Besides, who was she to ask for favours from someone as famous as Jay? He probably got asked for free tickets to his shows all the time and was sick of it. How would she feel if someone asked her to clean their house for free? A couple of concert tickets cost a month's worth of housecleaning.
Good thing Jay wasn't home.
Silently wishing him and his partner good night, Audra headed back to the staff accommodation to sleep. She'd have to be up early to get the best tickets before they sold out. Front row at one of his concerts was the closest she'd ever get to him, and she'd be satisfied with that, damn it. Even if she dreamed of more, who was she fooling? He'd never be hers.
TWENTY-FOUR
"Why are you so late this morning? Been servicing that hot trainer again?"
Half the staff in the dining room seemed to be staring at her, having heard Penny's loud taunt. Audra wished her cheeks would cool. "There's nothing going on between Serge and me!" she hissed, seizing a bowl and filling it with far more yoghurt than she could eat.
"Servicing the lonely VIP instead? I hope he pays you extra for that."
Audra slammed her bowl down on the table. Yoghurt flew everywhere, including on Penny, but Audra didn't care. "I'm not sleeping with anyone on this island. No guests, no staff, no one! Enough already."
She felt sick. She wasn't sure she could eat anything now. Snatching up her yoghurt-splashed banana for later, Audra turned on her heel and left the dining room.
Penny's final taunt followed her. "No wonder she's so bloody grumpy. Frigid and frustrated." Muffled laughter wafted out the door, but Audra didn't turn to see who'd sniggered along with Penny.
Audra clenched her fists at her sides, wishing she'd done more than spill yoghurt on Penny. She wanted to punch the bitch, rip her hair out and enjoy seeing her lying lips bleed. It was like being in high school again. She shouldn't let the bitch get to her so much, but Penny reminded her of the snarky teenage girls she'd gone to school with.
She ran full tilt into a wall of muscle.
"Fancy running into you this morning!" Serge didn't seem fazed by the collision. In fact, he was grinning. "Did you think any more about my offer of servitude?" He peered at her face and his grin faded. "What's wrong?"
"Penny," Audra bit out. "She's telling everyone who'll listen that I've slept with you and the VIPs in the Pearl Villas. If Annette believes her, I'll lose my job."
Serge patted her shoulder awkwardly. "I came by last night to thank you again, but you were skyping with your sister, I think, so I didn't want to disturb you. I'll set her straight. You won't need to worry about her again." With a grim look in his eye, he marched toward the dining room.
Oh shit. Audra was torn between stopping him and watching Penny's embarrassment when he accused her of being the lying sack of shit she was. Penny wouldn't take her viciousness out on Serge, though – no, she'd wait for lunch and make Audra's day hell.
Audra quickened her steps away from Penny. If she managed to get all her morning duties done early, maybe she could be in and out at lunch before Penny made it to the staff dining room. Give the girl someone else to focus her anger on. Now for the big question: should she do the Pearls first, or let Jay and his guest sleep in while she dealt with the common areas?
Pearls last, she decided. There was less chance of running into Penny in the villas, so she'd leave them until last as the most pleasant part of her job. As long as Jay hadn't spread the chocolate sauce across the rug and the sofa, it could well be the highlight of her day.
She vacuumed and polished, emptied bins and restocked mini-bars, all the while humming songs from Jay's latest album. The ticket website had been playing the tunes the whole time she'd been on there, handing over almost a week's pay for her and Sam to see Jay sing and dance live onstage. It'd be worth it, though. It was Chaya's farewell tour, after all, and they'd be close enough to the stage to see Jay's face. And he'd be able to see hers, if he even noticed one among the thousands-strong crowd. It didn't matter. She'd seen him at his lonely worst. At the concert, she'd undoubtedly see him at his performance best.
When everything else was done and she'd paused to eat her breakfast banana, Audra straightened her uniform and marched around the lagoon to the villas.
Albina was easy; having cleaned and prepared it yesterday, all she had to do today was tidy the mess left by the IT guys and add the list of welcoming touches. Fresh milk, fresh flowers and the welcome fruit basket. Carrying the basket proved the greatest temptation as the scent of ripe guava taunted her every step. Audra glanced at the clock on her ID. Only an hour until lunch. She had to hold on until then and load up a bowl of fruit salad. That'd fix her fruit cravings.
Satisfied with Albina, Audra loaded her trolley with fresh towels and toiletries, and wheeled it to the bottom of the steps to Maxima. Now to see just how good a night Jay had had with his guest. Audra added an extra packet of cleaning cloths to the top of her stack of towels and took a deep breath.
One swipe and the door shot open, just like last night, and Audra exhaled in relief. Jay and his lady were already out, enjoying the island and all the activities it had to offer. Maybe they'd gone snorkelling or diving with Hana.
Audra headed for the bathroom first to set down the towels, but found yesterday's stack still sitting there, untouched, beside the bath oil. Evidently Jay hadn't needed the spa to seduce his songwriter. The rock star was smoother than she'd expected. What she'd give to run her tongue over some of his smooth skin as he did the same to her...
Pressing her fingers to her cheeks to cool her blush, Audra left the towels in the bathroom and headed for the kitchen. The fondue set would need to be washed for sure.
She was greeted by an immaculate kitchen, complete with the untouched fondue platter in the fridge. The note she'd left, telling him to page maid services through Reception if he needed assistance with it, had wicked up the moisture in the fridge, so the soggy paper stuck to the side of the bowl of strawberries. Strawberries that looked just as inviting as they had yesterday.
Audra firmly closed the door. She couldn't take them now any more than she could yesterday.
No spa and no strawberries, chocolate or champagne. Maybe the massage oil, then?
Holding her breath, Audra tiptoed to the bedroom, expecting to see the disarray only a night of wild, passionate sex could bring. Yet she stopped dead in the doorway. The crisply made bed was just as she'd left it. A quick check confirmed that all the beds in Maxima were equally untouched. So much for her efforts, or Jay's guest. He hadn't returned to the villa at all.
A whisper of worry crept into her heart. Was he all right? Had he and his guest simply drunk too much and passed out on the beach instead of in the house? Or had he chosen to stay in town instead of returning to the island? Maybe he'd call the resort to have his things packed up and sent home to him, wherever home was, and he'd never return. She felt a twinge of disappointment at never seeing him again.
Audra lifted the phone and called Reception. She waited for Heloise to purr a greeting before she blurted out, "The guest in Maxima. Is he on the island?"
What if the sharks had gotten to him? Most of them weren't all that big, but they could still bite and if he'd fallen into the lagoon drunk, he might not have been able to crawl out again.
"You want me to check his ID?"
Audra wet her lips. "Yes. Check if he's on the island and where his ID was last recorded."
Audra heard Heloise's perfectly manicured nails click across the keyboard and wondered what colour they were today. "No, the last scan is yesterday morning, when he walked through the gate to the helipad. Nothing since then. He doesn't seem to be anywhere on the island." A pause. "Is there a problem with Maxima?"
Audra shook her head violently, then realised Heloise couldn't see it through the phone. "No, just that his place looks like he hasn't been here since I cleaned yesterday, so I wondered if he'd checked out." She took a longer look around his bedroom. "Actually, it looks like all his luggage is still here, too. Thanks, Heloise." Audra ended the call, wondering why she felt so saddened. She forced herself to swallow down her disappointment at not seeing Jay. It wasn't as if she knew Jay very well and he was certainly a demanding guest. She should be happy he wasn't back yet.
Well, her workday just got easier. With her morning tasks complete, she had time for a coffee and perhaps even some cake before lunch. If she was lucky, the cooks would let her have the fruit salad early. She was starving. Telling herself that everything would work out for the best, she hurried to the staff dining room. Everything would be fine if she hadn't skipped breakfast. She wouldn't do that again.
TWENTY-FIVE
Jason woke up handcuffed to the bed. He recognised the cold touch of steel around his wrist and reached out with his free hand for the sexy dominatrix who'd shackled him. His desire stirred instantly at the thought, but his fingers closed on nothing but cold cotton and air. Where was last night's chick?
He pried his eyes open and light lanced his retinas, so he forced them shut again. Fuck, who'd unleashed a jackhammer in his head? He needed a beer. No, a bourbon. Yesterday he'd had beer. He'd never drink the stuff again. Only bourbon and vodka in future.
A persistent beeping irritated him. Slow and steady, like a heartbeat.
Jason cracked one eye open, just wide enough to take in the room. He was lying in a single bed. A hospital bed, handcuffed to the railing. What the fuck? He tugged at the handcuffs, which looked a lot tougher than the ones he'd played with in the past. He might actually need a key to get out of these. And he'd better, soon, because he needed to piss like a...something big and flowing. With lots of water. A waterfall, maybe.