Page 23 of Bossy Grump's Secret

Her sandy blonde hair is up in a pristine ponytail that I'm guessing Lily helped her do, hence her grudge against the model-worthy figure I am looking at. Her dress is in as good a condition as it can be, and her skin has an entirely different glow.

“I’m sorry, Lily, but you should know your friend well by now,” I offer to pacify her.

“Hey,” Ava says and nods in my direction.

"Good morning, " I sit on the bench beside Ava, who is beside Lily. “Sleep well?”

“Yeah. You?”

"Yeah. I mean…I slept at least…." I mutter. I'm horrible at idle conversations, so I don't know how to proceed.

“Do you ever smile?” she asks suddenly. I turn to see her looking at me in an amused manner. I think next to her perfectly shaped butt, I love her smile next…or switch the order. Smile before ass. I love both anyway.

“You mean…just out of the blue?” I muse.

“Yeah.”

“Like a psychopath,” I scoff.

“What? You think it’s wrong?” she probes.

"What? No! I never said it was…I mean, I think it's weird, but...you know…to each their own,” I defend myself.

"You think people are psychopaths for smiling often." She brings back my former statement. This might be her definition of play or teasing, but I'm not enjoying it.

“I didn’t mean that,” I say bluntly.

"I don't believe you." She rests her chin on the palm of her hands, resting on her lap. Looking down at her legs, I see Lily napping peacefully. I still think this girl differs from the age on her resume.

“What do I need to do, then?” I huff and ask, “…for you to believe me.”

“Smile,” she says, sporting a cute one herself. The face makes me stir in my briefs, but I resist it. People were coming out individually, and I needed to quell it. I force a smile, and the one on hers disappears. "That was so fake,” she complains.

“I’ll work on a better smile," I promise her. She must think I'm such a socially awkward nerd…in which case, she'd be right. "But now it's time to work." I stand up to address the people already waiting for me. She does too, and a disoriented Lily follows her. That little girl needs serious protection.

“Good morning, guys,” I announce as I finish greeting however I can individually.

"So, new week, new allocations. I have developed a whiteboard, so I don't have to do the calling manually. Just look at it to get your various tasks and pairs. Let me know if you have questions. ”

My eyes instinctively trail Ava, and I can see a change in her demeanor when she sees her quota.

Sigh. I expected this.

Anyway, when everyone returned, I passed a warning. "So, this goes to everyone, especially those doing hall patrols. If you noticed, I changed the hall patrol number of pairs instead of singles. Agreed, it's easy enough for one person, but easy doesn't exactly translate to safe. I'm sure y'all have been seeing me in band-aid adornments…." That draws laughter from a few staff members.

“I’m appealing for extra security consciousness. Robbie, you and Rhodes are on hall patrol today. On no account should the both of you become separated. Entering the room of a present guest without anyone knowing you're there is strictly prohibited. Am I clear?"

I get a reassuring affirmation from the group, dismissing them to go on to their various points. Ava leaves as well, with Jane, who I paired her up with again, to work on room keeping. Not a goodbye, not a wave…not even a blink in my direction.

Sigh.

Ava

Lily hasn't stopped laughing at me. My face is scrunched in mild annoyance at how much she's laughing. Still, it pales compared to the disappointment I feel thinking about him. Housekeeping? For the third time in a row!? I thought he liked me!

"Well, now we know he loves your homemaking skills more than your ass," Lily squeaks. She snorts loudly, trying to suppress her laughter. "Oh my... relationships are definitely not for me," she snorts again, another futile effort to quell her guffaws.

I just sit there observing her mock me to pieces. At least it's funny and even made me rumble in laughter. More at her own than the subject, however. She cleans away the tears at the corner of her eyes and looks at my disgruntled face.

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