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I drain the rest of the water.
Normally, I'd be able to handle this. I'm a personal assistant, and a damn good one, too. I spend my days putting out fires and handling crises and unexpected emergencies. I pride myself on not letting anything get to me. There's no challenge I can't meet.
But I'm just coming off a mild panic attack. My brain can't snap into gear. I don't know what to say, how to react.
Thankfully, Mr. Huntington doesn't seem to mind taking over.
"I've found a resort. It's a half mile up the road. We can stay here, or I can drive upvery slowlyto see if they have a room. What would you prefer we do, Kyler?"
I close my eyes and take a deep breath, appreciating him letting me decide our next course of action.
Ineedto get out of this car. No question about it.
I look over at him, and he turns slowly to face me, his kind brown eyes meeting mine. "The resort," I say. "Let's go there."
He gives a small nod. "I'll drive very carefully."
"Thank you."
I think he assumes my panic attack was brought on by driving in such treacherous conditions. That's only half the reason, though.
Mr. Huntington eases out onto the road and drives as promised, slowly and carefully. After a few moments, we turn off. I squint to see the illuminated sign out front, but the rain is coming down too hard. I only catch the first few letters.
ELY.
We drive up a palm tree-lined driveway until we reach the main building. There's a small gap between where we pull up and the awning, meaning we're going to get drenched to the bone the second we step out of the car.
"I'll go," he says, assessing the situation. "You stay in the car."
I shake my head violently. "No." There's no way in hell I'm staying alone in this confined space. "I'm coming with you."
"All right. Let's do it."
We race out of the car, through the sliding doors, and into the opulent foyer. It's filled with elegant furniture and glittering chandelier columns. If I weren't soaked through to my underwear, I'd take a moment to appreciate it all.
Mr. Huntington wastes no time striding over to the front counter. A few moments later, a man in a work polo comes over and hands me a towel. "Hi, I'm Leo," he says with a smile. "And welcome to Elysian."
"Thanks." I take the towel from him and start drying my hair and face. "Heard the airport's closed," I say, wiping down my arms. "I hope there's room here for us."
His blue eyes twinkle. "I know for a fact we have one room."
"Justone room?"
"Just one room." The voice comes from behind me.
I spin around.
Mr. Huntington waves a room card in front of me, his chest heaving more than usual. "It's all they have left."
"Oh… Okay… Um."
Leo hands us two umbrellas, grinning broadly, completely unaware of the dilemma I'm in.
"I'll get someone to bring your luggage to your room straight away. You two need to shower and warm up." Leo leads us past the reception desk and explains the fastest route to our room.
To theoneroom that Mr. Huntington and I will be sharing for… How long do hurricanes take to blow over? This is all too much for my scrambled brain to handle.
We open our umbrellas and follow Leo's instructions as we navigate the slippery cobblestoned path. I'm sure that on a nice day this resort is a tropical paradise. Right now, I can't wait to get indoors and out of this hellish weather.
