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Malachi.
And he didn’t sound happy.
I probably should have just kept walking. I should’ve gone straight to the restaurant and met him there like we planned, but I didn’t. There were muffled words, then no words at all, and my feet took me around the corner and down that short hallway before my brain could scream, “Danger. Danger.”
A secondor tenpassed before I registered what I was seeing. And another few until I could pry my sandpaper tongue from where it had solidified against the roof of my mouth. A haze as red as my hair filled my vision, and the words shot out like bullets.
“What theactual fuck?”
Chapter Six
Malachi
Dick House. Did I really text herDick House?
Could I make myself look like a bigger dumb shit a few minutes before I was supposed to have lunch with Maisy? Of all the smooth lines I could’ve used on a sophisticated woman like her, I invited her out to eat at the Dick House.
Fuck me.
What I really wanted to do was take the day off work, take Maisy back to my bungalow and make a mess out of each other in half the rooms of the house. Then I’d feed her, and we’d christen the other rooms.
Maybe we’d sleep outside again like last night, because it was possibly the most meaningful time I’d ever spent with a woman.
Maisy housed a brilliant mind, a sharp sense of humor, and a chest a man wanted to smother himself in. Whoever made the joke, “More than a handful’s a waste,” had obviously never held more than a handful before.
But I couldn’t take the day off.
One, I dicked around too much over the last few days trying to get Maisy’s attention. It benefited me, but now I had to make up for everything I’d let slide.
Two, Ethan’s hangover was epic this morning. I know because he tried to power through and come to work. But I couldn’t, in good conscience, let someone work when their skin was that particular shade of green.
Also, I wasn’t a complete asshole, and it was partially my fault he got stuck being Lois Milton’s cabana host for what was probably way too long and included way too much whiskey.
I had no choice but to send him home for the day to rest, and that meant the remaining staff, including myself, needed to haul ass to make sure all duties were covered and all guest's needs attended to.
As if my thoughts of Widow Milton summoned a demon, she appeared at my elbow. I would have bowled right over her in my haste to make my lunch date, but sheer luck had me reacting in time.
I snagged her wrist and spun her around, using my forward momentum to propel us in a circle so instead of punting her out of the hallway like a football, I could prop her up against the wall with barely any additional force.
I blew out a breath.
Holy shit, that was close.
I nearly dragged her across the carpet. Stomping guests into the rug was definitely not excellent customer service and not good for the reputation of the resort.
And Lois Milton spent a dump truck of money at our place.
“Miss Milton, where did you come from?” It was the best I could do. I couldn’t bring myself to apologize to her when she shouldn’t even be in the employee corridor.
Since she seemed steady on her feet, I let go of her arm, but she snagged me with her other hand and squeezed over my bicep. I couldn’t shake her without being rough on purpose, and for a woman in her sixties, her grip was freakishly strong.
“Malachi, how many times have I told you, it’sLois?” I’d heard female dialogue described as a purr when written in fiction, but I’d never had it apply to real life until that moment. As she looked up at me through hooded eyes, her bright pink lipstick a garish streak across her face, the words oozed out of her mouth on a feral hum. The cat was thrilled to have caught her prey.
The prey—me—did his best to not physically recoil from the contact.
“Miss Milton, I would love to stop and talk with you, but I can’t right now. I was just heading out for an appointment.” One I was going to be late for if I couldn’t shake old iron hands and get out of what was just another incredibly uncomfortable encounter with a guest who wouldn’t know boundaries if they bit her on the ass.
A guest I needed to be nice to, even though she gave me the creeps, I reminded myself.
