Page 36 of Their Last Resort

“Turns out, those thingsdoexpire,” he tells his friend just as Dr. Missick opens the door with sweat trickling down his forehead. He sees me and groans. “Good god.What now?”

At dinner in the staff cafeteria, we all exchange war stories from the day. Cole’s whiteboard in the break room has been claimed by a new countdown.

DAYS UNTIL THE PREPPERS LEAVE: 4.

“4” is written in red and circled a hundred times over.

That night, I linger in the lobby at the excursion desk as long as I can manage it, wanting every morsel of action I can get. My eyes eventually grow too heavy, though, and I know I’ll need to rest up for tomorrow if I’m going to survive another day with these guys.

I’m taking a shortcut around the back of the resort when I see Cole outside, just past the double doors. Oof. He looks like he’s been through the wringer a time or two. He’s shucked off his suit jacket and rolled up his shirtsleeves. His hair is mussed, too, like he’s been tugging at the roots all day in exasperation. He’s not alone; he’s talking to Beverly from HR and Annabelle, one of the singers from the resort lounge.

At first I think they might all be commiserating. If Cole were a smoker, he’d be draining a pack right now. No doubt his nerves are shot after today. I wonder how many fires he had to put out. How many staff members he had to placate. How many weapons he had to confiscate from disgruntled guests.“Come on, now. This isn’t a weapon, it’s my hunting machete!”

Only upon closer inspection, I realize that Annabelle is crying and shaking her head. Her shoulders are quaking, and Beverly is rubbing herback, trying to console her. I can’t see Cole’s expression, but it makes my stomach hurt, seeing them like that. I’m tempted to step closer, somehow insert myself in a situation that has nothing to do with me just so I can get some answers, but I wisely leave well enough alone, scurrying along before any of them see me.

I don’t have to wait long for answers.

I’m working through a bowl of oatmeal in the cafeteria the next morning when Lara takes the seat across from me and hisses, “Annabelle got fired last night!”

My bite gets lodged in my throat, and I force it down with some effort. “What?”

“Yeah, she’s gone. Likegone. Camila’s dorm is right next to hers. She said she saw Annabelle leaving the resort this morning with all her stuff loaded on a cart. A security guard was with her, but Camila thinks he was just trying to help out. Not like escort her off resort premises or anything, but who knows?!”

My stomach squeezes tight. “How sad. I actually saw Cole talking to her last night. I knew something was wrong, but I didn’t realizethat’swhat was going on.”

“Wait! You saw it happening?!”

I shake my head, unsure.

“It could have been something else ...,” I mutter lamely.

She shakes her head, adamant.“He’s the one who did it.”

My body goes rigid as I meet her gaze. “How do you know?”

Lara checks over her shoulder like she’s paranoid someone’s listening in on our conversation. Once she confirms we’re in the clear, she leans in and speaks fast. “There have been rumblings going around for a while about some layoffs. This is the third one in a week. First it was that old clown, which, okay, yeah, we all saw that one coming. Then a few days ago, one of the boat captains got fired. It was Dale, you know him? We assumed he deserved it, too, messed up or something, because he’s sort of like that. He’s late for his shiftsallthe time. But now with Annabelle getting fired too? What are the odds? I mean, everyonegetting the axe is fromourdepartment. How do we know we’re not next?!”

I refuse to believe it. “No, c’mon. Maybe it’s a coincidence? We don’t know for certain that all three of them didn’t have it coming. You said it yourself, Dale wasn’t the best employee ... and not to be insensitive, but I’ve heard Annabelle sing and ... you know what? Maybe the stage wasn’t for her. When one door closes, another door opens, right? And the clown ...”

I shiver just thinking about him.

My little speech does nothing to settle Lara’s suspicions. She’s as resolute as ever as she shakes her head. “I’m not buying it. Word on the street is that Cole and Todd are in cahoots. Annabelle told Tamara, who told Camila, that while Cole was firing her, he said something about how they want to reconfigure the resort staff and make this place ‘more efficient.’”

Efficient?!Cole loves efficiency.

Crap.

“I swear to god, if I lose my job, I don’t know what I’m going to do.” She’s already spiraling. “I have nothing saved. Nowhere to go. My life back home ... it’s just—” She shakes her head and pushes her tray of food away. She suddenly looks like she might be sick.

Before I’ve fully thought it through, I’m volunteering. “I’ll talk to him, okay? I’ll talk to Cole.”

“Oh thank god. Just, will you please put in a good word for me?” She laces her fingers together with a plea. “Make sure he knows how important this job is to me.”

“Of course, yes.”

I agree to go through with it, but after I toss my barely eaten breakfast into the trash on the way out of the cafeteria, I wonder if I should have just kept my mouth shut and let her vent. Why did I feel the need to try to play the hero? Besides, I’m still not certain I believe Cole’s a part of this. Deep down, I know he’s not that cruel. He might not be great at showing it, but he really cares about the staff at Siesta Playa.When one of the older groundskeepers, Vincent, hurt his back last year when he was painting on the property, Cole didn’t fire him. He trained him to answer phones in reception while he healed up, and Vincent did great. He still picks up shifts in the lobby every now and then when he wants extra spending money. When Anita needed extra time off after having her baby, she told me Cole fixed it with HR so that she was given an additional six weeks of paid leave.

He’s not heartless. I know it. This is just a big misunderstanding.

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