Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80052 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80052 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
My stomach squeezes tight. “How sad. I actually saw Cole talking to her last night. I knew something was wrong, but I didn’t realize that’s what was going on.”
“Wait! You saw it happening?!”
I shake my head, unsure.
“It could have been something else . . . ,” I mutter lamely.
She shakes her head, adamant. “He’s the one who did it.”
My body goes rigid as I meet her gaze. “How do you know?”
Lara checks over her shoulder like she’s paranoid someone’s listening in on our conversation. Once she confirms we’re in the clear, she leans in and speaks fast. “There have been rumblings going around for a while about some layoffs. This is the third one in a week. First it was that old clown, which, okay, yeah, we all saw that one coming. Then a few days ago, one of the boat captains got fired. It was Dale, you know him? We assumed he deserved it, too, messed up or something, because he’s sort of like that. He’s late for his shifts all the time. But now with Annabelle getting fired too? What are the odds? I mean, everyone getting the axe is from our department. How do we know we’re not next?!”
I refuse to believe it. “No, c’mon. Maybe it’s a coincidence? We don’t know for certain that all three of them didn’t have it coming. You said it yourself, Dale wasn’t the best employee . . . and not to be insensitive, but I’ve heard Annabelle sing and . . . you know what? Maybe the stage wasn’t for her. When one door closes, another door opens, right? And the clown . . .”
I shiver just thinking about him.
My little speech does nothing to settle Lara’s suspicions. She’s as resolute as ever as she shakes her head. “I’m not buying it. Word on the street is that Cole and Todd are in cahoots. Annabelle told Tamara, who told Camila, that while Cole was firing her, he said something about how they want to reconfigure the resort staff and make this place ‘more efficient.’”
Efficient?! Cole loves efficiency.
Crap.
“I swear to god, if I lose my job, I don’t know what I’m going to do.” She’s already spiraling. “I have nothing saved. Nowhere to go. My life back home . . . it’s just—” She shakes her head and pushes her tray of food away. She suddenly looks like she might be sick.
Before I’ve fully thought it through, I’m volunteering. “I’ll talk to him, okay? I’ll talk to Cole.”
“Oh thank god. Just, will you please put in a good word for me?” She laces her fingers together with a plea. “Make sure he knows how important this job is to me.”
“Of course, yes.”
I agree to go through with it, but after I toss my barely eaten breakfast into the trash on the way out of the cafeteria, I wonder if I should have just kept my mouth shut and let her vent. Why did I feel the need to try to play the hero? Besides, I’m still not certain I believe Cole’s a part of this. Deep down, I know he’s not that cruel. He might not be great at showing it, but he really cares about the staff at Siesta Playa. When one of the older groundskeepers, Vincent, hurt his back last year when he was painting on the property, Cole didn’t fire him. He trained him to answer phones in reception while he healed up, and Vincent did great. He still picks up shifts in the lobby every now and then when he wants extra spending money. When Anita needed extra time off after having her baby, she told me Cole fixed it with HR so that she was given an additional six weeks of paid leave.
He’s not heartless. I know it. This is just a big misunderstanding.
But . . . there’s also this nagging feeling that Cole would put the needs of the company first, before any of us. I know he prides himself on running this place like a well-oiled machine. What if he is behind this?
I have to know. Now. I was going to wait and try to catch Cole later, but this will drive me crazy. I have thirty minutes to kill before I need to be down on the beach for surf lessons, and if I wait around until the end of the day to talk to Cole, I’ll probably lose my nerve. So after I leave the cafeteria, I head straight to Cole’s office, waving at reception as I pass them by. The two women give me a sheepish wave back, like they know something I don’t. What? Am I really the last person to hear about these rumors?!
I grow queasy, and I’m tempted to turn back, but then I think of how desperate Lara was at breakfast. She and Camila have been so kind to me; this is the least I can do. No one understands Cole like I do. He and I can talk this through. I’m sure there’s a simple explanation for the layoffs. There has to be.