Chapter 4
Sarah
“So I met your intern yesterday.”
Sarah looked up from her coffee. Carlos was grinning at her across the table at The Lagoon, their usual breakfast spot when they needed to talk without hotel staff hovering. The roosters wandered between the tables like they owned the place, which in Key West they basically did.
“And?” Sarah took another sip. The coffee was strong enough to wake the dead, which was exactly what she needed this morning.
“She had opinions about you. She thinks you’re ‘intense’.” He grinned as he used quotation marks to illustrate.
“Charming.”
“You do seem intense to people who don’t know you. But that’s the point, right?”
Sarah glared at him, shaking her head. “I don’t care what people think about me. Especially not college kids.”
“Oh, but you do,” Carlos replied, taking a bite of a Cuban sandwich.
“It is what it is. Can’t change it now.”
“I know. But you might as well make the best of it.” Carlos studied her face. “Also, she’s exactly your type, isn’t she?”
Sarah nearly choked on her coffee. “Excuse me?”
“Come on. Auburn hair, big eyes, earnest energy, looks like she camps out at the library. That’s been your type since forever.”
“Keep your voice down.”
“Nobody’s listening. And even if they were, this is Key West. You could probably make out with her on Duval Street and people would just assume you’re tourists.”
“That’s not funny.”
“It’s a little funny.” Carlos’s smile faded. “Sarah, you can’t hide forever.”
“I’m not hiding. I’m being smart.” She set down her cup. “Jonathan’s lawyers are looking for anything they can use. Any scandal, any ammunition to claim I somehow tricked Billy into marrying me. You think they wouldn’t love to find out Billy’s widow is a lesbian?”
“Billy didn’t care.”
“Billy’s dead, so he can’t exactly speak out for me. And his son is trying to paint me as a manipulative gold digger. If word gets out that our marriage was essentially a business arrangement that’s exactly the kind of thing they’ll twist.”
Carlos sighed. “I hate that you have to live like this.”
“It’s temporary. Once the court case is settled and the trust is secure, I can be whoever I want.” She picked up her coffee again. “Until then, I’m straight, devoted, completely above reproach.”
“In Key West. The gayest place in America.”
“The irony is not lost on me.”
“And your intern? The one who’s exactly your type?”
“Is an intern. A temporary employee who will be gone in a few weeks. Nothing is going to happen.”
“If you say so.”
“I do say so.” It was time to change the subject. “The first welcome party is this Saturday. I need Lizzie to help coordinate.”
“Already? She just got here.”
“She’s here to help. Might as well throw her in the deep end.” Sarah pulled out her phone and checked her schedule. “We’re doing the same format as last week. DJ, music, welcome drinks.”
“Sounds riveting.”
“It doesn’t need to be riveting. It needs to be organized and run smoothly.” She stood up, leaving cash on the table for her share. “I should get to the hotel. Lizzie is supposed to meet me at eight for orientation.”
Carlos’s phone buzzed. He looked at it and groaned. “Someone vomited in hot tub three. At this time of morning. How are they already drunk?”
“It’s spring break. They’re probably still drunk from last night.” Sarah grabbed her bag. “Good luck with that.”
“Thanks. You too. Try not to be too scary with the intern.”
“I make no promises.”
She drove back to the Carlson. The morning was already warm, the sun bright on the water. Tourists were out on their rental bikes, weaving through traffic with varying degrees of competence. She watched one nearly crash into a parked car and resisted the urge to honk.
Lizzie was waiting in the lobby when Sarah arrived. She was wearing khaki shorts and a Carlson polo that was slightly too big, her hair pulled back in a ponytail. She looked young and nervous and entirely too pretty.
Sarah pushed the thought away. “Good morning. Did Maria give you a tour of the kitchens and behind the house?”
She’d tasked Maria, her chief of catering, to keep Lizzie busy until she got back from breakfast.
“She did.”
“Good. Ready for the rest of your tour?”
“Absolutely.” Lizzie had a tablet in hand and raised it so she could see.
“We’ll start on the top floor and work our way down.” Sarah headed for the elevator. “The Carlson Seaside Resort has four floors, ninety-six rooms total, plus the rooftop terrace. We’re at ninety-two percent capacity right now, which is typical for spring break season.”
The elevator doors closed. Sarah kept her eyes on the floor indicator, very aware of how small the space was.
The mirrored walls didn’t quite allow her to ignore Lizzie completely though.
She still noticed how her chest rose and fell with each breath.
How red her lips were despite the lack of obvious lipstick.
“How long have you worked here?” Lizzie asked.
“I’ve been GM since we bought the place. Before that I was GM at one of the properties in Aspen. For like, four years.”
The doors opened on the fourth floor. Sarah stepped out, grateful for the space. “This floor is all suites. Larger rooms, better views, higher price point. We reserve several for VIP guests and long-term stays. A few of them are in our timeshare program. We have ten of those.”
She walked Lizzie through the layout.
“I love those little mermaid figures,” Lizzie pointed out as they passed one.
“Billy loved them. We have them at all our properties. He loved this place most of all though, so his favorites are all here,” Sarah said, stopping at the window at the end of the hall.
She hadn’t meant to talk about him, but sometimes, she found she simply did.
She might not have been attracted to him, but she’d loved him with all her heart.
“You must miss him.”
Sarah turned away from the window. “Every day. Let’s continue.”
They made their way down through the other floors. Sarah kept up a steady stream of information: room capacities, amenities, guest services, maintenance schedules. Lizzie took notes, asked occasional questions, and seemed to be absorbing everything.
On the ground floor, Sarah led her out to the pool area. Several guests were already claiming chairs, spreading out towels, slathering on sunscreen. The bar wasn’t open yet but would be soon.
“Key West is small,” Sarah said. “Four miles long, two miles wide. You can bike the whole island if you want.”
“Jasper mentioned that.”
Sarah nodded, ignoring the comment. “Duval Street is the main drag. That’s where most of the bars and restaurants are. You’ll be in charge of the weekly bar crawl. Chrisla did it last year, so she’ll show you the ropes.”
Lizzie smiled. She tapped on her tablet. “Noted.”
They walked back inside. Sarah’s heels clicked on the tile as they headed toward her office.
“Your main responsibility will be the Saturday welcome parties,” Sarah said. “Every week we get a new influx of spring breakers. We do an orientation party the first Saturday they’re here. DJ, music, welcome drinks. It’s a chance for them to meet other guests and get information about the island.”
“That sounds fun.”
“It’s functional. This Saturday you’ll shadow me and see how it works.
After that you’ll help coordinate.” Sarah pulled out her tablet and brought up the event calendar.
“We have parties scheduled every Saturday through the end of April. Although I know you’re just here for six weeks.
So that will be your duty, along with the bar crawl.
And of course, the weekend party on Carlson Island in two weeks. ”
“Ok.” Lizzie looked at the screen. “What kind of music do you usually do?”
“Top forty. Dance music. Whatever’s current.”
“And the welcome drinks?”
“Rum punch. Sometimes margaritas. We keep it simple.”
“What about activities? Like games or contests?”
“This isn’t a cruise ship.”
Lizzie bit her lip. “Could I make a suggestion?”
Sarah looked up. “Go ahead.”
“What if we did a TikTok dance-off? Get people involved, create some energy. And there’s this mocktail that’s gone viral recently. The Sunset Something, I can’t remember the exact name, but everyone’s making it. We could serve that alongside the regular drinks.”
Sarah stared at her. “A TikTok dance-off.”
“Yeah. It’s what people are doing. We could even encourage them to post content and tag the hotel. Free marketing.”
“I don’t do fads. Fads change every week.” Sarah’s voice was sharp. “We need something sustainable that works for the entire season. Not something that’s going to be outdated by next week.”
“TikTok isn’t a fad. It’s how people communicate.”
“It’s a platform for teenagers to do synchronized dancing and lip-sync to songs.”
“It’s also how businesses reach customers.” Lizzie’s voice was respectful but firm. “If you want to connect with spring breakers, you need to meet them where they are.”
Sarah sat her tablet down harder than necessary. She was being lectured about social media by someone who probably couldn’t remember a time before smartphones. “I appreciate your input, but I’ve been running these events for years. I know what works.”
“Of course. I didn’t mean to overstep.”
“You didn’t overstep. You suggested. I’m declining.” Sarah closed the tablet. “Anything else?”
“This party on Carlson Island, what’s that about?”
“Mid-spring break, we’re hosting a two-day event on Carlson Island. It’s a small island off of Key West, about twenty minutes by boat. We have a DJ, tents, cookouts, watersports, a spa and so on.” Sarah pulled up the schedule. “It’s one of our biggest events of the season.”
“That sounds incredible.”
“It’s a lot of work. But yes, it’s popular.
We have people signing up just for that.
” Sarah glanced at her watch. “I have a meeting with the catering staff in ten minutes. Why don’t you familiarize yourself with the details I told you and then later, we’ll meet again and I can see what you remember and what we have to go over again. ”
“Okay. Thank you for the tour.”
Sarah nodded and walked away. She made it to her office, closed the door, and leaned against it.
This was a problem.
Lizzie was smart. Observant. She asked good questions and clearly cared about doing well. She was also completely, devastatingly attractive in a way that made Sarah’s professionalism feel like tissue paper.
The TikTok suggestion had been good. Sarah hated that it was good. She didn’t want Lizzie to be competent. She wanted her to be forgettable, easy to ignore, just another intern passing through.
Instead she was standing there in a too-big polo shirt, talking about viral mocktails and social media marketing, and Sarah had spent half the tour trying not to notice the freckles on her nose or the way her eyes lit up when she was interested in something.
This was exactly why she’d told Carlos nothing was going to happen. Because she couldn’t afford for anything to happen. Not now, not with Jonathan’s lawyers circling, not when her entire future depended on maintaining her image.
Sarah sat down at her desk and pulled up her email.
Work. She needed to focus on work.
But when she closed her eyes for just a second, all she could see was auburn hair and that earnest expression and that smile.
She opened her eyes and got back to work. The internship wouldn’t last but a few weeks. And surely she could make it
How hard could it be?