Chapter 58 Wristwatch
Verena
“You work here?” She sized me up, condescension glaring on her features as she held the belt of her robe.
This was the same woman who gave me an attitude that night. I sucked in a deep breath, ensuring that the smile on my face didn't falter. “Yes, I do,”
She rolled her eyes back, sitting on the couch with her legs crossed as she peeked behind me. “Then where is your boss? I asked for Daxton Cooper. Not you,”
“Yes, he would have been here but he had to leave for an urgent trip. But I am his assistant and will represent him in his absence,”
Cassandra did that eye-roll again, grabbed a magazine off the table, and leaned back into the couch. She opened the magazine, flipping through the pages—basically ignoring me for minutes.
I tried to keep my breath steady. “How may I assist you?”
She lifted her gaze from what she was reading, tossing the magazine to the side. “I booked the entire floor to make my team and artists comfortable, not to spend five hours battling all sorts of pests and insects,”
“A tarantula spider on the shelf, roaches and to top it all, a freaking mouse!”
My hand moved to my chest and fear clogged my throat. I hated mice and rats. In fact, I had a huge phobia of them.
But right now, her words sounded unbelievable.
“That is weird—” I thought out loud.
She slammed the magazine back to the table. “Are you trying to imply that I am a liar? One word of this in the media would ruin your boss's hotel business,”
“How am I sure that there aren't any bed bugs here? I can't believe that I paid so much for a place that stinks this bad” Her nose crinkled as she hissed.
Right now, she was reaching. There wasn't any foul odor at all—the room smelled like lavender mixed with fresh jasmine and lilies.
I forced a polite smile onto my face. “I understand your concern and apologize for the inconvenience. I would have the maintenance and housekeeping team inspect the suite and all the other rooms paid for. We would replace the scent in this room with any of your choices,”
She rose to her feet. “Please do, this place smells like dog shit!”
I bowed my head low while she walked past me with her tab in her hand. “So much grace and poise that night just to be a mere assistant," She muttered and for a second I felt my blood boil.
Why was she being so messy?
I had to contain my anger so I thought about the seafood boil I was going to devour when I returned home, then my soft-fur babies and my bed. With that, the feeling slowly lifted from my chest.
I stayed with the housekeeping staff, overseeing and inspecting everything they did. They couldn’t hide their frustration as they worked and I didn’t stop them either. I would have quit from having to reclean a room that didn’t even have a speck of dust because of a problematic guest like Cassandra.
If I had the money she paid, I could even refund her.
At the same time, I couldn’t help but wonder if she was a germaphobe but such details weren't in the information that she put with the hotel.
With her nose high in the air, she strutted in, brushing her finger through the wooden surface. “Not bad. I hope the pests are gone”
“No pests,” I said with that jaw-hurting smile. “There wasn't one in the first place,” she didn't hear.
As soon as I got back into the elevator, I would cuss her out.
“I hope that you enjoy the rest of your stay here. Have a nice day,”
I was about to turn when her words made me stop in my tracks. “But what about the wristwatch on the table, did you keep it somewhere else?”
My brows knitted in confusion as I tried to picture if I had seen any watch but no. “What wristwatch? There wasn't one on the table,”
She stared me in the eye. “This is the second time that you have insinuated that I am a liar,”
God! Not now.
“I think that you are mistaken”
“I am not. I think someone has taken it and I am one second away from causing a scene, now find it!”
My blood boiled. How was I supposed to find something that wasn't even here in the first place?
Gavin arrived shortly after, watching in frustration as Cassandra ranted about the missing wristwatch. He apologized to her, questioned everyone who had been in the room but no one had seen a thing. Not even a bracelet.
The search for the wristwatch thing had escalated so badly that even Mandy was here. I slipped off my blazer because I was drenched in sweat and—
“There,” Cassandra’s voice broke through the tension in the suite as she pointed to—
My wrist.
My fingers clamped over my watch as she barked out a scoff. “That is the wristwatch that I have been searching for. You bloody thief”
I raised a brow, still having to force out a smile in this ridiculous situation as Mandy and Gavin stopped their search to focus on me. “No, this is mine,”
She folded both arms over her chest, tilting her head to the side. “It is mine. This is an Audemars Piguet watch and a limited edition so how do you have it?”
Mandy muttered awkwardly. “It could be a knock-off”
Cassandra crossed over to me and grabbed my wrist. “I recognize a knock-off when I see it but this…” Her eyes returned to my face. “This is mine”
My blood drummed so hard that I yanked my hand free as anger simmered in my veins. “No, it isn't and I believe that you are trying to cause an issue out of nowhere,”
Mandy gasped. “Are you sure that it is yours, Miss Cassandra”
She nodded, turning to her. “And I have pictures to prove that it is mine,”
I watched as Gavin and Mandy flanked her sides as they glanced back and forth at the tablet’s screen and my wrist. But I remained unfazed because this had to be a joke.
Mandy muttered. “I am sorry for this”
Gavin added. “But this doesn't mean that she stole it,”
Mandy marched towards me, anger blazing in her eyes. “No remorse. Not a single remorse on your face, Verena,”
Cassandra flopped on the couch, reaching for the TV’s remote. “There is no need to escalate this. Tell her to get on her knees and apologize to me,”
I let out a derisive snort, dropping the whole ‘nice’ act. “Get on my knees for what?”
“You heard her right, get on your knees and apologize!”
I sucked my teeth, feeling the deranged laughter that was about bubbling from my throat. “Or what!”
“I would never apologise for something that I didn't do. Never!”
Mandy’s jaw locked with fury and in the blink of an eye, her palm struck hard against my cheek, whipping the air out of my lungs as something wet trickled down my nostrils.
“Jeez, Mandy!” Gavin yelled.
My palm flew to my cheek as I stood there in complete shock. This witch just hit me on the face.
“I have been tolerating you for months now but not today. Where does a mere assistant like you have the money to afford a wristwatch of $70,000? You don't even earn up to that!”
Cassandra corrected and the tinge of excitement in her voice showed she was enjoying this far too much. “$79,000,”
Mandy blinked and in that moment, I only saw red.
“You did not have to hit her!” Gavin shouted, gripping my shoulders as I touched the liquid still trailing under my nostrils. Blood.
“Did you just hit me?” My voice was low.
“Yes! And I would do that again if you don't do as she asked and end this once and for all,”
“Do you know who I am?”
Mandy scoffed. “Who are you? You are someone who happened to be favored by the boss but as soon as he finds out you are a thief, he will fire you!”
I laughed so hard that my stomach hurt before darting my eyes to Cassandra. “Even that woman knows the people that I’m connected to. She knows what she’s doing and this isn't the first time we’ve met,”
Cassandra cleared her throat. “I am just meeting you for the first time!”
Wow.
She came prepared.
“Just get on your knees, apologize to me and I will forget that this ever happened,” She had a smug smile on her face.
“I will call Daxton…” I scoffed, slipping my hand into my pocket. “Prepare to be disappointed when you find out he gifted this to me on my birthday” I glared at Mandy.
Mandy countered.“I would do the calling and I believe you live in a bubble, Mr. Daxton doesn't give anyone gifts! Not even me,” She turned her back to me, placing a call to him.
I could feel the anxiety crawling at the back of my neck with every second that the phone rang. It rang once, twice, and—
His voice cracked through the air and relief hit my chest. He would exonerate me!
“Hello, Mr. Daxton. There has been a bit of an issue with a staff that stole one of the hotel’s guests’ wristwatches and—”
He didn't let her finish. “You called me over this nonsense? If a staff member steals then call the police. I am turning my phone off.”