She chooses to take her meal in the hotel’s central courtyard. A large oval pond dominates the center lawn, and a statue of a topless lass stands in the pond’s center. A jug rests on her marble shoulder, pouring water into the pool below. The gentle sound of rushing water is enough to cover my whistling nose as I hunker behind a large king fern and watch Quinn eat.
She glances over her shoulder, clearly feeling my eyes on her. Or maybe she’s still keyed up from our earlier run down the beach. I certainly am.
It’s one of the reasons I took off once the boat docked. I always think more clearly once I’ve cleared the pipes, so I hurried back to my room to rub one out. Imagine my surprise when she was already in the lobby by the time I arrived at the hotel. My selfish needs will have to wait a bit longer. No bother.
Quinn scrapes the last of the rigatoni pasta from the plate, then sits back with a sigh as she chews. I can’t see her face, but I imagine her eyes are closed. She reaches into her pocket, thenstops herself. I assume she’s reaching for her phone, but Jim took that from her before the boat ride. He claimed it was to ensure her safety, but really, it’s to ensure ours. We can’t have her bringing hellfire down on the event before it’s even begun.
Not that I’d fucking care. I don’t even want to be here.
Quinn pushes the plate away and rises to stand. I step out from behind the plant and walk in her direction, timing it so that she practically bumps into me the moment she turns around.
Her hand flies to her chest, and she jerks with a start. “Shit, you scared me. How long have you been creeping around in the shadows?”
“I just popped down to have a check on you, lass. No creeping here. You ready to head back to your room?”
She blinks up at me and looks around. “Am I under house arrest or something? Am I not allowed to explore at all?”
“Aye, you can explore, but aren’t you tired?”
She considers this, then rubs her arms. She must be cold. Winter still drags its icy asshole over this patch of sand in the evenings and early mornings. I consider offering my jacket, but I don’t want to give the girl the wrong idea. It’s hard enough to make sure I don’t get the wrong idea myself, but I’m not one to mix business with pleasure, no matter how pleasurable the temptation might be.
“I’m not tired, but I guess I should try to get in a shift before bed.” She looks down at her sandals and wiggles her toes. “Now that I know what’s really going on, could we discuss a way to do physical jobs safely?”
“No, that’s off the table.”
She groans and stomps her foot. She’d been gearing up to begin receiving physical clients before all of this Desmond shit started. The money from the clients, plus the residual pay from the videos, would have set her up for life, she said. I never talked to Jim about it, but I said no on principle.
My principle.
“Why?” she asks. “You have me on this prison island, and you clearly know who comes and goes. Can’t your people vet my clients to be sure they aren’t Desmond?”
“Head on to your room, lass. If you want to make money, you’d best do what you can. It’s not up for debate.”
Hurt flashes in her eyes. It’s brief, almost imperceptible, but it’s there. “All this time, you really weren’t my friend, were you?”
“No, I wasn’t.”
Her head jerks back, and her eyes widen as her jaw falls open. “Jesus, you don’t even try to soften the blow. You just fucking say it.”
“Aye. I’m not in the habit of mincing my words. If you don’t want the truth, don’t ask the question.” My shoulders rise in a shrug. “I’ve been tasked with making sure you don’t end up looking like Swiss cheese. That’s my only focus. Friendships only complicate things, so you should see this as a positive.”
“Yeah, I guess.” She nibbles her lip and wiggles her toes some more. I’ve hurt her pride a bit. That much is clear by the way she won’t look me in the eye, instead choosing to micro-analyze the tiny beetle inching over the paved stones near the tips of her shoes.
I’m about to give her a nudge to start walking, but she doesn’t need it. She grabs her plate and starts toward the stone trash can standing near the lobby entrance, and I stroll along behind her. She sidesteps the tiny beetle, so I do the same.
She glances at me over her shoulder as she dumps the plastic plate and utensils into the gaping hole. “You aren’t planning to follow me all the way to my room, are you? I know the way.”
“Aye, I do. Just want to make sure you make it there okay, pal.”
“No need to call me that. We aren’t friends, remember?” She gives me the cheekiest smile I’ve ever seen, and I have to give her credit where it’s due. The blow lands.
Now she’s the one giving me the cold shoulder as we make our way to the elevator. I can’t say I much care for the tables being turned, but so long as we’re both at the same table and aware of what’s going on, I can’t be bothered. She doesn’t have to be friendly with me any more than I need to be friendly with her. And so long as I can keep enjoying the view, I have no reason to complain.
Her hips sway back and forth as she walks, each step driving her full ass into the perfect pendulous movement. It hypnotizes me as I wander behind her. She nearly catches me staring when she stops to press the elevator call button, but I avert my gaze and pay very close attention to the safety signage to the right of the doors.
“Making sure you’re familiar with the evacuation route in case of a fire?” she asks with a playful lilt to her voice.
I nod. “I’ve memorized the building’s layout already, but it never hurts to take a refresher course.”