She laughed lightly. “You’ve got jokes, but just wait. One day I’ll be living a lavish life and putting you on as my sister-wife.”

  “Uh, I think I’ll have to pass on that.” Sticking my hand in a high-speed blender would be more enticing. “I thought you weren’t into sharing?”

  “I’m not, but I can still make sure you’re taken care of. All joking aside, I would never go from rags to riches without you, Lo.”

  Her tone was playful yet genial. That warmed my heart and also sort of broke it. “I appreciate the sentiment, but don’t ever let me stop you from living your dream.”

  She scoffed and nudged me with her shoulder. “It wouldn’t be much of a dream without you.”

  “I am pretty irreplaceable.”

  “Exactly. And this goes for you too. If you get on with a rich guy, bring me along for the ride.”

  I smiled but didn’t reply.

  The chances of that ever happening were about one in a zillion, and I wasn’t at all put off about it. Unlike me, Anya was dead set on manifesting herself into fortune by adorations from a man. There was no doubt in my mind that the kind of men she wished to pursue wouldn’t refuse what was offered.

  Her Asian-Konkani ethnicity took a vibrant soul and wrapped it in a ridiculously gorgeous shell. I would proposition Anya if I swung that way. But that was never the issue. The problem was with the men she allowed to know her intimately. They treated her like a novelty with a short-term shelf life instead of a priceless treasure.

  She’d been down the road of wealthy men already, which was why I didn’t understand her endless need to have one. Every time she got to the inevitable end, I helped her pick up the pieces of a broken heart and slighted ego.

  I wondered if she realized that her hurting hurt me too. Bearing witness to her crying and raging was mentally taxing. Over time it had hardened my resolve to remain single. I was too unsure about life at the moment to get involved with anyone. I had no clear-cut path I wanted to walk. I couldn’t project a visual of me in any one profession.

  Whatever my calling was, I hadn’t gotten it yet. Dragging someone along while I figured it out didn’t seem right or fair, not to mention distracting. And the bar men thought they had to reach was in hell. I had plenty of time to settle my love life in the future.

  “All I’m saying is that you’re aware from experience that wealth doesn’t make a person decent. Why not try something different?”

  She looked at me as if I’d just announced I could fly. “Because I want to be disrespected and have my guts rearranged on a pile of money.”

  “I…I don’t know how to respond to that. Have I told you you’ve got issues?” I reiterated with a laugh.

  “Yeah, but I also know you love me because I’m a headcase.”

  “Whatever. You’d better be careful.”

  “I’m always careful,” she retorted.

  I urged her in the direction of the bistro, deciding where to eat for the both of us.

  We were ten minutes late getting back to work. Luckily, the suite on my roster was a prep and not a check-out or refresher. Normally, the regular rooms were supposed to be done in less than thirty minutes.

  Suites tended to take longer since they were bigger. If they’d been thoroughly used, I could forget any kind of timetable. Having to come in after a bachelor party was a new kind of torture. I would be scarred forever by some of the things I’d found under and in these beds. If it weren’t for the resort’s vigorous cleaning policy, I wouldn’t think any of them sanitary.

  I finished fluffing the decorative pillows in the sitting area and then went to check the bathroom, making sure the toilet paper and mini bottles of soap and lotions were presentable before moving into the bedroom. I grabbed the silver bed tray from a nightstand and began to load it up with more of the resort’s customary welcome novelties.

  Hearing a man’s voice carry from across the room, I paused and looked in the direction it’d come from.

  The drapes were still drawn, prohibiting me from seeing outside, but someone was definitely out on the balcony, and there wasn’t supposed to be anyone in here. I quickly searched for signs of luggage but didn’t see any. If it weren’t for the event going on today, I would’ve found this odd. The bellhops never delayed in bringing up bags.

  The front desk must have forgotten to mark this room as preoccupied. That, or it was a self-check-in and the app had glitched because it couldn’t handle the traffic. Either way, this was a major oversight. I hadn’t even announced myself. I’d waltzed right in like I lived here. I needed to promptly waltz right back out.

  No sooner had the thought registered and I began to move away from the bed than the balcony door slid open, sending my plan for a stealthy escape up in flames.

  The thick drapes parted and a man in a fitted button-down stepped from behind them, a suit jacket draped over one of his forearms. We both froze at the sight of one another, him clearly not expecting anyone to be in his room and me fumbling for my best customer service smile.

  I could smell his cologne from where I stood, belatedly realizing the aroma had been lingering in the air since I walked into this suite. It was the same one I’d smelled on the man I’d nearly run into down in the lobby. I managed a smile that I hoped looked genial, struggling to keep my eyes trained on his face.

  I prayed the sudden rush of heat in my cheeks wasn’t broadcasting how insanely attractive I found him, like some cliché anime schoolgirl. Was this one of the men Anya had seen downstairs? I couldn’t imagine many scenarios where she wouldn’t notice someone who looked like this.

  He was so good looking that it was actually a bit…unsettling. His golden-brown skin was a shade or two darker than my own. His nose perfectly centered. Cleft chin. Angular cheek bones and chiseled jawline framed by freshly shaven stubble. A head of healthy jet-black hair tapered at his nape and curled slightly behind his ears.

  It was as if Augusta Savage herself had sculpted him, ensuring he was close to perfect, but not without flaws. There was a scar on the right side of his face. The only mark on otherwise flawless skin.

  It started near the edge of his brow and extended a good three to four inches down. It had faded with time and added a subtle savagery to his beauty. His eyes were something to behold on their own. They reminded me of imperial topaz. I became tongue-tied in the few seconds it took to look him over from head to toe.

  Fortunately, working in the retail and service industry since I was old enough to have a permit saved me from remaining an incompetent, speechless idiot.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize anyone had checked in yet,” I explained, offering a tentative smile.

  “I told the front desk not to worry about the pleasantries,” he replied, his cultured voice deep and a touch gravelly.

  “I think there may have been a mix-up with everything going on.”

  “You think?” he repeated, clearly not pleased with that explanation.

  “Sorry,” I apologized again for lack of better response.

  “Why are you apologizing when you’re not the one who couldn’t follow simple instructions?”

  I found myself at a loss for words again, but at least this time it was for a sensible reason.

  I didn’t think this was that big of a deal, but I also wasn’t wealthy enough to afford a single night in the suite he’d chosen. I couldn’t afford this room for a few hours without parting with a chunk of my soul. He looked from the bed and then back to me as he reached behind him to pull the balcony door shut.

  “Have you finished then?”

  Oh, I guess I had just been standing here like I wasn’t sure what to do. “Um, yes. I’ll be on my way now. If you need anything, the phone on the nightstand can connect you to the front desk. Just dial two.” I turned away from him and retrieved my trolley.

  “Wait.”

  His softly spoken command carried clearer than any shout, sending a trickle of apprehension down my back. I plastered on a smile that put my dimples on full display and turned around.

  “Yes?”

  He retrieved something from his rear pocket—a wallet—and flipped it open, removing a few crisp bills. “Is this enough?” he asked, extending them towards me.

  Eyeing the money with confusion, I couldn’t help but notice how large his hands were, and the thick metal band on his ring finger. Unsurprisingly, he was married. “What’s that for?”

  “Your tip.”

  I shook my head and reached for my trolley again. “Thank you, but I can’t accept that.”

  “After coming in here unannounced, I think it’s the least you could do.”

  Excuse me? What kind of backwards logic was that? I turned towards him once more, failing to suppress a frown. He stared back at me with an inscrutable expression. I struggled not to shift beneath the unexpected weight of it.

  For as large as this suite was, with him inside it might as well have been a shoebox.

  I was rescued from having to deal with this further when a beep came from the door. The man who appeared in the doorway half a second later was almost as attractive as the one who now stood behind me.

  His dark, almost chestnut-hued hair was styled in a carefree manner, suggesting he often ran his fingers through it. His face was sharply chiseled, revealing high cheekbones and a squared jaw that had a smattering of stubble. When he saw me, whatever he’d been about to say died on his lips. He stepped into the room and looked at the man behind me with a roguish smile.

  “You don’t waste any time, do you?”

  I didn’t like what that seemed to be hinting at. I glanced at the man offering me a tip and quietly told him to have a good evening before I headed for the door.

  What sounded like a whisper of Lolita followed on my heels, replacing my earlier apprehension with a deep, unsettling chill.

  I didn’t stop to see if I was hearing things.

  I had to be.

  We didn’t wear name tags, and I’d never given him my name.

  CHAPTER TWO

  I didn’t tell Anya about what had happened. While the encounter was uncomfortable, she would make it a much bigger deal than it needed to be. Unless the man decided to report me, it was best to just forget the whole incident. I’d dealt with much worse guests before.

  We finished our shifts and returned to the staff room to gather our personal belongings and clock out. I wasn’t expecting it to be as chaotic as the lobby. Shana was occupying the center of the room, shouting at someone one second and speaking frantically into a walkie-talkie the next.

  For someone who had a striking resemblance to Ms. Frizzle all the way down to the mass of curly orange-red hair, it was entirely unlike her to look so frazzled.

  “You two!” Her green eyes lit like sparklers the second she spotted us. She waved off the young guy she was talking to as if he were a pesky fly and came rushing over with two garment bags wedged beneath her arm. “You’re exactly who I’ve been waiting for. You girlies have serving experience, correct?”

  “Yes,” Anya answered hesitantly, shooting a quick look my way. “Why?”

  “I’m missing three servers. How do you feel about stepping in to help with the trade show this evening?”

  “Fuc—freak yes! I would love that. We would be honored,” Anya enthused.

  Her excitement was so palpable it almost made me feel the same.

  Almost.

  I had no desire to rub elbows with the rich and even less enthusiasm to subject myself to the scrutiny of the ‘elite’, as Anya had described earlier. Sensing my hesitation, Shana turned towards me, widening her smile to the point I could see the silver tooth in the back of her mouth. There was a speech coming on. I could practically see her puff up her chest in preparation. If she wasn’t one of my bosses, I would’ve fled from the room.

  “I know it can seem a little daunting, being around such old money, but this is a great opportunity. You’ll get twice as much as you normally would for the overtime and gain some nice consideration for future promotions.”

  Was she trying to convince me or scare me? Even Anya’s face fell a little. Her heavy enunciation of the word money was highly unnecessary. I didn’t care about these people or their tax bracket.

  I also didn’t have a lifelong dream of being a hotel maid for the rest of my life. This job was one in a long line of stepping stones to pay my bills, not a career I was ready to bleed and sweat for.

  I couldn’t tell her any of this without hurting her feelings or pissing her off. Shana had been employed here for well over a decade and was vocal about never leaving. I wouldn’t be surprised if she requested to be buried somewhere on the property.

  “Are you sure it’s okay for us to fill in like this? I heard the event was exclusive.”

  “It won’t be a problem. You were both pre-screened a few months ago.”

  “Shouldn’t we have consented to something like that?”

  “Oh, that was smart,” Anya replied, jubilantly, gently elbowing me in the side.

  Her perception of that tidbit of information was the total opposite of mine.

  “You can never be too careful with events like this, which is why for privacy reasons there’s an NDA that will need to be signed and no employee is permitted to have their phones once inside, but that’s no different than usual for you girlies,” Shana hastily explained.

  “An NDA for what exactly?”

  Her walkie came to life again before I got an answer, this time with someone from maintenance requesting assistance. She sighed and all but shoved the two large bags into Anya’s arms.

  “Here, these should fit you two. Go put them on and then meet me back here in ten minutes tops so I can explain what needs doing and have you fill in the paperwork.”

  As soon as she was gone, I turned towards Anya to plead my case on why this wasn’t a good idea. The spot I expected her to be was empty. She was already hurrying away to get changed.

  “Come on, Lo,” she tossed over her shoulder.

  “Wait!”

  She pretended not to hear me and kept walking. I followed, intent on convincing her we shouldn’t get involved in whatever this trade show gig was.

  “Anya, I know you heard me.”

  She finally stopped and turned around. “I was hoping you’d just go along with it. Should’ve known better.”

  “And you should also know this is a disaster waiting to happen.”

  “How so?”

  “Our kind of serving experience is for 24-hour mom and pop diners, not fancy dinner shows.”

  “I don’t see what the difference would be.”

  “Anya,” I huffed, “serving dino nuggets and fries isn’t comparable to this and you know it. I never had to sign an NDA for a pancake platter.”

  Selectively ignoring me, she turned and thrust one of the garment bags into my gut so that she could unzip the other. I clasped the shiny plastic with a grunt, scowling when she revealed the dress inside.

  “What is that supposed to be?”

  “It’s gorgeous,” she awed, tugging, and pulling until it was free.

  “That doesn’t look like a uniform.”

  “Yes, it does. We have to dress the part.”

  I surveyed the little black number and grew more determined to get out of this. That thing would be like a second skin and show more chest than my workout bra did.

  “I’m not participating.”

  Seeing how serious I was, she quickly adopted a new attitude. “Why are you so against this, Lo? What’s wrong?”

  “I just…I don’t know. It feels like something is going to happen if we go in there. I can’t explain why.”

  She quirked one of her perfectly threaded brows. “Repeat that back to yourself. Does it make sense?”

  “Not really, no but that doesn’t change how I feel.”

  She reached out and gently clasped my upper arm. “It’s just one night, Lo. A few hours at that. At least try for me and if you really hate it, we can make up an excuse to leave. Deal?”

  “Do you really need me here for this? I can always come and pick you up when you’re done.”

  “Oh, come on. Please? I don’t want to do it without you.”

  “Why do you want to do this so badly?” I slightly tilted my head, eyes narrowing. “It’s not for the money, is it?”

  “Not entirely,” she freely admitted, adding before I could lecture her. “We’ll never get an opportunity like this again. The extra cash is a good incentive too.”

  Her pleading eyes held mine and weakened my resolve. She wasn’t going to take anything less than a yes from me, and as she’d pointed out, I didn’t have any specific reason to turn down this offer other than I was off tomorrow and ready to get home. It would only be for a few hours…

  I exhaled softly, and she knew I was caving. With a little yip of excitement, she jumped forward and hugged me with one arm. When she stepped back, there was a wide grin on her face.

  “This is going to be fucking amazing! Let’s get ready.”

  “So exciting,” I deadpanned as she grabbed my wrist and hauled me off to change.

  Within seconds of walking into the room, I knew this was on someone’s bucket list as a firsthand experience in hell. I was so far out of my depth here. I’d been in the resort’s amphitheater a handful of times and though the changes made it stunning, the large space was unrecognizable.

  Its usual warm color scheme had been replaced with this event’s palette of deep burgundy and gold. The crystal chandeliers had been dimmed to allow the candles within towering glass centerpieces to be the focal point.

  A masked string quartet played in a darkened corner, adding to the room’s desired ambience and giving it a sense of ominousness. Our uniforms, if they could be called that, were on par with the aesthetic. All the women were in the same deep cut A-line chiffon dress that hit just above the knee while the men donned simple button downs with slacks—black on black.

  Anya had been impressed by this until she saw what the attendees were wearing. Perfectly tailored suits and elegant cocktail gowns. But now that we were inside, I wasn’t as bothered about the outfit anymore. This dress was the least of my worries. There were so many people it was impossible to slink into the shadows and remain hidden.