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Chapter Three

Nicole squinted as she stepped outside, the warm sand of the beach that stretched out before her warming her toes, and held up her hand to shield her eyes. Beside her, Tessa's sister shifted uncomfortably, pulling at the undoubtedly hot black wool maid outfit that was one size too big to start out, trying to give her skin a little breathing room. "Stop." Nicole commanded, even though she pitted the girl. "You'll wrinkle it." Ashlee's hand dropped dutifully to her side and she sighed.

"Your first job will be to clean the bungalows." Nicole began, lowering her hand so that she could gesture across the beach. Ashlee followed her line of sight, squinting her eyes in the sun, and could barely make out a side of the first bleach white bungalow. "As soon as you've finished, I want you to find me at once, understand?"

Ashlee nodded. "Sure, boss." She said with that wiry grin that Nicole couldn't exactly understand. It seemed to show up no matter the situation or the conversation, as though a grin didn't really convey any emotion.

Nicole studied her for a moment, taking her in new appearance; she had shed her wrinkled clothes for the heavy black maid's uniform, which was regulation no matter how out-date it. With her long hair dried and feathered, she looked even more like Tessa, though the youngest Lewis girl was shorter then her sister. Ashlee had both hands wrapped tightly around the plastic handle of the bulky maid's cart she had been issued moments ago, already anticipating the struggle it was going to be to get the cart over the sun and to the bungalows. No one ever wanted to clean the bungalows because it was such a difficulty getting the cart out to them, much more trouble then it was worth according to many of the maids and, naturally, Nicole had dumped the responsibility on Ashlee. At least, that was the explanation she had given the teenager before dragging her to the beach.

"All right." Nicole said when she was satisfied. "Don't forget to come get me as soon as you're down."

Ashlee assured her that she'd remember and shoved the cart off the concrete sidewalk just outside the staff entrance of the Grand Waimea and into the white sand. The cart lurched but she managed to keep it from toppling over; without another glance at Nicole, she started forcing it through the sand, wincing every time the sand gritted against the wheels, creating a horrible screeching noise.

The cart was halfway to the bungalows, trudging slowly down the beach, when Ashlee heard someone calling out to her. Squinting, she turned in the direction of the voice, looking directly at a tanned blonde woman in a white tank top and short shorts heading in her direction. Ashlee sighed. "What are you doing?" The woman questioned when she got close enough to speak to the newest employee without shouting.

Ashlee looked at the woman, noting her nametag, which simply read MJ, trying to figure out if she were just curious or upset. Judging by the glare, she would have to go with upset. "I work here." Ashlee explained, as though the bulky maid's cart wasn't enough. "I was just going to clean the bungalows."

The woman looked from her to the cart and back again. "Aren't you a little young to be working here?" She questioned.

"I'm Tessa's sister." Ashlee said, as though that would explain everything.

The woman, MJ Ashlee assumed, looked at her closer and then nodded, as though someone would lie about something like that. "Even if you work here," MJ began, "you can't just push this cart down the beach. You're disturbing the other guests."

Ashlee knew that she was right, she had noted the looks of the women working on their perfect tans and the scowls of the businessmen on cell phones but hadn't really given them a second glance. After all, they weren't the ones pushing this stupid cart down the beach, now were they? For a moment, she thought about telling MJ this, but the woman didn't look like she was in the mood to hear her opinion on things and so Ashlee just kept silent.

The look on MJ's face softened slightly. "There's a cement path that winds that way," she gestured off toward the right, "just past the Tiki Bar Restaurant."

Ashlee looked in the direction the blonde woman was pointing and saw that there was indeed a path, clear against the brown face of the restaurant, curving directly up to the bungalows. Her mouth dropped open and she narrowed her eyes, shaking her head slowly. "I can't believe that." She mumbled. Nicole had lied to her, deliberately making her work harder then she was supposed to, in the heat, looking like an idiot pushing a cart through the sand. "I should've known." Ashlee sighed.

MJ studied her for a moment. "Nicole tell you to come this way?" She guessed and Ashlee nodded. "No offense to Nicole, because she saved my job, but that sounds like something she would do."

Ashlee looked at the blonde knowingly. "She hates my sister." She stated simply. "And she doesn't like me either."

MJ raised an eyebrow. "Guilty by association?" She offered and Ashlee shook her head.

"I stole some room keys and broke into one of the rooms." She explained nonchalantly. "Then some old guy decided to make me work as a maid and put Nicole in charge of keeping an eye on me. She's not too happy about that."

MJ looked surprised by this confession, giving the girl a careful glance. "You're the one that stole the keys." She sighed, shaking her head. "I'm surprised Vincent even decided to give you a job."

Ashlee shrugged. "So far, this isn't much of a job." She pointed out. "I'm cleaning up after other people and not even getting paid." She grinned slightly at MJ. "At least when I had to clean my own room I got allowance."

MJ couldn't help but smile; the kid had a point. She was about to say so when a guest, busy tanning herself several feet away, called out for a waitress. She rolled her eyes. "That's me." She explained, heading toward the woman. "Try and take the path next time, it'll make getting to the bungalows much easier." MJ advised and Ashlee nodded.

Once MJ had gone to serve the rich and spoiled, Ashlee was alone again with her bulky cart; she glanced toward the path and decided it would make her life easier to get the cart to the cement. With a groan, she maneuvered the cart so that it was facing the path and then started pushing again. Already, she was wishing she'd gone to jail; at least there you didn't have to do manual labor.

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Nicole sighed wearily as she entered the suite she had been staying in for the past several weeks, feeling as though she had been awake and moving for hours when only two had past since she'd left the room. Her fiancé, Morgan Holt, was sitting on the bed, his cell phone against his ear, when she came in and Nicole was relieved that he hadn't already left.

As Morgan finished up his phone conversation, Nicole flopped onto the bed, pulling the rumpled, tangles sheets over her head and sighing again, shutting her eyes. Morgan closed his cell phone, tossed it onto the bedside table and turned around to face where his fiancée lay. "Nicole?" He pulled the sheets away from her face. "What are you doing here? I didn't know you had a break."

Nicole opened her eyes. "I don't." She answered flatly, wishing she could just take the rest of the day off. But she'd been doing a lot of that lately, and Vincent didn't seem like he would be too keen to ignore that fact for much longer. "But I need one."

Morgan gave her a sympathetic look. "Bad day?" Nicole nodded, pulling the sheets over her face again. "Irate guests?" He guessed.

"Worse." Nicole mumbled. "Remember Tessa, Tessa Lewis, she works with guest relations?" If Morgan nodded, she wouldn't have been able to see anyway. "Well, her sister suddenly showed up and stole some room keys, broke into a room and then Vincent decided to hire her as a new maid." She sat up suddenly, the sheets falling off her face. "I can't take it, Morgan, that girl is a brat and I'm in charge of her." She sighed, rolling her eyes toward the ceiling. "It's like Vincent's punishing me for all those times I went off with you and left Tessa in charge."

Morgan couldn't help but smile slightly, reaching out and taking her hand. "Maybe you've over-reacting a little, baby." He suggested. "She can't be that bad."

Nicole glared at him. "She's a criminal, Morgan, don't you start defending her too." She sighed again.

"Maybe it's only temporary." Morgan suggested, kissing Nicole's knuckles. "I've got a meeting to go to, but you're welcome to come along if you want. We could get lunch afterward."

To Nicole, it seemed as though he was offering the invite just to say that he did. "No," she could see that he seemed to relax. "I've got to get back to work." She sighed. "I've got to check on Ashlee." For all she knew, that bratty little girl had destroyed the bungalows and made off with all the valuables she could find.

Nicole and Morgan both stood up, heading for the door; Nicole opened it and stepped into the hallway, turning back when Morgan took her arm. "Try and cheer up baby." He said as he kissed her.

After the kiss had been broken, Nicole sighed. "I'll try." She mumbled.

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Tessa knelt down so that she was beneath the guest relations desk and peered at the small crate that had been tucked away below as well. A tiny ball of fluffy fur stared back at her from behind the mesh of the cage, round eyes looking as they expected something. "I can't let you out." Tessa said after studying the dog for a moment. Instantly, she felt foolish for talking to something that couldn't talk back and she sighed. Why wouldn't his stupid owner just show up all ready?

"Tessa?" The voice calling her name startled the employee of the Grand Waimea so much that she jumped, knocking her head on the underside of the counter.

"Ow." Tessa muttered, gently touching her skull where she was certain a bump was going to develop soon. Slowly, she crawled out from beneath the desk, leaving the dog, and stood up, smoothing the wrinkles out of her outfit.

Jason was standing on the other side of the counter, looking slightly amused. "What were you doing?" He questioned when Tessa turned to look at him.

"Checking on the dog." Tessa explained, smiling slightly at him. Lately, he seemed to have that affect on her. Jason raised an eyebrow and she explained how the guest's luggage had arrived before the guest and that Nicole had put her in charge of keeping an eye on the pint sized canine.

Jason sighed and grinned slightly. "At least we can say that the Grand Waimea is the only hotel that treats dogs as well as people." He remarked and Tessa smiled as well. "Anyway," he said, getting to the point of his visit. "I was just wondering if you'd heard from Nicole or Ashlee."

Tessa shook her head. "Not since leaving Vincent's office." She told him. "Why?" She raised an eyebrow. "Nervous?"

Jason waved his hand dismissively. "Of course not." He could tell that his act wasn't fooling her. "Maybe a little; if Ashlee gets on Vincent's bad side, she's not going to be the only one losing a job." He studied Tessa for a moment. "Aren't you nervous? Vincent made it clear that you'd lose your job too."

Now it was Tessa to make a dismissive gesture. "I know my sister." She told him. "She's not as big a screw-up as everyone wants to think. Besides, she wouldn't put my job in jeopardy, or yours."

For some reason, Tessa's words seemed to dismiss any worries he had in a way that his own mental reasoning couldn't. Maybe it was the way that Tessa knew her sister better then anyone else, or the way that she looked at him with those eyes that didn't look like they had ever told a lie -though he knew that wasn't the case; either way, Jason wasn't sure. He smiled again. "I'm sure you're right." Tessa smiled. "Anyway, I've got to go deal with a guest that needs his own personal satellite dish."

Tessa rolled her eyes and smiled slightly. "Good luck." She remarked and Jason headed off toward the elevators. She watched him go, the smile still on her face; Jason definitely had some potential, she decided. At least he was step up from her last boyfriend.

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Nicole found herself impressed when she saw the first of several bungalows Ashlee Lewis had been assigned to clean and she wasn't very often impressed. Ashlee stood beside her, silently, staring down at the floor as though she already anticipated a bad reaction. But Nicole couldn't imagine how she could give one, with the beds made perfectly, the floors vacuumed, everything polished and all the glass clear and sparkling.

"Very nice." Nicole told the girl, nodding her head. She turned to look at Ashlee. "You did this all by yourself?"

Ashlee looked up and nodded. "My mom used to be a house cleaner before she got too drunk to even get up in the morning." She explained. "I used to help her out sometimes."

Nicole wasn't quite sure if she should feel uncomfortable because of Ashlee's short foray into her past but the teenager didn't seem to think anything of it so she decided not to either. "You did a nice job." She repeated. "Vincent will be pleased."

"Thanks." Ashlee smiled, a real smile this time, not that ever present grin and Nicole smiled back.

Maybe Morgan was right, maybe Ashlee wasn't as bad as she had first thought. She just wished she could say the same about her sister.