7. Not What It Seems
Not What It Seems
"We call it a floater position. Are you familiar with the term?”
I shake my head.
“That’s okay,” my new boss is quick to assure me. “Basically, floaters go wherever an extra pair of hands is needed, which means your job description is more flexible than static. There are days you’ll be assigned to the kitchen, other days you’ll be assigned to the pool.”
She looks at me every so often while speaking, but all I can do is nod…because I’m back to being that girl.
The one who thinks it’s better to keep her mouth shut.
“Room and board are included, of course.”
This time, I manage a smile. “T-Thank you.”
“We’re the ones who should be thankful.”
Oh, she’s so nice.
Really, really nice.
But she doesn’t have to lie like that for my sake.
“It’s fine,” I say awkwardly. “I know I’m only here because—”
Don’t call him your husband!
“B-Because Mr. Caristia recommended me, and your husband’s friends with him—”
Cadence’s lovely face softens. “It’s not like that at all,” she says gently.
“While it’s true Keiran and Ruel are friends, what we’re always on the lookout for are people we can trust. And that’s why we’re thrilled to have you working here.
Ruel vouched for you, and that’s all the character reference we need. ”
Oh.
Okay.
That’s…completely unexpected, but it also makes me feel a lot better, which enables me to smile more easily as Cadence gives me a tour of Harbour Locke Country Club, aka my home-and-workplace rolled into one.
The main dining room is vast and fancy, with great views of the golf course.
The kitchen is a beehive of activity, but everyone takes the time to say hi when Cadence introduces me as the new girl.
The tennis courts are fully booked while the gym looks like a state-of-the-art training facility for professional athletes.
Our last stop is the heated indoor pool, and just like all the facilities of the club—
“It’s open 24/7,” Cadence tells me with a smile, “and staff can use it after hours.”
I smile back. I want to look grateful. And honestly, I do feel grateful. As much as anyone can feel grateful with a heart that’s still broken.
Once the tour ends, Cadence tells me I can start tomorrow, but I opt to go straight to work instead. It’s just easier. I don’t get to hurt as much when I’m busy.
H.R. has my uniforms ready when I come to pick them up, and I carry them to my room to change. It’s my first time stepping inside it—I declined Cadence’s offer to let me take a peek earlier, and…wow.
Since Cadence took pains to assure me earlier that I’m not getting any special treatment, I know this room is what everyone in the staff gets. It’s so much more spacious than I expected. Nothing like the cabins on the yacht, but compared to the house I grew up in?
This…
This feels like a brand new start.
* * *
My first job has me working at the lobby, taking inventory of all the guest amenities and listing down what needs restocking. If I understand correctly, the reading materials at the sitting areas are free to browse but not to take home, and yet…
Huh.
I’m slowly counting all the Vogue editions when I start to notice something unusual.
I’d like to think that my time with my husband him has made me smarter, if not in a bookish sense then at least in a way that makes me less likely to be one of the first to die in a horror movie.
Every other day, he’d train me on different things, all of it geared to ensure I come out of any emergency alive, and that’s why…
I can’t be mistaken.
The security in this club?
Not normal.
I mean, sure, its members are wealthy and all, but the security here makes my workplace seem more like Fort Knox than a membership-only golf course. It reminds me so much of Chadwick and the other guys charged with keeping the yacht safe, and—
“Good evening, Mr. de Laigny.”
“Welcome back, sir.”
“Good evening, sir.”
Everyone around me straightens up like soldiers seeing their commander approaching, and so I automatically do the same when I see a tall, black-haired man about to walk past me.
“Good evening…sir?”
My voice falters when he comes to a stop in front of me.
“Karyna…Francisco, isn’t it?”
I nod hesitantly.
“Has my wife shown you around?”
“Um—” Will I get into trouble if I admit to not knowing who his wife is?
“Cadence,” he murmurs.
My eyes widen when I realize what he’s saying. This man is handsome and all, but he’s also rather intimidating and dangerous-looking, and it’s just so hard to imagine him married to someone like Cadence—
Oh.
Okay.
That’s when it hits me.
Keiran de Laigny being friends with him…
The security here reminding me of Chadwick and the other guys…
And last but not the least, Cadence saying they only hire people they can trust…
It all makes sense now.
This place.
Harbour Locke Country Club.
That may be what everyone knows it to be, but underneath all the luxuries and exclusivity?
Any property or business owned by a billionaire with ties to the mafia…
It can either be the safest place in the world.
Or a gilded prison that one can only escape through death.