“Nothing inappropriate,” I insisted. “I swear. All business.”
It probably didn’t help that I added a quick wink at the end of that statement, but I was nothing if not playful. She didn’t look convinced, but she eventually managed to nod. “Okay, I suppose I could do that.”
“Great!” I laughed, before turning away. “See you there.”
I left, and spent the next twenty minutes making sure that the cabana was at least somewhat welcoming. I set out drinks; non-alcoholic, since I knew Adriana refused to drink on-duty, as well as a snack board that I’d had Nolan make for me to work through over the course of the day.
I put on a shirt just in case, and waited. Three minutes early, there was a knock at the door.
“There you are,” I greeted when I threw it open, and Adriana stood hesitantly on the other side. “Please, come on in. I promise you I won’t bite… Unless you ask nicely.”
That made her laugh, and the ice was at least somewhat broken.
“Would you like a lemonade?” I asked as she closed the door behind her. “Freshly squeezed and sugared up bytheChef Nolan himself.”
“Sure, why not?” she followed me to the bar, and I filled a glass for each of us. “Thank you. Now, Mr. Thatcher, you mentioned that you were calling me here for a reason.”
“Ah, spending time with me isn’t enough for you, eh?” I said, and she offered me a real smile, one that was so dazzling that it almost threw me off my game. But I was experienced; the one who would be flustered at the end of the day would be her. “I do actually have a task for you, if I’m honest. One that is fairly… clandestine.”
She frowned, already concerned. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that you can’t tellanyoneabout it. At all.EspeciallyLandon.”
I watched her face change. She was obviously conflicted about this, but she didn’t immediately say no, which gave me a bit of hope.
“You want me to hide something from my manager?” she asked carefully, as if she was giving me a chance to change what I’d said. I had no such qualms, however.
“I do. Can you do that, or not?” I leaned forward, keeping my eyes locked on her face.
She swirled her drink and stared down at it for a while. I admired her loyalty, but I needed someone to do this, and she was the one person who I was certain would get it right. No one else was as competent or as resourceful; and something told me that there were ways she’d allow her ethics to be bent.
“I don’t know,” she finally answered with a sigh. “I don’t like the idea of going behind his back. He’s got enough power to end my career.”
I had to laugh at that. “He wouldn’t dare.”
“You sound convinced of that,” Adriana said, peering at me suspiciously. “How do you know?”
“You’ve seen the way people act around me, haven’t you?” I pointed out, and that seemed to make her think. “Even Landon is careful not to upset me. Don’t you think that means I have at least a little bit of pull around here? I promise you, Landon won’t fire you on my watch.”
Adriana took a swig of the lemonade as if it was a strong drink, and I could see in her eyes that she loved it. Of course she did.Nolan was one of the best in his craft. He could never make a bad lemonade even if he tried.
“Fine, I’ll hear you out,” she eventually said, sitting down on one of the barstools with one leg crossed over the other. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought she was posing like that on purpose to rile me up. It worked, even though I was strong enough not to show it on my face.
I’d played this game far longer than she had, and I was a master at it. “I’m looking for a very specific vintage wine.”
“That’s it?” she seemed almost disappointed that it wasn’t something more exciting, or perhaps more illegal.
“If you want more, I can always give it to you,” I joked, then shook my head. “But yeah, that’s it. Thing is, though, this is more complicated than it sounds. This particular bottle is only available from one single private supplier and the purchase can’t be tied back to The Pacific. If it is, well, the hotel’s reputation would be in the shitter. And so would Landon’s.”
“You’re kidding,” Adriana answered, her voice laced with surprise. “It’s just wine, isn’t it? Or… Is it some kind of code word?”
“Nope, just wine. But if word got out where I bought it, there’d be hell to pay.”
“So you want me to sneak off and find it? Why me?”
It was good that she was curious. I’d figured she wouldn’t be walking away from a challenge like this. She was the kind of woman who had something to prove, who had to be the best.
“You’re good at your job,” I replied with a shrug. “You can get it and keep it under wraps. I’m sure of it.”
