Page 29 of Nothing to Do

“You don’t know shit,” Roman spat, swaying forward.

Zane slapped a hand to his shoulder to push him back. “You’re too close to the line.”

“Fuck the line,” Roman said, throwing up his arms to push Zane off as he backed away. “Fuck you, your island, your woman—”

“That’s right,” Zane snapped. “My island, my woman, remember that when your sorry ass is dragging next time the media tears you apart. I won’t be standing there, I won’t be propping you up. Me or my best, best buds. I’m done.”

Thea glanced back just as the last of the women went past Alessia and out. At least, who she thought was the last until her sister nodded at the other side of the room. The server remained crumpled there, sobbing.

“Get back to the room,” Thea said. “I’ll look after her. Don’t open the door to anyone except me. Lock the slider too. Tell everyone to lock their doors.”

Alessia left and the door swung shut. As she headed for the server, Roman noticed he’d lost his flock.

“What the hell!”

Sensing how thin his patience was, Thea hurried to the server and crouched with her. “Honey,” she said, stroking her hair from her face. “Honey, we have to get out of here.”

Through her swollen, wet eyes, the server tried to focus. “Wh… what?”

“We have to go.”

There wasn’t time to process her own feelings about the evening’s revelations or to tune in to Roman’s ramblings. The poor woman had to get out of there before she was subject to more of this insane man’s diatribe.

Putting an arm around the server, Thea helped her to her feet.

“She stays!” Roman demanded. “Both of them stay!”

Not a chance. A couple more guys came through the rear door behind Roman. Their entrance distracted him enough for Thea to get the employee out.

Once in reception, a gaggle of other staff members came rushing over to check their friend.

“Oh my God,” one of the other women said, embracing her blubbing colleague. “What happened?”

“He… he yelled at me… He… blamed me for everything. Screamed at me for ruining his life, his career… said I couldn’t get anything right… said I was worthless.”

The girl was a mess and Roman was an asshole, what a surprise. She didn’t need to bear witness to know that. Alessia was by the door to the corridor that led to their room. She went over and slid an arm around her waist.

“You should be in the room.”

“I waited for you.

And she could chastise her sister for that, except she understood the need. “Let’s get some sleep.”

Alessia didn’t say anything else until they got into the bedroom. They gave each other space to process. She hadquestions of her own and didn’t fire them at Alessia. Everything had happened so fast. How could so much change in such a short amount of time? She needed to breathe for a few minutes.

Her sister wasn’t of the same mind. As Thea went into her half of the room, Alessia stayed just inside the doorway.

“You’re sleeping with a billionaire?”

Her eyes closed slowly. Didn’t seem fair that Alessia knew the truth only minutes after first sharing a room with Zane. She wanted to scream at him. At least, she should. In truth, she was too stunned to make sense of… any of it. Sleep. Yes, that would help. Maybe she’d wake up and discover it had all been a bad dream.

Sensing Alessia’s approach, Thea opened her eyes. The sea was just visible through the doors to the deck, only just decipherable in the moonlight. She needed it to keep her centered and wished it was easier to hear.

Alessia came right around in front of her. “Thea!”

She admitted her shame. “I didn’t know, okay?”

“You said an employee. Zane Dyce is not an employee!”

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