Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 77485 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77485 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
“You don’t waste any time, do you?”
I didn’t like what that seemed to be hinting at. I glanced at the man offering me a tip and quietly told him to have a good evening before I headed for the door.
What sounded like a whisper of Lolita followed on my heels, replacing my earlier apprehension with a deep, unsettling chill.
I didn’t stop to see if I was hearing things.
I had to be.
We didn’t wear name tags, and I’d never given him my name.
CHAPTER TWO
I didn’t tell Anya about what had happened. While the encounter was uncomfortable, she would make it a much bigger deal than it needed to be. Unless the man decided to report me, it was best to just forget the whole incident. I’d dealt with much worse guests before.
We finished our shifts and returned to the staff room to gather our personal belongings and clock out. I wasn’t expecting it to be as chaotic as the lobby. Shana was occupying the center of the room, shouting at someone one second and speaking frantically into a walkie-talkie the next.
For someone who had a striking resemblance to Ms. Frizzle all the way down to the mass of curly orange-red hair, it was entirely unlike her to look so frazzled.
“You two!” Her green eyes lit like sparklers the second she spotted us. She waved off the young guy she was talking to as if he were a pesky fly and came rushing over with two garment bags wedged beneath her arm. “You’re exactly who I’ve been waiting for. You girlies have serving experience, correct?”
“Yes,” Anya answered hesitantly, shooting a quick look my way. “Why?”
“I’m missing three servers. How do you feel about stepping in to help with the trade show this evening?”
“Fuc—freak yes! I would love that. We would be honored,” Anya enthused.
Her excitement was so palpable it almost made me feel the same.
Almost.
I had no desire to rub elbows with the rich and even less enthusiasm to subject myself to the scrutiny of the ‘elite’, as Anya had described earlier. Sensing my hesitation, Shana turned towards me, widening her smile to the point I could see the silver tooth in the back of her mouth. There was a speech coming on. I could practically see her puff up her chest in preparation. If she wasn’t one of my bosses, I would’ve fled from the room.
“I know it can seem a little daunting, being around such old money, but this is a great opportunity. You’ll get twice as much as you normally would for the overtime and gain some nice consideration for future promotions.”
Was she trying to convince me or scare me? Even Anya’s face fell a little. Her heavy enunciation of the word money was highly unnecessary. I didn’t care about these people or their tax bracket.
I also didn’t have a lifelong dream of being a hotel maid for the rest of my life. This job was one in a long line of stepping stones to pay my bills, not a career I was ready to bleed and sweat for.
I couldn’t tell her any of this without hurting her feelings or pissing her off. Shana had been employed here for well over a decade and was vocal about never leaving. I wouldn’t be surprised if she requested to be buried somewhere on the property.
“Are you sure it’s okay for us to fill in like this? I heard the event was exclusive.”
“It won’t be a problem. You were both pre-screened a few months ago.”
“Shouldn’t we have consented to something like that?”
“Oh, that was smart,” Anya replied, jubilantly, gently elbowing me in the side.
Her perception of that tidbit of information was the total opposite of mine.
“You can never be too careful with events like this, which is why for privacy reasons there’s an NDA that will need to be signed and no employee is permitted to have their phones once inside, but that’s no different than usual for you girlies,” Shana hastily explained.
“An NDA for what exactly?”
Her walkie came to life again before I got an answer, this time with someone from maintenance requesting assistance. She sighed and all but shoved the two large bags into Anya’s arms.
“Here, these should fit you two. Go put them on and then meet me back here in ten minutes tops so I can explain what needs doing and have you fill in the paperwork.”
As soon as she was gone, I turned towards Anya to plead my case on why this wasn’t a good idea. The spot I expected her to be was empty. She was already hurrying away to get changed.
“Come on, Lo,” she tossed over her shoulder.
“Wait!”
She pretended not to hear me and kept walking. I followed, intent on convincing her we shouldn’t get involved in whatever this trade show gig was.
“Anya, I know you heard me.”