‘Early morning meetings weren’t discussed in my contract,’ I say. ‘Does that mean I get an hour in lieu somewhere along the line?’
A frown mars his brow. ‘Wi. Just let me know and I’ll cover you for an hour whenever you want.’
I’d expected a little parrying at least. A bit of sizzle to start the day off. ‘Oh, great. So what’s this in aid of? What am I doing wrong?’
‘Why do you always go to worst-case scenarios?’
‘I’m a “bad news first” kind of person.’
‘There’s nothing wrong at all. Well, not that I know if, unless there’s something you’d like to share with me?’
I brighten.
‘No more complaints about how staff are suffering at my hands.’
My smile drops. ‘Oh.’
‘What drama have you inserted yourself into this time?’
I send a glare his way. ‘I haven’t inserted myself into any drama, I’ll have you know, but I may have overheard a thing or two…’
‘Like…?’
‘Why aren’t staff allowed to use the streaming platforms? I get that there might be a small additional cost, but even supplying one for the staff lounge would be nice. Good for morale. Encourage staff friendships, that sort of thing.’
‘Did you work for a union in your previous life?’
‘Did you work against a union in yours?’
We stare off in an impasse. The tension! It’s fraught. Just like in the books. He lets out a world-weary sigh. ‘I’m not sure why I have to constantly explain myself to you, but here we are again.’
‘And…? That’s not much of an explanation, Xavier.’
He rolls his eyes. Not very professional but I let it pass. ‘We did have streaming available for staff in the lounge and the casual dining area. As with most things given freely around here, some staff chose to take advantage of the situation and were escaping during their shifts to watch the next season as soon as it dropped.’
‘Let me guess,The Last of Us?’
‘What?’
‘Were they watchingThe Last of Us? Pedro Pascal?’ I’d have been tempted to duck off too.
‘I have no idea. It doesn’t matter what they were watching, it matters that they were shirking their duties.’
He does have a very valid point. ‘Why would they risk doing that though?’ From what I’ve seen, apart from a few tiny things, like logging into the guest Wi-Fi and using their streaming service, the resort staff work hard and don’t take advantage. And yes, they broke the rules but they do live here too, and it would be in his best interests to look after their needs with small incentives like a streaming service.
He runs a hand through his hair – time slows for me. It’s like watching a commercial with some gorgeous male model gazing wistfully at the lens.
‘Things were a lot more relaxed before I took over so the change in direction is jarring for some of the staff, but the resort has to maintain a level of service and them ducking off to watch the latest episode ofBridgertonisn’t going to fly.’
‘Bridgerton, eh?’
He blushes. So the man is human after all. ‘Fine. It wasBridgerton. It’s all they talked about.’ Xavier fidgets with his watch while he tries to weasel out of this one. ‘An addictive show, allegedly.’
I cooly assess him. ‘You give off a bit ofBridgertonvibe, man of the ton, that sort of thing.’
He observes me with the same unflinching gaze. ‘I’d say you’re very Daphne-like yourself, always interfering and plotting behind the scenes.’
I reel backwards. ‘I hardly think so.’
