Except apparently, she couldn’t. Not when it was Lizzie, with her auburn hair falling out of her ponytail and her cheeks flushed from the heat and her surprisingly good ideas.
“I think we’re done,” Lizzie said, looking around the pool deck. “It looks good.”
It did look good. More energetic, more dynamic. Sarah hated that she hadn’t thought of it herself.
“Thanks for the help,” she said. “If this works, we’ll do this every weekend, and you can be the one in charge of set up. I’ll help, of course.”
“Of course. That’s why I’m here, right?”
Sarah’s phone buzzed. A text from the catering manager about the food setup. “I need to check on the kitchen. You should take a break before the party starts. It’s going to be a long night.”
“Okay. See you at seven.”
***
By seven o’clock, the pool deck was transformed. The lights were on, reflecting off the water. The DJ was playing. The laptops were set up just waiting for the college kids to press start at each station. The pool deck was large enough so every station could play its own music without interfering with each other.
Sarah stood near the bar, watching people arrive. College kids in swimsuits and cover-ups, laughing and excited, already taking photos of the setup. The Electric Sunset mocktails were a hit. She’d already seen at least twenty people posing with the layered drinks for their phones.
She felt completely out of place. Too old, too formal in her beige blazer and work clothes while everyone else was in beach casual. But she had a job to do.
She spotted Peter Lassiter and Derek Mitchell standing by the entrance. Evaluating. Judging. Hoping she’d fail.
And there was Stavros by the waterfall, nodding approvingly as a group of girls attempted the Beach Vibe dance and dissolved into laughter.
And there was Lizzie, standing in the crowd. She wasn’t in her uniform. Sarah had told her to blend in. So she was in a cute pink and white dress that showed of her new tan, her shoulders with the freckles mirroring the ones on her nose. Her legs. Again. Sarah shook her head. She had to stop staring. This was not the time or place to be lusting after her intern.
Chapter 7
Lizzie
Music pounded from the speakers, bass vibrating through the concrete. Lizzie watched from near the bar as a group of guys attempted the Sunset Groove dance, completely out of sync with each other but laughing too hard to care. The TikTok stations were working even better than she’d hoped. Every spot had clusters of people filming themselves, trying the moves, posting to their socials.
She spotted Chrisla standing by the entrance in her front desk uniform, watching the chaos with an amused expression.
“Hi, fancy seeing you here.”
“Couldn’t resist seeing this in action. Last year’s was alright but a bit…” she lowered her voice. “Lame. Don’t tell Sarah but you can tell she listens mostly to music from way before we were born.”
“Nothing wrong with some classics,” Lizzie said.
“No, but this crowd? This is much better.”
“It’s going pretty well.” A grin tugged at her lips. Sarah had been skeptical, but the party was buzzing. “Although I’m pretty sure half these kids are going to be hungover tomorrow.”
“That’s spring break for you.” Chrisla’s gaze shifted to the far side of the pool where three older guys were clustered together, looking like peeping toms.
“Why are those three old guys here? Kind of creepy. Who are they?”
“Board of Directors. The tall one is Peter Lassiter. Next to him is Derek Mitchell, assistant GM. The one talking to them is Stavros Andreou is the board president.”
“Why would board members come to a college party?”
“They’re here to watch Sarah. Make sure she doesn’t screw up. Well that’s why Stavros is here. The other two would rather see this whole thing fail.” Chrisla’s voice dropped. “They want her gone. Well, most of them do. Stavros is on her side, but he’s basically the only one.”
“Is this about the conch thing?”
“Yup. Derek was born here, as was Peter. Their families go way back. They only tolerate Stavros because he’s the richest man on the island. If they can get Sarah out, Derek is in. It’s also a woman thing. And a wife-of-the-owner thing though.”
