Days Of St Croix

by Felicity Pepper

Twenty-Five

  Paige's cellphone beeped and she slipped it out of her purse and looked at it. A message from Jas; not what she was expecting at that moment.

  JasGen: R U still at the hotel? Can we talk?

  Paige frowned. Usually, she was one step ahead on everything, and she could read people better than anyone she knew. But she would not have imagined getting a text from Jas ever again, let alone so soon after he had yelled at her and slammed the door. She was immediately suspicious, and she thumbed the delete button gently. It could be a trap, she thought quickly. He wants to punish me for tricking him. I should ignore it and just get the hell out of here. If only this rich chick sitting next to me would hurry up and finish her martini, I can buy her another one, get her drunk, then wrangle some dough out of her. She looks like she's good for a couple of hundred bucks.

  She looked again at the text message, then flipped her phone shut.

  Mills sucked the last of her drink down and popped the olive into her mouth. The martini had gone straight to her head, and she felt fuzzy and relaxed.

  "Yum!" She said, giggling. The girl sitting next to her, (Paige wasn't it?) raised an eyebrow.

  "Another one?"

  "Hell yes!" Mills blurted. She grinned broadly at Paige.

  "Two more, please." Paige waved at the barman.

  "Thanks!" Mills tilted her head and looked at Paige for a moment. Cute, she thought. The haircut is a bit severe, but she has beautiful eyes. I wonder what she's doing here on her own. Probably with some guy on a business trip. Yeah, that's it. He's off in a meeting, and she's bored, so she decided to get sloshed at the bar.

  "Is your husband meeting you later?"

  "I'm sorry?" Paige frowned.

  "Or your boyfriend? Whoever you're here with?" Mills sipped the fresh martini and felt the icy gin on her tongue. She was trying to focus on the bottles behind the bar, but her eyes weren't behaving. Paige laughed.

  "My husband! Oh my God, that's funny."

  "I just thought-"

  "No, it's fine. It's a compliment, I guess. But no, I'm not married." She lowered her voice so that the barman could not hear, "Shit, I'm only seventeen. Not quite the marrying age just yet."

  "Wow, you look a lot older."

  "Uh, thanks, I think." Paige grimaced and took a sip of her drink.

  "No, I mean, you look mature." Mills was slurring her speech slightly. Her head felt very light.

  "Again, thanks-"

  "No, that's not what I mean! Damn it. Sorry, I mean you look grown up. Sophisticated. Not like a kid, I mean."

  "Okay, I know what you mean."

  "And you're cool, too!"

  "Thanks. You too." Paige raised her glass slightly, putting on a big smile. "To Mills!" This is going to be easier than I thought.

  "To Paige!" Mills clinked her glass against Paige's, slopping a little onto the bar as she did. Paige smiled at Mills.

  And then her phone beeped again.

  Brand stood in front of the steps of The Imperial Hotel and watched the guests coming and going for a moment. This is it, he thought to himself. This is my moment. Don't fuck it up, Ari Brandeis. He jogged up the steps and pushed through the large, heavy glass doors. The lobby was busy with people checking in, standing around talking, and leaving the restaurant. It was cool inside, compared with the muggy heat in the street, and Brand took a moment to collect himself. Across the lobby, a smoked glass door led into the restaurant area. Brand ran his hands through his hair, took a deep breath, and headed for the bar.

  Jas waited a moment longer, his phone in his hand. If she doesn't respond this time, he thought to himself, then I can't say I didn't try and makes things right. He sat on the edge of the desk beside the window, which opened onto a small balcony overlooking the hotel golf course. He only wanted a minute or two to talk to Paige and make sure she was alright. God knows why, he thought, but I kind of feel sorry for her. His phone beeped finally.

  PaigeGrrl: Okay, fine. I'm leaving in a few minutes. I'm downstairs in the bar if you want to talk.

  That was fine. Mills wasn't due to meet him for a little while longer, and the bar was neutral space. Plus, he could watch her leave and be done with her. Without thinking about it, he glanced in the mirror and checked his hair. No harm in looking good for the send-off, was there? He stepped out into the hotel corridor and stopped to look back into the room. A big bouquet of flowers on the dresser; a bottle of Bollinger in a gleaming silver ice bucket on the bedside table; and a small box, wrapped in crimson paper, with a gold bow on top. A birthday present for Mills. Jas had picked it up in Carmel three weeks ago; a diamond necklace and a pair of diamond earrings. He couldn't wait to give them to her.