1 Gracefully fallen...

Hugh was staring at the billboard outside Mcklerin's Bar, staring back at him was the photograph of Sophia, smiling into the camera, her chin resting on her hands, her short auburn hair forming a bob around her face, she had a set bone structure that gave her a Model like look and her hazel brown eyes gleaming. Her nose was small and snub, her mouth was wide and smiling, with a hint of mischief. She did not look any different.

In the last six years, she hadn't changed all that much; would Hugh recognize her? They had only met a few days before.

It had only happened once, but it had been a memorable meeting, one that should stand out even in a young child's memory.

Hugh frowned as he walked straight past her and into the waiting lift, turning away from the billboard. Sophia didn't move until she heard the doors close and the almost silent ascent of the lift, at which point the tension slowly dissipated. She was not sure if Hugh recognized the woman in the photograph as the singer who had once been involved with his father, but he certainly didn't recognize the woman with the towel wrapped around her hair turban-style, the loose towelling dress she wore over her bikini making her look plumper than she really was.

If Hugh was staying at the hotel, as it appeared he was, that meant Raphael or Lora were as well. But which one, that was the question that needed to be answered. If it was Lora, she had nothing to worry about because, despite Raphael's father's opposition, the couple had filed for divorce four years before. Raphael's wife was unaware of his relationship with the young singer Sophia, as the two were already divorced when Sophia and Raphael met. But if it was Raphael and Hugh...!

She hadn't seen Raphael since that last heated exchange in which he told her to get out of his life. And she didn't want to see him anymore!

Nevermind that she had cried for hours after the little exchange

Jane was one of the receptionists on the desk this morning, not the most helpful woman when it came to the other staff at this glorious hotel, but Sophia had always made it a point to get along with everyone she worked with. It made her job easier because she was constantly changing venues and she tried to be more of a free spirit.

Jane looked at her insolently as she approached the desk, a beautiful blonde woman who didn't care that Sophia was the hotel's contracted singer for the month, and thus entitled to a little more respect than she had so far received from this woman.

'Was that Hugh Mcklerin you were speaking with just now?' She'd discovered in her last week of work here that politely working up to a subject didn't work with Jane James, you had to be as direct as possible.

Jane's interest in the hotel manager was also not new information, as was her suspicion of all other women around him. 'I'm not supposed to talk about the guests who stay here,' she said haughtily. . 'With anyone,' she added pointedly

'Does that mean Hugh is a guest?' She pursued in her naturally breathy voice, a voice that had become what she was known for.

Nonetheless, after years of constant working without a break, it has become more pronounced in the last few months.

The other lady flushed. 'I wouldn't know,' she said flatly, her mouth clenched.

'what would you know then?, Surely then you would know if Raphael was registered here' Sophia inquired, her tone sweet yet sarcastic. She paused for a moment

'Could you just tell me if he's registered here?' she demanded impatiently as she saw the other woman about to refuse for the second time. 'I'm not asking for you to set me him heck I'm not asking for his room number, Jane just whether he'll be staying here.'

'I would never give you the room number of any guest!' Jane replie, appaled

'Although we sure don't have a Mr Mcklerin registered here,' she grudgingly added.

'Thank you,' Sophia said firmly, her relief apparent. Seeing Hugh after all this time had made her a nervous wreck, but seeing Raphael again would be even worse!

'Why don't you go get dolled up?' The other woman challenged her. 'I'm sure Matt would frown on a member of the hotel staff, no matter how temporary, walking around in that state.' Even if you're a supposed celebrity!' She said her disapproving gaze sweeping over Sophia.

Sophia ignored the biting sarcasm, knowing she wasn't a star. Not that this hotel didn't provide first-rate performers for its guests, but she was just another highly talented performer in an overcrowded profession who had never gotten that 'big break' that would make her a household name.

And she didn't think Matt Pope would mind that she had just gotten out of the pool. He might even be a little excited to see her in her bikini. Jane was the woman the hotel manager saw on a regular basis, but that didn't stop him from having a roving eye; his advances to Sophia this week had been more than obvious and she had been expecting the backlash from Jane.

But she didn't have time for such relationships or any relationship at all, not to talk of men who would bring the complication of another woman with them—she had learned the hard way about such involvements.

Well! at least she knew Raphael wasn't staying at the hotel!

There may still be a few embarrassments If Hugh should eventually recognise her, But She could hardly see Lora as the type of person to make a scene about a relationship Raphael had while they were apart. According to what Raphael had said She didn't think Lora was the type to make a fuss about it.

Even after they agreed to divorce, his respect for his wife did not change. It had been one of the reasons Sophia had left Raphael's life. Partly because of how much he still loved his wife and how the thought made her feel. Who was she kidding

'Shouldn't you be practicing or something like that?' Her thoughts were interrupted by a coldly scornful voice. 'After the way you performed last night, I think you should give practice a try,' Jane added

Sophia's velvet brown eyes glowed with rage, despite her unwavering smile. She knew better than to stoop to Jane's sharp mouth 'I'm sure if the hotel management has any complaints about my performance, they'll let me know,' she retorted.

'Matt is in charge,' the other woman hissed. 'And he wouldn't dare to complain about you after the way you've been hurling yourself at him. 'I've met people like you before,' she continued vehemently. 'Matt is just too enthralled by your beauty right now to see that if someone with better prospects came along, you'd drop him like an old rag.'

Sophia should have been used to these types of attacks by now, but it didn't make the nasty words any less painful. Insecure women always having a thing or two to say about her.

All women in her profession were supposed to have slept their way to the top, and Jane was far from the first to make such a charge. Sophia didn't let the other woman know how much she had hurt her with a flicker of an eyelid; that would only give Jane satisfaction she didn't deserve.

'I'll see you later, Jane,' she said cheerfully as one of the guests approached the desk.

Jane's feelings towards her were illogical; she had not encouraged Matt Pope in any way. But Jane was so unsure of her own relationship with the man that she suspected every woman he met, even those who weren't interested in any way. Sophia had even been appalled by the advances.

Sophia had been unnerved by seeing Hugh so unexpectedly, and she knew that the rehearsals that morning weren't going well, her thoughts elsewhere, five years back, in fact.

She was twenty-one at the time, compared to Raphael's thirty-three, her eyes not quite opened to the harshness and cruelty of the world, though she had some experience with it. Her failed relationship with Raphael had demonstrated to her once and for all that she had very little to offer a man.

'Would you like to stop for a quick lunch?' Blake, the pianist in the residential four-piece backing band, inquired politely. 'You seem a little off this morning.'

'Off-key, you mean,' she corrected ruefully, her hair tied back at her nape, the trousers and sweat shirt she wore to rehearsals. 'There's no need to be nice, Blake; I'm feeling lousy this morning, and it's reflecting in my performance, I'm sorry I'm wasting your time'

'You're being too hard on yourself,' he said, sympathizing. 'Your mind is simply not on it today.'

'How about we all go eat?' He stood up, as did the rest of the group.

'You go on without me,' she said as she sat down on the stage, tired. 'I need to calm down first.' She brushed her damp hair away from her nape, evidence that she had worked hard, even if it hadn't been up to standard, her shirt clinging damply to her back. She was twenty-six years old, had been singing professionally for eight years, and it wasn't getting any easier!

'Would you like to join me for lunch at the coffee shop?'

She turned around gratefully at the sound of Kat's cheerful voice, what seemed to be the mutual dislike between Jane and herself not shared by another of the hotel's receptionists, Kat Adams. She and Kat had become fast friends, frequently sharing their breaks together.

As she entered the large table-filled lounge, Kat frowned. The room would be a hive of activity later this evening when Sophia performed, with all of the tables and the bar packed, but right now it was empty, the heels of Kat's sandals echoing loudly as she approached the slightly raised stage. 'Is everything all right, love?' she inquired softly.

'Yeah, sure,' Sophia said with a bright smile, shaking off her tiredness. 'And lunch sounds delicious.'

'It won't do much for my figure,' the other woman grumbled as they walked to the hotel's coffee shop, preferring its informality to the more formal atmosphere of the hotel's other three restaurants at this time of day. 'However, I need the energy before I begin work.'

'Oh please Kat your figure is great'

Kat smiled and nodded as they took a seat at the open table in the far corner of the brightly lit room. 'And, as far as I can tell, the place is in shambles today.'

She was surprised. Apart from Jane's usual grumpiness, everything seemed to be running as smoothly as it usually did at the hotel. 'It appears to be fine to me,' she shrugged.

Kat gave a shaky nod. 'Did you happen to see Matt this morning?'

They both ordered salads, and Sophia pondered the question as they did so. No, she couldn't claim to have seen the manager today, which was unusual. Matt was good at his job, even with his womanising behaviour he really cared about the guests' comfort, and was always on hand to cater to their every whim. His Assistant Manager was also conspicuously absent.

'He and Mark are upstairs in the penthouse suite,' Kat said as they waited for their meal. 'With the hotel's owner. He arrived unexpectedly late last night and now demands a full report.'

Sophia was aware that the London Excellence hotel was part of a large chain of hotels located all over the world. She had been assigned to work for a month in each of the six largest, and despite the fact that this was her first assignment; she knew it was run as well as its name implied. 'I don't think Matt will have too much trouble with that; he's very good at what he does.'

'And Mr Mcklerin expects nothing but the best,' Kat grumbled. 'I'm not sure you can blame him. He —'

'Mcklerin?' Sophia echoed sharply, certain that she had paled. It was far too coincidental! 'Do you mean Raphael Mcklerin?' she asked dully, knowing it couldn't be any other man after seeing Hugh, his son.

'That's right,' said the other woman. 'He owns the entire chain of Excellence hotels.' 'Hey, are you okay?' She frowned as she noticed Sophia had turned pale.

Sophia managed a stuttering smile. 'I skipped breakfast, I think I'm just a little hungry.'

'Sure?'

'Of course,' she said dismissively. 'Can you tell me more about Raphael Mcklerin?'

'There's not much to say,' Kat shrugged. 'I don't know much,' she admitted ruefully. 'Until four or five years ago, his father was in charge, and he was an even worse tyrant than his son.' At the very least, Raphael Mcklerin only shows up every six months or so to shake things up; his father had agents come here posing as guests and then reporting back to him.

That sounded like the Darius Mcklerin she remembered, Cunny and full of mischief and Raphael sounded like he preferred things to be straightforward and honest. The father and son were diametrically opposed. Jane had lied to her about Raphael staying here, and she felt the urge to punch her in the gut for that.

She could have run into Raphael at any time this morning. After all, it was Raphael's turn to have Hugh, despite Hugh's lonely state this morning and Kat's comment that Raphael was working with Matt this morning, which seemed to imply that, he wasn't able to devote enough time to his son.

'Raphael Mcklerin has to be the man they had in mind when they said tall, dark, and handsome,' Kat continued. 'He is all of them. 'And even more.'

Before prompting, Sophia waited until their meal had been served. 'And what else?'

Kat shook her head. 'He's distant and unapproachable. His family not spared from the coldness. With his looks and wealth, he should be able to find a woman in any town.'

'And?' She ate her salad uninterestedly.

'There isn't a single woman in any town. Unless he's very quiet,' Kat mused. 'Though something like that would be difficult to conceal in a place like this.'

'I've noticed!' she jokingly exclaimed.

'Just because I was wrong in my assessment of your relationship with your agent...' Kat frowned.

'And then went out with him yourself when you knew we were just friends,' she mocked.

'Rod's fine, and you are too, and you appeared to be so close' the other woman said, blushing. She started again 'He's a little older than I'm used to seeing, but I like him.'

'He likes you as well.' She smiled at the thought of the romance that had blossomed between her two friends over the last week.

As their meal progressed, the conversation shifted away from Raphael Mcklerin, and Sophia gradually relaxed. She tensed every time someone entered the coffee shop. She wasn't quite ready to meet Raphael again, her hair unkempt, her make-up sloppy, and her clothes creased from the morning's exertion.

All the same, she couldn't ignore Hugh as he stood in the doorway, uncertainly looking around the room for a place to sit. Sophia and Kat had finished their lunch and were lingering over coffee, almost ready to leave, but there was something vaguely vulnerable about that too-thin young boy with the familiar blue eyes that she couldn't pretend she didn't notice.

'I see a friend,' she murmured to Kat as she slowly stood up, knowing Kat's eyes widened as she realized who that 'friend' was. 'I won't be a minute,' she said hazily, hurrying over to Hugh before changing her mind. 'Hello,' she said almost nervously as she approached the frowning boy.