Page 16 of Secret Offer
Reaching deep inside my soul for one last shred of patience, I tell her, “On the computer. In our management system. Under vendors. Remember how we went over vendors a few days ago?”
“Right. Sorry. I’m still figuring out the whole business software thing. I’ve never had a desk job before. Itoldmy brother I might not be the best fit for this gig.” She giggles.
“Tell me something, Daisy,” I say with a sigh. “Did you actually want this job? Or did your brother force you into it? Does he control your trust fund or something?”
She frowns. “Well…not exactly. I mean, I do have a trust fund, but I won’t have access to it until I’m twenty-five. That means I have five more years to make my own way first. But I tried that already, and it wasn’t going great, so my brother said he’d figure something out for me. And now I’m here.”
“What do you want to be doing with your life? Just out of curiosity. Because I don’t get the impression that this is it.”
To my surprise, her face lights up. “Oh! So like, honestly? I always wanted to work on one of those big, fancy cruise ships. Like…be the person who plans day trips and organizes the onboard entertainment and just, you know, makes sure everyone’s having a blast at all times. But after I graduated high school I tried to apply to all these cruise ship jobs and I got nowhere, because they want you to have experience in hospitality first, so I kind of gave up. But then my brother hooked me up with Becker to see if he could give me a job that would look good on my resume, and so…here I am.”
“I see.” It’s all making sense now. This actuallyisthe perfect job for Daisy. We’re her training wheels. Except she hasn’texactly impressed me so far. “And what did you do for work before this?”
“Cocktail waitress on private yachts. Which sounds fun, but it kinda isn’t. I wanted to do something funner. Something where I can make everybody happy, not just rich old men who want to play grab-ass while you serve them alcohol. Because ew. And also, I want to see the world. So yeah. A cruise ship sounds like the right place for me. I know I can quit when I get access to my trust fund, but maybe I won’t. Maybe I’ll keep working because I want to.”
For a moment, I don’t even reply. I’m still processing everything she just said.
“You’re more than meets the eye, Daisy,” I finally tell her.
Her smile falters. “I’m not dumb, Mr. Argos. I might not be a rocket scientist or whatever, but I’m pretty good at taking care of people. And I like to have fun and live life, and is that so bad?”
“No. Not at all. And I think you’ve got potential. We just have to work on your focus, okay?”
She nods. “I really want to be good at this job. I’ll look up the personal shoppers now.”
I sit down behind my computer and gesture for Daisy to do the same. Both of us get to work.
Unfortunately, my short-lived sense of peace doesn’t last long. Because the potential matches I intended to have quick courtesy calls with today have all emailed me, telling me they haven’t yet received their itineraries for the week they’re here. As I’m reading over the second email, which asks if canceling the trip is necessary, my head starts to pound. Fucking Daisy.
There’s no time to ream her out, though. Right now, I have fires to put out.
Quickly getting on the phone, I call each of the matches to apologize for the fuck-up and explain that there was a logistical issue with the scheduling, giving them all my personal guaranteethat I’m already handling it. I keep my tone relaxed and courteous, assuring the clients of my competency, but by the time I hang up with the third match, Daisy is watching me from her desk with wide, scared eyes.
“They…they didn’t get the itineraries?” she asks.
“No,” I say evenly. “They did not. Daisy, this task was the first thing I put on your to-do list when you started on Monday. In fact, I recall telling you it was your top priority. Why wasn’t it done?”
“Itwasdone! I mean…I thought it was.” She looks at her computer and starts clicking the mouse frantically. “OMG. I totally forgot to send the emails. They’re still in my drafts. I’msosorry.”
Long, deep, calming breaths.
“I need you to send those emails right away, with your sincerest apologies,” I tell her finally. “Then I need you to get a personal shopper booked to take care of that list in your hand.”
“Yes, Mr. Argos,” she says somberly.
“I’m leaving now to go prepare for a meeting with the clients we have flying in today, so I won’t be able to supervise you for the next several hours. Do not—I repeat,do not—get sidetracked. When you’re done with the tasks I’ve just given you, go ask Margo what you can do to make her life easier, because she’s been covering for you all week.”
“Okay.”
“Stay focused,” I tell her. “And remember, you are the face of client services for this resort. When you have a task to complete, you need to follow through. Our clients are extremely powerful people with very tight schedules, so timing is everything. If we say they’ll receive photos or information or a specific brand of fucking champagne, we absolutely must provide what we’ve promised, otherwise we risk losing those clients, and then our entire business model collapses. Understood?”
“Yes,” she says meekly.
My whole body is tense as I turn off my computer and stand. I’m back to the old me again, it seems. So much for being calm with my new employee. I’m going to have to find Sunshine and fuck her brains out just to get through this client meeting without exploding.
This will be a first for me. A duplicate one-night stand. Does that make it a two-night stand?
Not that it matters. This doesn’t mean anything, it’s just sex. Sex with a very hot, very entertaining blonde who very much enjoyed the orgasms I gave her a few days ago and who very clearly seemed open to a repeat performance. Which I’m more than happy to give her. One last time.
