Maid for the Rock Star

Part 9

NINE

Audra raised her arms above her head in a stretch that resonated through her shoulders to her spine. "Right. Good to be in my own clothes again. Do you think they could make the uniforms any more uncomfortable?"

Pamela smiled shyly. "It could be worse."

Audra thought of the ties, tight-fitting tops and short skirts she'd had to wear in her various other jobs. "You're right. Let's get these down to the dock in time for the last boat and we can go for dinner." She counted the trolleys. "Isn't Penny supposed to be helping us? Where is she this time?"

"She said something about a sexy new sous-chef."

That meant Penny would be too busy flirting to do laundry duty like she was supposed to.

Audra sighed. "Fine. You grab that one and I'll take these two." She yanked four laundry bags off the full trolley and dumped them on the half-empty one, then added one more. "Now they're balanced."

They trundled down the path in a rattling procession to the jetty where the carrier boat waited. Baz, the captain, offered them a lazy salute. "Ladies."

Both girls laughed.

Audra waved at the bags. "Guest laundry and a week's worth of island uniforms. Please don't let the laundry service get us mixed up with the hospital linen again. The only thing worse than the maids' uniforms out here are surgeons' scrubs."

"Oh, so you liked the nurses' uniforms, did you?" Baz teased.

Pamela blushed bright red. "One day, when I can afford to go to nursing school, I'll wear one all the time."

"You'll get there," Audra said.

"And I bet the guests think all you housekeeping girls are deaf, dumb and stupid. What would they say if they knew you'll one day be saving their lives, predicting the weather or...what's the other girl want to do again?"

"Penny wants to be famous. She wants to be a reality TV star." This week. Next week, she might want to be a lounge singer. Or marry someone rich. Audra lost track sometimes.

Baz rolled his eyes. "Right. Well, see you in the morning. Don't break too many hearts tonight."

They waved as Baz and his mate cast off, before trudging up to the staff block.

"There you are! I've been waiting for you," Penny said.

Audra didn't believe a word of it. Penny's shirt wasn't buttoned right and she had a suspicious mango-coloured stain on her breast pocket. "If you'd remembered we're on laundry duty tonight, you'd have known where to look."

"Oh. That. Sorry." She didn't look it.

As Penny launched into a rambling story about her time training to be a chef at the community college in Port Hedland, Audra stepped into the staff dining room, scanning the tables for Dennis. He met her gaze and slowly shook his head, then shrugged. No, the dickhead hadn't complained and Dennis had no idea why. At least, that's what she thought it meant.

She nodded and resumed listening to Penny's story about the night her crazed housemate in Hedland kicked in a door, convinced that Penny had poisoned her. From what she'd heard about Penny's cooking and her penchant for revenge, anything was possible.

Audra accepted a plate from Pamela and proceeded to load it up with salad. An experimental sniff at the hot food told her the new sous-chef had burned the mango chicken again and the results were deemed not good enough for guests. Mango chicken salad was her favourite, so she hoped the forgetful sous-chef would be around for a while.

More fresh mango for dessert. If it wasn't her favourite...Audra laughed quietly to herself and filled a bowl with fruit.

The personal trainer jostled her aside. "Wow, you must really like mango." Serge grinned. "Pity I didn't need to rescue you today. I did an extra hour on the rowing machine, too, just in case you needed a fast escape off the island." He imitated the sculling movement, flexing even more muscles that Audra didn't know the names of.

She laughed. "Yes, I love mangoes. One of the best things about working up here is that I get to eat my fill." She couldn't afford them at home and on the rare occasions she'd attempted to treat herself, the fruit had disappeared from the fridge before she'd had a chance to taste it. Her brothers' fault, she was sure of it.

"Have you tried that mango beer in town? I'm due two days off next week and I know your roster matches mine. Do you want to come to dinner with me at the brewery restaurant?"

She couldn't justify the expense of dinner or beer, but she couldn't tell him that. "I have a date with my laptop next week. Both days. Maybe another time." If she didn't submit her job application by the due date this year, she'd be vacuuming floors and cleaning bathrooms for another year instead of using her degree. No. Her future was more important than that.

"I'll hold you to that," Serge promised.

Audra managed a smile. Her ID began beeping, drawing the attention of everyone in earshot.

"Damn VIPs. Taking advantage of the twenty-four-hour maid service. Sucks to be on call." Serge patted her arm and headed off.

Audra uttered a few swear words under her breath as she read the digital display:

MAXIMA

Did he need someone to wipe his bum now? She slammed her bowl of mango cheeks and ice cream down on the table and decided he could wait until after dessert.

The persistent beeping continued.

"You're doing Jackie's job at the Pearls?" Penny squealed, seizing Audra's wrist so she could read the display. "Ooh, who needs you urgently in Villa Maxima? Is he rich? Hot? Single?"

Audra swallowed. "Confidential. You know I can't say. Guest privacy and all."

"Can you tell me how big his d**k is?" Penny persisted.

Huge. Audra felt her face grow red. "Penny, you know it's against the rules to get with the guests."

Penny shrugged. "Wouldn't stop me. What's a low-paid job like this compared to being swept off your feet by a rich man who's hung like a horse? I'd ride him before he could ask for room service." She winked.

Maybe Penny would've been a better choice to service the villas, Audra fumed. At least she would have enjoyed dealing with the almighty prick who thought he was God. But then Penny might also get the full-time job that Audra wanted, which she couldn't allow. She'd better find out what he wanted. The sooner she dealt with him, the sooner she could knock off for the night.

Audra made her excuses and left the table.

"Have fun counting the inches!" Penny called after her.