Chapter 8 Mattie #2
"Dave said the explosions triggered something much worse. Something they had to take care of personally." Petrov shrugged. "They refused to say anything more, and I didn't push. I had more important things to ask about."
"Like my new job," Mattie said.
"Precisely." Petrov smiled. "I told them we needed help in the lab, and that having an assistant to handle some of the routine tasks would make us at least twenty percent more efficient.
I may have exaggerated our workload a little, but people like it when you throw percentages of improvement at them. "
"What did they say?"
"They said it was obvious we should have you. Didn't even hesitate." Petrov's smile widened. "Dave said he will find your name in the records and update your position to list you as working in the lab."
"Just like that?" Mattie could hardly believe it.
"Just like that. I asked if we needed to notify the head of housekeeping at the hotel, and they said you could handle it yourself."
That was a shame because the head of housekeeping was a scary woman, and Mattie would have preferred for her to get the news through an official channel.
Dimitri reached across the table and took her hand. "This is huge. I'm so happy."
"So am I." Mattie squeezed his hand.
Her eyes were stinging with tears of relief that she refused to let fall.
"A toast," Petrov announced, raising his vodka glass. "To our newest team member. May she bring us luck, efficiency, and fewer headaches than the last assistant we had."
"You had an assistant before?" Mattie asked.
"Not on this island."
They clinked their glasses together and drank. The cocktail burned pleasantly going down, spreading warmth through Mattie's chest.
She was going to be okay. For the first time since arriving on this island, she actually believed it.
"I need to go tell people," she said, setting down her empty glass. "Anil, Nuri, my roommates. They need to know I'm leaving."
"I'll come with you," Dimitri offered.
Mattie opened her mouth to say that she could handle it herself, that she didn't need an escort just to deliver some news.
But then she remembered Tarik's face, the cold cruelty in his eyes, and she remembered the long corridors of the staff section of the hotel, and all the dark corners where anyone could be waiting.
Better a careful coward than a dead fool.
"Let's go," she said. "The sooner I say my goodbyes, the sooner I can be out of here."
Dimitri rose to his feet and tucked his notebook and tablet into his bag.
"Go." Petrov waved them off with his vodka glass. "I will stay here and finish my drink. Maybe two drinks. It has been a long day."
Mattie paused to say goodbye to Anil first.
"Congratulations." He offered her his hand. "And don't be a stranger. Come with your new bosses for a drink. It's on the house."
"I will." She shook his hand and then leaned to kiss his cheek. "Thank you. And don't forget about Nadia."
"I won't."
"Good night, Anil."
When she and Dimitri stepped into the corridor that led deeper into the hotel complex, Mattie instinctively gravitated closer to him, but it wasn't because of the attraction. She wished it were. It was fear.
He didn't seem to mind, lifting his arm to wrap it around her shoulders, but then rethinking his move and tucking his hand into his pocket. "Just a little longer," he muttered.
She knew what he meant. Soon, they wouldn't need to pretend to be only acquaintances. In the lab, they could hold hands and kiss and do whatever they wanted as long as they didn't cross the line of propriety.
"Where to first?" Dimitri asked.
"Nuri, the head of housekeeping. I need to tell her that I was reassigned."
"Is she the one who's been giving your roommate a hard time?"
Mattie nodded. "Yeah. Nuri has been here for decades and thinks that she's acquired ownership rights."
"The slave who became king," Dimitri said.
"Something like that." Mattie sighed. "I feel bad about leaving them, but it's not as if I'm any help to them, and with Tarik out there, I really shouldn't stay where he can find me."
Dimitri threw caution to the wind, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close for a moment. "You can't help anyone if you're not safe yourself."
They found Nuri in her office.
She looked up as they entered, her expression shifting from neutral to suspicious. "What do you want?" she asked Mattie, ignoring Dimitri entirely.
"I'm being transferred to the laboratory," Mattie said. "I'm going to be working as an assistant to the scientists there."
Nuri's eyebrows rose. "Says who?"
It was on the tip of Mattie's tongue to say Dave, but then she reconsidered. Not many knew about the role of the enhanced soldiers in the running of the island, and if she said that they had approved her transfer, Nuri wouldn't believe her.
"Doctor Petrov spoke with someone in management and asked for me to be transferred to his lab. If you check the records, you'll see that I'm no longer listed as part of the hotel staff."
"I see." Nuri pulled out a tablet and began tapping at the screen. "When does this take effect?"
"Immediately. I just need to collect my things from my room. I will be staying at the lab building."
Nuri made a note on her tablet. "Fine. I'll update the housing records. Make sure you return your uniforms."
"I will."
And that was it. No argument, no questions, no attempt to keep her. Mattie wasn't sure whether to be relieved or offended that her departure mattered so little.
There wasn't much in her room to collect other than the uniforms she needed to return. She'd gotten a small allowance during the months she'd been working here, and she'd bought a few articles of clothing in the island store. That was all she had to her name.
When she entered her soon-to-be former room, only two of her roommates were there. One was Alina, who didn't seem to care that Mattie was leaving, and Nadia, who burst into tears.
"Why are you leaving?" Nadia's voice was thick with emotion. "I'm going to miss you so much."
Mattie hugged her tightly. "I'm going to miss you too. But this is good news. It's a promotion."
Nadia sniffled and pulled back, wiping her eyes. "I'm happy for you."
"I spoke to Anil, the bartender, about you. He will need someone to replace me, and I suggested you."
Nadia's eyes went wide. "The bar? But Nuri would never—"
"If Anil requests you, Nuri will agree, and it will be sweet revenge. Don't you think? The woman she was tormenting for no good reason was chosen for the bar where looks are important." Mattie squeezed her hands. "Anil is a good man. He'll treat you well."
Nadia managed a watery smile. "Thank you. It was very sweet of you to think to suggest me."
They hugged once more, and then Mattie gathered the last of her belongings, returned the uniforms to the storage room, and walked out of the staff quarters.