All during their delicious lunch of stone crabs and salad, Teddy couldn’t help thinking that it was wonderful catching up with Michi, but also very sad to learn of the details of her break-up. It was upsetting to hear that Crispin’s love and trust collapsed when he found out Michi’s real name was Millie Cramden and that she came from a small town in Georgia. Even if he’d been upset with Michi, his reaction had been brutal. Without a second thought or allowing her to explain, he’d thrust her out of his London flat where they’d been living together before the wedding.
It was understandable that he’d be furious with Michi for not telling him that several years ago she had assumed a fake persona in Europe as Michelle Lafleur, taking her late aunt’s surname and shunning any link to her unbalanced and destructive father. But if Crispin had really loved her, he would have understood that she’d had no other choice but to keep her past a secret.
It was times like these that Teddy wondered if love really could survive unexpected hitches. She had mistakenly thought that Michi and Crispin were the perfect couple. Perhaps the Venetian fire had been a sign of bad things to come for them. Who knew?
The thought made Teddy shudder as she headed to the ground floor in search of the service director. She hoped her misgivings about Phillip wouldn’t prove to be true, but during the past week whenever she’d seen him at staff meetings, his face had looked grim with perpetually downward turned lips and a belligerent jaw that naturally thrust forward.
Carmen had tearfully told Teddy that Phillip had refused to listen to her side of the story when Jove called security. Instead Phillip had coldly informed Carmen that she would never work again at the Riviera. As if he had that kind of power, Teddy thought angrily. Phillip would be next on the dismissal list if he didn’t clean up his act and treat the housekeepers with respect. She had a long list of issues to discuss with Martha as soon as the bulk of the staff returned and things went back to normal.
“Hi, Phillip,” Teddy said to his back as she approached the service room. Like some overly tall men, Phillip had a tendency to hunch over. “Martha asked me to check in with you.”
Phillip shoved his smart phone in his pocket and turned to face her. Tall and thin with lank brown hair and sharp eyes that held no warmth, he was the type of man whose eyes didn’t merely meet your gaze, they pierced it. “There you are. I was just calling Martha to let her know you hadn’t shown up.”
“Mr. Guerra told me to report here at 1:30 p.m.”
Phillip glanced at his watch. “It is 1:35 p.m.,” he said with a disapproving frown.
“I’m sorry but my watch says 1:30.”
“Fix it,” he snapped impatiently. “We’re short a maid. Once you change into a uniform, report to the twelfth floor.”
Teddy blinked and didn’t move a muscle as she tried to figure out what to do next. The twelfth floor was where Jove was staying. “I’ve never done maid service. Are you sure you want to assign me there? I don’t think Mr. Guerra would want—”
“Mrs. Behr assured me you would do your best to pitch in,” Phillip interrupted with heavy sarcasm. “Do you think you’re above cleaning rooms?”
“No,” Teddy said quickly. “It’s not that. I just want everything to go smoothly and—”
“Forget it,” Phillip interrupted impatiently. “You won’t be cleaning rooms at this hour. The housekeeping staff is getting ready for turn down service later and Rosa is the only one on the twelfth floor.” He walked to the storage area and returned with a maid’s uniform. Handing it to Teddy, he said, “Put this on and look for Rosa. She’ll show you what to do. Make sure you provide excellent support and stay away from Mr. Jove’s room. Rosa has been assigned exclusively to serve him.”
Teddy stared at him, disgusted. Phillip didn’t give a damn about the housekeeper’s welfare. All he cared about was impressing top management with how he was catering to Jove.
“What are you waiting for? Don’t just stand there. Go change. We can’t waste time today of all days,” Phillip said.
Holding the uniform, Teddy’s eyes narrowed at Phillip’s retreating back as he stormed out of the room. There was no doubt she could handle this assignment. It was only for one day anyway. Turn down service would be no big deal. All she had to do was replace used towels, turn down the bedding and add chocolates to the pillows. As long as Rosa handled Jove’s room, everything would be fine.
Still smarting from Phillip’s rudeness, Teddy changed into the maid’s uniform in the ladies room. It’s not as if she had a choice in the matter. She smelled a rat in the form of The Amoeba. Capitalizing on the fact that everyone was maxed out today with the event, Lola had had the nerve to have the service director assign Teddy as a maid.
Teddy fumed. She was sick of letting Lola walk all over her. The Amoeba not only treated her with disrespect in front of the help, but she bad-mouthed her to Leo and worked behind the scenes to make Teddy’s life a misery. Thankfully, she knew Lola’s days were numbered and those loyal to her, like Phillip, would soon follow if they didn’t change their ways.
A little while later, Teddy greeted Rosa and liked her on the spot, though it was clear the girl was a nervous Nellie. Short and curvy, with her hair scraped back in a long ponytail, Rosa looked to be in her mid-twenties.
Teddy immediately got to work helping her organize the carts with the necessary supplies for turn down service. Rosa couldn’t speak calmly; she rattled on in rushed sentences and seemed out of breath, so much so that Teddy placed a calming hand on her arm and said, “Rosa, please take a deep breath and start over again. I barely understood what you just said.”
Placing her hands on her stomach, Rosa bent forward and inhaled deeply, then straightened and exhaled dramatically.
“Hey, what’s wrong? You look upset and scared,” Teddy said, eyeing her with concern.
“I am scared! The guest in Room 1250 is the devil who attacked Carmen.” Rosa’s full lips compressed into a straight line. “He’s been talking dirty and threatening me. I was able to stop him earlier because he was in a rush to go to the spa, but he’s back now and asking me to bring him gallons of milk,” she huffed.
“Gallons? What does he need that much milk for?” Teddy asked. Jove really was an oddball.
Rosa rolled her big, dark eyes and Teddy noticed the tired bags beneath them. “He wants the milk for a bath to soothe his sunburn. But he’s not fooling me.”
“What do you mean?”
“He must be planning for me to come to him while he’s naked in the bathroom.”
Teddy’s eyes bulged. “Did he say that to you?”
“No, but he said he’d leave his door open so I could come into the bathroom and pour the milk in the tub.”
“Ew.” Teddy exhaled a frustrated breath. There had to be a solution so Rosa wouldn’t feel like a lamb being led to slaughter. Clearly the poor girl was terrified of him. After a few moments mulling it over, Teddy said, “Here’s what we’re going to do. I’ll come in after you and stand just inside the room. Since he said he’d be in the bathroom, I’ll be out of his sight. When he starts to threaten you, I’ll step in and protect you.”
“No! I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Rosa said, wringing her hands nervously. “Phillip told me I have to treat him like an honored guest because he is an important man. I’m the only one allowed in his room, and he told me I have to make sure to please him.”
“You do not have to please him that way, Rosa. The Riviera is not a brothel, for God’s sake.” Noting Rosa’s anguished face, Teddy said, “Please try to calm down. Since you’re the only one allowed to go into Mr. Jove’s room, I’ll wait outside ready to rescue you. He’ll stop when he sees me.”
“But how will you know he’s trying something. Do I scream?”
“If he starts to say nasty things or try to abuse you in any way, just call out the word ‘agua’.”
Rosa scratched her head. “Why agua?
“Because agua, means water in Spanish. I’ll know things are heating up, and he needs cooling down. Are we straight? Remember , agua is the keyword.”
“I’ll remember.” Eyes stretched wide, Rosa nodded nervously. “Aren’t you afraid of him?”
“No,” Teddy said emphatically. “And I won’t rest until he is stopped and we can bring Carmen back. Stay here while I run down to get my camera. If he starts being gross, I’ll get it on video so we can have proof.”
“You really are brave,” Rosa said, awestruck. “Much braver than I am. He is so gross and mean.”
With her smart phone in hand, Teddy returned as quickly as she could. She arrived just in time to be with Rosa when the room service attendant arrived with the jugs of warm milk. She told the delivery boy to leave the cart, and she’d bring it downstairs later.
Holding her breath, Teddy ignored her pounding heart and pushed the door to Mr. Jove’s suite wide enough so Rosa could enter with the cart.
“Mr. Jove?” Rosa called out cautiously. “It is Rosa.”
“Come to the bathroom, girlie,” Jove boomed. “Come right in and don’t be shy. Hurry, my body needs your milk.”
Hovering at the entrance of the suite, Teddy couldn’t believe her ears. For once Mr. Jove wasn’t barking orders; his tone was unnervingly pleasant.
Rosa turned to Teddy with pleading eyes, but as much as she hated to send Rosa to the wolf, Teddy waved her in. If Jove started to act up, she would sneak in and film him. Rosa made a gagging motion with her index finger pointing to her outstretched tongue, but she trudged ahead like a trooper. Just before entering the bathroom, she made the sign of the cross and sucked in a deep breath.
“I brought the milk for you, Mr. Jove.” Rosa’s agitated voice made the hairs on Teddy’s arms stand on end. She heard no other sound and began to worry. What the heck was going on in there? She was about to go in and check on her when she heard, “Mr. Jove. I can’t. I won’t do that!”
“Hush, you naughty minx. You will do as I say,” Mr. Jove commanded imperiously. “It’s only a few beauty treatments for tonight’s luau. Wash my hair with the coconut shampoo and make sure to massage my scalp so the blood rises to the surface. Do not remove the cucumbers when you rinse it out. They must remain over my eyes to reduce the puffiness. I need to look good in the pictures tonight.”
“Please, Mr. Jove, it is not right for me to be here while you are bathing.”
“Rubbish. Strip out of your uniform and get in the tub with me, Chiquita. I have extra cucumber slices you can put on your nipples to make them perky, just like I like them.”
Did he just tell her to get in the tub with him? Teddy could wait no longer. Forget “agua”, Rosa was probably too panicked to remember to say it. Jove needed his horny libido doused ASAP!
Teddy entered the suite and tiptoed to the bathroom clutching her iPhone. When she peeked inside, she almost lost it. Naked as the day he was born, Jove sat in a tub of water that barely covered his round pink belly. He wore a plastic shower cap over his thinning red hair, his face was covered in a mud mask and there were cucumber slices over his eyes. All she could see of his head was his mouth and sunburned ears. What the…? Teddy knew he was vain, but this was outlandish. She turned the sound off of her iPhone and began to film him.
Rosa’s eyes widened with relief when she locked eyes with Teddy. She turned back to Jove when he berated her. “Look here. If you’re not going to get in, pour the damn milk. I’m burning from the sunburn and from imagining your bare titties.”
Before Rosa could respond, Jove’s hand snaked out and grabbed her leg behind the knee. Without removing his cucumber slices, he ordered, “Come closer. Put your soft little hand on me and give me a good rubbing.”
“No. I won’t. It’s not my job!” Rosa cried. “I am a housekeeper, not a prostitute!”
“Like hell you aren’t. You were told to serve me,” he muttered. “You will give me anything I request, Chiquita. I paid good money to stay here. You Hispanic whores are all alike. You say no, but it’s really sí, sí, sí as long as money presses your greedy little hand. Am I right?”
“No. You are loco. The Riviera is a decent place, not a prostitution house.”
“Defiance?” His hand delivered a resounding slap to the back of her thigh. He sneered at Rosa’s yelp of pain. “That’s how I cure it. Do you know what happens to disobedient maids?” Jove inquired menacingly. “I’ll have you fired just like that stupid cow, Carmen. If you don’t want to end up like Carmen, do as I say. I’ll give you a hundred bucks.”
Rosa flinched. “Please, Mr. Jove, I don’t do that. I am a good girl.”
“A good girl, eh?” Jove sneered. “You’re going to be an even better girl when I’m finished with you, Chiquita.”
“What are you going to do to me?” Rosa asked, watching Teddy from the corner of her eye. Bravo, Rosa! She was asking all the right questions so Teddy could film him in action.
“Take off your clothes and get your fat ass on the bed. When I come in I want to see you lying there naked waiting for me. Got it?”
“Let’s go,” Teddy mouthed to Rosa and pressed the “off” button before she ran out of the room. From the entrance of the suite, she waved at Rosa, urging her to come quickly. Shaking with rage, Rosa dumped the jug of milk over Jove’s head and sprinted out of the room.
In the hall, Teddy and Rosa looked at each other wild-eyed as Jove sputtered and bellowed. “Come back here, you little bitch! You’ll pay for this!”
Teddy slammed the door as she heard the tub water slosh and Jove shouting obscenities. “Good job.” She tried to give Rosa a high five, but the poor girl looked ready to faint. Teddy grabbed her hand and whispered, “Quick, let’s duck into the next room so he doesn’t find us!”