Page 16 of Maneater

From the corner of my eye, Rory lowers her magazine and fights a sneer that would send him scampering off at the very last minute. There is nothing Rory hates more than pretty meatheads.

He’s good-looking, of course, but the problem is, he knows it.

My least favorite kind of man. Of course, it doesn’t help that mymind is still twisted up, thinking about Rowan and wondering if he’s going to try and find me after the other night. I swear I can still feel the aftershocks of that orgasm, though it’s probably just because it had been so damn long since I’d had one that wasn’t self-induced. I swipe that thought away and get my head on the assignment at hand.

“Hello,” I say, sitting up, leaning forward, and smiling at him with my most coy look. “It’s been lovely so far.”

“Glad to hear it. I just wanted to come over and introduce myself, since I haven’t seen you lovely ladies here. I’m Daniel, the general manager of this resort. We’re so honored to have you here.”

I give him a conspiratorial smile. “You know we’re not celebrities, right?”

His smile goes even wider, and god, from that look alone, I’m sure he gets whoever he wants, whenever he wants them. This is my favorite kind of target, because they never see my brand of coercion coming. The kind where I use all of their own weaknesses against them to get whatIwant.

“All of our guests are a priority,” he says smoothly. “Especially when they’re as gorgeous as you two are.”

“You’re too kind,” Rory says, fluttering her lashes. She’s not the Maven who is known for conning men out of their deepest, darkest secrets with a smile and a head tilt, but all Mavens are experts at flirting, and Rory is no exception.

“Did you two just get in? I think I would have noticed you by now if you had been here for a while.”

I nod. “Sure did. Just arrived today, and we have two luxurious weeks ahead of us.”

He nods approvingly.

“Anything fun we should keep an eye out for?” Rory asks. “Excursions, nightlife?”

He seems to think on it for a moment before answering. “There’s a mingling dinner and drinks tomorrow night in the main restaurant, and on Monday, there’s a cocktail party. Dress up, meet some people, that kind of thing,” he says with a shrug, giving us the same spiel that we heard at the front desk.

“What if we don’t want the guest experience? What if we want to have somerealfun?” I ask with a wink, and his smile goes a bit devilish.

“Real fun?”

I lift a shoulder. “You know. Employee parties, nights out. A local bar that’s a lot of fun?” I ask conspiratorially.

“Oh, I don’t know, there’s a lot to do around here for guests on the resort grounds.”

“Come on, I know you know where the fun stuff is,” Rory says. “Just look at you.”

He thinks for a moment before looking left and right as if someone higher up than him is about to out him, despite him being the general manager.

“You want a party?”

Rory claps and nods. “Yes! The guests here seem nice, but a bit too…stuffy, you know?”

He nods. “Trust me, I know. Everyone here is a rich asshole.” I raise an eyebrow because even if in real life I am anything but, I would have to be at leastoneof those things in order to be a guest at this resort. “No, no, not you guys, of course.”

“Of course,” I say with a teasing smile.

He looks around again before leaning in. “There’s an employee party on Wednesday at eight. We have them once a month or so to keep up morale. Dancing, drinks, that kind of thing.”

“Oh, fun!” Rory croons.

“Guests normally aren’t allowed, but I can pull some strings.”

I lean forward, touch his forearm, and let out a small giggle.

“Oh, we wouldlovethat,” I say with my most seductive smile that insinuates so much more than he’ll ever get.

“Give me your room number, and I’ll make sure you get all the information.”