Page 11 of Rockstar Retreat

6

Sharon

“What arewe supposed to do with this guy?”

I hummed, breaking out of my reverie, to look at Samantha, a coworker and someone I called a friend. We were both stuck at reception, though it was the middle of the day and no one had come so far. Only one of us needed to be there when it was so slow, and it didn’t have to be me, but the reception was far from where Jerrik was staying, and I needed the space from him.

“Haven’t you been listening?” she said, frowning at me when she noticed my confused expression.

I gave her a sheepish smile. “Ah, I’m sorry. I’ve been thinking about some stuff, and it’s had me a bit preoccupied. I’m sorry.”

Her eyebrows arched. “Is it a problem I can help you with? I don’t mind lending a hand, you know.”

My smile was easier this time, more comfortable. Samantha didn’t know much about my background. As much as I liked her, I just couldn’t risk letting her in the know. But the little I did talk to her about made me feel better. She was the one to tell me the rumors about Jerrik coming to the retreat.

“I know, and thanks,” I said gratefully. “But it’s fine. I should put it out of my mind, anyway.”

There was no point in thinking too much about Jerrik, after all. He was just a guest at the retreat. A few weeks and he would be gone.

“So, what were you talking about before?” I asked quickly, partly to divert her attention, but also because I did feel bad about not listening to her.

“I was talking about that guy that came here almost a week ago. He’s someone famous, right? He's such an ass to everybody; I swear they’re ready to boot him out of camp. Or, well, the retreat.”

I froze where I was leaning against the counter, then slowly moved until I was standing straight.

“I thought he started going to his sessions though,” I muttered numbly.

Samantha shrugged. “Well, he did for a couple of days, and I don’t know what happened between yesterday and this morning, but he’s sure as hell grumpy. I don’t know what he’s so mad about, but he’s a special client, you know? So we’re supposed to take care of him, only none of the staff can stand him right now, so…”

Shit.

That was probably my fault, and now I regretted going to see him at all. I’d thought about our kiss, yes, but I still thought it shouldn’t have happened. Hell, part of my contract included policies against fraternizing with clients. Not that it didn’t happen, but as long as you didn’t go around advertising it, and no harm came of it, you were in the clear.

But it wasn’t like I wanted to have anything to do with him, right? Even after that kiss…

“How many times did someone get sent to his room?”

“I don’t know, several. But he missed his session anyway, and everyone is booked for the rest of the day.” She shrugged. “Let’s hope for better tomorrow.”

Why do I think that’s hopeless!

The next day,I got up early, even though it was my day off. I didn’t think I could have gone back to sleep and rested. My mind kept going back to Jerrik and what had happened between us since he arrived.

Yeah, he was, in a low key way, ruining my life, but he was probably forced to come here to stop him from ruining his own life. And it wasn’t like I hated him, so… I planned to go and see him, and at least try to get him to go for his session today.

I showered and dressed in casual clothes, pulling on a sundress over my undies because of the heat, and heading out to get something to eat. When I couldn’t hold myself back anymore, I left to go looking for Jerrik. It was too early for him to have a session scheduled, but I didn’t want anyone seeing me there anyway.

When I got to his door, I paused to take in a deep breath, then knocked.

“It’s me, Sharon,” I called out as an afterthought before he started to curse me out.

I waited for a few moments, wondering if he was still asleep. I thought to leave and come back later if I could, but just when I’d turned away, the door opened and the man himself stood there.

He looked terrible. There were dark bags under his eyes, which were red, his clothes looked like he’d slept in them and there was a very obvious stain on the tank top he was wearing. Even worse was the smell, like he’d doused himself in alcohol.

“Jerrik,” I said, breathless with shock. “What the hell happened to you?”

I thought it was pretty apt because it looked like he’d immersed himself in his hell. Somehow, I didn’t think just my avoiding him could have caused all this.