Page 4 of Thaw My Heart
“The wedding that he wasn’t going to come to in the first place?” I sneer. “Or did his invitation just get lost in the mail?”
Maya’s face momentarily drops, but she’s quick to recover. She holds my gaze for the briefest moment before redirecting her stare to her hands. “You aren’t the only one who had a hard year, Darcy. Cut him some slack, alright? And please don’t pick a fight with him every two seconds. I don’t want to spend the whole week playing referee.”
“Slack.” Yeah, right.
“I won’t,” I tell her dejectedly. “I promise, I’ll be on my best behavior. But it’s fair game if he starts it.”
“Oh, don’t worry,” Maya assures me. “I’ll be having this talk with him too.” Her eyes drill into mine—as big and genuine as ever—and I know she sees right through me. She always does. The corners of her lips quirk up and she scoots a bit closer, nudging my shoulder. “Hey. You know I wouldn’t be doing this if I thought you would hate it. Contrary to what you may think sometimes, I’m not trying to sabotage you.”
She’s right. I know she’s right. Maya has been my best friend, my closest confidant. She knows everything. She’s been there foreverything. Every crush, every heartbreak, all of it. Every tear I ever cried, she was always there to wipe it away and make everything better. Maya is the better half of me, for better or worse, and I guess this is the “worse” part of that deal.
“As long as I’m with you, this trip will be fun,” I tell her.
And I really do believe that. Or, at least, I will. After a lot of meditation and maybe a glass of wine.
CHAPTER 2
CODY
The walls are suffocating. Gray and bland and lifeless. I think they might be closing in on me. The last sound I’ll ever hear is the droning “tick, tock” of the wall clock. What a morbid way to die. I’m trapped in a box with restlessness seeping through every nerve and cell in my body, and I’m going to be crushed alive.
I’m a rat locked in a cage.
“This is your second warning, Cody, and you won’t get another. If I hear another complaint about your behavior from a guest, you’re fired on the spot. You got it?”
If I had something to lose, maybe I’d bite my tongue.
“Respectfully, Mr. Thommes, my job is to keep your guests safe. I’d love to do that and coddle them all at the same time, but sometimes it doesn’t work out like that. The guest who complained? She was about two seconds away from a broken leg. If I’d coddled her and spoken softly, you would be dealing with a lot worse than a bad Yelp review. You’d have a multimillion-dollar lawsuit on your hands, and we both know that’s not something you want with the off-season coming up.”
“Don’t take that tone with me, kid,” Thommes barks. “I’m not saying you’re wrong. It’s just business. And you’re lucky I’mgiving you another warning. If you were anyone else, you’d be packing your bags right now. Just—” He shakes his head and heaves a tired sigh, watching me through heavily-lidded eyes that don’t come across nearly as angry as he’d probably like. I kind of feel bad for the guy. “Get out of my sight before I change my mind.”
I don’t have to be told twice.
I stand and start to leave my boss’s office. As my fingers curl around the door handle, he calls after me, “And get back to work! If I find out you’re fooling around, I’ll have you working the front desk for a week.”
I don’t dignify that little remark with a reply. I leave, breathing a deep sigh of relief when the door closes behind me. I got away with a slap on the wrist. I didn’t think I’d be so lucky this time. Not after the little flooding incident in my room last week.
Or the tiny fire the week before.
Or the crying kid the week before that.
My days are numbered. There may not be a lot I can count on here, but I can count on that. Thommes may like me, but he can only justify keeping me around for so long. I’m—as he likes to say—‘bad for business.’ And, truthfully, he’s not wrong.
It’s not that I go looking for trouble. Really, I don’t. It just seems to come looking for me. And it’s not anything that’s horrifically bad. It’s just a few harmless little slip-ups.
Well, maybe more than a few.
It’s a lot of harmless slip-ups. But in my defense, I think I make up for it with my incredible people skills. I am an invaluable addition to this company. The guests love me. Or hate me. Either way, they’re passionate, and passion is important.
I weave through the crowded lobby, greeting guests I know and welcoming those I don’t. The front desk ladies wave when they see me, Janet—the sixty-year-old retiree—more than theothers. I wink at them and grin when I catch at least two of them blushing.
I would never actually pursue anyone at the resort—guestoremployee. I’m a professional, after all. But that said, it never hurts to flirt a little. It’s good for the soul.
I pass the elevators just as a kid I recognize from lessons a few days ago steps out of one. His face lights up when he sees me. I lean down and hold up my hand for a high-five, which he’s quick to accept.
“How’s your footwork coming, Jake?” I ask him.
He beams. “I didn’t fall even once yesterday! Dad said I’m getting better than he is.”
