40. Sloane
T he Wolf Hotel’s grand ballroom is jam-packed with prospective seasonal workers. Still, it took us under five minutes to find Cody.
“This is crazy. I can’t believe you talked me into this!” I hiss. And not just talked me into it. We went home and changed first. “We should go.”
“I’ve never seen him in anything but a T-shirt,” Skye whispers, ignoring me.
“His mother dressed him.” We went to a handful of events—weddings, funerals, family dinners—while we were together, and she chose Cody’s outfits every time.
“How old is he again?”
“Thirty.”
“Talk about failure to launch.”
“Still, I’m sure he’ll charm the right people.
” I scan faces. Where did all these people come from?
And did they do any research about Wolf Hotels before they arrived?
Half of them look like they rolled out of bed to get here.
I’m just a spy and even I threw on my favorite power outfit—white dress pants and a pale blue blazer over a floral print tank top.
Despite my bitterness for this chain, I struggled to keep my jaw from gaping as we parked and followed the signs in.
I’ve never been in something so fancy in my life.
It oozes money, from the gold cornice details to the ornate fixtures in the restrooms. I couldn’t afford to stay here even if I wanted to.
Fuck Henry Wolf.
My stomach sinks as Jeremy appears.
He’s easy enough to spot, his lanky form towering over nearly everyone else.
He’s gripping a copy of his résumé in front of him and biting his bottom lip.
Sable brown hair that normally settles in every direction is combed and styled with gel.
Someone has ironed his white dress shirt.
If I know Jeremy at all, he’s nervous and desperate to make a memorable impression.
“I guess that settles it.” I was right, even before Rebel confirmed it. And there’s nothing I can do about it.
While waiting, Jeremy idly scans the crowd.
“Shit!” I duck behind a pillar. Did I move fast enough?
My face burns with indignation. I knew this was a stupid plan the second Skye suggested it and yet I went along with it like a fool?—
“Hey, you’re back!” Jeremy’s familiar jovial tone is suddenly within earshot, on the other side of the pillar.
I hold my breath.
“Oh, hey , Jer!” Skye’s nervous laugh carries over the buzz of voices. “Yup, I’m back.”
“I didn’t think you were comin’ today.”
“Yeah … I didn’t think so either but …” She fumbles over her words as she struggles for a response.
“Does Sloane know you’re here?”
“Nope.” She emphasizes the p in the sentence. “No idea. None whatsoever.”
I breathe a sigh of relief even as I roll my eyes. Skye’s always been a terrible liar. But at least Jeremy didn’t see me. Yet. Between him and Cody, my chances of escape are slim .
“I feel so guilty applying here of all places, given how she feels about it, but I need something stable, ya know?”
“Yeah, I get ya.”
“Dave told me he got full time. Him and Teddy both. They moved into an apartment down the street, and they’re starting Monday. I should have applied during the first round. I shouldn’t have waited. I heard Wolf’s benefits for full-time are good.”
Unease slides down my spine as I eavesdrop and Jeremy rambles. I can’t blame him for wanting more. I wish I could be the one to give that to him.
But I need to leave now, before I’m caught.
I make a break for the door.
And freeze.
Ron stands a mere twenty feet ahead and directly in my path, flipping through a pamphlet.
“You son of a …” I grit my teeth as a flurry of anger and disappointment flares. I should have made him pay for his own training.
He leans in to say something to a guy beside him, and my jaw drops. That’s Mick! And Will is beside him! They’re leaving me too? I want to scream.
Shifting from palm to pillar to palm—I swear, Gigi and I watched an I Love Lucy episode just like this once—I rush for another exit at the back of the room, veering to the left.
And run smack-first into AJ.
His eyes widen. “Sloane. Uh … What are you doing here?”
“What am I doing here?” There’s not much left to do but confront him.
“I … uh …” He stalls as he searches for a suitable lie.
“There you are,” a familiar raspy voice purrs.
I spin on my heels. “Ronan?” My attention snags on the way his white dress shirt sits unbuttoned at the collar, showing off a hint of that chiseled collarbone I saw earlier. It’s a far cry from the half-naked jogger who crawled out of the water this morning.
His gaze rakes over my shocked face. “Let’s have that meeting.”
“Meeting?” I echo dumbly.
“The one we scheduled. In my office. Now .”
It finally clicks. He’s offering me a way out of this awkward hole I’ve dug for myself. “Your office. Right.”
The corner of his mouth twitches as if with a private joke. “Follow me.” Gesturing in the opposite direction of AJ and the ballroom of applicants, he takes a few steps and then stalls, waiting.
“Uh … see you next week, Sloane?” AJ calls out.
Apparently not if he’s applying here. I toss a weak wave in his direction as I trail Ronan away. “You are literally everywhere today, aren’t you,” I hiss the moment we’re out of earshot.
“I could say the same about you.” He skims the faces of people around us, as if looking for one in particular. “And you’re welcome.”
“For what?”
“For saving your ass before you got caught spying on your ex.”
My jaw drops. “I wasn’t here to spy on him!”
“Good, because that would have been humiliating.” Ronan swipes a key card that allows us through a set of glass doors and into a large office full of Wolf employees. We quickly veer down a hall.
“Where are we going?”
“To my office, like I said.”
I follow, secretly admiring his sleek stride, the graceful, confident way he moves.
And here I thought he was appealing while half naked and sprawled on the sand but, no, no, no …
business attire Ronan is like a luxurious present waiting to be unwrapped, especially when his clothes look tailor-made for hi s body and I know what’s hiding beneath. Well, not everything .
I clear my throat to shake out the intrusive—and blush-inducing—thoughts. “What do you do here?”
“I’m the director of operations for facilities, grounds and, admin. As for what I do …” He pushes through a glass door, holding it open for me. The door shutters behind him. “I have no fucking clue.”
I snort at the unexpected candor. “How old are you?”
Ronan perches himself on the edge of his desk and crosses his arms. The material of his dress shirt stretches across his biceps, distracting me. “Is that polite to ask?”
“I think we’ve moved past polite.” Why does he seem so familiar? I’ve seen his face before, I’m sure of it.
“You’re probably right.” He studies me with amusement as he seems to consider his answer. “I’ll be twenty-seven in the fall.”
Five years younger than me. How does a person that young get promoted to a position this high? “Someone up top must have faith in you.”
“Yeah, well …” His green eyes drift over a framed photo of the Emerald Coast waters on the wall.
There isn’t much to the office—a desk, a computer, a rack holding men’s dress clothes.
Certainly no personality, and nothing that tells me who Ronan is.
“I’ve questioned Henry’s sanity more than once, believe me. ”
My eyebrows arch. “ The Henry Wolf gave you this job?”
“The one whose reputation you’re intent on smearing with your little art project? Yeah, him.”
“I have a right to protest.”
“If that’s what that is.” Ronan’s tone is dry. He’s hard to read. Is he mocking or teasing me?
“So, you guys are friends?”
“I wouldn’t call us that, no.” The sly smile curving Ronan’s lips is secretive. “Enough about me. Honestly, what were you thinking, coming here to hunt down your employees?”
“I was not …” My denial fades with a heavy sigh.
“It was a stupid idea. And not that it matters, but it wasn’t mine.
It was my twenty-one-year-old barista—oh, shit!
Give me a sec.” Skye is likely freaking out, wondering where I’ve disappeared.
I feel Ronan’s gaze on me as I quickly type out a text to her, telling her to meet me at her car.
With that done, I turn my focus back to him. “So, why’d the director of operations rescue the crazy rooster commune lady? You could have left me out there to disgrace myself.”
“Well, for one, I know why you came here. It must be a kick to your stomach to see the people you rely on abandoning you, especially at the start of your season.”
I swallow the flare of emotion, his words hitting deep. Abandoning . That’s the perfect word. “I guess I have you to thank for that.”
“I only started here yesterday, so I can’t take credit for the hires up until now.”
“Yeah, well … It’s hard to find reliable workers. Impossible when you have no idea they’re all quitting on you at once.”
“I imagine it is.” He studies me intently. There’s a different, less playful air around him now than on the beach and at the Sea Witch. Then again, he didn’t know who he was flirting with.
Silence hangs in the room.
“And the other reason?” I finally ask.
“Huh?” Wherever he just went, I seem to have interrupted his thoughts.
“The other reason you helped me. You said ‘for one,’ which usually means there’s more than one reason.”
“Right.” He smirks. “Given your reputation, I was worried you’d cause a scene, which would attract Belinda’s attention, and then we’d have an even bigger scene once she figured out who you are.”
“Who’s Belinda?”
“The general manager. I report to her, and she takes her job very seriously. She wouldn’t be above having you dragged out in handcuffs, if she didn’t claw out your eyes first.”
“Belinda sounds like fun.”
“She has her moments.” That tiny smile appears again but disappears just as quickly, as if he’s catching himself. “But it wouldn’t reflect well on anyone.”
“Especially for Wolf.”
“For anyone ,” he reiterates. “So, you’re welcome.” He lets those words hang.