3
Caleb
There’s a half-naked woman standing outside my bedroom door. While I’m taken aback, I’m not exactly angry about it.
She’s wearing a bikini, which I wouldn’t describe as skimpy, although she has plenty of curves and not enough fabric to contain them.
Her hair is in loose waves and covers her shoulders to the top of her chest, and her legs are shapely and tanned. Her brown eyes are large and round, with slightly arched eyebrows across her face.
She’s lovely.
“Who the hell are you ?” she replies to my similar question. She purses her plump red lips, and I’m distracted for a moment. “Get out before I call security.” She points to the door, but the movement only draws attention to her heaving chest.
She’s an excellent actress; I’ll give her that. I’ve had several women show up inside my hotel rooms, but none have acted outraged and pretended to be the one whose privacy was invaded. Extra points for creativity.
“Look, I appreciate the added theatrics, but they’re unnecessary. I’ve had a long flight, and I just want to get some work done before people leave the office for the day. Feel free to stop by the mini bar on the way out.”
Her mouth hangs open, and she leans forward. “Wh—Wh—” she sputters before finally making a coherent sentence. “What are you talking about? This is my room, and you’re the one who’s leaving.”
I sigh, admittedly a little dramatic, but fuck, I’m tired. I didn’t want to go on this trip, but I’d received a tip that Guerrero would be at this resort, so I booked a last-minute reservation. Or at least my assistant booked it.
I stand to put an end to this little performance when there’s a knock at the door. We stare at each other. “Are you expecting someone?” I ask, eyebrows arched.
She shakes her head.
Watching her, I walk over to the door. For a second, I wonder if this is an ambush to rob me. I glance through the peephole and breathe a little easier when there’s a man in a hotel uniform waiting on the other side.
“Excuse me, sir,” he says when I open the door. “My apologies, but there’s been a mistake. The front desk wrote the wrong room number on the lady’s card and only just realized it now.” He steps closer and stretches his neck forward. “Miss, your room is on the other side of the resort, in our garden view section. It is the standard one you booked. Please, let me take you there now.”
The woman’s face falls, and a pink blush rises on her cheeks. “Oh,” she says, and nods. “I’ll… I’ll just go get my things.” She turns around slowly, glancing at the pool just outside the bedroom doors.
It’s hard to explain why I find the notion uncomfortable. It isn’t as though she is being kicked onto the streets, but something in her expression makes it feel wrong. Or maybe I feel guilty for assuming she was some gold digger.
“It’s all right,” I say. “I’m here on business and prefer a quieter section. I’ll take that room if it’s alright with the lady.”
Her eyebrows form into a single line. “Are you sure?” she asks.
“Yes.”
She seems unconvinced, but her question reassures me that this is the right move. She wants to stay. “I’ll just get my bags.”
I haven’t unpacked yet, so it’s easy enough to switch.
She moves out of the way so I can grab my suitcase from the closet, but before I leave, she stops me. “This is the room you booked and paid for. You shouldn’t be the one leaving. I’ll take my things and go.”
“Like I said, I prefer the other area. It’s no big deal. ”
She looks me straight in the eye. Her gaze searches mine and I think she decides she can’t convince me otherwise because she sighs. “Thank you.”
I nod, grab my bag, and follow the hotel staff down the corridor.
We walk past the restaurants and toward the lobby of the hotel where he ushers me inside an elevator, and we take that to the third floor.
By this time, I’m sweating. Loosening my tie and unbuttoning my vest, I berate myself for not having taken five minutes when I arrived to change into a T-shirt, but I wasn’t exaggerating when I said I had a lot to do before the end of business day.
Finally, we get to the room, and he opens the door for me. “Thank you,” I say. “I can take it from here.”
He nods, but before he leaves, I hand him a fifty-dollar bill. “Tips are not permitted,” he says.
“I know. This isn’t a tip, but a request to keep this incident between the three of us. I don’t want anyone to give her a hard time about not being in the room she booked. Cool?”
“Cool.”
Inside my new room, I look around and smile. I don’t remember the last time I’d been inside a hotel room this small. My first time in New York City, perhaps? The tiny room was my friend’s fault. He booked the wrong one, but it was one of the best trips of my life. Who knows, if Guerrero really is here, and I can get him to sign the contract, maybe this one will be even better.
*
I finish what needs to get done for the day and head to the front desk.
As I walk past the restaurant, a woman with long brown hair catches my eye. It’s the woman from my room and she’s sitting alone reading a book and wearing a white buttoned dress. She’s by herself, which surprises me. I figured she’s traveling with friends or family.
When I reach the front desk, the receptionist smiles warmly at me. “Can you tell me which room Teoscar Guerrero is staying in?” I ask.
“Sir, I cannot tell you which room he is in. That is private information.”
I know she can’t, but she just confirmed that he is staying here. So, my intel is correct.
“No problem. I’m sure I’ll find him soon. Thank you.”
It’s eight-thirty in the evening and there’s a good chance Guerrero’s hanging out at the bar. I recall at least three at this resort. I walk over to the one near the lobby first, but a quick glance around the room confirms he isn’t here.
Next, I search the one by the restaurants. While I don’t spot Guerrero, I see the woman has moved from the dining room to the lounge with her book. It sits in her lap now as she sips a glass of wine and listens to the vocalist at the bar. Her posture is flawless, her neck relaxed yet in line with her spine. It’s not something I usually notice about a woman, but it’s striking on her.
I continue along the path toward the nightclub and nearly throw my fist in the air when I see Guerrero sitting at the bar, surrounded by a crowd of men and women.
I waste no more time. I’m here for this, so why not take my shot?
I walk right up to him with my hand extended. “Teo, how are you?”
“Mr. Consuelos, hey, what are you doing here?” He looks surprised to see me, of course, but I don’t let him wonder for long.
“Please, call me Cal. I heard you were here, and I wanted to come see you. I’d love to chat about next season.”
He smiles weakly and looks at the surrounding faces. “I’m on vacation. Let’s talk about business some other time.”
The answer was true enough. I imagine most people don’t work on vacation like I do, but I wonder if he’s only trying to avoid the discussion .
“I get it,” I say. “Maybe we can schedule something when you get back.”
“Yeah, maybe,” he says, and I think he has no intention of setting up a meeting.
I look for the server, but he’s busy, so I turn back to Guerrero. “So, how long are you here for?”
“I leave the day after tomorrow.”
“Not before we go on that Off-road Adventure,” says the girl next to him. She wears this fake pout she must think is sexy but looks rather ridiculous on her grown-ass face. But she may have inadvertently helped me out.
I raise an eyebrow. “Off-road Adventure?”
“Yeah, the one the front desk recommended. It sounds freaking awesome.”
“Yeah. I know the one,” I say. “I’m booked on that one tomorrow, too.” Of course, I haven’t booked it, but I’ll make damn sure I’m registered before I head back to my room.
“Cool,” says Guerrero. “Guess I’ll see you there.”
“Yeah, yeah. See you there.”
He turns back to his friends and laughs at one of them, putting two shot glasses in his mouth and throwing his head back. Realizing tonight is not the right time to chat him up, I walk back to the lobby and inquire about the excursion.
“What do you mean, it’s all booked?” I ask the receptionist .
“There are no more spots on the bus.”
“Well, then get me a car to follow that bus.” I know my response is terse, but she doesn’t understand how important it is that I’m on that tour tomorrow. I came all the way to St. Kitts to talk to Guerrero and I’m not missing this chance.
“You’ll have to pay for two tickets to offset the cost, sir.”
“Fine, charge me for two. I don’t care, as long as I’m there.”
She types something on her computer and then hands me two blue tickets with the words Off-road Adventure on it. “Please meet here in the lobby at 8 a.m.”
“Thank you.” I grab the tickets and head toward my room.
As I pass the lounge bar, the vocalist sings a jazz song, and she hits a low, sultry note at the same time I walk by. The woman from earlier closes her eyes on that note and slowly sways her head from side to side, pressing her lips together, absorbed by the song. Realizing I never got that drink at the bar, I stop at this one and order a Negroni.
Even with my back turned, the music still reaches me and eases my muscles. I try to think about something other than business, but work consumes me. The music helps though, and I tune out all other conversations and center my thoughts on the sound.
A feminine voice interrupts my focus. “Can I buy you a drink to say thanks?”
I hadn’t noticed her freckles earlier, but now that she’s closer, I can’t miss them splattered across her nose and cheeks.
“The drinks are included.”
“I know, but I want to thank you for your gentlemanly behavior earlier.”
No one has ever described my behavior as gentlemanly, nor have I deserved such praise in the past. I admit it was generous of me to let her have the room, but it also seemed like a dick move to watch her pack her things and leave when she obviously looked quite happy to be there.
“Like I said, it’s no problem.” Looking around, I confirm my earlier assessment but decide to ask anyway. “Are you here alone?”
She smiles. “Yes. How about you?”
“Yep. I always travel alone. I prefer it, actually.”
“Why’s that?”
“I get to do what I want.” Which is mainly work without someone telling me I should relax and enjoy the beach.
“I see,” she says, her lips pressed together and her cheeks high. The look feels as though she’s reading more into my words than I meant to say. “I’ll catch you around, then.”
She takes the words as a dismissal. It’s easy to understand why, although I didn’t mean for them to push her away. But it is for the best.
However, as she walks back to her seat, my body tenses, as though it doesn’t want her to leave. “I thought you were buying me a drink,” I say, and she stops.
She looks at me over her shoulder and raises an eyebrow. I smile and wave her back over. “I’ve never had a woman buy me a drink, and I don’t want to waste this opportunity.”
She walks back and leans her arm on the bar. “You know, I’ve never bought a man a drink before, either. I guess it’s the first time for us both.
At that moment, the bartender returns with my Negroni and the woman reaches into her purse and puts cash down on the bar.
“Ma’am, we don’t—”
“That’s not a tip. I’m paying for his drink.” She winks at him, and he looks between the both of us and I nod. Funny, I used a similar line when I tipped the bellhop. The bartender slowly takes the cash. “What can I get you?”
“I’ll have a dirty martini,” she says.
“Mmm, that’s a bold choice,” I say .
“I’m making bold choices on this trip.” She looks out at the performers and stares past them to the ocean. My eyes travel to her long eyelashes and those darn freckles on her nose.
“Here you are, Ma’am.”
“Thank you.”
The server sets the martini on the bar next to…
“You know, I never got your name.”
She takes a sip of her martini. “It’s Charlotte.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Charlotte. I’m Caleb.”
“The pleasure is all mine, and so is the pool view.”
I chuckle, a genuine laugh, one I haven’t had in a while. “Enjoy.”
She waggles her eyebrows and takes another sip.
“What brings you here, Charlotte?”
She inhales deeply and takes a bite of the olive in her martini. “This is a gift from my friends back home. They think I need to relax a little.”
I scoff. “Why do people feel the need to tell others how they should relax?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know. But they could be right. I don’t even know how to relax. I’ve tried reading, but I keep thinking about my son back home.”
“You have a son?”
“Yeah. His name is Charlie.”
“Are you married?”
“No. His father… well, he’s not in the picture. ”
“I see.”
“How about you? Are you married?”
“No. And no girlfriend, either. Although some people say I’m in a serious relationship with my job.”
“Ah, you’re one of those.”
“One of those?”
“You know… My work is so important, I have to do it all the time, so people know how important I am.”
I nearly spew the alcohol from my mouth.
“Shit. I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to say that.”
“You sure did,” I laugh.
She smirks. “Okay, maybe I did. But I never say stuff like that out loud.”
“Why now? Why me?”
She presses her lips together. “Never mind.”
I want to press her about it, but I know my tone can sometimes come across as aggressive, so I play it cool. “Alright. Maybe you’ll tell me why later.”
She takes another sip. “Maybe.”
“Do you want to take a seat, or go for a walk around the resort?”
She checks her watch and presses her lips again. “Shoot. Sorry. I’ve got to get back to my room and call my son. I left my phone there. Rain check? Tomorrow maybe?”
“Sure.”
“It was nice meeting you, Caleb. ”
She puts down her drink at the bar and walks away.
Her hips sway across the foyer. I rub my mouth, but the words escape, anyway, before I even think about what I’m about to say.
“Do you want to come on an adventure with me tomorrow?”
She stops and looks over her shoulder. “Pardon?”
“I signed up for an Off-road Adventure tour, and I have an extra ticket. Do you want to come with me?”
She bites her bottom lip and looks up for a moment before slowly nodding. “Sure. What time?”
“Everyone’s meeting at 8:00 a.m. in the lobby.”
“Sounds good. I’ll see you then.”
She walks away, looking over her shoulder once more before turning the corner.
I’ve no idea why I invited her to come when I hoped to spend the day talking to Guerrero. But despite the change in plans, I look forward to seeing her again. It’ll probably be the last time since I’ll be leaving after tomorrow.