungy bands I’d dealt with. I knew there was a certain expectation to make the customer happy and to keep their business in the future. I was prepared for a challenge.

After work, I took a shower and dressed in a red tee shirt and dark wash jeans. I pulled on a dress jacket in case I needed it. I wanted to look good for Rylee. Pacing the hall, I waited a little