Page 34 of Maneater (The Mavens #1)

TWENTY-THREE

ROWAN

“You look like shit,” Annette says early the next morning on our weekly call, which I have been struggling to pay attention to. I’ve only been able to think about two things since I left that coatroom last night: Josie’s lips and the purse she was rifling through.

“What?”

“You look like shit,” she repeats.

“Well, we’re currently dealing with someone who is becoming increasingly dangerous and loud with their sabotage, and I can’t figure out who it is or why it’s happening. Not sure how I’m expected to sleep tight knowing that.”

She looks at me, then shakes her head. “No, it’s not that. You look… You look guilty.”

“Guilty?” I ask, my pulse pounding because I am guilty. Last night in a public space, I pushed a guest against a wall and had her grinding her pussy against my leg. I would have made her come like that if we hadn’t been interrupted.

“I actually,” I start, then sigh, running a hand over my face. I didn’t want to tell Annette about what happened, but I know I have to. “I actually have to talk to you about something. ”

“Oh?” Her eyes go wide with panic. “Rowan, do not tell me you’re quitting. I’ll do whatever I have to to keep you.”

That makes me smile a bit, relieving a bit of the pressure.

“No, but I’ll keep that in mind next time I want a raise.

” She rolls her eyes but doesn’t continue, so I move forward.

“I know that…” I hesitate, trying to pick the best words as I always do, but ever since Josie came back into my life, that skill seems to have disappeared.

“I know that in the handbook for resort employees, fraternizing with guests is against the code of conduct.”

A small smile flitters over Annette’s face before melting away as she crosses her arms over her chest and leans back. “Okay.”

“I’m not fully clear about how that impacts upper management and resort guests,” I say low, since I read multiple handbooks and couldn’t quite figure out if I fall under that umbrella.

“But if it does, I need to disclose to you that a guest currently at the resort is an old acquaintance of mine, and we’ve… well, we’ve reconnected.”

“An acquaintance?”

I nod, then explain. “Yes. We went to the same university when I went back for my MBA, and she lives in Hudson City. We bumped into each other at a bar the day before I came here, and she came out to stay at the resort the following day.”

“So you’re…what? Dating her?”

“I mean, I haven’t really had time to…” I decide this is not the path to go down and shift gears.

“We keep bumping into each other, so I’ve spent some time with her since coming to the resort.

Last night we, um.” I can feel the blush burning on my cheeks and avoid the small screen in the corner that shows my own face, knowing I’m red. “We kissed last night.”

Annette nods. “What’s her name?”

My brow furrows because I’m not sure what that has to do with anything, but I give it to her anyway.

“Josie. Josephine Montgomery. ”

“Josie. Pretty name.”

“Yeah. Um…am I in trouble?”

“What?”

“Am I going to be fired? I know she’s a guest, but—” I stop my rambling when her laugh fills the room.

“You’re not fired. In fact, I’m relieved, if we’re being honest.”

“What?”

“My god, Rowan. All you do is work. When was the last time you took some time for yourself?”

”I—” I start, but she shakes her head and cuts me off.

“I’m proud of you for growing this business as quickly as you have.

Your determination has clearly paid off.

I’ve always valued and admired your hard work, but I also want you to be here a long time.

If you burn yourself out by having no life, you’re going to quit and pull a Don Draper, join some kind of meditation commune, and we’ll never hear from you again. ”

“I think that’s a little?—”

“You work too hard, Rowan. You’re going to send yourself into an early grave. You should go enjoy your success a bit.”

“I’m the youngest VP of Operations this company has ever had. I didn’t get that by sitting back and doing nothing.”

“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 for you .”

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, and then he 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 has nothing to 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.

At the cocktail party last night.

Where I found Josie going through someone’s purse— Regina’s purse. When I caught her, she distracted me successfully with her charm and her lips.

What if…my mind reels, trying to put two and two together and unable to make four.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about the past year that I bumped into her and noticed a pattern that brought al arm to my veins: of the eight men I can remember she’s been on dates with within the last year, six of them faced some kind of exposé.

Embezzlement, cheating, a messy divorce.

If I looked into it, how close would those exposés be to when she was out with them?

I had thought for a moment Josie might be some kind of journalist, that maybe she was our leak. She said she was a micro influencer, which I was able to confirm through my own research. However, it would be the perfect cover to gain access to exclusive spaces, places where celebrities might be.

But now…

Now I’m even more confused.

A phone rings on the other end of the call, and Annette sighs. “I have to go, Rowan. Let me know if you need anything at all. And make sure to rest and take care of yourself. You sound like shit.”

I laugh at her constant refrain and shake my head, trying to knock Josie out of it.