“Congrats,” he said just as he spotted Jade walking towards them with a short, busty, dark-haired woman beside her. He’d seen pictures of Josie before, but seeing the pair together, he knew instantly that he’d like the woman. Jade practically glowed as she laughed at something her friend had said.
Josie was very chic. She had an extremely stylish hairstyle complete with neon blue tips. Her clothing was Miami mixed with Paris and Hollywood. Honestly, the woman looked like someone famous, someone people would give a second glance and wonder just who she was. He knew that it probably added to the woman’s bartender image.
But he wasn’t too interested in Josie. Instead, he watched Jade as she walked towards him, the way her hips swayed in the soft cotton skirt she’d changed into. The ruby red halter top she wore was professional but still screamed sex appeal. Her low heels made her slightly taller, and he instantly wanted to know what she felt like next to him while wearing them. Would her lips reach his without her having to stand on her toes?
Then Jade’s eyes moved to his, and the laughter in her eyes turned to something deeper. Something he enjoyed even more than the humor. Lust.
“Looks like I’m not the only one who made a move.” Alex elbowed him. “You and the boss lady?”
“Shut up,” he said to Alex under his breath as the ladies stopped in front of them.
“Morning,” Jade said with a smile. “Wyatt, Alex, this is Josie. She’s going to be working directly under Wyatt.”
“Josie,” Alex and Wyatt said at the same time.
“Hi,” Josie said with a smile. But when the woman gave him a longer look, he could tell that Jade had said something to her about him. Or maybe it was his imagination?
“Well, come on back. I hear you’ll be tagging along with me today. I’m slotted to work outside with Alex, but we can slip away, and I’ll show you around downstairs when we get a chance,” he said easily. “Thanks, boss.” He motioned to Jade.
Jade smiled back. “If you need anything,” she told Josie.
“Go, do boss things. I can handle this.” Josie hugged her friend.
“You’re just in time to help open up shop,” he said as a few guests started heading towards the bar.
CHAPTERELEVEN
Jade hated leaving her best friend with the man she’d just slept with last night. It hadn’t taken Josie two seconds to guess that she’d gotten lucky recently. Of course her friend knew. Hell, anyone looking at her would know.
She was practically glowing from head to toe.
The moment she’d seen Wyatt across the pool deck, her face and body had heated. It was just the newness of it, she told herself.
She was enjoying floating on that cloud until she stepped into the front lobby and heard the shouting. Abandoning her plan to get something to eat, she made her way across the lobby and quashed the argument between a guest and Carol over a missing room key.
A little over an hour later, she walked into her office with a bagel and a warm orange juice.
“Diane, let’s schedule an all-employees refresher training session,” she said when she walked in.
“For?” Diane asked over the rim of her glasses.
“Everything.” She disappeared into her office.
She nursed a new headache for the next few hours while she worked. When she received a text message from Josie to join her in the bar for a late lunch, she perked up. Not only at the chance to hang with her bestie, but to see Wyatt again.
Stepping out of her office, she was slightly surprised to find Diane arguing quietly on the phone. When she spotted Jade, however, she immediately hung up without another word to the caller.
“Problems?” she asked. The woman had been on the business phone and not her personal one.
“No, just… nothing that I can’t handle during my lunch break.” She waved her hand. “Oh, don’t forget we’re playing host to Arlene for the next month.”
Jade held in a groan. Arlene was Diane’s niece. The twenty-something social media influencer, who went by just her first name, was a pain each and every time she visited. She’d been coming to the resort for as long as Jade could remember. The woman was only a few years younger than she was herself but acted more like a spoiled teenager than anything. Every time she visited, there was a commotion. Usually with the waitstaff.
No matter how Diane tried to warn the staff, there was always one that crossed the influencer enough that they would hear about it. Usually, in the form of a screaming match with Arlene demanding the staff member be fired.
“I know,” Diane said, holding up her hands. “I’ll handle everything this time. I swear. Go, have your lunch.”
Jade wanted to argue, but she was too eager to spend some time with her friend. When she stepped outside and headed to the bar area, she ran into a group of teenagers in swim attire that were just coming inside.