Private Paradise(3)

However, their board of directors, made up of their biggest outside investors, wasn't entirely on board. Though she knew the ins and outs of the resort better than anyone―maybe even Chris – there was talk of getting someone from the outside, with decades of experience, to insure Holley Cay didn't lose its status as one of the world's most exclusive, luxurious playgrounds for the rich and famous.

Chris, who thankfully always had her back, had lobbied heavily in Carla's favor. He'd gotten the board to agree to give Carla a one-year trial period as the acting General Manager.

In the first six months of her trial, Carla had come through with flying colors, if she did say so herself.

Until disaster struck, one which made it imperative that she hire a qualified security director, and fast.

“We've been looking for a security head for a month now, and nothing is happening,” Chris said.

Carla threw up her hands in frustration. “It's not my fault we haven't found anyone qualified. You saw the resumes. You told me not to bother bringing any of them in for interviews.”

“And now I found someone who's overqualified, so I jumped on it. You should be thanking me for taking what's been a major hurdle off your plate.”

If he'd hired anyone other than Sam O'Connell, she would. “I feel like I've been subverted and I don't like it.”

Chris's expression, usually so open and friendly, became grave. “I didn't want to have to hit you with this, but you know the thefts here have the investors questioning whether or not you can handle this.”

Carla felt the knot in her stomach pull tighter. The first six months after she took over, everything went as smooth as silk. Business was booming despite the down economy, and Holley Cay continued to get nothing but praise from their exclusive clientele.

Then a month ago, the panty raider had struck.

At least, that's what Carla had called him in her mind. She'd never be so frivolous in front of the women who, rightly so, were horrified and furious about the fact that, while at Holley Cay, someone had broken into their rooms, stolen multiple pairs of underwear, and was now attempting to auction them off on eBay.

Though most of the world saw it as nothing more than a silly prank, and the culprit, who turned out to be a member of the housekeeping staff looking for a creative way to make an extra buck, was easily tracked through her eBay account, for Carla and Holley Cay it had been disastrous.

Besides the gorgeous Caribbean setting, the resort staked its reputation on complete privacy, unparalleled luxury, and total discretion. Guests were willing to pay thousands of dollars for the privilege.

Carla had handled the problem as discreetly and as aggressively as she could, comping the guests who were victimized and getting rid of the security manager who had not done the background check required of every single employee. If he had, he would have found out that the woman in question had worked at another resort two years before and had been fired for stealing.

Then Carla had had a brand new, state of the art key card system installed that tracked employees' usage and made sure none of the staff were entering rooms or facilities unless they had reason to be there.

To her face, Chris and the investors had commended her on how she handled the aftermath, and when business rebounded and the numbers went back up, Carla had hoped to put the whole mess behind her.

Now she was afraid that one hiccup―okay, it was more like a heart attack―was going to ruin her chance to keep the job she'd worked so hard to earn.

“What do you think?” she asked, raising her chin in challenge. “I know you have to answer to the investors, but you still have a lot of pull. Do you think I'm up to it?”

“Of course,” Chris replied, and Carla felt the tension drain out of his shoulders at his lack of hesitation. “But the lack of a competent security manager makes them nervous, and the more nervous they are, the more I get bitched at.” He lifted a big hand to stifle a yawn. “And between Julie and Mathilda and twenty families at a time to keep happy, I don't need to hear it. I ran Sam's resume by them and they loved that he's former special forces and worked for Argus Securities.”

Carla rolled her eyes. “I don't know a single person who would choose where to stay based on who was running security.”

“Me neither, but that's not the point. It's your ass if we don't hire someone. Sam practically fell into our laps, and I can't understand why you're not as happy about this as I am.”

She knew she was screwed, but she couldn't keep from lobbing one final protest. “He's practically been a mercenary for the past five years. That's not exactly a great foundation for working in the hospitality business.”

Chris cocked a dark eyebrow and gave her an irritated look.