Even though he really had no desire to see Mrs. Fleming again, he had a sudden urge to finish what he’d started. “All I need is some plumber’s tape. Please let me do it.”
“Your knee—”
“Is fine. My mental health is what needs attention. Please, ma’am.”
She winced and ran a hand through her hair. “You can probably find some plumber’s tape in the maintenance shed.” She opened her desk drawer and tossed him some keys. “And I’m only letting you do this because John is on vacation and I really have no one else to call.”
“Thank you…” he said, forcing himself to drop the ma’am. “I really appreciate it.”
“Go get that tape and then I want to see your butt in a lounge chair. I swear, Austin, if you reinjure your knee—”
“I won’t. I’ll be more careful.” He tossed the keys into the air and then swiped his hand out, snatching them back. It felt like a victory, even though he had to deal with that cranky woman again. At least he had something else to do.
Kay leaned back in her chair. “I noticed you chatting with Danica Jordan earlier.”
Austin was surprised, but he really shouldn’t be. There wasn’t much that went on at the resort that Kay didn’t know about. “Yeah.”
She got a pensive look on her face. “She’s going through some tough things right now. I’m glad she’s made a friend.”
A friend? Hardly. But Austin didn’t want to correct Kay. He simply nodded.
“She may not realize it, but she needs someone right now.”
He squinted at her. What was she implying? “Ma’am?”
Kay shrugged. “Just be good to her. That’s all I’m saying.”
He almost gaped at her. Did she know they were going to dinner tonight? Why did he get the feeling like Kay had superpowers? Like she could see the future or something, and knew more than everyone else. He scratched his chin to cover up his surprise. “I’ll do my best.”
She gave him a smile. “I know you will.”
Austin ducked out of her office, a strange feeling clinging to him like fine dust. He wasn’t going to befriend little miss prissy. She may be temporarily in a bad spot, but her father was Samuel Jordan, for heaven’s sake. He could get her out of anything.
Besides, she was kind of a nut. He wasn’t the type to date a woman just because she was beautiful. He wanted to be intellectually stimulated. And Danica was the last person on the Earth he would hang out with on purpose.
But he wouldn’t be mean to her. He’d never do that. He’d have dinner with her tonight, and then he’d simply avoid her. Nothing would come of it, he was sure.
He was going to ignore his growing curiosity about Danica Jordan.
Chapter 4
A light breeze blew as Dani propped open the door to the first room she was to clean. She stared at the laminated cleaning guide chained to a cart full of chemicals and supplies. Kay wanted her to clean all the rooms in the section highlighted on the map she’d given her. Before two o’clock. She tried not to despair as she tugged on the bedding. The first thing on the list was to strip the sheets off. Man, they were stubborn. Why were they tucked in so tight?
She pulled as hard as she could, but her long fingernails got in the way. The last thing she wanted to do was break a nail. Her favorite nail salon was back in Los Angeles. No one did as good of a job as Nailed It.
This sucked. Her life sucked. And later tonight she would have to watch the entire video Victoria and Steph had put up on YouTube, because she needed to know what exactly they’d caught on tape.
The thought sickened her, and she tugged harder. The sheet finally came off the corner and she fell back on her butt for the second time today. Pain shot through her, and she winced. Oh, that’s perfect. All she needed was an embarrassing reason to have to go to the doctor. She could see the headlines now. Danica Jordan Bruises her Butt while Cleaning.
As if she hadn’t already been humiliated enough. Sighing, she pulled herself up off the floor. Nothing she could do about it now. Life just had a way of pushing you down. She needed to rise above. She wadded the sheet into a ball and shoved it into the laundry bag hooked to the cart.
After twenty minutes she’d finally managed to get the new bedding onto the king-sized bed. She smoothed out the last lump on the corner. Huh. It didn’t look half-bad. She’d folded back the top like the laminated guide had shown. It looked just like the picture. She gave herself a smile of satisfaction. She could totally do this job.
But when she checked the clock she saw it was already past eleven, and she still had ten more rooms to clean. Crud. She would have to hurry it up. What she needed was some good, upbeat music. She plugged in her earbuds and selected her favorite K-pop playlist. That would get her moving.
Next on the list was scrubbing the Jacuzzi tub. Maybe if she just put some cleaner in, and started up the tub, she could let it clean itself while she wiped down the mirrors. Dani turned on the faucet and grabbed the glass cleaner.
After wiping down the glass, dusting the hard surfaces, and scrubbing the puddle of soap left on the bathroom counter, the Jacuzzi was full enough. She turned off the water and searched in her cart for something that would clean the tub while she vacuumed.
There was no cleaner specifically for Jacuzzi tubs, so she took out the spray bottle of all-purpose cleaner. But it looked diluted, and she wasn’t sure spraying it a few times would work. But on the bottom of the cart she found the refill bottle that said concentrate. Perfect. That’s what she needed.
She poured a capful in, but that didn’t look like it was enough, so she tipped the bottle. More came out than she’d planned, but she didn’t have time to deal with it. This tub would just be cleaner than the others. She turned on the jets and set out to find an outlet plug for the vacuum.
Turning up her music, she pushed the vacuum and rocked out to her favorite SuperM song. It lifted her spirits, and she was able to forget about her current situation. She sang along to the English parts of the song, even though she was sure she was off key. It didn’t matter. She was getting her job done, and actually enjoying it.
She took a step back and something white surrounded her foot. Startled, she dropped the vacuum and screamed. What in the world? Bubbles covered the floor behind her. They streamed out of the Jacuzzi, like a volcano burping up mouthfuls of foam. It piled up waist-high in some areas. Panic gripped her chest.
What had she done? She had to shut off the tub, but she couldn’t even get to it. She yanked out her earbuds, her heart pounding. More blobs of froth piled up. She had to do something, and fast, or the whole room would be covered in the stuff. She took a step toward the tub, but the foam was slick and she slipped, falling a third time on her already sore behind. Soapy bubbles covered her, surrounding her on every side, getting in her mouth and nose. A second scream ripped from her throat.
“What happened?” Austin’s deep voice cut through the foam.
Dani furiously wiped at her face, trying to get the stuff away so she could breathe. “Austin? Where are you?”
His arms lifted her up and she found herself standing in front of Austin, his eyebrows knit together in concern. “Dani?”