Chapter 7

The two friends slapped hands and parted ways. Gio went to the office for the file on his new guest. It was unprofessional to switch him to a new guest just hours before a tour, but he'd adapted to worse. He liked American guests. They were accustomed to tipping and he wanted all of the extras that he could get.

II

Gio didn't have to hold up a sign for his guest. He knew the limo driver. It made an impressive presentation when he was able to approach his guest as if they were already recognized.

He didn't have an optimum situation, though. His guest was a lone woman. She had been booked for a VIP loft, which had been recently upgraded to a Penthouse Suite. Prior to that the loft had been booked for a honeymoon. The reason that there was no longer a husband on the cruise could be the result of a number of touchy situations. He would need to play it sensitive.

Nicco walked up to him as they waited in the VIP drop-off for the arrival of their guests. He was chewing gum and wearing sunglasses--so unprofessional.

"Your American guest is a female traveling alone."

Gio barely glanced at him. "American's tip well—especially lone travellers. I'm surprised that you gave up on the easy tips, Nicco."

"I do enjoy the American's love for tossing around their money. I don't enjoy so much having a withered old woman trying to suck my dick in the middle of the night." Nicco walked away with a smug look.

"That's not what I heard," Gio muttered hoping that Nicco's teenage guest was a foul-tempered, kleptomaniac.

But Nicco made a good point. Single women did sometimes expect 'special treatment'. He'd never done anything like that himself, but it was not unheard of for him to make arrangements for special care for his guests. But he refused to let anything Nicco had to say get under his skin.

He spotted his guest's limo and headed for the curbside to open the door before the driver could do it—or God-forbid she opened it herself.

"Madame…"

And then he was met with the sight of a shapely brown leg that ended in a blood red wedge sandal with straps crisscrossing a thick and shapely ankle. Those were not nylons adorning that gorgeous brown leg. An African American woman?

He offered his hand and brown fingers with neatly painted nails clasped his. The woman got out of the vehicle and met his eyes with a curious smile.

Gio momentarily forgot his words. He stared into a set of wide brown eyes before taking in the rest of her. He scanned her face and then her body and saw, not a middle-aged white American but a curvy young woman with strikingly dark brown skin.

She was dressed in a red floral sundress that stopped just at her knees. It would have looked like a sack on a thinner woman, but on her it swayed around her curves in a flattering manner.

Short brown curls loosely framed the woman's oval face. He wasn't sure if her exquisite cheekbones were the results of makeup or was God-given, but he couldn't take his eyes from her.

Gio quickly caught himself. Women knew instantly when a man was looking too long.

"Miss Wyatt?"

"Yes," she replied in a deep, slightly husky voice.

Gio felt his dick twitch. He loved this sound from a woman. Her voice reminded him of how his women spoke after a night of passion. But he needed to chill and be professional. He wasn't Nicco or some other newbie that flirted their way into the pocketbooks of their guests.

He inclined his head slightly and realized that he was still holding her hand, which he released. "My name is Giacomo, but you may refer to me as Gio or G. I will be your Superior Genie for the next eight days."

"Gio," she said to herself. His ears perked at the way the word fell from her lips. He turned to a waiting luggage carrier, and indicated that that they were to retrieve the baggage from the trunk.

He noted that her matching luggage was of a good quality and based on her polished attire and the fact that the most expensive suite on the ship had been booked just for her, he knew that the woman was wealthy.

Even though it was difficult to gage the age of black women, he didn't believe that she could be much older than thirty.

Gio glanced down at her ring finger and saw that it was bare. Did she come from a wealthy family, or perhaps she was some rich man's mistress? What kind of a career did a woman have that allowed her to amass this kind of wealth at such a relatively young age? Hmmm. He was intrigued.

~Earlier~

Sidney decided that she loved being driven around in limos. She ignored the bar, though, and opted for a bottled water. Just because the champagne was free didn't mean that she had to indulge in it every time it was offered. Besides, the bottled water in Barcelona was really good. They offered it with pride at the hotel buffet as if it was a premium drink.

As she stared out at the scenery, she decided that she liked Barcelona. She probably would never see it again, though. So that meant that she would have to make the best of this trip.

The driver played music on a low volume but didn't talk to her. She wished that he would point out some sights but maybe he didn't speak English, so she stared out her window marveling each time she saw shops that she recognized like McDonalds.

When they finally got to the pier Sidney realized that embarkation on such a large ship would be a nightmare. She wondered how her Butler would find her in all this mess.

The limo driver stopped at the curb and Sidney's eyes instantly fell on a man that was dressed impeccably in a pair of black slacks and a white shirt beneath a black suit jacket. His collar was left undone and yet he still looked polished. The suit fit him impeccably so there was no way that it was off-the rack.