Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 91490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
“Yeah, that would be a bummer.”
She laughs, though I’m not quite sure why.
I don’t want her to leave, but we barely know each other. I can’t expect her to stay. The cat follows her into the cabin, and all I can do is sit here and wonder how the fuck I almost kissed a near-perfect stranger, and why I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop myself next time.
TEN
Rosey
As Eden, Akira, and I file out of the locker room, ready to meet Hazel in the lobby for our second day of training at the Colorado Club, excitement fizzes across my skin. I hope I see Byron again after work. Less than a week ago, I was supposed to be walking down the aisle with another man. I know it doesn’t make sense that I’m almost kissing someone else. Not just almost kissing him, but thinking about him, dreaming about him, seeing him in strangers at work.
It's just more evidence that Frank was never meant to be my future. In the two years we were dating, I never felt butterflies in my stomach the way I do when I see Byron. I have a list of questions I want to ask Byron, and I keep thinking up new ones. I never had that urgency to know Frank. Maybe whatever I’m feeling toward Byron is nothing more than childlike infatuation. But it feels good. It makes me feel alive. I’m excited for the new day. The fact that I never had that with Frank must mean I made the right decision by not marrying him.
“We’re going to start off by touring the swimming, gym, and spa facilities,” Hazel says. “We saw the Eat Well Café yesterday, but I want to get into the non-F-and-B aspects of the area. You’ll notice we don’t just say sports or even indoor sports. Indoor sports are divided into two areas. First swimming, gym, and spa, which are all on level one, and then the basketball, squash, racquetball, indoor tennis, and pickleball, which are all located on the basement level.”
“Is spa a sport?” Akira asks. She does it in such a gently inquisitive way, it’s like she was born a diplomat.
“It depends how seriously you take your relaxation,” Hazel says. She smiles and adds, “It’s not technically a sport, but as it’s in the swimming pool and gym area, we include it when we refer to our facilities on level one.”
We follow Hazel as she points out the entrances to the spa and gym. She explains that members will be able to order foods from various restaurants to be delivered to them wherever they are. “There’s no such thing as no,” she says. “If they don’t want to eat the food at Eat Well, they can order from wherever they like. As waitresses, you might not be working at Eat Well, but you may well deliver food from the restaurant you are working at to guests in the basketball court, or who are seated at Eat Well.”
“And if they want to eat in the swimming pool? Or want an order of fries in the sauna?” Akira asks.
Hazel nods like she’s been expecting the question. “You need to use your charm and influence to persuade them to a suitable dining location. If they’re on the basketball court and want a burger, that’s fine. It’s a big space, they’re probably with a group of friends who all feel similarly. If they’re in the sauna and order soup, you would say something like, ‘I can certainly get that delivered to Eat Well to be ready for you as soon as you’ve finished your sauna.’”
“If they insist on soup in the sauna?” Akira asks, an expression of concern on her face.
“Speak to your supervisor. They’ll be able to handle it. Bear in mind that while our members will be demanding and expect perfection, they’re sophisticated travelers. It’s unlikely they’ll make a request for soup in the sauna.”
Despite what Hazel says, I’m not convinced members won’t make outlandish requests. Frank was by no means a billionaire, but he liked what he liked. And he didn’t like people saying no to him. I can only imagine a billionaire will be a thousand times worse.
“The key thing,” Hazel continues, “is not to get flustered or appear shocked. You have to act like you’re taking it all in your stride—like you’ve heard this request a thousand times before. Even if you feel like a member’s being unreasonable, you can never show it. They pay an awful lot of money to have every demand catered to by us. And we have to do our best.”
For a second I can’t catch my breath, because what she’s describing reminds me of my relationship with Frank. He was paying, so he had all the power. Just like the members of the Colorado Club. It was my job to cater to his demands. At least as a waitress, I get a paycheck at the end of the week and not a ring. And I get to leave at the end of the day.