Chapter 8
Maddox never cared much for swimming.
At least not since they’d been a small child.
Back then, they’d loved going to the pool or on occasional family trips to the lake.
But all that had changed in their teen and preteen years when they’d grown uncomfortable in their body in ways they wouldn’t be able to fully express or understand until years later.
All they’d known back then was that sometimes, when their body was exposed, like when they wore conventional “girly” swimwear, they’d feel like their skin was on fire.
Growing up and making their own choices about how they presented themself and, more importantly, gaining knowledge and language for what they experienced had gone a long way in helping them make peace with their body. But they’d still steered clear of swimming.
Until now.
They’d bought a unisuit when their favorite gender-inclusive online retailer had an end-of-summer sale, but they hadn’t had a chance to try it out. Now they stood in front of the full-length mirror in their room, unable to stop grinning at their reflection.
The suit was flexible and felt good against their skin. It had a long, sleek silhouette with a high neckline and a compression top that was sleeveless, showing off the shoulders and arms made strong from years of doing odd jobs around the resort.
Maddox glanced at their alarm clock. It was seven am: thirty minutes before the day’s shift officially began. So what if that wasn’t much time? They had to try this out.
In a few minutes, they were in the enclosed area of the resort’s heated pool. After checking no one was around, they let out a whoop, made a wild dash to the edge, and jumped in cannonball style.
They hit the water with a terrific splash, and suddenly they were nine years old again. They giggled and whooped some more as they thrashed around in the water, exuberant to feel it completely immerse their body.
It had been so long.
Fortunately, their mom had insisted they take swimming lessons at the YMCA several summers in a row when they’d been in grade school. Could they still remember the strokes?
Tentatively and awkwardly at first, they started swimming freestyle until the motions came back to them.
Their muscles would probably pay for the repetitive front crawl movement they weren’t used to, but Maddox didn’t care.
They made it to one end of the pool and swished around to try a proper lap when they caught sight of a figure standing by the side of the pool.
They blinked away the chlorinated water stinging their eyes and stared.
Denise Farrington.
She was already dressed for the day in another striking business suit and heels that probably weren’t the best idea for standing around by a swimming pool, but Maddox wasn’t going to point that out.
The sun had just been rising when Maddox had walked over, and few rays were shining through the pool’s glass enclosure yet, but Ms. Farrington wore her fancy designer sunglasses anyway.
She was watching Maddox through them, probably judging their swimming pool shenanigans, but they didn’t care.
The oddly intense energy that had radiated off her the day before was still there as she regarded them, and Maddox was intrigued.
There was just something about a curvy woman in a power suit.
Maddox swam to the side of the pool closest to Ms. Farrington and tread water. They smiled up at her. “Good morning!”
When she didn’t answer, they lowered their voice to a playful drawl. “Care to join me?”
Ms. Farrington’s eyebrows shot up, and Maddox’s smile widened. They had no idea why they’d said that, but it had been worth it to poke at the woman’s cool exterior.
“I’m here to discuss the conference,” she said, emphasizing the last word as if reminding Maddox that she was here on business.
Internally, they shook their head at the woman. She had to be a special brand of entitled to get up this early and seek them out here at the pool to discuss the conference before 8 am. But that was okay. They’d dealt with entitled guests before.
“Sounds good!” Maddox chirped.
Denise Farrington was not the type of guest you chirped at.
If they hadn’t known this already, the scowl that furrowed her pretty sculpted eyebrows would have been a dead giveaway.
Why they were letting the fun of irritating Ms. Farrington override their years of customer service experience, and why they found it fun in the first place were all a mystery Maddox would have to save for another time, though.
Without another word, they lifted themself out of the pool. Ms. Farrington took a quick step back at the suddenness of Maddox’s exit, as if worried she’d get splashed. When her heel wobbled, Maddox stepped forward to steady her.
“Careful there. Unless you want to change your mind about that swim after all,” they said with a grin.
Ms. Farrington’s breath hitched as Maddox’s hand closed around her arm. They were standing close together. Close enough for her fragrance to reach Maddox’s senses.
Lavender. Soothing, soft, and not what they would have expected.
Maddox studied Ms. Farrington’s face. With her in heels and Maddox barefoot, they were almost eye to eye, but those damned sunglasses made her hard to read. Was she shocked by the touch? Repulsed? Why were they still standing there?
Maddox dropped their hand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get you wet.”
Ms. Farrington’s jaw clenched abruptly, and Maddox’s brain caught up with their mouth. Great choice of words. They really needed to get a handle on this situation.
Stepping back, Maddox gestured at one of the poolside tables and chairs. “If you’d like to take a seat, we can talk here.”
They grabbed their towel off the chair at the table they’d indicated, and Ms. Farrington sat down.
As Maddox dried off, they were momentarily preoccupied with the swimsuit. The suit still felt great after getting out of the water, and so did they. They rubbed the towel over their arms, shoulders, and chest, savoring the simple joy of feeling at ease in their skin like this.
A faint sound a few feet away startled them, and they looked up to see Ms. Farrington staring straight at them. Maddox’s skin prickled. She’d been watching them towel off.
Ms. Farrington looked away. Her mouth was set in its usual firm line.
“Uh, if you don’t mind waiting a moment, I’m just gonna grab my clothes and my notes for the conference.”
“Yes, fine,” she said shortly, her expression unchanging.
Maddox blew out a breath. Okay, then.
They hurried to their room. Since they were mostly dry by now, they just threw on their slacks and resort polo over their swimsuit and combed their damp hair. After locating the folder with their notes on the FunDaze conference, they headed outside.
On the way back to the pool building, they stopped by the kitchen and asked for a breakfast order to be brought out. It was time to quit messing around and be the professional host they were supposed to be.
Back at the pool, Ms. Farrington was still seated at the table, looking at her phone.
The sunglasses were gone now, and a small smile played across her lips as she read the screen.
It occurred to Maddox that it was the first smile they’d seen from her since the moment they’d shaken her hand yesterday. It suited her.
They approached the table and, all too soon, the smile was gone.
“I’m sorry for keeping you waiting,” Maddox said as they set their notes down on the table. Ms. Farrington scooted closer to the table as if to examine the notes, but she didn’t say anything.
“Ms. Farrington, may I ask if you’ve decided for certain that you’d like to move forward with holding your conference here?”
Her eyes snapped to Maddox and narrowed. “How about you finish telling me about the arrangements first? Unless there’s some reason you object to my making an informed decision?”
Maddox resisted the urge to mirror her expression and gave their best service-worker smile instead. “Not at all.”
Mark from the kitchen arrived then with a tray of pastries, fruit, coffee, and tea. Maddox pulled over another table and helped him set everything out.
They looked at Ms. Farrington. “I thought you might like some breakfast while we talk. The fruit and preserves are all made locally.”
“Thanks,” Ms. Farrington muttered. “Now, could we get on with this?”
Mark raised his eyebrows at Maddox from behind Ms. Farrington’s back. They sent him a small shrug and an eye-roll while Ms. Farrington focused on the papers. “Thanks, Mark.”
He gave them a commiserating smile and a two-finger salute before strolling away.
For the next twenty minutes, Maddox reviewed the figures: number of guests, arrival times, and the costs they’d coordinated with Shelby from FunDaze weeks ago.
They didn’t hide the fact that the company had already paid deposit money to the resort for the event since it was literally happening in a few days, but they didn’t emphasize it either.
They knew Oliver’s business practices well enough to realize that if Farrington pulled out of the agreement for whatever reason, he’d probably refund most of the money.
Still, Maddox absolutely didn’t want it to come to that.
When they finished talking, Ms. Farrington looked over the paperwork herself while polishing off her second cup of tea. She gave a satisfied nod. “Everything looks to be in good order.”
Maddox blew out a quiet sigh of relief. Not exactly glowing praise, but at least it seemed like she was willing to be reasonable now.
“I’m glad you think so. We’re committed to making this event a success.” Maddox leaned their elbows on the table. “I want you to have complete peace of mind about all of this. Is there anything else I can do?”
Ms. Farrington’s spine stiffened at the question. Her gaze snapped to Maddox’s. Those hazel eyes seemed to search theirs for a moment before she looked away. “Yes. Can you tell me if there’s another manager I can work with on this moving forward?”