As I entered the staircase I stopped abruptly, holding the door so it didn’t slam shut behind me. I could hear a man on the phone in the stairwell somewhere above me. He didn’t sound pleased at all and the voice on the other end was speaking, more like yelling, in another language. The man only apologized again and again. “Sorry, sir. Sorry, sir.”
The voice sounded familiar. Could it be the bellhop who brought my bags to my room when I arrived? Or possibly the man who drove me and Burke to the resort. There was only one Tabiqian man’s voice that I could cross off the list. It wasn’t Florraz. He never would be so…tolerant and apologetic if someone had been speaking to him like that. He’s more likely to be the one doing the yelling.
I wanted to peer over the railing and look up to see if I could get a peek at what he looked like, but I didn’t want to get caught. When I could no longer hear his voice, I eased the door open again and left the stairway.
In a very low voice I asked, “Did you hear that?”
Burked replied, “Yes. I’m having the cameras pulled up in that area so we can see who it was.” I waited a moment and slowly made my way down the hallway to the elevator. As I pressed the button Burke added, “It’s Mikal, Florraz’s personal assistant.”
I wanted to ask if he thought it was Jasper on the other end, but the elevator doors opened, and I didn’t want to look as though I was talking to myself. For now, I would assume it was.
The couple in the elevator were so in love that neither of them even noticed I had entered. They were pushed off to one side in a passionate embrace. I think you two might want to go back to your room and finish what you’re starting.
Biting my bottom lip, I realized I sounded…old. This was a vacation resort. Lovers came here to be free and rekindle the spark. These two practically had a blowtorch going, and I hated to admit it, but part of me was jealous. Lately, all I’d done was work or look for work. And before that I was deployed overseas. No spicy action happening there, at least not for me.
That had been a choice. The last thing I had wanted was to hook up with a fellow Marine and bring a distraction into the field that could be deadly. Nothing’s changed for me, except location.
Thankfully, the doors opened, and I stepped out. The couple didn’t follow, and their moans were muffled by the closing of the doors behind me. That was enough of a distraction that I almost forgot why I had come to the lobby in the first place. But sure enough, Florraz was there and caught sight of me right away. He beckoned me to join him.
As I approached, I could feel his eyes roaming over me, head to toe. And when I stood before him, he said in a low, deep voice, “You look…”
Pretty? Nice? Lovely?
“Approachable. Good. Now, that woman far off to your left, wearing the red and white dress, is Ziva. When you see me speaking to her, I want you to come over and ask me if I have a moment to discuss something.”
“Okay.” That was simple enough. It would provide him the chance to introduce me to her.
Florraz nodded and walked away to mingle with others. I was left to stand off to one side and try to watch him without being caught. That didn’t work out as well as I planned. Instead, Robin appeared beside me and whispered, “Don’t waste your time. He hates Americans.”
I didn’t want to strike up a conversation with her for fear that Florraz would catch us speaking. So I said flatly, “Don’t care, as long as he signs my paycheck.” Then with a twist of my gut I added, “Why else would anyone come here?”
Robin sighed. “Well, maybe you’re one American he won’t despise.” She walked away, and I knew that our immediately friendly connection had vanished. Great. Now Burke’s fiancée thinks I’m a complete bitch.
“I’m sure I’ll hear about that tonight,” Burke said. “But quick thinking. Good job.”
Being nasty to people I like didn’t feel good at all. Hopefully, one day I’d be able to explain and apologize to Robin. But if she was marrying James Burke, she must have some idea what he did for the Hendersons.
Shifting my focus, I noticed Florraz had finally made his way to Ziva. This was my cue. A few seconds later I headed in their direction, but Mikal stepped in my way.
“Miss LaHouse. I’m Mikal. So sorry that I couldn’t meet you when you first arrived. I hope you have found everything to your liking.”
I peered around him and saw that Florraz was still talking to Ziva. I didn’t have time to chitchat with Mikal right now. “It’s fine. Mr. Florraz updated me on everything I need to know. Now if you’ll excuse me.”
As I went to walk around Mikal, he grabbed hold of my bicep and stopped me. “I am his personal assistant. Whatever you need, you should come to me and not disturb him with trivial matters.”
I looked down at his hand around my arm and tugged myself free. “I don’t have any trivial issues. Now if you don’t mind, I was on my way to speak to Mr. Florraz.”
Before he had a chance to respond, I dashed through the crowd and approached Jasper and Ziva. Ziva smiled at me and said, “Hello.”
“Hi.” Then I turned to Jasper and asked just as he instructed, “Mr. Florraz, may I speak to you in private for a moment?”
He turned to me and snapped, “Can you not see that I am speaking to someone right now? Whatever it is can wait until morning.”
My jaw dropped, and even if I wanted to say something, I couldn’t. Nodding, I walked away, totally baffled about what just occurred.
“That was fucked up,” I heard Burke say.
What isn’t?