She was about to wish him a good day when she noticed a half-empty box of cleaning spray. Strolling over, she glanced down, and for decorum’s sake, bent at the knees before picking up a single bottle, one of about half remaining in the box. “Where did these come from?” Standing up and swiveling the bottle in her fingers, she looked it over and then again at the box it had come in.
“They showed up a week ago or so. Why, what’s the problem?”
“Your crew has been using them?” she asked.
“Si.”
“Crap,” she mumbled as she reverted to English without conscious thought. “Don’t use any more of these bottles, okay?”
“Okay, but we’ll need new ones.”
“I’ll have some here by this afternoon.” With that, Maria spun on her heels, taking the spray bottle with her.
It didn’t take her three minutes to arrive at the office of the general manager, a man she had little respect for. She rapped on his door and when he looked up, she lifted the bottle, showing it to him as if in question.
“What?” the man rasped out impatiently.
Maria inwardly fumed. The guy stayed on his computer all day playing games, gambling, and messing with his social media accounts while she performed the job he was getting paid for. Poor Mr. Duncan would be rolling in his grave if he knew his beloved hotel was in such disrespectful hands. “Did you order these?” she asked.
“Yeah. So?”
Maria heard someone in the hallway behind her but she didn’t turn around to see which clerk had walked by. “See anything missing?” she asked, indicating the bottle, for the moment, concentrating only on the mission at hand.
“No,” he snapped, obviously impatient.
“M.S.D.S.” she replied succinctly, crossing her arms. “Mean anything to you?”
“On spray cleaner?” He rolled his eyes as if she had a screw loose. “Run along now, I’m busy.”
She took a deep breath and prayed for patience. “Mr. Treadway, I realize that you and I don’t get along all that well. But trust me, this isn’t a minor detail.” As she spoke, she attempted like hell to keep her tone neutral. “Every single bottle of this stuff, all the chemicals used in this hotel, have to have material safety data sheets on them. Not just on the box, but on each bottle.”
“On spray cleaner? Who gives a shit?” he snorted, looking back to his computer as if she were wasting his time.
“OSHA’s going to give a shit,” she answered decisively as she walked over to his desk and set the bottle beside his cell phone.
“OSHA?” he repeated, continuing to give his full attention to his computer screen, not even giving her the courtesy of pretending interest.
Knowing full well he knew exactly who OSHA was, she lost it and couldn’t keep the sarcasm from her voice. Hell, she was going to get her pink slip today anyway, so why the fuck not? “Yeah, you know, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, that large government entity that likes to protect workers by imposing large fines on corporations that don’t comply with their guidelines? Do you not care anything about this hotel or its employees?”
Taking her by surprise, his hand shot out and he gripped her wrist, his lips twisting into an unpleasant sneer. “Your attitude sucks. I know who the fuck OSHA is and I don’t give a shit about a couple of bottles of cleaner.”
Mounting fury lit her insides that he would dare touch her but she remained perfectly still as she gave him a withering stare. “If you don’t release me this very instant—”
The threat she was about to make was cut off as Garrett Rule stepped into the room. At the expression on his face, a fine buzzing began in her ears. The man appeared pissed. Upon further evaluation, the man looked beyond pissed. And somehow she knew, without him saying a word, that she wasn’t the person he was pissed at. At the same moment she made the realization, she began pulling on her wrist, and unfortunately for Mr. Treadway, he chose to tighten his hold.
Garrett came forward, and an air of danger filled the room around her, making her head spin. “Let her go.” The caustic words were spoken harshly, through gritted teeth.
Treadway released her wrist but made another crucial mistake. “Who the hell are you? Get the fuck out of my office.”
Maria quickly pulled her hand back, rubbing her wrist without conscious thought and met Garrett’s eyes, some indefinable communication passing between them. With a single glance, she realized exactly how beautiful he was. His eyes and hair were dark, his skin so swarthy that he looked as if he might have mixed ancestry. His features were refined, and at the moment, his lips were still curled with contempt.