“Yes. Do you think you can help me with the linens?” I reply.
“I guess.” She sighs, following behind me.
“Hold on, I need to pee.” I rush into the bathroom and find the nearest stall.
“Did you see the Princess at the party? ‘Help me. I can’t drink a flute of champagne without needing some man to save me.’” Shawny’s voice is high pitched while she mimics Ariella, and I laugh.
“That’s Ariella Reyes for you. She loves to just throw herself at every guy who blinks in her direction,” I reply.
The thought of them dancing together still makes red flash across my vision. Both of them looking like America’s Next Top Model. With her high end fashion and his vintage suits.
“I’m pretty sure she has Nero wrapped around her finger. He doesn’t even come to the club anymore.” Shawny says.
I come out of the stall and see the streaks on the mirror. “Look at this, I told her to clean this bathroom!”
“Well, we can’t all be rich and entitled,” Shawny remarks, examining under her fingernails.
“You should have seen her this morning, covered in hickies.” I shake my head.
Maybe Shawny could give me more insight into this Nero guy. But instead, she fuels the flame of jealousy building in me. “I’m sure they were from Nero or Efren. They’ll fuck her, get bored, and find someone who can do it right.” Shawny snickers.
We wash our hands, and I wipe the mirror, irritated by the streaks.
“Oh my god! Did you see the video Tonio did of her?” I ask as we exit the bathroom.
“No, what video?”
I go to grab my phone but it’s not there.Shit.“Start the linens, I left my phone.” I rush back into the bathroom .
The moment I get through the door, I collide right into Ariella. Our eyes meet and hers are rimmed with red. Behind her, the handicap stall is wide open.Fuck.This won’t only cost me my job, but my friendship with Thalia. Turning to chase after her, I’m met with an empty hallway.
A thickness rises in my throat. What did I just do? I feel small all of a sudden, and it’s not from jealousy, but shame. What type of person am I resorting to? Why am I soconcerned about her and Efren? He’s no one to me. He’s my ex-boyfriend’s brother. He’s possibly my ex-boyfriend’smurderer.
“Did you see Ariella Reyes come this way?” I ask Rae, one of the other maids.
She narrows her eyes at me before rolling them. “No, but Shawny spent her entire shift talking about her while getting no work done.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“I mean, while Shawny took several breaks and spent way too much time in room 462 with one of the male guests, Vinny, Nova, Ariella, and I did two times the work to make up for it.”
Vinny comes up behind her with a bag full of trash and throws it on the cart.
“I wouldn’t listen much to Shawny. Ariella Reyes is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. Definitely a lot different than I expected.”
I walk around the floor another time to see if I can find her. The knot in my stomach grows by the second. Shawny’s not in the laundry room when I get there, so I finish my work in silence, thinking of how crazy Efren is driving me.
It’s unfeminist of me to be mad at another woman over him. No dick is that good. I haven’t even had his dick for Christ’s sake. It’d be one thing if Ariella were taunting me or trying to make me jealous, but that wasn’t the case. Once again, it’s just me ruining my own life.
Chapter 20
Efren
“You’re drunk. Let’s go,” Axel commands.
“Axel, stop! I’m not drunk,” Ariella cries out as he pushes her forward.
I follow them into the hotel lobby, watching from the shadows. It’s not long before Thalia Consuelo’s signature red-bottomed heels click against the floor behind them.
