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CHAPTER ONE
MIKELINAPRESLEYWALKED through the five-bedroom beach house, making sure everything was perfect for the bachelor party. Checking the list on her phone, she confirmed that the sheets were five-hundred-thread-count Italian percale. The fridge was stocked with steaks and seafood, and the freezer with several bottles of Russian Standard vodka. The bar was tricked out with top shelf liquor, and the bathrooms all had condoms.
The housecleaning team was putting the finishing touches on the toilet paper by folding the edges into neat triangles on the roll, and then spritzing the air with their signature lime and verbena room spray. Mikelina was confident that Bastien Ainsworth would find everything to his satisfaction for his two-week stay.
As she was locking up, she had the customary pang of fear that a group of selfish rich boys would trash the place for good this time.
She was more than just the concierge for this house. This had been her family’s vacation home until her father’s fraudulent stock market trades landed him in prison and her parents’ assets were seized. Luckily, the beach house had been in Mikelina’s name for several years. So when her parents lost their house, her mother stayed here for a while. When her mother needed more money to pay off her father’s lawyer fees, Mikelina should have put the house on the market. It would have solved all their problems. They would have been millionaires.
But she hadn’t been able to let it go. There had been a lot of happy vacations here. Growing up, her father had worked sixty-hour weeks while her mother concentrated on her charities and social events. But when they came to South Beach on vacation, they had been a family.
Mikelina’s phone rang as she was entering the security code to lock up. It was her boss.
“The house is all set,” she said by way of greeting. Kirk Diamonte didn’t waste time with pleasantries like hello and goodbye, and if you let him start off the call, he’d never let you get in a word edgewise. He was the CEO of the global Five Diamond Resorts Vacation Club. You’d think he’d want to check in and get off the phone as soon as possible. But he gossiped worse than her mother. In fact, the only reason Mikelina had been able to convince her mother to move out so she could rent the house was because of the “nice” conversation she had with Kirk where he had spilled the tea about all their mutual friends.
“Good. The Ainsworth family has booked us for the wedding and honeymoon, too, so we want to start them off with an excellent impression.”
Mikelina had chosen to do a rental contract with the Five Diamond Resorts vacation club because her friend Selena worked as a chef for them. Selena got to travel all over the world cooking for the members of the club in whatever home they decided to rent for their vacation. Mikelina, stuck behind a desk in Manhattan, had thought that sounded glamorous and exotic.
When she contacted Kirk about the property, he had been impressed by the house’s wraparound porch and its proximity to the beach, but even more so by Mikelina’s hotel background. When she lost her New York job because she was spending too much time flying out here to keep her mother calm and centered, Kirk had overlooked her father’s scandal and hired her to be the client liaison for his Florida properties. He also gave her a large percentage of the money that came from renting out her family’s home and she gave that money to her mother to live on.
“I think they’ll be satisfied,” she said. “I was able to scrounge up tickets to Christian Dibiasi’s jam session tomorrow night. Very exclusive. It’s one of South Beach’s best kept secrets.”
Kirk whistled. “Nice score. That’s what I’m talking about. Try to anticipate their needs. The Ainsworth family is one of our biggest clients.”
“The bar is stocked, the fridge is packed, and the sound system is keyed up to caliente,” she said. She only hoped they wouldn’t puke in the pool or throw lamps at each other.
It had been hard enough to convince her mother that renting out the house was the best option. The fact that strangers would be touching their things and living in their space made her mother cringe. Mikelina wasn’t too happy about it either, but her father hadn’t left them much of a choice. Either they sold the house or rented it out. And in the long run, they’d still have their house once her father got out of prison in ten years. Reluctantly, her mother had moved in with her sister in Boca Raton, which was a far cry from Miami.
The worst was when her parents’ antique four-poster bed had been broken by an enthusiastic couple. It hadn’t mattered that they paid for the damages, as well as a hefty penalty fee. It hadn’t mattered that Kirk allowed her to ban them from ever renting the house again. Mikelina had to tell her mother that her grandparents’ bed was kindling.
“I’ve given Bastien Ainsworth your direct number,” Kirk said.
Mikelina hated when he gave clients her cell.
“He’ll be calling you shortly. He had a last-minute request, and you weren’t answering your email.”
“That’s because I was at the house.” Mikelina tried not to sound defensive. Bastien had been emailing daily her for the past six weeks. He wanted everything to be perfect for the bachelor party and was determined to micromanage every second. He didn’t even have the decency to foist the responsibility off on a secretary. No, he had to handle this personally.
Mikelina had become accustomed to his 10:00 a.m. emails and even though he was anal-retentive about his schedule, they sometimes shared a joke or some meme. She supposed it was sweet that he wanted everything to be perfect for his brother-in-law, but she had a feeling that some of the activities wouldn’t appeal to a younger groom. Of course, Bastien wouldn’t take any of her suggestions, so what did she know? This was just her job.
“Whatever he wants, get it for him,” Kirk said. “Money is no object. His credit is good.”
Must be nice.
“They’re spending a fortune with us for this wedding, so everything has to be perfect. I’m only stressing this because I need you to be available 24/7 for this party. No matter how outrageous, make it happen. Give them anything they ask for.”
“I’m not providing them hookers or blow,” she joked. Bastien hadn’t even hinted at anything remotely wild. They were going to do day trips and hang out by the pool. And while that sounded great for a group of older businessmen, it wasn’t what made Miami bachelor parties famous.
Although, she would kill to have Bastien’s planned vacation. Mikelina missed lying out in a lounge chair with a good book. She missed this house. Patting the door affectionately, she turned to get into her car. She had been working killer hours this past year. She was determined that Kirk would never regret hiring her. She wanted to make sure no one thought she was a cheat and a con artist like her father was. It was exhausting, though.
Kirk snorted. “Trust me, these guys don’t have to pay for it. And for the most part, they’re gentlemen, so you don’t have to worry about them getting handsy.”
That was something. Although Mikelina had become rather adept at the step-and-avoid technique. “You’ve got nothing to worry about. I’ll keep my phone on.”
“I’m a little nervous. Rumor has it, the groom is getting cold feet. His name is Jace Benjamin, from the Reigning Benjamins clothing line. It’s a good marriage between the two families. But from what I hear, he’s still looking to sow some wild oats and his future bride, Kitty Ainsworth, has been keeping him on a short leash.”
Mikelina couldn’t care less. She had enough drama in her life. She didn’t need any more. “I’m not sure what I can do about that.”
