Page 6 of #Resort Love
Taking a step back, a loose piece of concrete crunched under my foot. Wincing, I closed my eyes, cursing myself for not paying closer attention to my surroundings. I slowly opened my eyes again, glancing between the two men. The one I ran into earlier still leaned against my car, the lines of his face hard, his lips thin. The other flashed a wide smile, his ocean blue eyes brightening as he made his way to me.
“Ah, finally! I’ve been waiting for you!” he said, clapping and rubbing his hands together. His voice was bright and confident. “I thought I was going to have to send Samian to drag you out.” he chuckled, rumbling deep from his chest.
I glanced at the man I ran into earlier today, Samian, and gave him a small hesitant smile, while I considered my options for running and if I could get away or not. The muscles in my legs flexed, readying for my escape. As if reading my thoughts, the man in front of me shifted, placing his hand on my lower back, cutting off my escape route. My body went rigid under his touch, but the man gave me a slight nudge, guiding me to my car.
“Don’t worry, darling, we’re not here to hurt you. Just the opposite. I’m here to offer you a job.” The man’s smile turned almost wolfish. “I heard that you might be needing one soon.”
He gave me a wink and suspicion flooded my veins. I narrowed my eyes at him, a small, quiet laugh escaping my lips. “What makes you think I need a job?” My boldness and the confidence in my voice fell flat and unconvincing. His smile turned sharp, and he gave me another low chuckle. “Iknowyou need a job, Ms. Sybil Hart, seeing how you were just fired from yours.”
My gaze snapped to him, my body tensing. My stomachtwisted and those silent warning bells rang louder in my head as I tried to move away from his hand. How could he have possibly known that I was fired? It had only been minutes since it happened, and I hadn’t told anyone except for the people on my team. Word couldn’t have gotten out that fast. The panic must have shown on my face, because the man held my shoulder softly, the ocean in his eyes warming as he gave me a supportive smile.
“I apologize, I should have introduced myself first,” he said, his voice calm and earnest. “My name is Ambrose Farra. Your brother should have told you about me?” Cocking his head slightly, he raised an eyebrow.
“He called but I wasn’t able to speak with him,” I murmured, nervously shifting my shoulder away from his hand.
“Ah, I guess that explains it. My employee here, Samian, ran into you this morning. I’ve been looking for you for a long time, and now that I’ve found you, I would like to help you,” Mr. Farra explained, pausing for a moment to consider his next words. “I want to offer you a job, one that I think you might enjoy.”
“Right,” I said slowly. The sickness in my stomach seemed to grow and those bells grew ever louder. I wondered if it was from the men’s sudden arrival or if the bells were warning me to keep my distance fromhim. “Why have you been looking for me? Have we met before?” Swallowing, I shifted back a step.
Mr. Farra’s smile grew wide, his eyes gleaming with something that I couldn’t quite make out. “We have, once, many years ago. Though I don’t think you would remember. But,” he paused, raising a finger. “We can talk about that later. Now, as for the job, financially, you’ll be paid more than you were making at—what was it called? Ah, The Metropolitan Times.” He kept his voice light and whimsical, his featuresgrowing more animated with excitement. “I can also guarantee that our benefits will be better. I really believe you’ll be much,muchhappier working for me.” Mr. Farra paused, his eyes turning cold as they cut to Samian. “Don’t you think so, Samian?”
My brows pinched together at the sudden tension that filled the air. Samian’s calculating eyes met mine, studying me though he kept his face devoid of any emotion.
“Of course,” Samian said blandly. “But who's really to say?”
I felt Mr. Farra’s gaze turn back to me, but mine lingered on Samian a moment longer, hoping for a clue whether I could trust this man, but Samian’s hard face gave nothing away. I glanced back to Mr. Farra, and his smile sharpened. “So, what do you say, Ms. Sybil? Will you join me and my company?”
The warning bells remained persistent but were quickly being overtaken by nervous excitement. I felt like I was stuck on a roller coaster, being fired, then almost immediately being offered another job. This would make telling Liam about today much easier, and getting paid more would be nice. However, my father’s words from long ago echoed through my mind, reminding me that if something seemed too good to be true, it usually was.
“What would I be doing for this job?” I asked slowly.
“We can work out the kinks later,” Mr. Farra said with a wink. “Nothing too crazy though. Nothing illegal, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
His playful voice felt oddly calming, soothing my nerves and silencing those warning bells. My shoulders dipped, the tension melting away. Considering his offer, I knew that I should be listening closer to the warning my instincts were screaming, but the ease that warmed my body made it hard to focus.
Shaking my head, I straightened my back, bracing myself. “Ithink I’ll need a little more information before agreeing to this, Mr. Farra,” I said, keeping my tone flat.
Mr. Farra’s smile faltered, but he nodded his head, mulling over my response. His gaze grew sharp and I swore I could feel the air around me grow colder. “Alright, fine. Take two days to consider my offer. In the meantime, I’ll put together some information on what you’ll be doing in this position. How does that sound?”
Carefully, I studied Mr. Farra, taking in the deep blue of his eyes. I tried to figure out if this was really happening, to see if he was some type of scam artist, but that calming feeling rushed through me again and the thought slipped away from my mind. Taking another moment to think over his offer, I quickly nodded my head. “Fine, I’ll take the two days to consider it and I’ll let you knowafteryou give me more details on what I would be doing.”
“Great! I’m glad we could come to an agreement, Ms. Sybil.” He smiled warmly. “I’ll be seeing you soon. Oh, and please, call me Ambrose.” Winking, he reached out his hand.
Timidly, I shook it. I started to pull away when a sharp pain laced through my hand, traveling up my arm. Gasping, I pulled my arm back, holding my hand tightly against my chest. My gaze cut to Mr. Farra, but his eyes gave no indication of the pain I just felt. Instead, he turned to Samian, who had finally moved away from my car. Looking down, I inspected my hand, unable to find anything wrong. My brows pinched and my heart thumped hard in my chest.
“Well then,” Mr. Farra said, lowering his head, his bright eyes searching to meet my gaze. “We will be seeing you soon.”
I stayed silent, only nodding to show that I acknowledged his goodbye. Seeming satisfied, Mr. Farra turned, clapping Samian on the shoulder as he walked past me. Samian’s jawclenched, but he lingered, focusing on the hand that I kept close against my chest. His face remained emotionless, but something close to concern flickered in his gaze, though it quickly vanished. Before I could say anything, Samian left me in the parking lot alone, following Mr. Farra down the street.
As soon as they were gone, I jumped in my car, locking the doors behind me. With my keys still in my hand, my arm trembled, the sharp pain still fresh in my mind. It had come and gone so fast that I almost wasn’t sure if it even happened.
I released a shaky breath and put my keys in the ignition, twisting them to turn on my car. Taking a moment to calm my racing heart, I put my car into drive and headed home to face Liam. I still wasn’t sure what I was going to say, but I would figure that out when I saw him.
Chapter 4
Samian
Reluctantly, I stood by Ambrose while he watched Sybil drive by from a small alleyway, hidden from the street. He had carefully masked his irritation when she refused to accept his offer right away, but now, his face was frozen in a sneer. Clenching his jaw, Ambrose wiped the imaginary dirt from his suit coat. My chest had swelled with pride when she rejected him and his touch. It wasn’t something that happened often to Ambrose, if at all. To see it happen in real time, I had to push down the laughter that fought to escape.
