Page 4 of Finding Cory

"You're welcome. And... I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you before."

Startled, her gaze flew up to meet his. He looked quite sincere, and his hand was warm and strong as he held on to her for just a moment longer than necessary.

"Olivia Stratten," a voice said, thankfully obviating her need to think of something to say to Cory's unexpected remark. She let go of his hand and turned to see a handsome man in what she guessed was his early forties and actually wearing a business suit, albeit with an open-necked shirt and no tie. "It's good to meet you. I'm Luke Collyer, the resort general manager." He took in her dripping hair with a curious glance but said nothing about it as he offered his hand for a friendly shake.

"It's very nice to meet you, Mr. Collyer." They'd communicated by email after the resort owners had hired her, and his ideas and incisive manner had impressed Olivia.

"Luke, please. We're not formal here at Sunfish."

She smiled in acknowledgment, following him along the shaded dock and into the hotel's main lobby.

"Wow." Olivia's head tipped up. The atrium was amazing, five stories high with a domed glass roof, and live pines growing in gigantic stone pots. Water trickled from stunning fountains and ran underneath shining plate-glass panels in the floor. There were fish in there, she realized, as one swam directly under her foot. It was hard to know where to put her eyes at any given moment.

"Pretty swish, huh?" Luke gave her a knowing smile. "It's very different to how it looked ten years ago, I can tell you. I was working here as assistant hotel manager at the time."

Most of the photographs available online had been of the old resort, so Olivia knew what he meant. She shook her head in wonderment.

"The owners really did spare no expense."

"This whole building is new." Luke gestured upward at the glass dome. "That even has cyclone shutters that can be closed over it. While we're required to evacuate all guests in the event of an oncoming cyclone because the island may be inundated during a storm surge, the upper floors of this building would actually be quite safe even under the most severe conditions."

"Impressive," Olivia said with a nod, wincing as a trickle of cool water ran down her neck from her soaked hair. Luke tilted his head at her curiously.

"Excuse me for asking, but why is your hair wet?"

She sighed and gave him a rueful smile. "I may as well ‘fess up; I'm sure it'll be all over the resort within the hour. I fell off the ramp when boarding the boat."

"Youwhat?" Luke looked startled.

"Entirely my own fault, I'm afraid. I was wearing spike heels and not looking where I was going." Luke was clearly making an effort to hold back his laughter. Olivia smiled at him cheekily. "Go on, you might as well laugh.I'veseen the funny side now, anyway."

He permitted himself a few chortles before shaking his head. "I wish I'd seen it, though I'm sure you're glad I didn't. Well. I was going to ask if you wanted the full tour, but all things considered, I think maybe we'll postpone it to tomorrow morning and let you get settled in today instead. I've got meetings this afternoon, I'm afraid."

She smiled at him gratefully. "I admit I'm eager to get to work... but I'm even more eager to have a proper shower and wash the ocean out of my hair."

"Then let's make that happen." Luke turned to the left and swiped an access card through a slot beside a door marked STAFF ONLY. A short passageway led them outside and down a narrow path between high hedges. "This leads to the senior staff accommodation," he told her. "The cabins were actually part of the old resort; the owners decided to leave them for staff use when they built the new ones. You're in number six, which is a two-bedroom. You're sharing it with Suzannah, our executive chef; she's very nice but you probably won't see a lot of her. She's a workaholic."

Olivia nodded, looking with pleasure at the rustic timber cabins, set on low stumps, as they came upon then. Each had a small covered veranda at the front with a couple of comfortable-looking sun loungers; a brass number was screwed to the front railing on every cabin. It wasn't long before they arrived at number six, and Luke fished in a pocket to pull out a key and an access card, both of which he handed to her.

"The card gets you into all the staff areas of the resort. These cabins don't have electronic access like the newer ones, so you'll need to hang on to the key. It fits both doors to your room: the one that exits onto the veranda and the one into the living area of the cabin. Don't forget to lock both, and don't leave valuables lying around in the common area, because it's not secured; anyone can walk in."

Olivia nodded in understanding as Luke turned the door handle and opened the main cabin door. "This is lovely," she said in pleased surprise, looking around the simply furnished room. It had a tiny kitchenette at the other end, a large squashy couch facing a decent-sized flat-screen TV, and a small dining table with four chairs. The floor was tiled, and everything was immaculately clean.

"Maid service will go over the room once a week, on whatever is Housekeeping's quietest day that week. They can do your room and bathroom if you wish, but you need to let them in." Luke gestured to the door on the right-hand wall. "That's your room."

Her suitcase was already sitting by the door, Olivia noted. "Thanks," she said gratefully.

"I'll leave you to it. Suze will be in the middle of lunch prep, so you won't meet her until this afternoon. I'll get someone to come by and show you around a little bit, take you to the staff dining area—all your meals are included, of course."

"Of course," she echoed with a small smile. She'd never had an all-inclusivejobbefore, but then you couldn’t actually pay for much on Sunfish apart from drinks, she recalled from reading the existing marketing literature. Feeding the staff was pretty much required when they couldn't easily source their own supplies.

"I'll see you later. Get settled in," Luke left her with a friendly nod. Olivia sighed a little in relief as she was finally left alone, and the tension dropped from her shoulders.

The day had been a mess right from the moment her cab driver in Sydney got a flat tire on the way to the airport and she'd nearly missed her flight. Rising tension and nerves about making a good impression had twisted a tight knot in her stomach, making her unable to eat or drink anything. Feeling an intense thirst, she crossed to the kitchenette to take a look in the fridge. She found several cans of soda, some of brands she didn't recognize. They had to belong to the unknown roommate. Biting her lip, Olivia eventually shrugged and grabbed a cola. She could always replace it later.

Sipping on her purloined cola, she let herself into her room and dragged her suitcase in after her. The bedroom was just as pleasantly furnished as the shared living area, with a double bed, dressing table with large mirror, and to her surprised pleasure, a high-quality desk and office chair with a new-looking computer on the desk. It also had a generous-sized walk-in closet and a beautifully appointed ensuite bathroom.

Delighted by her new living quarters, Olivia decided everything else could wait until she'd showered. The drapes over the sliding door to the veranda were already closed, so she closed her door, stripped, and headed for the ensuite.

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