Though exhausted, he wanted to go straight to Haley’s room, but he didn’t want to wake her, so he instead trudged off to his own room, where he took a two-minute shower to wash off the grime from working in the slush, then fell face first into his depressingly empty bed.
Thinking sleep would be hard to come by, he was shocked when he woke up the next morning at eight, two hours later than usual. Not having time for the breakfast with Haley that he’d promised himself the night before, he raced to his office, where he was thrust into a whole host of problems that made him want to pull out his hair.
As the day crept by, he dialed her room when he had a minute, but when he never got an answer, he realized it was time the woman entered the cellular age. Placing a rush order, he had a smart phone brought to the resort and delivered to her room, then tried texting her several times but with no reply.
Where had she disappeared to? He owned neither her nor her time, but as the day wore on, he kept missing her — which was strange in itself. By the time the sun was setting, he found himself wandering through the resort, seeking her company. He was falling in too deeply, he knew, but he had no desire to pull back.
The ever-changing faces of new clientele checking in and others checking out would normally excite him, but nothing seemed to stir his anticipation these days except for a wisp of a blonde who, on paper, was all wrong for him.
None of that mattered.
He wandered into his favorite lounge and found Marlin busy as always with a full crowd circling the bar and filling up the tables as his new pianist lured people in.
The atmosphere was especially animated because tonight was the first day of the Catalina Film Festival, and crowds had flocked to the island in hopes of spotting a favorite Hollywood star. The red carpet was rolled out, limos were traveling through town, and the streets were jammed.
Crew would be lucky to get five minutes alone with Haley over the next five days.
With determination, he took a seat at the bar, determined to get information out of Marlin. His bartender and Haley seemed to be quite chummy, so Crew hoped his loyal employee might know where she was.
As he listened to the clink of glasses and the cheerful voices of his patrons, and waited for Marlin to have a free moment, Crew took out a cigar. He didn’t mind waiting — it meant his place of business was busy and a constant stream of cash was flowing in.
“Sorry I took so long, Mr. Storm. We’ve been swamped all afternoon and into the evening. I don’t expect we’ll be slowing down any time in the near future,” Marlin said as he pulled out a special bottle of single-malt scotch. He grabbed a glass and poured in three fingers of the fine liquor. Marlin pretended to be about to dull the experience with ice cubes, but Crew knew not to fall for that joke anymore.
Crew grabbed the glass and savored the first sip, enjoying the warm burn down his throat. With the night and day he’d had, he could down the entire bottle and still not lose the tension in his shoulders, but no — he wanted to be sober when he found Haley.
“Have you taken any breaks?” Crew asked suspiciously. He knew Marlin would work himself to the bone if he didn’t get caught. Crew admired the man’s work ethic, but he didn’t want his head bartender to get worn out when needed most.
“Why? Are you offering to take over? I think the ladies would enjoy that. You’d get my tip jar filled up real fast,” Marlin offered with a cackle, then lit a smoke and took a grateful drag.
Obviously, Marlin hadn’t had a break, or even the time to sneak in one of his beloved smokes. Crew had worked the bar before, and he knew the drill well, but tonight he was on a mission and that didn’t include warding off drunken socialites who had more money than brains.
“Maybe some other time, but I’ve been up since last night with only a few hours’ sleep. I’m starting to feel it,” Crew told him as he blew out a fragrant puff of cigar smoke, which Marlin leaned over to smell.
“Did you notice the two bombshells over in the booth? They’ve been eyeing you since you walked in. The broads have more plastic on them than a Barbie doll, but man, are they hot! If it wasn’t for my old lady, I might give ’em a wink or two. Not that I’m their type.” Marlin cackled again at his own brand of wit.
“Yes, I noticed them right off. They’re kind of hard to miss in the getups they’re…‘wearing.’ Keep an eye out, and if they get too inebriated, have security escort them upstairs. I don’t need anything to happen to the double-D twins,” he said with a wink.
“Why don’t you just escort them on up yourself? I know how you like the girls with nothing but sex on their mind, and believe me, those women are looking to get laid.”
“I think I’ll pass, Marlin. They’ll find their next victim soon enough.” Even as he spoke, one of the girls had begun scanning the room for new prospects since it was obvious Crew wasn’t interested. The other one wasn’t giving up so easily. He had a bad feeling that if he stayed at the bar too long, she’d work up the energy to approach.
Women like her weren’t used to making the first move. They normally had to fend guys off. Well, he wasn’t just any guy.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought, especially with the way you’ve been all googly-eyed over Ms. Sutherland,” Marlin said as he put out his smoke, then moved down the bar quickly to replace a beer in front of one customer, and a gin and tonic in front of another.
Even if Marlin didn’t seem to be paying attention, the man had eyes in the back of his head. He kept the drinks coming so customers never had the opportunity to think about leaving. It was why this lounge was making the most money in the resort, or the island for that matter, by a long shot.
“Speaking of Haley, have you seen her today?” Crew tried to ask casually, but by the triumphant look in Marlin’s eyes, he hadn’t succeeded in downplaying the way he felt.
That’s why women were nothing but trouble, Crew warned himself.
“Yeah, she was in here about an hour ago. Had some soup and crackers, then said something about seeing the show tonight. I bet you’re wanting to join her in that nice, dark theater.” Marlin mocked him by making a kissing sound.
Seriously, the man was too old to be acting like a horny teenager.
“Maybe,” Crew said noncommittally.
He couldn’t give all his secrets away, after all.
Just as he got up to leave, his phone rang. With a frustrated groan, Crew picked it up, waved goodbye to Marlin, then headed toward his office. Perfect. A little longer until he got to meet up with Haley.