by Chelsea Hale
“That’s great,” she said, and her praise made him want to fold the rest of the towels to prove he could.
“Thanks,” he said.
They spent the next few minutes folding in silence as Liam thought about what he could ask Callie about herself that wouldn’t lead to questions in his direction.
The area supervisor came around and gave a shrewd glance their way. “You’re doing well,” she said gruffly.
Callie nodded. When the woman was gone, Callie said, “That’s about as high of praise as you’ll get from her, so that’s good. A few people were taken out of the program on their first day, because they couldn’t follow instructions.” She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear then glanced over at him. “I still wonder if she has something against me.”
“Why would she?” he asked, placing another rolled towel on his growing pyramid stack.
Callie lowered her voice. “This is my first time working at a resort. I have a feeling she looks down on that. But you’ve worked at other resorts, so you’ve got nothing to worry about.”
Liam nodded, swallowing hard. He had technically worked at other resorts, but not in the way she meant. He was going to have to try really hard if he was going to blend in for two weeks.
His executive mode kicked into high gear. “Do you think she is good at her job? I mean, if you were her boss, would you fire her for her lack of people skills?”
Callie laughed. “She does the job she’s asked to do. I wouldn’t take firing so lightly if I was a boss.” A faraway look clouded her eyes, and she seemed to be staring off into the past, or maybe it was the future. She shook her head and her eyes focused on him again before he could interpret her look. “But thankfully, I’m not the boss, so I don’t have to worry about that. I’m just keeping my nose down and trying to do the job I was hired for,” she said, a wistful tone took over her voice and he wondered what Callie’s story was. She certainly was intriguing.
“What brought you to this resort?” he asked, genuinely interested in the answer. “This seems like a place you’d come after working at other smaller resorts.”
Callie’s fingers froze on the towel she folded. Her eyes squinted ever so slightly at him. She pressed her lips together, and finished folding the towel she was on. “There was an opening, and I was looking for a job. You can’t beat the free room and meals.” She stacked the final towel and surveyed the other carts with towels. “That looks like enough towels for now. We’ll restock as needed, but I’ll show you around the rest of the area.”
For the rest of the morning the air between him and Callie felt stifled. He didn’t ask her anything personal, and she spoke of nothing else besides work. He wasn’t quite sure what he’d said that had turned her mood, but she declined to comment on any of the other employees and if she mentioned them at all, she only pointed them out and told their names. He blew out a breath. The camaraderie he’d built up just seemed to flatten.
* * *
During the employee lunch break, Liam excused himself and walked out into the hotel parking lot.
“How’s your first day going?” Sayler asked, poking her head around a car.
Liam rubbed his temple. “Remind me why I agreed to this idea.”
Sayler held out a bag for him. The aromas wafting from it convinced him for the thousandth time that he’d hired the right personal assistant in his life. He pulled out the sandwich and began eating.
She cleared her throat. “Well, it probably had a lot to do with the fact that the Board would have taken over the Summers Corporation, and you don’t want that to happen.” She tilted her head, her lips dipping down into a small frown. “But it’s also what your uncle wanted you to do. He set it up that way so that you’d take him seriously on his last wish. Instead of getting to observe this place as a billionaire would, for some reason he wanted you to experience it … differently.”
“You think this is crazy?” He could hear it in her voice, but he wanted the affirmation of someone else validating his feelings.
Sayler rolled her eyes. “You don’t need my opinion on this. You would have done this regardless of what I think because you love your uncle.” She gave him a wide smile. “But, if you must know, yes, I think his last wish is borderline crazy, and yes, the next two weeks will be doubly busy for me because I have to do your regular job and try and get your approval while you play in a hotel and fold towels all afternoon.” She made a face at him.
Liam laughed. “Yeah, well. I suppose it’s good for me to learn about all aspects of my business.”
“While you’re at a random resort? Sure.”
“Got some good ideas we can implement in other resorts though. The supervisor has a program to train new employees on the first day, before they attend their orientation meeting. I think mine is this afternoon? Something like that.”
“You know I can’t keep your schedule for you if you can’t remember.”
He took a long sip of the specialty juice Sayler bought him and waved his hand in the air. “It doesn’t matter when it is—I have long days, so I just need to know when I’m supposed to show up. Anyway. They have recently hired employees training the new employees. I think it sounds brilliant. They can start to learn from their peers, have a buddy they can rely on and help them over their first week of training, and it would save the supervisors from spending their entire time training. What do you think?”
One corner of Sayler’s mouth lifted. “So you’re stealing the best practices from this place? You really are my favorite billionaire.”
“I’m not stealing, I’m learning and applying. There’s no crime in that. Besides, technically I own this place.”
“I’ll call a meeting and send out an email for you with … which resort do you want to try this pilot training program?” She looked up from her phone where she had written herself the note.
“Let’s start with a brand-new resort. Somewhere where the culture isn’t already established.”
Sayler nodded. “Your second resort in Hilton Head could work, or Aspen, or we could wait until your next Hawaiian resort is finished.”
“Let’s do Hawaii. I don’t want to touch Aspen, and Hilton Head is already too far in the process.”
“You’ve got it.” She took the empty bag of food wrappers from him.
“I can take that inside.”
“And risk your cover being blown by having catered food brought to you? No thanks. I’ll email you anything you need to handle tonight when you get off.”
“If there is an emergency, call me. I can’t be out of the loop just because I have to fold towels.”
“I can do that.”
He walked back inside the resort and clocked in, his mind returning to thinking about Callie and figuring out a way to not tick off his trainer again this afternoon.
Chapter 4
Callie approached lunch in the break room with a mixture of dread and anticipation as she waited for her new trainee to join her. Working one on one with Liam Allen this morning had been a lot of fun … mostly. But Liam never showed, and she breathed a sigh that mixed relief with disappointment at not seeing the attractive man during lunch. Liam. Who was she kidding, she still had baggage and trust issues even after six months since her ex-fiancé stole everything from her and then fled.
Though Michael was caught and behind bars, there was nothing that could be done about her stolen funds. She shook off the feelings from her past, but anger and resentment rose from her stomach to her chest like acid. She had worked for five years. Five long years on her designer purses. And right when she was about to make a breakthrough, everything had crumbled around her.
She was grateful for her job. Truthfully, she’d have taken any job, and working for the resort at least came with food and boarding included. She was able to save every penny she earned toward rebuilding her dreams. She could do this. Just a few years of work and she would be back on her feet again. In the meantime, she’d continue training new hires every two wee
ks.
This wasn’t her dream job, but she could put on a smile, and do her best. Her trainee was fun to talk to. He had a confidence about him that made her wonder if he would become a trainer soon, since he’d worked at other resorts. He had an air about him, though folding towels was not his strong point. Perhaps he only did more advanced jobs at his last resort. She’d train him on the excursions as soon as he was ready for it. Their supervisor, Gina, had given them an accelerated schedule. Liam was anxious to learn all the parts of the resort in record time. Gina already knew that Callie wanted as much overtime as she could get, and if Liam wanted to work extra too, then she’d make sure that the usual four-week training, that included the excursion training, was completed in two. It would help pad her account faster, and that was worth everything to her right now.
“Hi,” Liam said to her, once he entered the break room. He was tall and muscular, with a smile that seemed to shine. His thick brown hair swooped in a perfect wave above his eyebrows.
She swallowed as she looked into his green eyes. They were piercing and intense, and try as she might, she could not remember how she should respond to whatever it was that he had just said. She rattled off the only thing she could think of. “There is a two-hour orientation meeting this afternoon, but Gina said you’re doing an accelerated program with me. I’m doing a lot of overtime, so if you’re up for it, we’ll work more after your meeting.”
Liam nodded. “I’d like to get through each training area as soon as possible.” His direct gaze locked on hers.
Swallowing proved difficult and her mouth felt dry. “Okay. Let’s make it happen. I’ll see you after your orientation. And just so you know, meals are provided … I mean, not that you have to eat with me … I mean, or any of the staff, but just, that’s probably not something that was explained very well. You’ll get more information in the meeting right now.”
Her cheeks burned as she stumbled through her thoughts. Liam’s eyes were captivating and her lack of coherency was proof of that.
Liam leaned closer to her. “Thank you for letting me know. I’m still not sure how to navigate the … culture here. And I’m sorry for whatever I said that upset you earlier.”
Callie’s eyes widened. “Oh, it’s not you. It’s me. I just never expected to be working here is all.” Not that she would trade it. The Hideaway had become her home over the last six months, but his question from earlier on what had brought her here caused her emotional tide to swell with all of the negative feelings that had engulfed her when she’d been evicted from her home. She wouldn’t let harmless questions trigger the pain and the fear again. Michael had been in prison for four months now.
If she focused on where she was and where she was going, Callie could handle life. Delving into the past wasn’t going to define her. The Hideaway had been just that—a hidden place where she could leave her past broken life and rebuild a new one. A place to hide while she found her courage and strength again. The resort was home, and the employees here were her family.
Liam’s eyes softened a fraction, and she could sense he wanted to say something, but he only nodded. “I’m sorry I caused you pain. Thank you for helping me.”
For the next two hours, Callie worked but felt like she was in a daze. She didn’t chat with the other employees as they gossiped about the guests and their idiosyncrasies, just thought about Liam and how kind he’d been. He hadn’t pushed her to know anything, and he hadn’t dismissed her feelings. He had silently accepted her response as reason enough. It was good that they’d talked about it, because they’d be seeing a lot of each other, and she didn’t want it to be weird between them.
* * *
“How was orientation meeting?” Callie asked, impressed with herself for keeping her voice in a distantly interested voice though her heart raced around her chest.
“I’m sure it was the same as what you’ve attended. It’s a lot to take in, but I took a lot of notes.”
Callie raised her eyebrows. “You took notes?”
“This resort is different enough from what I normally do … I mean from where I’ve worked before, and so I thought it’d be good to make sure I remembered everything for this particular resort.”
He took notes? Good for him for being ambitious. “You’ll go far with that kind of mentality.”
“I hope so,” he mumbled. They walked down the hall together and he asked, “What’s next?”
“We’re continuing with the pool area, but we’ll focus on serving customers. Any time a guest buys something from either the bar or the food stands, we deliver it. If they order it like room service, that’s the kitchen’s job to deliver. So it’s mostly being aware of where people are sitting and making sure they get what they need.”
He nodded. “How do we know what they ordered?”
She smiled. “Each guest will take a number that hangs on the back of their lounge chair or at their table. Cabanas are already numbered and so if they have a cabana it will be obvious on the receipt next to the food order.” She pointed to one of the circles on the back of a lounge chair. “They’ll look like that. Once the food is ready, you deliver it, and bring the number back. Sometimes it’s really busy, other times it’s slow, but we’re here to make sure that everyone receives their food as fast as possible.”
Liam nodded. “So I shadow you for a few times?”
“I’ll actually have you do everything first, and then we’ll split up and I’ll help with orders.”
“I’ve never actually done this before,” he admitted. He cleared his throat. “I mean, other resorts I’ve been to have a different system.”
She put a hand on his forearm and electricity zinged her. “I’m sure you’ll be fine. You want to accelerate your training and the best way to do that is to master each area.”
He covered her hand with his, and more sparks ran around her fingers. She tried to focus on how tan he was and not how much he was affecting her. “Thank you.”
She regained her hand and her ability to speak. “It’s no problem. It’s my job to help you and make sure you’re getting the hang of this.”
For the next half an hour, Callie shadowed Liam as he delivered food to customers. He had a few questions, but mostly she guided him and helped find the numbers. One customer forgot to put the number on the lounge chair and had instead left it on the table, but other than that, the training went smoothly.
“How are you feeling?” Callie asked him when a lull hit. They stood under a bright yellow umbrella and waited for the next order.
He pushed his sunglasses to the top of his head. “I think I’m getting the hang of it,” he said, looking to her with a question on his face.
“You’re doing great.” Then she started laughing.
“What’s so funny?” he asked.
“You have two black lines on your nose.”
He rubbed at the tip of his nose, but it didn’t get rid of them.
“Here, let me help,” she said. He obliged by bending down, and she wiped the two lines away as he stood completely still under her touch. “There.” She breathed slowly, like the air between them would shatter if she took a deep breath.
“Thanks. I wonder how I got them.” His eyes never broke contact with hers.
She pulled the sunglasses from his head. “I suspect these are the culprit of your mysterious lines.” She rubbed a finger across the bridge of the nose on the glasses and turned her now black finger toward him.
He rolled his eyes. “They’re new, but it looks like they’re garbage already.”
He took them from her and held them over the garbage can before she stopped him.
“I bet all they need is a good cleaning. You’ll definitely want to have sunglasses for the rest of the day. It gets so bright out here, and when the sun sets, it’s nearly impossible to see without sunglasses.”
He sighed. “They don’t make them like they used to.”
She nodded. “They have a convenience store not too far from here th
at has a variety of sunglasses. You could go there and find your new favorite pair.”
“That’s good to know,” he said. “Maybe I’ll try that.”
“I could show you where it is after we finish for the day.”
Why did she just offer that? Sure, she was friends with the other employees but he was brand new and already affecting her breathing way too much. She needed to keep her head down and do her job and not think about how attractive this week’s new hire was. She could draw him a map to the convenience store, she didn’t need to use her free time to spend more time with him. She was about to tell him that, but her mouth didn’t form the words fast enough.
“I’d like that. Thanks, Callie.” His eyes reflected the bright sunlight and sparkled in her direction.
Chapter 5
Callie walked over to meet Liam. He’d wandered off during dinner. Not that she was keeping track of his every movement. There was something about him that intrigued her. He carried himself confidently, with an air that she hadn’t been accustomed to since working at the resort with the other employees. His direct gaze landed on her and he smiled. It was a million-dollar kind of smile—the kind that would have Hollywood scrambling to learn his secrets.
She sighed, then caught herself. There hadn’t been enough time since her breakup and her ex’s deceit to want to fall for a handsome face and a perfect smile. Michael had had a nice smile too. Michael’s eyes were mesmerizing too. She had never distrusted him, and after two years of him helping her with her finances and always turning a profit, she’d never guessed that he was playing her the entire time. The police report of him had made her sick. She’d been tangled and wound up in his lies and was left broken and unsure. She wouldn’t do that to herself again. She couldn’t trust her own judgment and she wasn’t going to think about it now.
Liam was an employee and she was helping him. She could show him the ropes without having any kind of attachment to him.