The sound of a phone buzzing and vibrating suddenly interrupted their post-coital bliss. It was coming from Danielle’s purse which was hanging precariously from what looked like a Polynesian fertility god statue by the entryway door. Shane lifted his body up off of Dani and rescued her purse for her. “Here you go,” he said as he brought it back to her. “Seemed like a good place to put it at the time.”
She hastily fished her phone out of her bag and silently read the text message from Allyssa.
HEADS UP. PROTESTERS AT UR HOTEL 2MORROW. VERY SORRY.
Shane knew immediately that something was wrong from Dani’s dazed expression.
“What is it Danielle? Is everything okay?”
The only thing she could think of to do at that moment was leave as quickly as possible so she started getting dressed. She knew the environmental protests were inevitable but she hadn’t mentally prepared for the possible repercussions. She felt as though she was betraying both her new boss and her new lover. She wasn’t sure she could even look him in the eyes without displaying her obvious guilt.
“Where the hell are my shoes?” she asked as she knelt down and peered under the couch.
“You’re leaving? Already? Fuck Danielle I had big plans for us this evening. We still have an entire suite to christen. What the hell happened?”
“Um……my neighbor is sick…….Auntie May. She lives all alone so I need to go see if she’s alright,” Dani cringed at her lame lie.
“Your aunt is sick? Is there anything I can do to help?” Shane retrieved both shoes from across the room and handed them to her.
“She’s not really my aunt. Everyone just calls her that. And I appreciate the offer but it’s probably not that serious. Anyway I better go.”
Shane didn’t know exactly why his lover was in such a rush to leave but he was sure she wasn’t being truthful. Her nervous eye contact was sketchy at best.
“Well at least let me ride down with you in the elevator and walk you to your car.”
“No Shane I’d prefer you stay here. Really. Thanks though. I had a great time,” she said as she kissed him quickly on the lips and scurried toward the elevator.
Shane grabbed her wrist before she could make her escape and pulled her forcefully back into his arms. “Wait a minute…..not so fast.” Then he kissed her long and hard on the mouth before releasing her again. “Let’s not wait ten years before we fuck again shall we?”
Twelve
The following morning Danielle decided to call Paolo and inform him that she would not be coming into work at all that day. She just couldn’t bring herself to be there during the protest and act like she knew nothing about it. Paolo wasn’t the least bit surprised when she told him she was taking the day off.
“Don’t tell me let me guess; you’re either too hung over or you’re still upstairs in Tanner’s room or both.” he said teasingly.
“Paolo! I’ll have you know I’m none of those things,” she replied indignantly.
“Really? Well the two suit jackets in your office appear to tell a much different story. You forgot to lock your door when you left, by the way. Evidently you were quite distracted by something…..or was it someone?”
“Oh my god our jackets. I forgot about our stupid jackets. Were they noticeable through the door window Paolo?”
“Yes but don’t worry kiddo, I removed his and put it in my own office.”
Danielle paused for a bit before her next question. “Paolo why do I have a sneaking suspicion you tried on Shane’s sportcoat?”
“Well that sure sounds like malicious accusery to me,” he said with exaggerated indignation.
“First of all Paolo, I don’t think accusery is even a word and secondly you didn’t answer my question. You tried on Shane’s jacket didn’t you?”
“Oh Danielle of course I did. How could I resist trying on a $7,000 Benito Bugatti sportcoat? I’m only human.”
“$7,000?! Is that what that thing costs? Well how did it look on you?”
“It cost at least that much and it looked ridiculous on me. I was drowning in it of course, like a little kid trying on his dad’s clothes. Shane Tanner might be a couple sizes larger than I am.”
“He is impressively large….” Danielle said as an image of Shane’s penis flew into her head. Just thinking about his sexual skills brought an ear-to-ear smile to her face. Yesterday’s romp in the hay with him was exactly what she had been needing.
“Earth to Danielle? Please bring your perverted mind back to our conversation for a minute. May I ask why you’re not coming in today or is it personal and confidential?”
Dani reconsidered keeping the protest info to herself and not warning Paolo. He was more than just a work colleague; he was her trusted friend. She decided to give him the heads up and swear him to secrecy about telling their new boss. After all, having sex with Shane did not automatically mean she was on the same side as a possible environmental enemy.
“Thanks for warning me Dani. I really appreciate it. I’ve been receiving some emails from some activist groups lately since Tanner came on board, but naturally they didn’t disclose any actual protest dates to me. You have my word that I won’t thwart them in any way and I’ll say nothing to you know who. Enjoy your day off.”
After the call Danielle wondered if enjoying her day off was at all possible. Her anxiety was increasing in direct proportion to her rising conflict of interest with her job. Admittedly the overall conflict was nothing new. Since it was her job to increase the hotel’s occupancy rate, it was a no-brainer that more guests consequently meant more island resources needed and more waste that had to go someplace. But Dani learned to accept the constant ethical tug-of-war she had with her conscience every single day that she came to work at the resort. Now she could feel that conflict growing as Tanner International’s borderline criminal environmental record and reputation was becoming clearer to her. And then there was the tiny little matter of sleeping with Shane Tanner. Talk about conflicting! The whole thing was getting a bit too uncomfortable for her.
Danielle surmised that if Paolo was getting emails from environmental groups then Shane most certainly was too, and that couldn’t possibly set well with him. She shuttered to think about how he would react to the protesters. She knew she was going to have to level with him about the full scope of her environmental activism eventually and wondered what he’d expect her to do then. She wasn’t about to suddenly abandon her deep commitment to the islands just because she worked for Tanner International. In fact if the rumors about the company were true, her beloved Hawaii was going to need all the watchdog volunteers it could get to keep a close eye on the company’s business practices. Danielle scoffed at the obvious contradiction: How was she going to be an ecological watchdog while she was Shane Tanner’s sex kitten?
That afternoon Shane stood on the balcony of his suite looking down on the large group of peaceful but clearly angry protesters. His father had warned him (ad nauseam) about the deep love the Hawaiian people had for their islands. They had always been extremely vocal and fiercely opposed to any form of Tanner development there. The island chain’s pollution and environmental regulations were some of the most stringent and costly in the world which was the primary reason the company had refrained from expanding in that state over the years. And as Shane was witnessing first hand, the Hawaiian conservation groups were a huge, annoying pain in the ass.