Page 63 of Room Service
“Who I am fucking is none of your business, and let’s be honest here, Hayley, your treatment of the staff is appalling most of the time. This was just the cherry on top of the cake.”
“And what the hell has she got that I haven’t?”
“Pardon me?”
“I mean, she’s a maid, Dorien,” she says with a scoff, and I feel my blood boil. “How on earth could you ignore me in favour of her? A maid, for fuck’s sake.”
Is she being serious right now? The fucking audacity of her, to sit there and belittle another person just because they work a job that she believes is beneath her.
“Is your jealousy the reason that you set her up for her husband to beat the shit out of her, Hayley?” I say, trusting my gut instinct, unable to keep the darkness out of my voice. She has the decency to look a little sheepish as I see her gulp. “Or have you always been a narcissist?”
“I am no such thing,” she defends, but her words hold no meaning. She’s out for herself and fuck everyone else.
“So what would you call it when things don’t go your way and the whole world doesn’t appear to revolve around you? What would you call it when you actually arrange to have another person hurt because you can’t stand not being the centre of attention?”
“You can’t prove I did anything,” she says, and right there shows just how stupid she really is.
“You’ve given yourself up with your words alone,” I inform her, my jaw clenching as I contain my rage.
“She’s got you wrapped around her little finger, hasn’t she?”
I don’t answer. I refuse to get into a piss-poor slinging match with someone who has no relevance in my life. “Hand your key cards in to security on your way out.” I turn my attention to my phone, ready to call security and reception, making sure they’re aware that Hayley no longer works here. She’ll be logged out of the hotel system within the next ten minutes, once I put the call in to my tech guy, and I’ll give the deputy manager the call of a lifetime when I inform him that he will be running the show until I have finalised my plans for the a manager to take over.
“Oh, and, Hayley,” I say, making her turn her attention back to me before she opens the door. “I suggest you go quietly, keep your head down and your nose clean, because if I get one sniff of you trying to cause any kind of trouble, or if you dare to ever show your face again, it’ll be the last thing you ever do.” I don’t mince my words, because when you’re dealing with crazy, there is no point in trying to be reasonable.
I watch her shoulders slump as she knows she’s been defeated. There is no point in going up against me, because she won’t ever win.
“We could have been good together,” she says quietly, just showing how delusional she really is.
“Not in this lifetime or the next,” I tell her. “Or any lifetime, actually.”
“Goodbye, Dorien,” she whispers before she leaves the room, closing the door quietly behind her.
I blow out a puff of air and start to make the phone calls needed. I know that I won’t see her again. Call it a hunch. And there was never going to be any point in threatening me, which I think she quickly realised, because if I wasn’t threatened by Nate Knowles, then Hayley sure wasn’t going to fucking scare me.
Chapter Forty-Seven
ELISE
“Hey,” I say as I answer the door to see Chantel stood there.
“I saw Dorien going into his office earlier, and I thought you might want some company,” she says with a smile.
“Oh, sure.” I step back from the door and she walks past, pulling a bottle of wine out of her handbag. “Too early for a drink?”
I look at the clock to see it’s just after one in the afternoon. “I can’t, I’m still on these damn pain meds.” She pouts and puts the bottle away. “Cup of tea?” I ask.
“I suppose it’ll do until we can paint the town red,” she says, and she follows me into the kitchen and takes a seat at the island in the middle as I fill the kettle and flick it on.
“You staying here for a while?” I ask as I get the cups out of the cupboard, putting a teabag in both of them.
“For another few days. To be honest, it’s been a nice change of pace from the world of fashion.”
“You work in fashion?” I ask, suddenly excited to know more.
“Honey, I don’t just work in it, I run my own fashion powerhouse,” she tells me with a grin. “Ever heard of CG Parks?”
“Oh my god, I love that fashion line,” I exclaim.
