Page 88 of Little Sunshine

Needing to get myself together, I returned to the question I’d wanted to ask before getting distracted by the tower. “So you work here and Moonlight?”

“And Star and Nebula and wherever else my boss needs me.”

Sunrise, Moonlight, Star, and Nebula…

It’d been a long time since I’d watched any of the Vegas resort specials because I actively avoided them. But I vaguely remembered Veronica watching one about the remodel of Moonlight, Star, and Sunrise after the current owner had inherited them.

My steps slowed. “Wait, do you work for the owner?”

“Yes.” He put his hand to my lower back and nudged me toward the elevator.

“Like directly for him?”

“Yup.”

Despite my initial—and very incorrect—assumption that Ash was just a chauffeur, his house made it clear his job was more than that. The small glimpse I’d gotten of him working made it clear it was much, much more than that. Still, I’d just guessed he worked for one of the bigwigs.

I hadn’t even considered it was the biggest of wigs.

“What do you do?” I asked.

“Whatever needs done.” At my growl of frustration, Ash chuckled. “I don’t have an exact job title because I don’t do one job. I’m Maximo’s right-hand. His assistant, driver, security, delegate, and whatever else, all rolled into one good looking package.”

The housekeepers at The Roulette never talked about other hotel openings or opportunities, good or bad. If someone knew about a worse hellhole, they didn’t give warnings in hopes whoever would leave, and they’d get more hours or better shifts. And if they heard a job was available somewhere good? That was a secret they kept in a vault so they had less competition while they went for it.

Even with that level of selfish subterfuge, it was well known that a job at one of those four resorts was like winning the housekeeper lotto. It was also just as rare. Openings didn’t come up often because they had a shockingly low turnover rate for the service industry. From what I’d heard, they didn’t even accept applications due to the overwhelming amount of interest.

With so many Roulette-esque dumps in Vegas, a luxury resort that paid its employees well and offered great benefits was a dream job.

I hesitated for a second because Ash had already done a lot for me. Too much. But I’d be a fool if I didn’t ask for one more thing. “Can you get me an interview with housekeeping? Or just pass along my résumé?”

Right after I create a résumé.

And figure out how to say that I’ve been cleaning bugs, mold, and bodily fluids since before I was legally able to work.

His brows rose, but I continued before he could tell me what I already knew. “I’m fine to go on a waitlist.”

“We’ll see,” he muttered as we stepped into the elevator, and he pressed his thumb to a button.

I didn’t push it further, even if I really wanted to.

Other than cutting through Moonlight to my bus stop a few times, I’d never been to the other properties. I wasn’t particularly anxious to see all the waste and squandering, but I was still curious to see the design itself. I wanted to know if it was as prettily themed as Moonlight.

I nervously ran my palms down the front of the floral dress that’d been waiting on the bed after my shower. It hit at kind of an odd spot below my knees and was baggy around my torso, but I didn’t care. It was gorgeous and made me feel more confident.

Being there with Ash helped, too.

After a second, it became obvious that we weren’t exiting in the lobby. The elevator didn’t slow to let anyone else on as it kept climbing and climbing.

And climbing.

When the doors finally slid open, it wasn’t into a hallway. It was a penthouse. I stepped out and moved through the space toward the floor-to-ceiling windows as Ash spoke.

“Like the house, nothing is off-limits in here. Bathroom to your left. Another is through the main bedroom. The remotes are on the table. I haven’t stayed here in a while, so there’s no food in the fridge.”

Maybe that means there’s stuff for me to clean. Not that it’ll be much help to him, but it’ll help the hotel housekeepers, and they’ll appreciate it.

“There’s a button on the phone for room service,” he continued. “Order whatever you want. I’ll be back soon.”

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