Work Text:
Nothing about five-foot-three and clad in a black pencil skirt is even remotely intimidating. Kate is aware of that, although her co-workers seem to think differently. Specifically, Ximena who sent her to go do this in the first place.
It’s boiling hot outside and she’s been hovering around the olive green front door of the maintenance office for over three minutes, wondering if she should keep knocking because it sounds dead silent from the outside. She’s already done it twice. From the front desk they’d called three times and the guy who did all of the repairs picked up twice and said he was coming but it’s been almost an hour and the front door has already tried to close in on three people. They need it to work so they don’t get sued or something. So, she squares her shoulders, holds her chin up high and poises her fist to bang on the door more aggressively.
And then he opens it.
It’s not like Kate hasn’t seen him before, she’s been working here since the start of the summer so she was bound to. Usually he’s wearing the name tag they’re all supposed to keep on – hers usually means all the men who come to the front desk stare at her boobs and repeat her name with oozing, disgusting smiles while their wives take care of the kids. Seth… She’s about ninety per cent sure that’s it.
“Might wanna aim a little higher if you’re looking to ‘cause damage, sweetheart.”
She’s heard rumours about him. That he’s an ex-con. That he’s sleeping with most of the guests and upper management. She tries not to believe everything she hears.
Kate drops her fist. “Were you just sitting in there?”
His eyes move from side to side. “Yeah.”
“I knocked twice.”
“Didn’t hear it.”
There’s no use arguing the point, she’s there for a reason so she may as well get to it. She drops the way her face pinches up in annoyance and explains: “They asked me to come find you.”
“They asked you?”
“Yes.”
He chuckles. “For what reason?”
“We called you an hour ago? To look at the issue with the door?”
He’s crossing his arms over his chest, muscles bulging in the tight t-shirt that definitely wasn’t part of the uniform. He narrows his eyes and tils his head expectantly at her, leaning his shoulder against the door frame.
“What issue with the door?”
Kate almost loses it right then and there at him but she makes her lips a thin line and takes a deep breath through her nose, composing herself. He’s supposed to be charming. That’s what she’s heard from other people. Lazy but gorgeous and quick-witted. She’s heard one of the older women gush about him being so sweet to Ximena although she’s never seen evidence of that yet. From what she can tell at this moment he’s just annoying and she’s short on patience.
She’s been dealing with the door problem on her own, trying to rush people in when it looks like it’s going to go haywire and cut off limbs. A trooper through it all, she hasn’t complained about it once.
The thing is, no matter how infuriating he is, or how annoying working reception has been, she’s dealt with worse.
“It keeps trying to close on people.” She explains for what feels like the tenth time.
“And that’s my issue?”
Kate’s lips turn down and her stare turns icy. “You’re supposed to fix things, or at least find someone else to do it. Is that not why they hired you? Or was it just to flex your arm muscles and smirk at people? Because if that’s the case I’ll go find someone capable.”
There’s a moment of silence and tension between them – will they or won’t they have it out in the doorway in front of paying guests, who are looking over at them as they pass to their rooms, flip flops slapping against the pavement. The moment passes and his lips quirk up in amusement and she finally lets out a frustrated groan, turning on her heel to stomp away.
There’s the sound of a door slamming shut and he catches up with her after a few seconds. She stares forward with her jaw set stubbornly. Kate knows he’s staring at her and he keeps in step with her rather easily – short legs make for shorter strides and she’s not exactly running.
“How do you work here when you’ve got no fuckin’ patience?” Seth asks, facing forward now although she can see him glancing at her every now and then out of the corner of her eye.
“How do you work here at all?” She counters as they pass by another family. Kate smiles politely and nudges him to get him to do the same but he drops it as soon as they’re out of earshot.
“Strenuous interview process, princess.”
“Let me guess, they believed you when you reassured them that you were totally reliable.”
“You know, you’re assuming a lot considering you just met me.”
“I think I’ve been working here long enough to know you never fix things until weeks after we’ve asked.”
“I’m sorry I can’t be on beck and call for every time a screw falls out.”
Kate stops, looking up at him in confusion. He’s paused next to her staring back down with his eyebrows raised like he’s interested in what her reply could possibly be. “That’s literally your job.”
“I think I know what my job is.” He scoffs.
She goes back to walking in the direction of reception, they’re so close now that she only has to keep up the conversation going for a little while longer before she’ll hear the familiar one-of-twelve songs preapproved for the sound system. “Do you?”
“I fix things.” He replies from behind her and then she can hear his heavier footsteps again.
“I’ve seen you spend four hours in the arcade trying to beat Stacker.”
“I was on my lunch break.”
“And then I saw you not beat it and kick the machine.”
“Shit’s rigged.”
Eventually they reach the tiled reception area and she turns as she reaches the desk, walking backwards. “Again, how do you work here?”
He eyes the cross hanging around her neck for a moment and she almost bumps into someone coming out of the break room. “Blessed, I guess. Take it up with the man upstairs.”
Kate just barely manages to apologise to Paloma before she’s rolling her eyes. She places her hands on the top of the pristine white desk as he continues to watch her from the other side, leaning his elbow on it. “Please, just get the stupid door fixed so it stops trying to kill our guests.”
“Alright, alright. Enough with the dramatics, I’ll look at the damn door.”
He turns away and she settles down into her seat to notice Ximena looking over at her like she just caught her doing something.
“What?” She asks, eyebrows furrowing as she crosses one of her legs over the other.
“I can’t believe you actually got him down here.”
Kate reaches for the box of carrot sticks she’s been hiding from everyone else and peers at Seth once more as he stands and watches the door with his hands on his hips. A woman comes from behind him and has to do a little shuffle dance trying to get past, then almost crashes into the glass doors that are now apparently refusing to open. She looks back at Ximena as he leads her to the emergency exit. “I think he got so into the argument we were having that he accidentally followed.”
“Yeah, I’m sure that was what it was.” Ximena smiles to herself, glancing down.
She can’t ask what the other woman means because another guest comes though after Seth yells at them to use the other door from the other side of the glass. She stands up to help them while Kate munches furiously on the rest of her carrot, trying to think of something else. Like her to-do list. And not the fact that Seth is good-looking and kept smirking at her.
A week or so later it wasn’t the door that was the door that was the problem anymore.
No, long gone were the days of automatic front doors trying to murder the guests of The Dew Drop Resort, now they had a half lit bar because apparently no one made sure that all of bulbs wouldn’t go out at once. Or there was no schedule at all for changing the lightbulbs. Or Seth just didn’t care for the schedule because he was Seth.
Kate saw him a few times in passing over the last few days, usually on her lunch break.
Most notably she’d seen him threaten some guy that was probably only a few years younger than her, or at least watched him gesture aggressively at him. Again she had wondered how he managed to get and keep this job.
She’d expressed that to him as she walked past and he just winked at her, prompting a scowl.
They are well into June at this point and most days the heat is unbearable, putting her co-workers in bad moods. Even on the cooler days she’s had to be careful of sunburn and crabby attitudes. Kate’s been lucky enough to be at reception on the days she has work, where the air conditioner is constantly on full-blast to keep paying guests from complaining.
Regardless of the fact that it’s not supposed to be her issue, a bar where you could barely see anyone failed to set a sexy mood and the other lights seemed to be dropping like flies. Everything ends up being her problem one way or another, it seems.
They’re down to around six bulbs when she’s approached while sipping on some mixed drink Rafa made her when she said she wanted something with Baileys and a cute umbrella. Turning twenty-one the year prior had never seemed a big deal until she’d gotten this job and then drinking with her co-workers – even if it was at her place of employment – had become a source of comfort and bonding. This time she was mostly alone, watching the debacle unfold. Four people had already walked into tables.
“You have to do something.” Rafa tells her, leaning forward against the bar. He’s one of the people she likes most at the resort friend wise, although Ximena has warned her that he has a bit of a crush. Kate’s not sure if it’s mutual, some days she thinks so and other days she avoids him not to feel bad.
She pulls her drink away from her mouth and tips her head to the side in confusion. “What do you want me to do?”
“Go find Seth.” He insists.
It’s safe to say she’s confused as to why she’s suddenly become everyone’s favourite option for finding the grumpy maintenance guy, but she’s sure Ximena told someone about it and news spread. The workplace is great for ridiculous gossip and everyone thinks they have a will they or won’t they romance when mostly they just bicker.
“Are we sure he’s even around?” She asks, raising her eyebrows. Her lips are turned down, feeling awkward that she’s even being asked to do it.
“He’s in the maintenance office all the time. All you have to do is check.”
“No one else can go?”
“No, everyone manning the bar has to make sure we don’t die.”
Kate’s finger swirls around the rim of the glass and her shoulders sink in compliance. “Fine, but if he’s not there… Or even if he is. I’m going home straight after.”
“You’re our saviour.” He reaches for her hands and then walks over to tell Paloma who grins at her.
Kate groans and steps off the stool, smoothing her hands over her blouse. She’d changed into jeans not long after finishing her shift, so she knew she looked far less professional. Not that she was worried about how she’d look in front of him. That’d be ridiculous.
She found her way out of the bar to the well-lit hallway, taking the elevator down to the ground floor and finding her feet on concrete again.The night is mostly quiet, the only noise being chatter from rooms and television. The walk to the green door almost uneventful and she tucks her hands into her pockets before trying to tell if there is light coming from underneath the door.
Taking a breath, she knocks once and finds no response. On a whim, she turns the doorknob and finds that it opens far too late to take the action back and it swings open to reveal Seth with a can of beer and his feet up.
He doesn’t say anything.
Kate stands there, frowning at him as he watches what looks like a baseball game. It feels like a while passes before he finally speaks.
“If you weren’t so loud this’d be kind of voyeuristic.”
Of all the words to leave his mouth, she’s surprised it’s that one. Although she supposes considering it’s to do with perversion she shouldn’t be so shocked. “Is baseball your porn equivalent? Should I turn the lights down?”
Seth snorts and whips his head around to look at her with a smile and she grins in spite of herself. He seems surprised. “Do you need something?”
“Lights are out at the bar. You’re supposed to change them.”
“There’s a schedule.” So, she was right about one thing.
“And?”
“And, they’re not supposed to…” He stands up and she moves out of his way as he shuffles all the things around the desk in the room. Finally, he finds a piece of paper and begins to read it with a pencil in hand, following along the lines. “Huh. Shit.”
“Does anyone around here make sure you do your job?”
“No, apparently all they do is send teenage girls to harass me.” He tucks the pencil behind his ear.
“I’m twenty-one.”
Seth meets her eyes and then scans down her body and she squints at him. “Right. Well, you don’t look a day over twelve.”
She’s pretty sure she hates him. “Are you coming or not?”
“Or not.” He settles back into his chair, reaching for his beer but she snatches it before he can.
“You’re an asshole.” She tells him, taking a long sip.
“Hey, I don’t remember inviting you in, let alone inviting you to steal my beer.”
“Take it up with the man upstairs.” She replies, finger hooking underneath the chain around her neck to pull it from underneath her t-shirt.
“For a child of God, you’re a real fuckin’ menace.”
“Come fix the damn lights, Seth.” She tells him, holding the beer back out to him.
He takes it and finishes what’s left but she refuses to feel weird about it. “You’re helping.”
“What?”
“You deaf?” He’s standing up and grabbing a jacket and she shuffles back a few steps.
“I’m off work, I’m going home.”
“All you have to do is help me push the damn cart thing, since there are too many to just hold, I’ll hold the ladder.”
She mulls it over for a second. “Fine, but you owe me.”
He doesn’t acknowledge it, but she’ll hold him to it if she has to. “Can’t believe you didn’t put up a fight.”
“I don’t make all my decisions out of spite.” She replies, rolling her eyes as they leave the room and he begins to lock the door behind him. It’s not like she couldn’t have just said no, but she’s made up a bunch of excuses in her head. It’s to help Rafa. She wants to go back and finish her drink anyway. She’s a good person.
“Hey, Kate!” He calls out but she’s already begun to stalk off in the direction of the supply closet.
“What?” She doesn’t turn around this time either.
“How many good Christian girls does it take to change a light bulb?”
People keep sticking them together like it’s some sort of resort-wide joke. Watch Kate suffer through more conversations with the equally as stubborn Seth! See them narrow their eyes at each other while he spouts distasteful jokes and she questions his competence!
It’s got all the makings of a bad romantic comedy and for some reason Kate keeps secretly and silently enjoying their back and forth. It’s something to distract her from the actual responsibilities she has, at the very least. Working at the Dew Drop can be on the mundane side when there’s no drama, although she wouldn’t consider what she and Seth do dramatic. They’re just people expressing their annoyance with each other.
The third time she ends up stuck with him is the result of a power outage and instead of going and fixing the problem, Seth comes to the front desk. She’s unbuttoned her shirt a little to fight the heat and she notices his eyes slip from her face down to her cleavage at least twice in their exchange.
“Did you turn on the generator yet?” She asks, wondering if she should do up the button.
“Need someone to come with me.”
“Why?” Beside her is Rafa, who just so happens to have his shift in twenty minutes. He came to visit her and find out why he place was so humid.
“Don’t know where it is.” Seth explains, not looking over at him. Kate squints at him.
“Does Kate know where it is?”
“Do you?”
Kate rolls her eyes. It’s true that she may have memorised the map before she started working there and then took herself on… several guided tours. She wanted to be prepared to do her job well before she took it, especially considering she would be moving away from her home for the summer to do it. Although, there’s no way Seth knows that, so this is clearly just some ploy to piss her off.
“I can take him.” She nods, standing up.
Seth seems surprised and she doesn’t give him a second glance as he talks to Rafa. “See, she can take me.”
Kate has to get Ximena before she leaves to make sure the front desk isn’t completely unmanned and finds herself rolling up the sleeves of her button up and clipping up her hair again to try and fight the heat as they head towards the buggies. Usually, she wouldn’t bother using them since she thinks most places are in walking distance and it’s almost her only source of exercise, but she thinks this is a little dire.
“You sure you can drive this thing?” Seth asks, relaxing into the passenger seat with his hands behind his head. She doesn’t know where he got black sunglasses, but she doesn’t ask. He’s even more out of uniform today in a wife beater.
“Yes.” Kate replies, although it takes her a minute to get used to it and she backs them into someone passing by. She calls out an apology to the co-worker as she reverses out and Seth hunches over to hide his laughter.
They’re driving for five minutes when she realises she’s going the wrong way, but she knows where they have to turn to correct the issue with her route. Seth hasn’t said anything, but he looks smug beside her. Maybe he doesn’t know where they’re supposed to be going, and she can’t look at him because she’s focusing on the hills of green they’re driving over, but she knows he looks smug.
“I know where we’re going.” She tells him.
“I trust you. It’s all in your hands, princess.”
“I swear.”
“I’m just hoping we don’t stack up too many complaints while you’re taking me on the scenic route.”
Kate tries to push him out of the golf buggy but he’s about as strong as he looks and she has to focus on driving if she’s going to keep them from crashing.
When they finally do reach the generator – she knew where she was going, okay – she has to wait for him to finish up, her ballet flat tapping impatiently. She’s already turned the thing around and getting back should be a lot quicker, but she still figures it out in her mind, staring into the distance as her arm drapes along the back to keep an eye on the door. When she finally spots him, she turns around and waits until he’s close before she pushes her foot down on the accelerator and he yells out to her. She stops and makes an innocent face at him, arm stretched out once more and her foot poised over the pedal. As soon as he takes another step, she presses down and he ends up chasing her down and jumping in, barking laugher while she wipes tears from her own.
They’re still laughing when they get back and the lights are on again, the people in the kitchen aren’t having a meltdown and the reception no longer feels like the inside of a sauna.
After that, it’s not a surprise that rumours start fly and reach her after only two days. Somehow they’ve progressed to saying that Kate meets him in the maintenance room for sex every afternoon and it’s a big drama because she’s only in her early twenties and he’s at least thirty.
At first she’s horrified that people would assume that of her and then she wonders where in that mess of a room they would even have sex and she’s over it pretty fast.
It doesn’t come up again until there’s news of a secret staff party happening in the function room out past the golf course where a wedding just got cancelled. It’s supposed to be hush-hush but most people know about it because again, the workplace is a rampant with gossip. Kate isn’t even sure she’s going until Ximena says that Seth said he was going and then she’s saying that she wants to see if he even knows how to have fun.
“So, you’re coming now?”
“I guess.” Kate shrugs, toying with her pad of pink sticky notes.
“Because I said Seth was going.” Ximena clarifies, now completely turned towards her in her seat.
Kate’s hands still and she shakes her head quickly. “What? No, that information just coincided with me deciding. I was already thinking about it.”
“Okay.” Ximena chuckles and takes a sip of her coffee.
“He’s a man child who can’t take anything seriously.”
“I hear you.”
“Then why won’t you stop smirking into your drink?”
“Don’t worry about it,
Kate scribbles with the first pen she finds and places a sticky note to her forehead in response. “Please take my suggestion into consideration.”
For a minute or so there’s ‘SHUT UP’ written in blue pen stuck on her face. Ximena purses her lips as she peels it off and sticks it to the monitor in front of her. “Note taken. Will no longer make fun of your crush on Seth to your face.”
“You’re delusional.” Kate insists and they continue to bicker back and forth until the phones start ringing and all they can do is make faces at each other.
The night of the party, a few things that Kate wasn’t planning on happening, happen.
She wears a strapless floral romper that she keeps worrying is going to fall down if she drinks or dances too much. That means she spends most of her time pulling at it and checking it through the reflection of the windows. Her need to check that she’s not showing off her less than impressive cleavage is the reason why she spots Seth before he comes in. She’s standing by the door trying to get the sweetheart neckline to sit properly when she notices there’s someone on the other side.
Seth is staring at her with his eyebrows raised in amusement, the little smirk on his face showing that he’s probably making of her in his head.
She takes a breath and reaches for the door, tugging it open to stick her head out. “I’m sorry, you’re actually not invited.”
He tils his head up. “That what you and your reflection decided on?”
“Yep.”
“Unfortunate. Guess I better go then.”
“Thanks for stopping by.”
Seth begins to walk forward until she has to look up at him, her hand still holding onto the door. His hand pushes on it gently and she retreats back while he gives her a once over. She waits for the comment about how she looks fourteen now, but he doesn’t say anything, just walks off. Kate shakes her head of paranoid thoughts and goes to find Ximena.
She doesn’t expect Seth to come up to them ten minutes later, nursing a glass of whiskey after having snatched the bottle from the bar. She doesn’t expect Ximena and Seth to actually be friends. She doesn’t expect Ximena to smile down at the table while Seth pretends it isn’t weird for him to be sitting with them.
“How do you two know each other?”
“I met him through his brother.” Ximena explains, shrugging. “It’d been a while since I’d seen him, actually.”
They explain some story about another resort she used to work at and how his brother was obsessed with efficiency, leading him to try and overhaul all of company policy. Kate chewed on her thumb for a fair amount of the story, watching the two of them go back and forth like old friends. Because she guessed that was just about what they were.
Once they’re done, she announces that she’s going to find a new drink and Seth follows, his hand against her back as they push through the throngs of people.
Rafa is distracted by Paloma so she tries to wait, but Seth isn’t so patient, reaching for a second glass and leading her out to the small kitchen that connects. He holds the big door open for her as she steps inside and sits on the metal bench in the middle. He takes his place beside her, uncapping his whiskey and pouring her a glass. She takes it but wrinkles her nose.
“It’s good.” He tells her.
“It smells disgusting.”
“You get used to it.”
“Says the old man who’s probably been drinking it since he was in diapers.”
Seth pauses and shrugs his shoulders. “Close.”
Kate isn’t sure but still, she brings it to her lips and suffers through a sip, accidentally gagging.
“You’re acting like you’re being forced to swallow poison.”
She eyes the cup. “Way to make me paranoid.”
He laughs. “If I was gonna kill you I’d be a little more discreet about it. At least fifteen people saw us go in here.”
That makes her pause, holding the drink a little tighter. If the rumours were already this bad, she can’t imagine that they’ll be like after this damn party. She’s not mad about the interaction though, or the fact that she’s sitting with him. They’re not exactly friends but it seems like they could be, if he keeps fixing things when she asks and maybe she resists being rude.
They get into a conversation about movies and Seth does the guy thing where they look dumbfounded if you haven’t seen some nihilist classic.
“How have you not seen Reservoir Dogs?”
“The same reason you haven’t seen Barbie and the Nutcracker.”
“If you tell me that’s your favourite movie I’m leaving you in here and finding a way to barricade the door.”
Her eyes go wide. “Why?”
“So you can think about what you’ve done.”
Seth seems nicer with a little bit of alcohol and some conversation where she isn’t trying to convince him to do his job. He likes the classics and again cites his brother when telling her which ones he likes best. An uncle comes up too, but he doesn’t mull over that too long.
Partway into their conversation, after she’s kicked her wedges off and turned towards him with her legs crossed, she reaches and snatches his bottle of whiskey before he can pour another glass. He frowns and reaches for it but she shakes her head.
“Nuh-uh.”
“I’ve been waiting all week to enjoy that thing.”
Kate is defiant, continuing to shake her head no. “No, no, you have to say please.”
“You stole it from me, I don’t have to say please.”
She places it behind her back and it’s clear she kind of knows what she’s doing. It’s not like she even had much to drink, she just can’t help herself. It’s a stupid, teenage move. She knew it would bring him closer, although he doesn’t waste time with the lean in moment. He doesn’t do anything cute like ask if he can kiss her. He just does it. His lips are on hers fiercely, one of his hands coming up to thread through her hair and pull her closer while the other takes the bottle in her hands and puts it aside. One of the glasses smashes onto the floor as they change positions but neither of them pays it much mind.
Kate definitely had no plans to make out with Seth the maintenance guy in the kitchen of the function room and yet that’s what she spends the next ten minutes doing. He finds a way to lay to lay out on the expanse of metal bench, bringing her on top of him to straddle his waist. His hands move down her back after untangling from her hair as their lips move together and his tongue slips into her mouth.
She accidentally lets a moan slip and he holds onto her thigh and tries to push his hand up between her legs but it gets stuck underneath the bottom of her romper and prompts him to lay his head back, pausing.
“What the hell are you wearing?” He asks.
She opens her eyes, chest still heaving. “What?”
His hand is back on her thigh, pulling the bottom of it up and dropping it so it rests against her skin again. “I thought this was a dress.”
“Nope. Shorts at the bottom.” She pushes her hair out of her face, sitting up on her knees to tug the light, flowy fabric that sits over the slip underneath it.
“How the fuck do you go to the bathroom in that thing?”
“I…” She shakes her head. “I’m sure you can figure it out.”
“Why do they invent shit like this?”
And then she realises what she’s doing, on top of him, the taste of him still in her mouth. “Oh, my god. I can’t believe I was just… I–” She struggles to get off him, trying to do so without throwing herself off the bench all together.
“Embarrassed now, are we?” He asks, sitting up on his elbows.
“I don’t know what I was thinking. This was a mistake.” Kate shakes her head and reaches for her shoes, doing up the buckles quickly. There are so many reasons why she shouldn’t have been making out with him. For one, he’s her co-worker, and then there’s the age gap between them and the fact that it doesn’t seem to matter to him. He’s probably just interested in sleeping with her because she’s young and calls him out on his shit.
“Should’ve guessed you were saving yourself for marriage.” He lays back down, staring at the ceiling and she pauses, her chest deflating with any affectionate thought she’d mistakenly had towards him.
Kate rearranges her bust again and looks at him. “You’re an asshole.”
He doesn’t look at her. “I remember.”
She reaches for the bottle of whiskey, suddenly immensely pissed off. It feels like rejection, even if she was the one to get off of him. “Just making sure you’re still aware.”
Kate stalks out of the kitchen to see eyes on them and leaves the party. She doesn’t drink the whiskey, just finds a garbage bin to put it inside, even if it’s still half full. She figures it’s like shedding the whole experience. Come her next shift she’ll no longer be some young girl for him to flirt with and she’ll focus on doing her job instead.
It works well for three days. Three days of having to run every time he sees him, but that’s a good avoidance tactic as anything else. Although, it was a little embarrassing to have Paloma approach her while she crouched behind a rose bush and ask what she was doing.
She’d caught on a little late to the gossip, so she wasn’t sure what she thought was happening, but the other girl didn’t ask too many questions, just left her there to mull over her life choices.
It’s not even that she’s necessarily upset with Seth, just prideful and embarrassed. She’s not even sure about which part at this point. She just doesn’t want to talk to him.
When her three days are up, God locks her and Seth in a supply closet.
It’s completely coincidental that she should be in there when he opens the door. Or, at least, that’s what she wants to assume. She was trying to look for a box of tissues for the front desk and he barges in and she immediately stares forward.
“Kate.” Seth just says her name and she continues to busy herself, crouching down. “Kate, come on.”
“What?” She snaps, standing back up.
“Don’t play this whole scorned lady shit.”
“I’m not playing anything.”
“You’re avoiding me.”
Kate purses her lips like the idea never occurred to her. “I’m busy. I come here to work, remember?”
“You haven’t known me long enough to be upset about this.”
“Exactly.” Her reply is icy cold and with that, she turns to make her graceful exit, but the door won’t open. Instantly, she assumes foul play and turns to him. “What did you do?”
“The fuck do you mean, what did I do? Open the door.”
“It won’t open.”
“You’ve gotta be kidding me.”
They spend a few minutes trying to yell and get someone’s attention. She’s pretty sure the door must be made of something ridiculously strong since it’s managed to withstand them acting like they are, but Seth starts to take it pretty hard after it starts to seem futile. Kate shifts back, giving him room to bang on it more aggressively and try to get it open. Eventually, she can tell that the fact that they’re stuck in a supply closet isn’t a minor inconvenience but has genuinely gotten him distraught. She’s hesitant as she reaches out to him.
“Hey, hey, breathe.” She’s not even thinking before she tries to help. “Seth, look at me.”
He’s not exactly calm, but he’s listening to her. Kate guides him through some deep breaths and smiles when he seems to be calming down a little.
“It’s just a room. Someone will come get us.” She tells him.
He nods, shaking his head. “Don’t like small spaces.”
“I don’t blame you. Plus, this room smells like dishwasher liquid.”
“Glad I wasn’t imagining that.”
“It’s disgusting.” Kate keeps her smile and he nods, then scratches the back of his neck.
“Yeah.” He says, his voice low and they are silent for a little while.
The door doesn’t open until he’s taking too many steps in her direction and she backs into the paper towels, knocking some over. She’s not sure what he said, but it was something along the lines of ‘may as well make the most of it’, which upon getting caught in a semi-compromising position pisses her off. Like she’s just some option for him to turn to if there’s really nothing else. Their sincere moment is dead and Kate rushes past a confused looking co-worker but Seth doesn’t follow her.
“You’re both acting like idiots.”
“I’m not an idiot.”
“Idiots get stuck in supply closets.”
Ximena makes a good point and Kate nods, shrugging a shoulder. “Okay, okay. But that’s all that happened. We got stuck. We freaked out and someone came and found us.”
“I’ve heard some very different stories.” Says the woman beside her, not even playing at coy.
“Let me guess, people think I was getting my knees dirty.”
“Well, of all the people to get stuck in a supply closet with…”
“I know, I know. The gossip is basically unavoidable.”
“Just ignore it.” Ximena tells her, reaching to pat her arm comfortingly.
“I was trying to.”
They go silent for a moment and Kate wonders if she’ll get in trouble for trying to play one of the card games on the computer in front of her considering they don’t have anyone to serve.
“You sure you don’t have a crush?”
“Delusional.” Kate repeats, no matter how futile it seems to insist as much.
Kate is on the last half-hour of her shift, itching to undo the high ponytail her hair is in, since it’s started to give her a headache. She’s trying to kill time since she’s at the desk alone and there haven’t been many new arrivals past five p.m. in a while, considering the desk closes at five-thirty.
She’s sticking a pencil through the top of her hair when the doors open and she instantly puts it away, sitting up straighter and putting a smile on a stranger’s face. She returns it, somewhat awkwardly considering his amusement comes from watching her realise she actually has to do her job now.
She poises herself and asks the same question as always. “Hi, do you have a booking?”
"No Ximena today?” His question throws her off but she shakes her head, forcing a cordial smile.
“Nope, sorry. She was working earlier.”
“Pity.”
“Right.”
“I know her, I’m not just being an asshole.”
“I figured.” Kate reaches out subtly for the pink pad of sticky notes so she’ll remember to tell Ximena about this later. “You can always try to organise not to miss her in future.”
At this point, he’s just staring down at her, his gaze unwavering although not uncomfortable. “Why would I do that when I know you’re here too?”
“No idea.” She frowns and it’s just the first answer that leaves her lips.
“It is actually Kate, right?” He asks, gesturing to her name tag with his hands clasped together before leaning against the desk again.
“It’d be a pretty boring fake name if it wasn’t.”
"What would you have gone with?"
"I don't know. Sunshine? Or something?" She frowns as soon as she answers, not happy with it.
The man doesn't seem to notice. “Well, Sunshine, I’m waiting for someone, but I think passing the time here with you won’t be so bad.”
“As long as no actual guests come in, you have my full attention… What was your name?” It’ll be more interesting than sitting there, at least.
“Richard.”
“Full attention, Richard. Go nuts.”
He separates his hands, pushing back and leans forward again like a nervous habit. “You can call me Richie.”
“I’m not gonna repeat myself again.” She says with a kind smile and he shrugs.
“Don’t blame you.”
Her thumb moves over the side of the pad of sticky notes, pulling one from the top but not all the way off and then pushing it back down. It’s not that she’s bored, just unsure what to say. “Are you staying somewhere in town?”
“There’s an inn, their Yelp reviews were really good.”
“Do you base all your decisions on Yelp reviews?”
“Just the ones pertaining to my breakfast food.”
“So that’s what it came down to? The breakfast food.”
“Most important meal of the day.” She can’t be absolutely sure if this is flirting, but he’s grinning at her like it is, so she’ll take it.
“Are you going somewhere important with whoever you’re waiting for?”
“Like?”
What did people wear suits for anyway? “Business meeting? Date?”
“No dates, unless you’re offering.”
“You don’t waste time, do you?”
“Too forward?”
“A little. I don’t hate it.” She admits.
“You know…” He starts.
For a moment, Kate lives in some fantasy world where some charming stranger in a suit can flirt with her at the desk and things in her life are relatively normal. Normal enough, anyway. It’s not like she envisions anything actually coming from the exchange but it’s a nice distraction until it’s interrupted by someone in her peripheral vision calling out the man’s name.
“Richard, the hell are you doing here? I thought I was coming up to visit you at that bait shop? The two of us, fishing for a week?” It's Seth calling out to him and Kate sinks down, her shoulders slipping as she tries to hide her alarm.
Richie is no longer paying attention to her, now standing up straighter with his arms outstretched. “Moved on to bigger and better things, brother.”
Of course. They’re brothers. Of course this is happening right now. In fact, while she’s burning pink with embarrassment, they start to actually look a little alike too and it all makes sense. She’s in the middle of figuring out how to leave early while going unnoticed while they converse when Seth bangs his palm down on the table.
“I see you met my little brother.”
Richie makes a face. “Little?”
“We’ve been over this.” Seth only looks at him a moment before he turns back to her, grinning wildly. “He didn’t give you any trouble, did he?”
She eyes the clock. “Nope.”
“Aw, come on, still with this shit?”
“What do you mean?”
“I just found you flirting with my brother, the least you could do is drop the grudge for two seconds.”
Kate narrows her eyes and decides that nothing is worth sitting there for another fifteen minutes. “No grudge. You have a good night.”
The last part is aimed only towards Richie as she leaves the desk and ignores whatever Seth calls out to her.
The weeks move by the heat only becomes worse. Kate starts to despise her uniform although the air conditioner at reception is still her haven from all things humid. She still spends most of her time there, although she hasn’t had reason to see Seth in a while. Usually Ximena shakes her head and discourages others from bothering her about it. The truth is, now that some time has gone by, she’s not all that bitter or sure why she was in the first place. She kind of misses him but she’s not had reason to go find him and she’s still hiding out in her lunch breaks out of habit. The time alone has allowed her to think.
What she thinks is, he’s ridiculous, lazy, insensitive… An asshole. But she likes him, as unfortunate as that is. Workplace romance isn’t the best of ideas, so maybe she’s better off just suffering through the rest of the summer season only being flirted with by married men, but that’s not what she wants.
Expressing that is the hard part.
In all her finding a way to do so, she’s given the opportunity when they get a call at the front desk and apparently even upper management knows she’s the person to send to get Seth to do something. Instead of getting someone else, she leaves the front desk with one of her other co-workers and begins her walk to the green door, fidgeting with the key card in her hands as she does so.
She knocks this time and Seth answers, cleaning his hands with a napkin. “Hey.”
Skipping over a greeting, she explains. “The curtains fell down in one of the rooms.”
“Alright.” He turns around and reaches for a tool box she doesn’t think she’s seen in the entire time that she’s worked there.
They walk up to the elevator silently, taking that instead of the stairs up to the third level with the nicer rooms towards the end. They’re mostly quiet on the way up and she’s still turning the key card in her hands over distractedly.
“Good to see you’re doing your job.” She says.
He chuckles under his breath.
“Good to see you too.”
They walk to the room while bickering about how Seth’s uniform has completely gone out the window so he can wear a black Henley and look cool.
“Do you even know where your name tag is?”
“There’s no reason for a maintenance guy to have a name tag. I don’t interact with anyone.”
“That’s such bullshit. I’ve seen you threaten kids… And flirt with the older women by the pool.”
“I wasn’t flirting. I’m just charming, princess.”
The nickname returning makes her smile – just a little. She’s not totally giving in and throwing herself at him just yet.
“Maybe you can get yourself a sugar mama and then stop pretending you work here.” Kate says cheekily, opening the door to the suite with her key card and holding it open for him.
“Oh, you’d love that, wouldn’t you?” He sneers and walks inside, placing his tool box down on the table.
She frowns and struggles to move it off considering it’s so heavy, but manages.
“People eat on that, you know.”
“The fuck did they do to the curtains?” He’s staring at them and so is she, wondering how the railing they’re on has fallen off on one side completely.
“Jesus Christ.”
He turns to her, his expression changing to one of concern. “Aren’t you not supposed to say that?”
“Fix the damn curtains, Seth.” She tells him.
“Just trying to keep you from eternal damnation, sweetheart.”
Kate rolls her eyes and takes a seat in one of the chairs at the table, eyeing a newspaper as he slowly works through putting the curtains back up. He’s holding it in place and frowning for at least two minutes before he drops them again and she jumps at the crash. He pays her no mind, now moving things around as he looks for something on the floor. Once he finally finds what he’s looking for – a screw – he gets to actual work putting the thing back together.
“What did you do before you worked here?” She asks, bored with the silence.
“Did the same thing for less money at home.”
He grunts, pulling things into place and she looks unimpressed.
“Do you actually like working here?”
“Sometimes.”
“Like when I’m not harassing you.”
He’s silent for a moment, but she attributes that to him pulling out a drill to fix the stupid curtains. She waits for him to answer. He does.
“Nah.”
Kate goes back to looking at the newspaper, reading through an article on the beach near the resort. She’s been a couple times, but she’s waiting for her brother Scott to come and visit so she can take him and explore it properly. She’s head there are plenty of rock pools and stuff to climb and she figures he’ll like the adventure of it more than their hometown’s skate park.
“I think I’m on my lunch break after this.” She said, idly, looking to him to fill in the blanks.
“Yeah?” He asks, raising his eyebrows as he steps off the furniture he was using to get him level with the top of the curtains. For once she hadn’t tried to call him out on what was totally not appropriate. She wants to, but she didn’t.
“Yeah.” Kate nods, crossing one of her legs over the other. “And you owe me a favour, remember?”
“You keep surprising me.” Seth murmurs into her shoulder.
Kate shifts back, her breathing still heavy as she opens her eyes and looks down at him. Turns out it’s not actually that hard to have sex on the couch in the maintenance office. She owes everyone an apology. “I don’t think it’s hard to surprise someone when they expect you to be every cliché under the sun.”
“Hey.” He frowns, fingers curling around strands of her brown hair to push away from her shoulder. “Not my fault you look as sweet as cherry pie.”
“Ah, another cliché.”
“Taste that good too, I bet.”
“If you’re itching to find out…” She reaches for his wrist to check his watch. “I’m off in a few hours.”
“Tempting offer.”
“After dinner, of course.”
“Of course.” He nods but she narrows her eyes at him in suspicion. “I’ll take you wherever you want to go.”
“That’s a lot for a girl you barely know.”
“What can I say, I’ll do anything to ta–” She cuts him off with a kiss. It gets him a little too excited.
“I have to go back.” Kate says against his lips.
“I know, you come here to work.”
“Glad you remember.” This time when she gets off him it isn’t marred by awkwardness or rejection. Her mind was clear when she decided to have sex with him. Well… Mostly anyway. Originally she had been planning just to have lunch with him, but fate had its way of getting her into his lap and hiking her skirt up. He was pleased to know that she wasn’t a twenty-one year old losing her virginity to him on an old brown couch.
“Kate,” He starts and she looks to him as she smooths out the wrinkles that formed in her skirt during their little romp.
“Mm?”
“I’m serious about this.”
It makes her heart soar a little to hear it.
“Me too.”
“Haven’t taken someone on a date in a while.” He explains as she tries to fix up her hair with no mirror.
“I don’t think it requires as much thinking as you’re worrying it does.”
“What kind of flowers do you like?”
She thinks about it for a moment, leaning down to him again. “Gardenias.”
“And do you happen to know of any florists in town?” He seems one step away from writing it down somewhere.
Kate kisses him. “Just steal them from the bushes around the resort.”
“Good point.” He says, but keeps her close to kiss again.
Kate stands up and walks towards the door, calling out behind her. “Don’t get caught, I’ll come find you.”
“What? I wouldn’t get caught, I’m a great thief.” He sounds offended.
All the way back to reception, she tries to hide the just-had-sex look on her face and comes back to find a pink sticky note stuck on her monitor. Ximena is talking to a guest about the places in town they can visit so she doesn’t ask, just picks it up. In blue pen the other woman has written ‘STILL DELUSIONAL?’ and Kate has to hide her grin in her hand.