Page 21 of When She Unravels
“Over here.”
I turn in the direction of the voice. It’s Ras. He’s sitting on a stool by one of the bars, a sweating beer in his hand. Dressed in a pair of well-worn jeans and a washed-out gray T-shirt, he almost seems approachable…that is until I register the weary look on his face.
“Hi,” I say in a voice that comes out like a squeak. “Thanks for meeting me. I really appreciate this opportunity.”
He looks like he’s trying really hard not to roll his eyes. “Just doing my job,” he says gruffly. “The scope of which apparently keeps expanding.”
“You don’t usually do this?”
“You mean take on a new staff member after we’ve already hired everyone for the season? No. I don’t.”
Heat blankets my cheeks. “De Rossi agreed to a trial.”
“I know what De Rossi agreed to. Lucky for you, I just transferred an employee over to Laser. You’ll be replacing them.”
My brows knot in confusion. “Laser?”
“Another one of the boss’s clubs.”
“He owns more than one club?”
“He owns half the big clubs on the island. Along with more hotels, restaurants, and condominiums than you and I can count.”
Great. De Rossi is some kind of Ibizan business magnate. If I screw this up, my job prospects here might all but disappear. I bite my lip to suppress a groan. The stakes just got higher.
“You got lucky,” Ras says, jumping off his stool and motioning for me to follow him. “The boss must have been in a particularly kind mood when you met him.”
“Are you trying to be funny?”
That earns me a deep laugh. “You couldn’t tell?” Amusement dances in his eyes. “You wouldn’t be here otherwise.”
I bite back a retort. De Rossi may have been rude, but he’s giving me a chance nonetheless. I’m not going to complain about him to one of his employees.
Speaking of… “So what do you do here?” I ask Ras.
“My official title is the general manager and head of security at Revolvr, but I do all kinds of things.” He draws to a halt by the women’s bathroom, where a gray-haired cleaner is fussing around a cart filled with cleaning supplies.
“Here we are,” Ras says. “Ale, meet Inez. She’s the daytime shift manager for our custodian team.” He gives a warm smile to the short middle-aged woman. “Inez, this is Ale Romero. She’s just joined your team.”
“Nice to meet you,” I say without missing a beat, and shake Inez’s hand. I was expecting De Rossi would have me work as one of those bottle service girls, but custodian will do just fine. I know how to clean. I often helped Lorna back at Lazaro’s house even though she chastised me about it. Is this the best De Rossi’s got?
“Great,” Ras says as he reaches into the cart. “Here’s your uniform. Your shift starts in ten minutes.”
By the time I come out dressed in a matching combo of sky-blue slacks and a short-sleeved button-up shirt, Inez is already waiting with another cart for me.
She peers at me over a pair of clear rimmed glasses. “Señor Ras tells me to put you in the Mannequin room.”
“Fine by me.” I have no idea what the Mannequin room is, but as far as I’m concerned, one room is the same as any other.
“All of the supplies are here.” She pushes the cart toward me. “Go past the pink doors over there. If you have any questions, come to the main room, I’ll be working there.”
“Thank you.”
She gives me a smile—does it seem a little pitying?—and walks away with a slight limp.
Once I make it inside the room, her parting smile makes a lot more sense.
The space isn’t large, maybe big enough for a hundred or so people, but the floor is covered in confetti. It’s mush in places where liquor was spilled over it, and in one of the corners, I discover a wet pile of what could only be vomit.
