15. Santiago
SANTIAGO
I narrowed my eyes at the big-ass cactus placed in front of me, then glanced back at Kevin, the dude from the management department.
“What do you mean I need to secure this cactus?” I snarled, a foul look on my face.
“Exactly as it sounds. It’s an exotic species that we’re going to plant in the hotel’s botanical garden, but until the gardener arrives, it needs to be secured.”
What a load of bullshit.
“Can’t you keep it inside one of the rooms, then?”
“Absolutely not. It needs air and lots of sunlight.”
“Does it?” I gave him one skeptical brow when the idiot nodded.
“Yes.” He fixed the collar of his shirt. “Ariyan specifically requested not to leave it alone, as it needs attention.”
Of course that demon was behind it, as he was behind every other insane chore I had to endure the past week. For God’s sake, that lunatic kept pulling the most deranged tasks out of his ass, from making me count all the ice cubes in the freezer to sweeping sand on the beach.
“Attention? You telling me a freaking cactus needs attention?”
Unimpressed by my sarcasm, Kevin went back to give me more instructions on how to guard this damn cactus before leaving.
At the very least, they could have provided me with shade and a place to sit.
Instead, I was left here to fry under Miami’s sun, all because some crazy man decided he wanted my life ruined.
Evil son of a bitch.
A week into this mess, and I still couldn’t remember what I did to make him loathe me.
What I did know was that I hated him just as much.
To be fair, I still thought about him in bed every night, only now, instead of dreaming about his ass, I imagined running him over with a bus, then reversing just for the fun of it.
If only getting rid of him were that easy.
To start with, I highly doubted I was the type to get away with murder, considering a mere beating had sent me to prison.
Not to mention, Ariyan didn’t seem like the type to go down without a fight.
Always walking around in those fancy clothes of his and that stupidly shiny white hair, his big head was full of evil plots.
Yeah, I was onto the bastard. He made everyone and their mother fall for his posh act, but I saw him for what he was.
A cunning little skank. To think I once found him attractive.
Fuck, just thinking about it made me shiver.
I was such a fool for him, but not anymore.
Ariyan might be ahead of me now, but sooner or later, he’d slip, and when that happened, I’d be there.
So for now, my best option was to stay calm and not let him get to me. And calm I’d be.
Calm as a motherfucking cucumber.
* * *
Fuck being calm.
Fuck this shit.
And mostly, fuck Ariyan.
Sweating my ass off in that shitty uniform and dying to take a piss, I glared at the damn cactus, beyond tempted to just kick it to the ground.
I’d been baking in the sun for the last eight hours without a single break.
If that wasn’t a blunt violation of my workers’ rights or whatever it was called, I didn’t know what was.
My throat was dry as a desert, legs sore from standing, and my sanity close to being done for.
I knew my job was to do whatever, but to guard a cactus?
A fucking cactus? Like I said, fuck this shit.
Shoving my hands into my pockets, I glanced at the cactus one last time, then turned around and went over to find the toilets.
Despite Ariyan’s explicit instructions not to leave it alone, I wasn’t about to piss myself over a plant.
If he wanted this damn shit secured, he was more than welcome to leave his air-conditioned office and come down to do it himself.
After pissing, I made a quick stop in the bar to catch up with Imani. You’d be surprised, but in between Ariyan tying me to a bed and blackmailing me, I had no time to chat with her.
“Sup, girl?”
“Girl, my ass,” she hissed while mixing a cocktail. “Where the hell have you been?”
I sat on one of the barstools. “Getting screwed.”
“What was that?”
“Nothing.” I scratched my jaw. “Anyway, what’s up?”
Finishing the drink she was making, she placed it on the edge of the bar for a waiter to take before walking toward me. “Work and all, you know.” She pulled out a new glass and filled it with Coke. “There.” She pushed it my way.
“You’re a fucking goddess.” I grabbed the ice-cold drink.
“Tell me something I don’t know.” Leaning her elbows on the bar, she stared at me as I finished my drink. Fuck, it hit the spot.
“Seriously—” I wiped my lips. “—you’re a lifesaver.”
She smiled. “Yeah, yeah… Now, tell me, what’s up with you?”
“What d’you mean?”
“You know, a while ago, you couldn’t shut up about Ariyan, and now, not even a word. Did you finally take my advice about him?”
If only.
“Yeah, I’m over him.”
She tapped my arm. “That’s a good boy.”
Down, boy.
Heat spiked through me at the memory, going straight to my cock before quickly turning into anger. Pure rage that my body still reacted to that lunatic, even when he wasn’t near me.
God damn it.
It was the same rage that gripped me almost every night after I jerked off to the thought of him. So yeah, maybe I didn’t only fantasize about running him over with a bus. But how the fuck was it possible to be turned on by a man you wanted dead?
“Your face looks better.”
“Huh?” Snapped out of my thoughts, I glared at her when she pointed at the side of her cheek.
“The bruises. They look better.”
“Oh.” I brushed a hand over my jaw. “Guess so…” A thought then occurred to me. “Say, Imani.”
“Yeah?”
Debating how to ask what I wanted, I bit my lip, fingers tapping on my empty glass. “Have you ever tried remembering something you forgot?”
“The hell you on about, babe?”
With my eyes locked on the glass, I sighed. “Someone told me something while I was dead-ass wasted, and I can’t remember what it was.”
“Tried asking them about it?”
I huffed, because yeah, I had, but the guy was a complete psycho.
“I can’t really ask him, so any suggestions?”
Finally looking at her, I hoped she’d have a legit idea because so far, I’d come up with nothing. And being unable to remember what he’d said was driving me nuts.
“Well…” She pursed her lips. “Maybe try meditation? Sometimes it helps.”
My brows creased into a frown. “Meditation?”
“Yeah. Like yoga.”
“Do I look like the type to do yoga?”
Narrowing her eyes at me, she gave me a once-over. “As a matter of fact, you do.”
“Fuck off,” I said and got up.
“Gladly,” she giggled.
“Thanks for the drink. Catch up later?”
“Sure, babe,” she said, already back at her work.
Knowing I should do the same, I walked outside, taking my sweet time.
The hotel wasn’t at full capacity, which was nice, as it meant less noise and work.
Maybe that was why I hadn’t seen Ariyan today.
Thinking about it, he could have taken the day off.
But then again, why did I care to begin with? The less I saw his face, the better.
“What the fuck?” I tensed after noticing the cactus wasn’t where I’d left it. Running over there, I hoped it was hiding behind a bush, although how could it be? It was a fucking plant.
“Fucking shit,” I hissed, seeing that it truly was gone. Brushing the sweat off my forehead, I looked around.
I’m so screwed.
Knowing better than to wait, I got my ass moving, searching for the damn cactus that hopefully hadn’t gone too far.
Running around the hotel’s garden paths, I ended up in the back parking lot just in time to see two men loading the cactus into a van.
Fuck, were they stealing it? Ready to charge at them, I took a deep breath.
“Hey, you sons of bitche—”
“Good afternoon, Mr. Rivas.”
My eyes widened, and feeling as if a motherfuckin’ ghost came to haunt me, I flinched.
If only it were a ghost.
Pressing my lips together so I wouldn’t swear at him, I slowly turned around to see Ariyan right behind me.
“What were you just about to say?” he asked, stepping forward without meeting my stare.
Rubbing the back of my head, I forced a smile. “I have no clue what you mean.”
“Is that so?” He stopped ahead of me, his face toward the van, while I stared at his back. “Because to me, it sounded like you were about to swear.” He glanced at me over his shoulder, eyes narrowing. “Didn’t I say you’d have to learn to behave?”
Gripped by rage, I clenched my fists. But knowing he was doing it on purpose, I forced down my anger and said, “They were stealing the cactus.”
“Oh, these guys?” He pointed at the men who’d just gotten into the van. “No, no, these guys are here to take it back, as I asked of them.”
“What?”
“You see, as it turns out, this one isn’t the right fit for our botanical garden.”
My jaw twitched, and I took a step forward. “So why the fuck did I watch over this cactus the past eight hours?”
“Succulent.”
“Huh?” My brows snapped together.
“You called it a cactus, but it isn’t. It’s a succulent.”
“The fuck you on about?” I grunted when he moved a bit closer.
“While all cacti are succulents, not all succulents are cacti.”
“The fuck is a cacti?”
“You don’t read a lot, do you?” He eyed me. “I assumed that in those three years you spent in prison, you would have at least picked up a book, but I guess I overestimated you. Then again, maybe you’ll do better next time.”
My temples throbbed, my body trembling with the need to hit him. “You fucking asshole—”
I shut up when he got in my space, scared he was about to pull out a knife like he did before, but instead, he stopped a little too close. Close enough that his addictive scent would be the only thing I smelled.
“Again with that dirty, dirty mouth of yours,” he tsked, his eyes locked with mine as he traveled his finger along the collar of my shirt. “It’s a shame, really. Makes me want to wash it with soap.”
Locked under his gaze, I felt like I was set on fire as heat spread through my body. It was the mix of rage and humiliation that somehow made my body weak. But not having any of it, I pushed his hand away.
“Don’t touch me,” I hissed when he smiled.
“Sure about that? You seem to enjoy it.”
Knowing he was right in a sick way, I gritted my teeth. “I don’t.”
His eyes dipped to my chest.
“You’re as good a liar as you’re disciplined.” Reaching down, he took my name tag off. “Which is not much, is it?”
Feeling the sweat dribbling down my spine, I kept my mouth shut while he pinned it back to my polo shirt, only now, it was to my right side.
“You see, unlike you, I do read books, which is why I can read you like one. Not that it’s much of a task, given how your little brain is wired like that of a caveman, but still.” He brushed his hand over my shirt, smoothing out the wrinkles. “At last, you look presentable.”
I thought that now he might step back when he cupped the back of my neck in a move so quick I didn’t see it coming and pulled me close.
“Next time, when I order you to do something, you do it. So if I tell you to guard a damn succulent—” He gripped me harder, his words hot against my ear. “—you don’t move an inch, even if it means you piss yourself.”
My eyes widened because… he’s watching my every move. Even when I thought he wasn’t around, he was lurking in the shadows and tracking me down this whole time.
Fucking psycho.
He pulled back but didn’t avert his stare from me.
“What’s with the foul look?” He patted my cheek. “You are a dog, after all, aren’t you? Pissing everywhere is in your nature.”
Swallowing hard, I frowned at him. “What do you want from me?”
“We’ve already established that.”
I shook my head. “Just tell me so we can cut the bullshit—”
“Nah-ah.” He lifted his finger before him. “You better keep that mouth of yours clean.”
Taking a deep breath, I exhaled. “Please, just tell me what I did, and I’ll fix it.”
He tilted his head, the sunlight catching the scar on his cheek and painting it gold against his pale skin.
“Unfortunately for you, not all things can be fixed.”
His words left hanging between us, thickening the air, until he checked the time on his watch.
“It seems like your shift has ended, so be a dear and clock out? I’m not willing to pay overtime for slackers.”
He moved to walk away when I reached down and grabbed his arm.
“Hey—”
His eyes jumped to mine, and while he said nothing, the look in them was of pure danger, enough to make me release my grip.
He then stepped back, brushing a hand over his sleeve as if my mere touch had contaminated him.
“Remember your place, Mr. Rivas,” he warned, voice cold. “And while you’re at it, also try remembering what got you there. It would make life much easier for you.”