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“You’re not stupid. Anyone could have made that mistake. I’ve stayed at many hotels and resorts that didn’t allow pets. You didn’t know this one allowed them.”
Dani thought back to the times she’d spent at the Billionaire Club. Maybe she had seen people with pets there. She just hadn’t paid much attention. She should have known better. Her hands shook at the thought of what almost happened. “I could have killed someone’s dog.”
“But you didn’t. And you learned not to prop open the door.”
She looked up at Austin. “Why are you being so nice to me?” She hadn’t meant to blurt that out, which just embarrassed her more. But she did want to know. Everyone who was nice to her wanted something.
He seemed taken aback by her question. He just stood there, blinking at her. “I don’t know,” he finally said.
“Sorry, that was rude.” She stood and smoothed out the polyester shirt Kay had given to her. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me today. I’m a disaster. Which, by the way, is another name given to me on social media. Danica the Disaster.”
He flinched. “Ignore the social media.”
“I wish I could. I still haven’t watched the latest…” She sucked in a breath, not meaning to say anything about that embarrassing video. The last thing she wanted was for Austin to go look it up and watch her making a colossal fool of herself at this very resort.
“The latest what?”
“Never mind.” She grabbed the vacuum. “I should get back to work. Thank you so much for helping me get the puppy back.” She practically shoved him out of the room.
“Sure.” He gave her a small wave as he left.
She sighed and plugged in the vacuum. Another crisis averted. For now. Hopefully Austin wasn’t the kind of guy to go searching her name on the internet. Although she had to shoot her mouth off and tell him about the awful names she was called online. Pretty stupid.
Maybe he’d never go looking. She crossed her fingers and plugged in her earphones. She needed some BTS therapy now.
Chapter 8
Austin hung up the phone after ordering a pizza. He didn’t know when Dani’s break was, but he knew she didn’t get breakfast again, and had looked a bit gaunt this morning after the dog fiasco. Maybe some food would help her blood sugar. Even if he just handed her a slice as she worked, it might brighten her day.
He sat on his couch and flicked on the television. He was tired of sitting on his deck, staring at the beach. He wanted to run in the sand, and swim in the ocean. It was depressing him, rather than lifting his spirits. He needed a distraction. If he could find some reruns of an old sitcom, that would at least make him laugh.
He flipped through the channels, and then stopped when he saw a large image of Dani on the screen. He almost swallowed his tongue when he saw the headline underneath her face.
Danica Jordan hides away in rehab center.He turned up the volume to hear what the woman was saying.
“After Danica’s embarrassing drunk video leaked, sources say she hasn’t been back to her multi-million-dollar home in Los Angeles. We have reliable information about her sudden disappearance, with several sightings at a local rehabilitation center.”
A photo of a blonde woman wearing large sunglasses entering a building flashed on the screen. It could have been literally any blonde woman. Heck, it could have been a man in a blonde wig. Austin snorted and folded his arms. “That’s your reliable information?”
The woman continued. “We all remember the striking image of young Danica after her mother was brutally murdered.” And, in case anyone didn’t remember, the image of a three-year-old popped onto the screen, her mouth open, tears streaming down her cheeks. You could practically hear the little child’s wail.
“The nation has watched with fascination as Danica grew up. But that tragic past has created even more tragedy as Danica has grown out of control. And now we are left to wonder, will she ever pull her life together?”
Austin grew disgusted and turned the channel. From what he saw, Dani wasn’t an alcoholic. Granted, he’d only met her yesterday, but he’d spent quite a bit of time with her, and she hadn’t been drunk. When offered something to drink yesterday, she stuck with water. If she had a problem, he would have seen evidence of it, he was sure. The gossip stations were way off.
A knock came on his door and he stood, his knee complaining with the sudden movement. “Just a second,” he called as he grabbed his wallet. He paid for the pizza and tipped the delivery boy before he closed the door. The smell of melted cheese and pepperoni filled the room. Dani would be happy.
He slipped his room key in his pocket and left, heading toward the section that Dani was working. The day had warmed, and he was glad he’d left his jacket back in the room. As he walked by the garden area, something prickled at the back of his neck. The intense feeling that someone was watching him came over him and he looked around, but didn’t see anyone.
Laughing at himself, he shook his head. He must be paranoid. He headed toward the area where Dani should be cleaning. A moment later, he found her cart at room 309. The sound of the vacuum came from inside, and he called out to her. “Dani?”
She didn’t answer, so he poked his head in. She had her earphones in, and she was dancing to some unheard music as she ran the vacuum back and forth across the floor. A smile spread across his face as he watched her. She was seriously rocking out, even singing a few lyrics as she danced.
He started to feel guilty for watching her, knowing she didn’t think anyone was able to see her. He reached out and touched her shoulder. She squealed and jumped about a foot off the floor. “You scared me!” she shouted as she pulled her earbuds out and turned off the vacuum.
“Sorry,” he said, trying hard not to chuckle. “I just thought you might be hungry.” He held up the pizza. “Want some?”
She pulled her phone out of her pocket to check the time and grinned. “It’s like you read my mind. How did you know I needed a pizza?”
