Page 57 of Maneater
“But what is it all for?”
It stops me; my body jolts with the words. “Excuse me?”
“What’s it all for? What are you working yourself to the bone for?”
“I—” I hesitate when I realize I…I can’t answer.
“Just something to consider, you know? If you’re doing it all just for the ego of it all, then I hope you’re getting what you want out of it, but that’s not very you. You like the accomplishment, but you don’t like the bragging rights. So what’s it all for?”
“I…” I say, confused. “I want to make sure you know that your investment in me is worthwhile. I owe it to you. I would never have gotten where I am if you hadn’t championed me.”
There’s silence before she speaks. “Is that why you have no social life? You want to prove yourself to me?”
“I have a social life,” I say, but don’t deny the other part.
“Dinners with clients do not count, and you know it. Rowan. I…” She sighs like this is now weighing heavy on her. “I think when you get back, we need to talk about this concept in your head that you owe me anything other than doing your best and living your life.” Silence fills the line before she continues. “So no, Rowan, I will not fire you for having a previous connection with a guest and acting on it. In fact, I insist you take some time during her stay to do something with her. A hike, a dinner, a spa treatment, I don’t care. But do something foryou.”
I open my mouth to argue, but she shakes her head.
“I don’t want to hear it. I insist.” I roll my eyes at her tone. “I have to get to another meeting, but one last thing before I go.”
“Yeah?” I ask.
“The celebrity leak was found.”
My pulse skips a beat.
“The leak was found? You couldn’t have started with this?” I ask, and she laughs.
“We had other things to cover. But yes, late last night I was brought a name, and we’ve since been able to confirm it was them,” Annette confirms. “They’ve been escorted off the premises and blacklisted across all resorts and those of a few competitors with whom I’m friendly. We all agreed that we need to set a precedent for this kind of behavior.”
My mind is reeling, though I can’t deny the rush of relief moving through me.
“Who was it?” I ask, curious.
“An…” There’s clicking on the other end before she responds. “A Regina Sands, though she was staying at the resort under Regina Reynolds. Her first name matches the stays surrounding every other leak.” The name tugs on my mind, but I set it aside for a moment to ask the more important questions.
“Is she responsible for the issues at the resort?”
A sigh fills my ears, and I know the answer before she even says it.
“Unfortunately, I don’t believe she is related to the issues we’re facing. I can’t see a reason why she would want these resorts to suffer if she’s making a pretty penny on revealing the secrets of our clients. From what I can tell, she received her intel from a popular celebrity travel planner.”
“Hmm,” I hum, my mind working overtime. “Wait, she’s been spending a ton of time with Horace?—”
Again, Annette sighs.
“I know. Trust me, I know. It seems just to be a coincidence, Horace giving attention to anyone who gave him the time of day.”
“Oh, come on, Annette, he?—”
“If he hadn’t invested in the company three days before he left for his stay, I would agree. Or even if the news that we were struggling with this issue got out, impacted our stock, andthenhe bought it, I’d get it. But when I spoke with him this morning, he said he was happy to be on board, and I quote, despite the out-of-our-control issues we were facing, he believes in the company, and more importantly, he believes in you.”
I fight the urge to feel pride, especially since I can’t fucking stand Horace Greenfeld as of late, something I tell myself hasnothingto do with his flirting with Josie.
With her name on my mind, that niggling fact that I set aside comes back to the surface.
Regina Reynolds. Regina Sands. I saw that name recently.
