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“Yes,” she replied. “We are friends. But we’re not just friends anymore, are we? You’re my boss now, and I’m your subordinate.”
“Which means what, exactly?” I asked. “We’re not really friends anymore?”
“That’s not what I said.”
“It’s what you implied.”
I saw tears prick at the corner of her eyes, and she gave a desperate sigh that told me she felt trapped and vulnerable. “I’m sorry,” she said. “We are friends, it’s just—”
“Do you trust me, Alani?” I asked. “Because I trust you. I think I know the kind of person you are, and I believe in my heart that you would never steal—even if you needed to, even if you had the opportunity to. That’s just my gut feeling.”
“I appreciate you saying that,” she said gratefully. “And I do trust you.”
“Good, then tell me the whole truth,” I said. “There’s something you’re not telling me because for some reason you’re scared, but I promise that if you come clean with me, I will do my best to protect you.”
Alani looked nervous, but I could tell she was going to tell me the truth. I gave her the space she needed and waited till she was ready to talk. After a moment, she closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she looked resolute.
“I do have the choker,” she said.
My eyes went wide, despite my effort to keep my expression calm. “What?”
“It’s not what you think,” she said. “Mr. Beaumont gave me the choker…as a gift.”
I understood almost instantly. “He was hitting on you, wasn’t he?” I said, remembering the incident a few weeks ago with Mr. Beaumont and Nakoma.
“It started out as an innocent flirtation,” Alani said. “It was never when his wife was around, but that was to be expected. I flirted back a little, too, but I never meant for him to go so far.”
“How far did he go?”
“He kept calling me up for the slightest little thing at first,” Alani explained. “It was always when his wife had gone down to the beach or to the spa. I would do my best to whatever he required of me, he would flirt a little, I would flirt back, and then I would excuse myself and get back to my job. But then, one day…he grabbed me.”
“What?”
“We were alone in the suite; he had called me up for some stupid trivial reason. I was about to leave when he pulled me towards him and kissed me.”
“That bastard,” I exclaimed, horrified.
“I tried to stop it; I tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t stop. I was really starting to panic when we heard someone at the door. He pushed me away just before his wife walked into the suite. I was freaking out, but I was also so grateful for the interruption. I was so scared he was going to… He was going to...”
“Hey, it’s okay,” I said gently, stopping Alani from having to complete the sentence. “It didn’t happen.”
“After that, I ignored Mr. Beaumont any time he summoned me. I was polite, but I ignored him,” Alani explained. “He was persistent, though. He approached me one day at one of the indoor pools. We were alone, and he managed to corner me.”
“Did he try to hurt you…or come on to you again?”
“He said he was trying to apologize,” Alani replied. “That was when he gave me the choker.”
I sighed. “He was trying to bribe you into sleeping with him.”
“I think he thought that if he gave me jewelry, then I would turn to putty in his hands and he could have his way with me.”
“What did you do?”
“I refused to accept the choker,” she said. “I told him point blank that I wasn’t interested in him and I could lose my job if I was found to be having a relationship with a guest. I also pointed out that if I got involved with him, we would be committing adultery. Not that he cared very much about either point, though.”
“What did he say when you refused the choker?”
“He insisted I take it,” she replied. “I refused again and walked away from him.”
