Page 18 of Hotel Mallois

Jodie remains silent longer than expected because Katherine has fixed her blue gaze on her face. She tries to deflect as best she can.

"I still have work to do," says the cleaner and raises a cloth as if it were a rifle and she were at war.

"You can finish tomorrow," replies the owner of Hotel Mallois, "I don't feel like having this drink alone, plus, sunset's about to start and it's a sight you can't miss."

Jodie nods when Katherine lifts the wine bottle and they both head out to the terrace. The cleaner has been there several times, but always to do her job, though that hasn't stopped her from enjoying the impressive views.

"You can sit anywhere you like," says Katherine while filling both glasses with her favorite white wine.

Jodie settles into the lounger right next to where her boss has sat and immediately notices the comfort of the plush cushion.

"Comfortable, aren't they?" Katherine asks, smiling gracefully at Jodie's face when she reclines.

"Better than my mattress," she answers and lets out a sigh with closed eyes.

Katherine takes the opportunity to study her in detail now that her companion isn't noticing. Jodie strikes her as a very attractive woman, but there's something about her that goes beyond her beauty. The businesswoman could make a list of things that have caught her attention about her employee, but for now, she focuses on that personality that sometimes drives her crazy but, at other times, she loves.

Jodie opens her eyes and turns to look at her boss because, even though she couldn't see her, she still has that strange feeling that something's up. She confirms it when Katherine takes such a long drink that she almost empties her glass and then runs her hand over her face in an unusual gesture of fatigue.

"Did something specific happen to make you feel this way?" Jodie inquires, though she's not quite sure if her question is appropriate, as Katherine remains her boss despite their growing familiarity.

"Sometimes the responsibility overwhelms me," Katherine confesses. "There are days when I'm so mentally exhausted that I want to turn off my phone and stay under my bed sheets."

"Don't you have any siblings who can help you?"

"We're three sisters and each has her own thing, though most of the time I really envy Rachel, the oldest of us all," Katherine shares while refilling her glass.

"Tell me about them," asks the cleaner, who has noticed a slight change for the better as soon as her boss mentioned her sisters.

Katherine takes another sip from her glass, adjusts herself comfortably in the lounger, and smiles.

"Rachel, Caroline, and me. My parents had the fortune of having only girls in the family," Katherine's laugh proves contagious to Jodie. "The oldest wanted nothing to do with the family business. She settled in Ithaca many years ago and has, along with my niece, a bar that's the talk of the town. Caroline, who arrived unexpectedly, is the youngest, but she was born with an innate business sense. She owns the cruise lines and I," she points to herself and takes another sip of wine, "well, you know me."

Jodie watches her wine-moistened lips and her body responds with a shudder in her chest and a vibration between her legs. She clears her throat and moves her neck to release the sexual tension taking over her. She looks down and realizes the bottle is almost empty and now understands why Katherine has been drawing out her words.

"It's gotten quite late, I need to head home," says Jodie while pretending to check the time on her phone. She knows it's necessary to end this moment they've created against the backdrop of sunset.

Katherine nods and tries to stand up, but loses her balance and Jodie catches her mid-fall.

"Are you okay?" asks the cleaner, searching for her gaze.

"Yes, don't worry," Katherine answers with bright eyes and gestures for her to enter the penthouse.

Jodie walks with a nervousness she can't understand. She feels like she's walking through a dark forest full of dangerous animals that could attack at any moment. Suddenly she feels Katherine very close to her and an invisible force makes the cleaner stop dead in her tracks just a few feet from the terrace door.

Katherine, who feels a sudden weakness for Jodie's neck, brings her left hand close and leaves a fleeting caress. Jodie says nothing, but the hair on her neck stands on end; evidence that the caress has had its effect.

"You have a beautiful neck," Katherine says and moves closer to Jodie.

Jodie stands very still, but all she wants is to turn around and pin her boss against the wall to kiss her until her tongue hurts. However, the cleaner isn't foolish and knows two things; first is that the businesswoman's attitude stems from having a few too many drinks and she's sure that if she were sober, she wouldn't have dared to touch her that way and the other is that nothing will happen between them, there's an abyss of many impossible things between them.

"Don't go there," says Jodie, who has had to gather all her willpower to turn around and, with a hand on her boss'schest, push her body away. She feels stupid for rejecting the woman she's been in love with for so long, but she knows it's for the best, she doesn't need more pain in her life.

What Katherine feels in that moment can be described as when you're walking along the edge of a pool, suddenly slip and fall into water so cold that your body violently shakes. If the alcohol had affected her mind, it disappears instantly, leaving her completely lucid and in a state of shock that tells her she's acted like an irrational fool with her employee. While the relationship between them had progressed, she's sure that with her attitude she's returned to that starting point that had been so hard to leave behind.

Chapter 12

Jodie and Sarah have been sitting in the staff dining room of the Mallois Hotel for fifteen minutes. Both have their tupperware containers open, the only difference being that Sarah devours her mac and cheese with delight while Jodie hovers her fork over her meat in sauce, unable to decide which piece to stab.

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