“Do you trust me, Vida?”
“Yes,” I whisper, giving him my honesty.
“Good.” He kisses me again, slower this time, his tongue exploring my mouth with a miserable groan. “Then go to work and let me figure out how to make the world better for you without pissing you off in the process.”
“That’s a tall order.”
“No shit.” His slow grin is outrageously hot. “But goddamn, are you worth it.”
“I love you.”
“I love you so fucking much,” he says back fervently, rolling our foreheads together. “I want constant texts coming in from you all day long, angel. All day. And your lunchbreak belongs to me. Is that clear?”
“You’ve got a date,” I sing, hopping off his lap.
Blowing his unhappy face a kiss, I sail out of the bedroom and walk the gleaming hallway to the deck, jogging off the boat and down the dock, toward the resort. I stop and look back once, finding Tripp on the upper deck, leaning on the metal railing and watching me leave. I have the most intense urge to run back to him and pledge to quit my job, but no. No, I can’t do that. I’m an honest-living kind of girl. Besides, this isn’t really my job to quit. It’s my aunt’s.
Speaking of my aunt, I really need to call her.
I didn’t tell her I would be spending the night out last night.
As soon as I get changed into my uniform, I’ll shoot her a text.
Tearing my eyes away from the sight of the broody, muscular outline of my boyfriend against the sunrise, I haul butt up the concrete stairway to the employee entrance. I expect to walk inside and find the locker room mostly empty, but I stop short when I walk into a beehive of activity. Lockers slam, voices speak in harried whispers. Everyone is rushing to get dressed.
“What’s going on?” I ask the closest member of staff. A maid, like me.
“Management called an emergency meeting. All staff must attend.”
“An emergency meeting?” I repeat, stunned. When has this ever happened? “Did management say what the meeting is about?”
She looks down, buttoning her vest. “Something about reestablishing protocol when it comes to fraternizing with guests…and establishing a new system to avoid inappropriate behavior.”
My scalp prickles with heat, a weight dropping low in my stomach.
Oh God.
Is the meeting about me?
The wordfraternizingdoesn’t even come close to what I’ve been doing with Tripp. I’ve been sneaking into his room. Dating him. And he’s the most famous guest at the resort.
Am I about to get fired? In front of everyone?
Are they going to make an example out of me?
My hands are shaking the entire time as I get dressed and hang my backpack in my locker. Just before I follow the sea of employees out of the room, my phone lights up in the front pocket, and I look down at the screen. It’s Tripp.
Tripp:Why haven’t you texted me yet?
Vida: Help. I’m in trouble.
Wide-eyed,I move with the pack up the staircase to the management offices, filing into a conference room I’ve never entered before. A man sits at the head of the table with his hands folded, his gaze landing directly on me the moment I enter the room.
Oh no. The meeting reallyisabout me.
Why can’t they just fire me privately?
“Good morning and thank you for coming,” the man says briskly. “We all have duties to attend to, so I’ll make this brief. Our biggest client has made some observations during his stay at Reserve, and due to his rightful concerns, we are going to institute some changes beginning today.”
