FOUR
When Aiden came down to Key Largo, he told all of his employees not to acknowledge who he was. He’d spent the last couple of hours talking shop with some of the hopefuls, and only had to take aside two applicants who already knew him to explain that he was laying low.
The situation with not having enough cars had been disheartening, and it had thrown off the day’s itinerary. It wasn’t that the cars were not in the resort’s possession, but one of them which had been working just fine this whole time had chosen today not to start at all. So far, Aiden hadn’t gotten back the mechanic’s report to explain the reason why.
Still, the sight of the lovely Miss Addison made it well worth the wait, as far as he was concerned. Not too tall, slim but curvy, and a cheerful disposition. He certainly couldn’t complain as he watched the redhead enter the room.
Yet he knew he shouldn’t be concentrating on her, rather than paying attention to Kellen. Just because he had already told the guy what to include in his little speech today didn’t mean that he was supposed to ignore him completely. If he was supposed to behave as an applicant, that’s not what he’d be doing right now. It didn’t help that he was seated in the fourth row, and just three seats to the right of Miss Addison, though. He knew he shouldn’t be concerned with her in the middle of his current situation with Brynn, but he just couldn’t help himself.
“All right, everyone, I’ve talked your ears off long enough for now,” Kellen said, looking at his watch. “We’ve arranged a lovely buffet in the dining hut, and then you’re all free to settle into your rooms. Tomorrow’s schedules have been posted near each of your phones. And, as this is my only interaction with those of you who may soon be weeded out, I’ll take the opportunity to wish you all well. Good afternoon!”
Aiden was stuck in the middle of his row, while the object of his desire was able to easily escape from hers and head down the aisle toward the door. Lucky for him, though, there were about sixty people blocking her escape, so he was able to elbow his way over to her. However, his antics in doing so probably appeared far from casual to anyone who was paying attention.
He ‘accidentally’ bumped Miss Addison’s elbow with his own. “Oh, sorry. Pretty crowded in here, huh? That’s one of the things I hate about these hiring events, you know?”
Her lips quirked. “I wouldn’t know,” she told him, her face still pointed toward the door but her eyes glancing toward him. “I’ve never been to one before.”
“You haven’t?” he asked, glancing down at her chest. “But it says hospitality degree on your nametag. I would have thought you’d been through the mill at least once.”
“Sorry to disappoint, but I got hired straight out of the university,” she said with a casual shrug, still not turning around.
Aiden moved in a little closer, leaning toward her ear. If that didn’t get her attention, he doubted his intentions to engage her in conversation were going to be successful. “So, you’re that good? Then you should get hired on for this place easy. I’m going for a diving position myself.”
“Yes, so I see,” she said, glancing backward at his nametag now. “Do you always wear a tie to show off your swimming skills?”
Aiden laughed. “Well, you know, I would have come in just trunks, but my hot, muscular bod might have been too distracting for the ladies.”
“You think so?” she scoffed. “You must not live around here, then. We local girls see muscles all the time. I can’t speak for all of them, but I’d rather look for a guy who possesses a bit more than just a nice pair of biceps.”
“What, you mean like a PhD?” he replied with a playful pout. “Well, I’ve got one of those too. I majored in oceanography and ecological studies.”
“Really?” asked Miss Addison curiously as she turned to look him in the eyes. “Then what are you doing here? I’d have thought you’d be on some science vessel with credentials like that.”
Aiden grinned, glancing at her tag a second time. “Cat, huh? That must be why you’re showing me your claws. Is that short for Catherine or something?”
“No way,” she told him, starting to move forward with the crowd. “My mother aspires to become a crazy old cat lady someday, and apparently she started with me. If you think that’s weird, you should know that she named my brother Sol.”
“What’s weird about the name Saul?”
“It’s spelled S-o-l, as in another name for the sun,” she corrected him.
“Then I wonder why she called you Cat,” he teased. “Surely she should have called you Bast, don’t you think?”
Cat cringed. “No way, I think not!” she protested. “God, could you imagine going to school with the other kids and having a name like that? They’d eat you alive.” She then looked down at his nametag, but since he had used his middle name, that was the one she found there. “Not like Scott, which is totally normal. It’s the kind of name that would allow someone to blend right into the woodwork.”
“Yes, I suppose so,” he agreed. That was exactly why he was using it for his impromptu vacation from himself and his current personal troubles. Which he was emphatically not going to start thinking about right now. “Anyway, we both seem to be headed for the same building. Would you like to share the meal with me?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” she said as they reached the door. “How do we know they didn’t divide up the seating arrangements in there by category as well?”
Aiden snorted, knowing full well they hadn’t done anything of the sort, though he obviously couldn’t tell her so. Unlike Bob and Kevin, the two divers who knew him already, he was trying to keep everyone else in the dark about who he was until he’d sorted out which people he’d like to work with the most. And as beautiful as Cat Addison was, he wasn’t going to hire her just for her looks alone. He needed to get a look at her resume.
“There’s only one way we’re going to find out,” he told her, offering her his arm. After hesitating for a moment, Cat tentatively wrapped her fingers around his upper arm, discovering the hard, bulging muscle that was hidden under his dress shirt, just as he wanted her to. The trouble was, he hadn’t expected the action to have quite the affect it did on his libido.
He really liked this girl, and that was bad. Teasing and talking with someone to pass the time was one thing, but having thoughts of throwing her over his shoulder caveman style and hauling her off to his newly purchased, nearby condo was quite another. He needed to calm down.
Maybe it was just the fact that Brynn had filed for the divorce. Before, he’d never given himself permission to move on, but the idea of his impending freedom might be fueling his sudden desire to find someone else. He suspected it was a great deal more involved than that, though, since there were something upwards of fifty women in the room at the moment, yet he’d only managed to notice one.
They stepped companionably down the stairs and headed across the sandy lot. Aiden had felt it was much better to give the resort the appearance of a beach than to slather concreate all over the ground. Instead, circles of red brick dotted the landscape here and there, and reddish-brown benches sat beneath some of the palms. Other than that it had been covered over with sand he’d purchased from the nearby Everglades.
The dining hut was set somewhat beyond the bar, nearer to the executive cabins, of which there were eight which almost completely surrounded a private pool. Another pool, which was slated for family use, was hidden behind the main hotel, but it wasn’t visible from there. Beyond all of that he’d placed an employee’s housing complex which could hold up to sixty people in total, not that he’d expect to fill it to capacity. Most of the people he intended to hire were locals, but it never hurt to be ready for any eventuality.
For the week of the job fair, each of the seventy-six candidates had a room of their own. The divers and swimming instructors were being housed downstairs, which made it easier to access the long path that led down to the beach. People being considered for administrative, instructional, tour guide, or hospitality jobs were being housed either upstairs or in the executive cabins. Which meant that yes, Aiden actually had divided up the group in that regard as well. Miss Cat Addison was not far off the mark where his was concerned.
As they entered the café he pointed inside and said, “Well, would you look at that? I guess Mr. Whitney isn’t completely OCD after all. Look, no labels on the tables!”
“Will wonders never cease,” Cat chuckled. “Looks like I’m stuck dining with you after all, Scott.”