Page 6 of Muerte

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?”

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