Page 8 of What Happens in Paradise

I had overcome some of the darkest times in my life over the past two years. I had pulled through even when I thought I would not make it.

If I could do that, I could resist the temptation of my boss.

Everything would be fine.

3

JASMINE

See. It wasn’t so hard.

As I strolled along the beach, my bare feet sinking into the soft sand, I gave myself a mental high five. It’d been twenty-four hours since I’d last laid eyes on Alejandro and I’d survived.

It’d been much easier than I thought. When one of my couples had requested a lunch hamper so that they could enjoy a romantic picnic on the beach, instead of going to the restaurant to ask him, I’d just called Juan, who worked in the kitchen, and asked him to pass on the instructions.

And when I needed to see next week’s menu, I’d emailed Alejandro. Admittedly, it had taken much longer for him to respond than if I’d just walked over to ask him, but it didn’t matter. I’d still got what I’d needed and I kept my professionalism firmly intact.

Go, me!

I’d completely overreacted. In fact, if I timed it right, I could probably goweekswithout having to ever lay eyes on Alejandro again.

That famous saying that if you put your mind to something, you really could achieve it was true. I was sure whoever came up with it probably had loftier goals in mind than just avoiding the hot chef at work, but I didn’t care. I was just happy that everything was under control.

I blew out a satisfied breath, slipped on my sandals then walked back to my office. Just as I was about to check that everything was in place for tomorrow’s couples’ activities, my phone pinged.

It was a message from Hazel, asking me to come and see her. She probably wanted to give me feedback on the VIP guest’s visit.

I wasn’t worried. When I’d gone to say goodbye to Clementine, she’d raved about how much she’d enjoyed her stay, said that we were all doing a fantastic job and praised my professionalism.

That was what I lived for: knowing that I’d made our guests happy. I glanced up at my office walls. Both sides were covered with thank-you cards and photos of happy couples who’d met at the Love Hotel. Which reminded me: I needed to order a bottle of champagne and a bouquet of flowers to send to Serena and Elijah who were two guests who stayed at the hotel last year.

I was thrilled when they’d called me yesterday to say they’d just got engaged, so I wanted to send them something nice to celebrate.

I couldn’t take all the credit for pairing them up. It was the team of matchmaking experts that made the selections before the guests arrived.

My job was to build a relationship with the couples and anticipate what was needed to help bring them closer together.

As far as I was concerned, I had the best career in the world. I gave everything to it. I didn’t really have a social life or hobbies. I worked at least fourteen hours a day to make sure every guest had whatever they needed.

I’d finally found my calling. And if my gut feeling was right, by the end of the week, I’d get news from Hazel that would demonstrate that all my hard work had paid off.

My heart raced with excitement as I headed to Hazel’s office. She’d said she would know in a few days if there was an opportunity for me, but with any luck, I’d find out sooner.

‘Knock knock!’ I poked my head around the door to Hazel’s office.

‘It’s myfavouriteLove Alchemist!’ Hazel chirped. ‘Don’t tell the others I said that.’ She laughed.

My heart bloomed. Praise was definitely my love language.

‘Thank you.’ I took a seat in front of her desk.

‘So.’ She leant forward. ‘I’ve got some exciting news.’

‘Ooh!’ I clapped my hands together, eager to know what it was.

‘A third location for the Love Hotel is about to open!’

‘Wow! That’s amazing! Obviously, I knew the Italian resort is opening in a few weeks and you were planning to add to the hotel’s portfolio, but I didn’t know it was going to happen so fast!’

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