Chapter 31 Zoe
ZOE
“Zoe!” a woman’s voice called. Even if I hadn’t recognized Vivian’s voice, I would’ve known it wasn’t Mrs. Greer. She never sounded happy to see me.
“Hi Vivian.” I admired the head of the concierge team. She was knowledgeable and efficient—that was her job. But she managed it while still being open and friendly. Real friendliness, not just the polite friendliness staff often used with guests.
“I’d ask how your Christmas was, but I know it was just like the rest of ours—busy being here.”
I nodded. In my case, that was a good thing. Even though Mrs. Greer hadn’t noticed, I’d learned a lot during my time here. And not just about bedroom activities that involved three hot men.
Vivian cocked her head at me. Her navy suit was pristine… both right for the season and the grandeur of the resort. “I’ve been hearing some very interesting things about you.”
Uh-oh. Hopefully she didn’t mean the interesting things that had been happening to me recently.
“No need to be afraid, it’s all good.”
Apparently, she’d mistaken the embarrassed flush on my face for worry. “Who did you hear these things from?”
“The staff. And the guests. Everyone’s very impressed with your work here. Pam and Dennis sing your praises. And Mrs. Worthington made a special point to tell me how well you handled her hot-headed husband.”
It took me a moment to recall what she was referring to, but then I smiled.
I’d been passing by the game room the other night when I heard shouting—or at least as much shouting as two old men with oxygen tanks could do.
They’d been playing poker and got into an argument.
By the time I’d arrived, they’d looked like they were ready to ram each other with their walkers in a gladiator-style death match.
“I’m glad I was able to help,” I said modestly.
Vivian grinned. “I’m glad for their wives’ sake. Don’t tell anyone, but personally, I wouldn’t have minded if those two old farts had knocked each other’s remaining teeth out.”
I bit back a smile. “It does seem like a lot of the guests here have extra time on their hands to get into trouble.” Like that jerk Mr. Hartley, who’d been such a pain in my ass until Kai had given him a taste of his own medicine.
“They’re powerful, entitled, and filthy rich. It goes with the territory. At any rate, I just wanted to pass along the compliments. I do that for all the staff when I can.”
“Thank you. It means a lot.” A flash of dark brown hair caught my eye, and I saw Asher standing by the fireplace on the other side of the lobby. He had on his white chef’s jacket, which looked good on him. Very good. Was he waiting for me?
“You’re welcome.” Vivian strode back to reception, but a second later, I caught up with her, doing some quick thinking.
“Um, Vivian?”
“Yes?”
“Do you think… would it be possible for you to write a report about my internship that I can take back to school?”
Surprise and then understanding flashed quickly across her face. “You mean instead of Helen Greer?”
“Or in addition to.” My heart beat rapidly, but I tried to project the same sort of outward calmness that she did.
Then her brow wrinkled with sympathy, and my heart sank even before she spoke.
“I wish I could, Zoe. You’ve done an excellent job here. But that’s Helen’s domain. I need to maintain a pleasant working relationship with her, and that would be stepping on her toes.”
“I understand.” I fought to keep my voice steady.
“I suppose that feels a tad cowardly to a young woman like you, but I’m very happy with my position here.” She gestured at the mountains outside the window. “I can’t do anything to jeopardize it.”
“I understand. Really, I do.”
“However, please feel free to list me as a professional reference when you’re applying for jobs.”
That shocked me for just a moment. “Thank you. I really appreciate that.”
She smiled and took her leave. I stared at the marble floor as she walked away. Having her as a reference would be a real plus—but it didn’t matter if I couldn’t get a positive internship report. Without the report, I wouldn’t graduate.
It just seemed so unfair that four years of hard work hung in the balance. More than that… this had been my career path since middle school, and I’d worked damn hard to get here.
“Hey.”
I looked up to find Asher in front of me. I blinked rapidly in case any tears had collected on my lower lashes. “Hi.”
“I’m sorry about that,” he said.
It was clear what he meant, and my heart sank further. He was the last one I wanted to witness my professional failures. Not when he had such a bright future in front of him. “Thanks.” I turned and left, but he came with me.
“I know what it’s like not to be recognized for your work,” he said softly.
That almost made me laugh. “You have a million fans who sing your praises.”
He shrugged. “Fans, not the owners of Michelin-starred restaurants. And don’t forget, I didn’t even get those fans until I took my shirt off. Before that, no one was interested in my channel.”
He was trying to be kind, which was a rarity, but his words only hurt worse. For some reason, I kept going back to view his videos—and the thirsty comments underneath. The things women said about him—the things they wanted him to do to them—made me uncomfortable in a way I couldn’t quite identify.
But maybe that was just because Asher and I had an unpleasant history, though I hadn’t even remembered giving him that bad review until he’d brought it up.
“Zoe? Talk to me. We’re both in the same industry. We’re in the same situation.”
“Then where are my million fans?”
He gave a soft smile, not snapping back. “From what I’ve seen, you have quite a few at this resort.”
Had he heard all of Vivian said to me? If so, that made me feel worse. Yes, she’d complimented me, but she’d also turned me down. And Asher was the last person I wanted to witness that.
“It doesn’t matter,” I said, as briskly as I could. I gave him a small smile to reinforce my words. “I’ll see you later.”
He caught my arm. “Just talk to me.”
“Stop trying to be all sympathetic. It’s not your strong suit.”
“You mean unlike Landon.”
“Whatever.” It wasn’t my best comeback, but I walked away with my head held as high as possible. As soon as I was out of sight of the lobby, I ducked into the cloakroom. Just to clear my head and get a little time alone.
Except that Asher followed me right inside.
“What?” I didn’t need a shoulder to cry on, and if I had, it wouldn’t be his.
He wasn’t the arrogant prick I’d thought at the beginning of winter break, but there was still some kind of tension between us.
I’d enjoyed my encounter with him—with all three of them—but there had been something a little disconcerting about being so close to him, our bodies entwined while we made intense eye contact.
But that wasn’t what I wanted to be thinking about at the moment. “The lighting’s not right in here.”
He glanced up automatically before giving me a confused look. “What?”
“It’s too dark, in case you came in here to make a shirtless chef cooks in a cloakroom video.”
He gave a low whistle. “You’re upset, and you’re lashing out. I told you we were a lot alike.”
“You said we were in the same situation.” I took a step back, but despite the fact that we were surrounded by tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of outwear, the room wasn’t very big.
“Same difference. Hey, if you’re giving me advice, maybe you can keep doing so once we get back to Langley. I could use a production assistant.”
Crap, he knew how to push my buttons. “Sure. I can answer all your fan mail. Tell me, have any of those women figured out a way to send you their panties through the internet?”
As soon as I said the words, I wanted to take them back. If women sent him panties, nudes, or worse, I didn’t want to know about it.
Asher held up his hands as if showing that he came in peace. “I just wanted to see if you were okay. Clearly you are, since you’ve got enough spirit left to bite my head off.”
He walked to the door, and I turned away. I hadn’t wanted to pick a fight with him—again. I just wanted things to be different.
After a moment, I looked up. Asher was still there, turning the doorknob, making it rattle.
“Need one of your adoring fans to teach you how to open a door?”
“It’s locked.” He sounded puzzled.
“What do you mean it’s locked?” I marched over and tried to grasp the doorknob, but he wouldn’t stop turning and pulling on it.
“I mean, it won’t open. We’ve been locked in again.”
Realization dawned on me. “By the twins? Why this time?”
“I don’t know.” He raked his fingers through his hair, making it stick up.
I took a step back, frustrated. “At least we’re not naked in a sauna this time.”
His head cocked to the side, and his normal, arrogant manner returning. “To me, that’s not the plus you seem to think it is.”
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t have my phone on me. Do you?”
“No, I lent it to Kai.”
“Well… this sucks.”
He nodded. At least we were in agreement about that.