Lexi’s eyes are on me, weighing every word. “You mean getting a doctorate wasn’t enough for him?”
No. Nothing is ever enough. I avoid answering her question by taking a sip of coffee for courage, but don’t break eye contact with her over the rim of my mug. If we’re going to do this, I need to be honest with her.
“This documentary, Lexi,” I start, trying to find the right words. “It’s about capturing something that’s stood the test of time, something that’s bigger than all of us. It’s about a world we need to nurture and care for, instead of slowly asphyxiating it as we’re doing now.”
She doesn’t respond, and I might have revealed too much, but it’s too late now.
“Okay. I can totally get on board with that.” Lexi smiles, warm and encouraging. “I want that too. I want all of it. Only my angle isn’t so…unselfish.”
“Some people think what I do is very selfish. The lifestyle does have collateral damage.”
“Hmm…except this time you’ll be engaged,” she says, making quotation marks at the word “engaged.”
I smirk. “What could go wrong, really?”
She laughs. “We could be found out?”
“And then?”
“I don’t know? I honestly don’t know.” She shakes her head. “I can’t help feeling that this is the moment where I face the same choices my dad faced, and look where he ended up.”
That would be prison.
“Lexi, being engaged is personal. It’s between two people, and what goes on in anybody’s relationship is nobody else’s business.” Jeez, just listen to me sounding like a relationship guru. “Faking an engagement for three months is hardly defrauding a charity of millions of dollars.” Then being caught and landing on the national news for weeks as the criminal case dragged. The consequences basically destroyed her family. No wonder Lexi is freaked out about this whole Mia Reed situation.She sees herself living through all that again, but this time, in the starring role. “And trust me, no one would come to arrest you at home for faking an engagement.”
She pales.Oof. I did it again. Put my foot right in it.
“No, but it still feels wrong.”
“What would it take to make it feel right?” The question is so layered that even I have a hard time getting through all of them.
After a long moment she chuckles. “Let’s see if we bag it first.”
My phone rings in my room, and I get up to fetch it. I hope it isn’t Nick Mallett with his complimentary follow-up call. The number isn’t one stored in my contacts, but it is from Europe, given the area code. I answer before thinking too far ahead.
“Tristan Martinelli?” a woman with a French accent says.
“Speaking.”
“I’m calling to let you know we’ll be offering you and your fiancée the position at Ne’emba Island. We wrapped up the interview with Alexandra minutes ago. We hope to have you both on board soon.”
I hesitate, heart pumping wildly. “Okay.” I’ve never worked for a hotel before and have no clue about the protocol here. I need Lexi. “Thank you.” I walk out of my room and wave to catch her attention.
“I’ll be sending you the contract, and then we can start your onboarding as soon as possible,” the woman says. “First there’s the medicals and then we have mandatory training you’ll both need to complete, all online, before you transfer to the island. What I need from you right now are the details of how soon you could start. The position is for the seventh of January, but ideally we will have a handover period of a couple days, where the current management team will be onsite to help out.” She pauses for a moment. “You’re still there?”
“Yes. Still here. I’m putting you on speakerphone,” I say as I do so. “Lexi—Alexandra—is here with me, and I want her to listen in.”
“Lexi? Cute.” There’s a smile in her voice. “It would be great to speak to you both at the same time.”
I place the phone on the kitchen counter. Lexi, eyes like saucers, looks like she’s seeing multiple ghosts.
“I spoke to her fifteen minutes ago,” Lexi mouths at me, pointing at the phone.
“We’re both here now,” I say as I throw my hands up in an I-don’t-know gesture.
“Excellent. So, I was hoping to book flights for you to Ne’emba Island on the first of January. That means you’ll arrive on the island on the third,giving us at least three days of handover with the current management there. Would that suit you? We need to get the ball rolling because there are the work permits on that side that our agent will sort out. If you are agreeable on the dates, I’d like to get started.”
I stare at Lexi, watching an array of emotions and hesitation play out on her face. She’s torn between this perfect solution and being Little Miss Perfect who never does anything remotely questionable. Her anxiety is palpable. But I’m not making the decision for her, and if there’s a time to speak up, it’s now.
