In the best Spanish he could remember from his days of flying to the Dominican Republic to scout players, Antonio whispered, “¿Conoces la contraseña Wi-Fi?
The woman paused, tilted her head, and gave him wide smile. “One thousand dolares.”
“What!” Antonio whisper-yelled. “Yo, that’s bananas, lady! A grand for a password? You’re bugging.”
She shrugged. “No Wi-Fi, then.” As she was about to walk away, Antonio gently grabbed her arm. “Look, I’ve got like $600 on me.”
“Deal.”
Antonio removed his wallet and counted out the money. Lupe folded his bills and swiftly tucked them into her bosom. She motioned for his phone, where she connected the Wi-Fi.
“¡Gracias!” she said, giving him a wink before moving along. Ant had never been so politely robbed in all his life.
He sat in an impossibly uncomfortable chair and opened the message from his parents. It was a video.
“Hey Ant, baby!” his mother said, holding a wide-brimmed hat. “We’re in Egypt! Look!” She panned the camera to show him the pyramids of Giza. “It’s beautiful!”
“It’s hot as Satan’s asshole out here!” his father yelled in the background.
“Horace! Please!” his mother sighed, exasperated. “Anyway, just saying hey! Hope the work trip is going well! Mexico sounds nice. Send our love to PJ! And—”
Before she could finish, his father snatched the phone. “See if you can get me an autograph from Mo Williams! I lost fifty bucks on his last fight, so he owes me!”
“Horace!” his mother scolded, coming back into view. “Bye baby! Try and have some fun! Life is short! Remember that! Love you, Ant!”
Antonio smiled at the message and decided to send a video of his own. “Hey Ma. Pops. I’m in Mexico. At a wellness resort. Wi-Fi is sporadic here, and they don’t have any meat on the premises, but it’s really”—he flipped the camera around to pan across the area—“beautiful.” The words died on his lips as Jackie came into view. She had on designer yoga gear and a pair of sneakers; the leggings she wore left very little to the imagination, and her crop top barely concealed her juicy middle. He’d never seen her in anything other than business attire and skyscraper-high heels. Well,neverwasn’t true.Once upon a time, I saw her in far less.
Jackie furrowed her brow as she stepped in front of him. Antonio hadn’t realized he was still holding the phone, recording. He quickly ended the video, tucking the phone in his pocket. He’d have to edit it before he sent it to his parents. “Sorry. I was showing my parents the resort.”
Jackie smirked and pulled out her phone to reply. “I take it you got the Wi-Fi from Lupe,” her app said.
“Yeah, and it cost me $600!”
Jackie typed. “She got me for $500.”
“Damn,” Antonio laughed. “She’s running a racket up in here.”
A gong sounded, and a voice came on over the intercom. “Afternoon activities shall begin in fifteen minutes.”
Antonio and Jackie watched as people began to shuffle about the resort, heading quietly in different directions.
“Ah, there you are,” Graciela announced, popping up out of thin air. “I have your schedule here.”
“Schedule?” Antonio repeated. “I thought this was a pick-your-poison kind of place? You know, find your Zen on your own.”
“Well, Señor Steele, you can do that. But here at Alma y Tierra, we take the initiative to carve out something based on your needs.”
“And how do you know our needs?” asked Jackie via her app.
Graciela was confused by the question. “Well, Señora Miles, it was in the questionnaire you filled out for the resort. It was the accelerated couple’s connectivity plan. To strengthen your relationship, si? Do you not remember filling out the survey?”
Antonio didn’t remember filling out any survey or plan. He’d just told Calvin to book their accommodations.
Jackie whipped her head in Antonio’s direction, her eye twitching. Clearly, Calvin had taken it upon himself to plan the details of this trip, enacting revenge on Jackie for being a demanding boss. She was definitely going to fire him, and Antonio wouldn’t try to stop her.
“Listen, we aren’t here trying to connect as a couple. This is actually a work trip,” Antonio confessed.
“Work?” Graciela looked between the two of them, confused. “Why would you come to Alma y Tierra to work?”
