Well, that’s just craptastic. They start filming tomorrow so whatever’s wrong has to be fixed like right freaking now, and there’s no way Sergio is going to see the email. He’s at his desk exactly once a month to put in his timecard. Otherwise, he’s busy fixing things all over the resort.
I stand and tap Kat on the shoulder to get her attention. “There’s a problem at the beach bar I have to deal with. I’m not sure how long I’ll be, but Paz Castillo is booked for a practice session at ten-thirty, so I’ll need you to stay here at the desk and let him into the ballroom, okay?”
Her eyes light up when she hears his name, and my gut clenches. She clearly has the same response to him I do, but she’swaytoo young for Paz. “I won’t move until he gets here.”
“Just let him in and come right back to the desk in case someone else needs anything,” I say firmly.
“Yup. Got it,” she says, her eyes shifting to her phone again.
“I’m serious, Kat. I need you here.”
Waving me off, she says, “And I’ll be here.”
I stalk out the door and get into the golf cart I’ve commandeered for the next few weeks, then take off in search of Sergio. While I zip down the path, I use the radio to call the front desk. “It’s Nora. I need to find Sergio right away. There’s a problem with one of the sets for the competition.”
There’s a short wait before anyone answers me—just long enough to lament my bad luck. I thought I’d have another hour of one-on-one time with Paz, where, at the very least, I’d be able to just sit and stare at him, and at the very most, I could press him for more details about him and Theo. Okay, actually, at the very most, it would end with him kissing me passionately. Well, maybe not the kissing since Idolike my job and want to keep it, and events manager candidates don’t go around snogging guests. Butafterthe competition, when he has fallen head over heels in love with me, we can do all of the passionate kissing our lips can handle.
The radio clicks, then I hear, “It’s Rosy. Justin said he saw Sergio heading to Building A.”
Her voice lacks its usual warmth, and I know she’s totally pissed about what she heard me say to Oakley. There’s no way I can explain what happened. I have no excuse for speaking to a coworker the way I did. That is most likely a serious strike against me as far as the promotion goes. My stomach tightens again, but I attempt to keep my tone light. “Thank you. I’m on my way. If anyone hears from Sergio or sees him in the meantime, please tell him he’s needed at the beach bar by ten, then let me know, okay?”
“Will do,” Rosy says flatly. “Over and out.”
It takes me over half an hour to track Sergio down, and when I find him in one of the suites, he has one foot on a toilet seat and is plunging like there’s no tomorrow. There’s water all over the floor, and with every plunge, Sergio makes it worse. I stand at the entrance to the bathroom, feeling awful that I have to bug him at this moment.
“What happened?”
“The little girl staying here flushed her dad’s toupee,” he mutters. “I see where she was going with the idea, but there definitely are better ways to dispose of something this big.” He reaches in and yanks out the sopping toupee, then drops it into the bin. “What can I do for you?”
“I’ve been asked to bring you to a meeting—hopefully a quick one—about the lighting at the beach bar. It’s with the production crew.”
A look of disdain crosses Sergio’s face. “I can’t wait until that whole thing is over. Those guys are a total pain in my ass.” Letting out a long sigh, he says, “Let’s go.”
On the way out of the building, he stops at a nearby room that is being cleaned and tells the chambermaid about the mess. She shuts her eyes for a second, then nods, and I realize that no matter what my day brings, it’s sure as hell not cleaning up toilet water.
When we reach the beach bar, Vincent and Carolina are already there, along with a few crew members. Vincent is wearing a yellow fitted button-down and what looks like culottes in a funky lime green colour. They’re staring at the bar as though hoping the answers to the mysteries of the universe are going to unfold before them.
Sergio gets out of his maintenance cart and goes over to them, the front of his pants still wet. I hurry to introduce him. “Hi, Vincent, Carolina. This is Sergio, our head of maintenance.”
They look him up and down with pinched faces, then Vincent launches into all the problems the sun is creating for them in getting a “clean shot.”
Sergio listens with his arms crossed and says nothing while Vincent rants, finally coming to the point. “So if we can just pick up the bar and flip it ninety degrees by tomorrow morning, that would be perfect.”
“Can’t be done,” Sergio says. “Is there anything else? Because I’m busy.”
You can actually see the colour rising in Vincent’s face as he starts making odd puffing sounds. “Can’t be done? That isnotan answer.”
“Yes, it is,” Sergio says calmly. “We can’t just turn the bar ninety degrees.”
Vincent’s head snaps back, causing his pompadour to come undone in front. It flaps wildly over his forehead as he shouts, “Why not?! It’s not like it haswalls.”
“The plumbing and electrical are already in place. Do you know how long it would take to have everything rerouted?”
“Look, you, if we start now, I’m certain it can be done by morning,” Vincent snaps, lifting his chin.
Sergio puffs out his chest and takes a couple of rather menacing steps forward. “It would takeweeksto even get the permits for that. If you have a lighting problem, come up with a workaround.”
“How?” Vincent yells, stamping his foot. “By magically blocking out the sun?”
