Chapter 4
Selena was waiting for Avery to arrive for the morning shift with her legs crossed and one foot jiggling impatiently. When Avery finally dragged herself through the front door, she sighed with relief. “Thank God!” said Selena, standing.
Avery frowned, looking down at her watch. “I’m right on time,” she pouted.
Selena gave the other woman a weary smile. “Of course you are, darling,” she purred. “But I’ve just had a horrendous shift. You wouldn’t believe some of the requests we’ve had tonight.”
Avery made a face. “Oh no, Selena. That sucks. Now I feel a bit like a jerk…I had some really good news to tell you.”
“Oh baby, don’t feel so. Tell me!” Selena leaned over the front desk, resting her chin on her hand. “Did you get laid?” she asked mischievously.
Avery blinked. “How did you know?”
“You look all sparkly and relaxed. Nobody looks that good at 7 am unless they’ve just been really properly fucked. You know it’s true, honey.”
Avery glanced around as if afraid someone in the empty lobby had overheard Selena say “fucked” but, of course, no one had. Her worries calmed, she smiled. “Well, you’re right, as always.”
Selena grinned. She loved to gossip. “Well? Who was it? Johnny the chef? He’s been after you for months.”
“What?” Avery asked. “He has not! And no, it wasn’t Johnny.” She leaned in until she and Selena were almost nose to nose. “It was Deacon Wolfe,” she whispered.
Selena was stunned. “Deacon Wolfe?” she hissed back. “Are you kidding?”
Avery shook her head. “And it was mind-blowing.”
Selena raised an eyebrow. “Well look at you go, Little Miss Goody Two Shoes. I’m impressed. I didn’t think you had it in you.”
Avery blushed. “Me neither,” she admitted happily. “We just ran into each other in Central Park and he asked me to dinner and…well…oh my God, though, Selena. It was, like, literally the best sex I’ve ever had.”
Selena smiled tightly. “I’m glad to hear it, honey. Just make sure word doesn’t get out. I don’t want you getting into trouble right before your big promotion.”
Avery blushed again. “I might not get it. Nothing’s set in stone.”
Selena rolled her eyes mentally. Everyone knew Avery was getting the promotion. Their bosses had made some pretty clear insinuations. “Well, all the more reason to be careful then,” she said. “Anyway, sweetheart, I’ve gotta run. A girl needs her beauty sleep. You be good now.”
The other woman beamed. “Have a great day, Selena. When are we going for drinks?”
“Soon, baby. Soon. See you later!” Without waiting for Avery to reply, Selena swept up her coat and purse and sashayed out the front doors, inwardly fuming.
This was so typically Avery. She was such an idiot. She went around thinking she was so perfect and so much better than all the other lowly mortals crawling around New York, pretending to be so humble and above it all when actually she was just as greedy as everyone else.
Selena seethed as she walked. She couldn’t believe it. She just couldn’t believe that Deacon Wolfe, after having seen both of them, would choose to spend the night with Avery over her. Seriously, was the man blind? Avery was all skin and bone. She had nothing on Selena and everyone knew it, including Avery. It just wasn’t fair. Avery did nothing to keep up her looks. Sure, she ran and ate well, but that’s about as basic as you can get. Meanwhile, Selena slaved away with her daily beauty routines – and this was the thanks she got? Deacon Wolfe decided to sleep with someone who looked like a twelve-year-old tomboy? Avery didn’t even paint her nails, for Chrissake.
And then there was the promotion. Selena growled under her breath. Their bosses hadn’t been subtle in their hints about who would be moving up to manager in a few weeks, and they hadn’t been talking about Selena. Which was totally unfair. Selena had worked at Crosby Street for just as long as Avery had and was an excellent concierge. The guests loved her – especially the men (most of them, at any rate). But her bosses had always preferred Avery to her. It was probably because they were all women, Selena thought bitterly.
Selena had been willing to let the promotion go without a fight, but now with Deacon Wolfe in the mix, she was furious. It was time to take Avery down a notch or two. After all, God helped those who helped themselves, right?
Selena knew what she needed. She needed a plan. And to do that she needed a manicure. Hailing a taxi, she told it to drive until they found the nearest nail salon. Five minutes later, Selena was throwing herself into a padded manicurist’s chair. “Fix me,” she told the blonde at the station. “I’m having a horrendous day.”
“You wanna talk about it?” said the manicurist, taking Selena’s left hand in both of hers and removing the perfect nail polish that was already there.
“This bitch at work. I have to take her down. She’s stolen my promotion and now she’s after my man too!” Selena looked up at the ceiling. “I’ll start with the promotion. That won’t be too hard. A little clip of her going out with one of the guests outside of working hours in the right hands will lose her her job, never mind her promotion.”
“Mmhmm,” said the manicurist, not really listening. Women were always coming in here acting like she was some sort of cross between a life coach, a shrink, and their mother. She made minimum wage plus tips to paint nails. She didn’t give a shit about their problems. To her, it was all white noise. But she was very good at pretending to listen. That was what brought in the big tips.
“Exactly. But how to get her away from Deacon?” Selena frowned at the manicurist’s blond bangs.
“The scum is cheating on her,” the manicurist offered. It was her response to almost any relationship question her clients put to her. That, combined with “Oh, honey, just leave him. He doesn’t deserve you” worked for nearly all occasions.
Selena snapped the fingers of her free hand. “Oh my God, you’re a literal genius. That’s perfect. I’ll cozy up to her, say I heard it from one of the other girls that he was hitting on them, trying to get her to drinks with him. Or no, even better, I’ll say he was hitting on me. And of course, I turned him down, obviously. Because I’m her friend and I would never do that to her. It’s perfect. She’ll eat it right up, she’s such an idiot.”
“Sounds great,” said the manicurist, bending over Selena’s hand so that she wouldn’t see her roll her eyes.
TO BE CONTINUED…
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