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)
No need there. The police were already on their way just as Todd had moved the spectacle from the executive hallway out into the main lobby. Mad that he wasn’t leaving with his bag of stolen money, he tried to make up for it by stealing stationery and pens from reception on his way out. One of the computer monitors got wrenched free as well, but that didn’t last long. Security got that back immediately.
Sensing his opportunities starting to dwindle as the sirens drew closer outside, Todd settled for breaking the fourth wall. We were no longer audience members at the Greatest Play I’ve Ever Seen; we were participants. He started shouting at us all at the top of his lungs. Spinning in a wide circle, his finger wagging, spittle flinging everywhere. “YOU’RE ALL WRONG! I WAS THE BEST THING THAT HAPPENED TO THIS PLACE!”
Then he ducked out of the reach of one bumbling security guard and made it over to the sitting area, where he pushed a guest down in an attempt to get away. With nothing left to lose, he started throwing the stolen Siesta Playa pencils and pens behind him like he was dropping banana peels in Mario Kart.
Guests continued to flock to the scene, filled with the same morbid curiosity as the rest of us.
I was manning the excursion desk, so I had to be there.
Cole was across the lobby, standing beside our CEO.
For everyone else, Cole kept his expression stoic and sincere. But when our eyes locked, the barest hint of a smile sneaked out. I already knew we would be breaking down this entire scene later over a shared bottle of wine.
“What was your favorite part?” I’d ask him, topping off his glass.
Cole would puff out a breath, overwhelmed with options. “What was there not to love? Oh, maybe when he tried to jump over the back of the couch but failed miserably?”
“That’s when the police finally got him, right?”
It was a day that will live in infamy at Siesta Playa. The dragon was vanquished once and for all by none other than our very own in-house knight. News about Cole’s role in Todd’s exit spread like wildfire through the resort (which was partially my fault because I spilled the beans to Lara and Camila, and neither of them knows how to keep a secret). Immediately thereafter, anyone who was on the fence about Cole immediately switched course and acted as if they were always on his side from the start.
“Cole Clark? Yeah, I always liked that guy.”
“Cole? Best director we’ve ever had here. Super-cool guy too.”
“Cole wears slacks and a sweater on Wednesdays, so I wear slacks and a sweater on Wednesdays.”
Of course, I get the benefit of liking Cole before it was cool to like Cole.
He’s my boyfriend now. My official boyfriend. I know it sounds braggy, especially when you see his abs, but it’s only because I am, in fact, bragging.
Our slow and torturous start has the benefit of launching us into a no-holds-barred frenzy of a relationship where at any moment of the day, if the timing and situation are right, we’re gonna be making out. My lips are perpetually red. My hand has permanently conformed to the shape of Cole’s ass. I have every dark corner of this hotel cataloged in my head: which ones have enough space for Cole to haul me up against the wall, and which ones will afford us a tiny bit of privacy, but not enough to get really carried away.
This is our running tally:
Number of guests who’ve accidentally caught us kissing: 4. (To be fair, they were all part of one family. The mom gasped and covered her children’s eyes, but it’s not like they could really see anything . . . )
Number of times HR has had to call us in for a debrief on Siesta Playa’s relationship policies: 1.
Number of times I’ve been late for work because Cole has kept me up too late the night before: 2.
There were a few weeks right in the beginning where we tried the good old-fashioned dating strategy of swapping where we stay each night: a night at his place, then a night at mine. Outside that, we’d meet for lunch and dinner—frantic for more time together—and then, when we were nearing the one-month mark, Cole suggested that I inform HR that I want to move out of my dorm.
It happened one Sunday morning when we were on the pebble path walking from the cafeteria to my dorm. We both woke up late craving the crispy bacon and syrup-covered pancakes the staff cafeteria makes on the weekends. It was worth the schlep from Cole’s place to the cafeteria because we got to eat with Lara and Camila, and afterward, once our bodies were more syrup than blood, we decided to stop off at my dorm so I could grab a change of clothes. Our hands were interlaced as we strolled on the path with no real plan in mind for the rest of our day.