“It's beautiful,” Sabrina whispered, finally bringing her attention back.
For the first time since landing in New York, Marco removed the hat and sunglasses he’d been wearing. He’d looked cute in his attempted costume, Sabrina thought, with his tightly fitted cap and reflective blue Ray-Bans. Still, she couldn’t deny it was refreshing to see his undisguised face again, especially with the way the resta
urant’s lighting seemed to highlight his every feature.
“I’ll give you two a chance to look over the menu while I go get some water. I’ll be back shortly,” said the waitress, her voice high-pitched but pleasant.
“Perfect,” Marco said, running his hand through his hair to tousle it out of the matted appearance leftover from his hat. The gesture made Sabrina’s heart skip and she quickly glanced away.
“Thank you for joining me for lunch.” He leaned in as he spoke and Sabrina felt the room shrink around her until it was just the two of them.
“I’ve gotta say, you have an odd way of speaking to your employees,” Sabrina said. “I imagined much more of a, ‘fetch me a table for lunch, and be quick with it,’ kind of deal.”
“What would be the fun in that?” Marco said. “This is much more pleasant.”
Sabrina's heart skipped again and stuck high in her chest.
“I didn’t know I was getting paid to be your company, though,” Sabrina said, playfully. “I must have missed that in the job description.”
“You must have. You should read a little more closely next time.” Marco smirked at her, his dark eyes were lit up and gleaming.
“I’ll make sure to study the fine print moving forward,” Sabrina said, giggling. “Per Valetta's instructions, I am going to check us in under my name using the credit card Valetta gave me earlier. Everything is set up and ready to go.”
“What about housekeeping?” Marco asked.
“I'm going to take care of everything,” Sabrina said. “I'll be the one cleaning the room so that the housekeeping staff won't have access. Valetta said the last time hotel staff cleaned your room, the maids auctioned off some of your clothing, so I won't let that happen.”
It wasn't the first time that Sabrina wondered exactly who her employer was, but she was determined to hold up her contract. She wouldn't look him up and she wouldn't pry. Her payment depended on it. When this was all over, she would find out everything and be amazed. Until then, she was keeping her curiosity in check as best as she could and purposefully staying away from the search feature on her phone.
“Sounds like you're on top of everything,” Marco said. His smile lit up his face and she felt her heart skip a beat when he looked at her. “Thank you for doing such a good job. Out of curiosity, are you staying in a different room or are there two beds in mine? Just wondering how you arranged your own stay.”
“I'll be in the adjacent room,” she said. She hoped he didn't notice the blush starting to heat her cheeks.
While she spoke, Sabrina pulled a small notebook out of her purse. Valetta had made her a list of tasks for each day, and for the entire week. Everything was organized, including check-in times on hotels and pick-up times for transportation.
Marco laughed when he saw the notepad. “What do you need notes for? Did you forget to tell me that you’re really just an undercover journalist or something?”
“You caught me.” Sabrina shrugged dramatically. “They're actually from Valetta. She says the most interesting things about how you want your socks folded.” She tried to replicate the smirk he’d shot at her.
Again he chuckled. “I bet there's nothing in there about that.”
She flipped through the book and held open a page. “Client prefers socks to be folded lengthwise with minimal wrinkling before being paired,” she read aloud. “Valetta was incredibly thorough. You should see what she says I should do for meals.”
Marco laughed again. It made Sabrina smile without even thinking and she found herself hoping he'd do it again.
“How about instead of worrying about all that, you try to enjoy yourself? I want you to have some fun on this trip as well,” Marco said, as he unfolded a cloth napkin and placed it in his lap. “If you do that, I’m sure your other duties will fit in naturally.”
“I am enjoying myself,” Sabrina said.
“Good. Then what would you be interested in doing tonight?” he asked.
“What do you think we should do tonight?” Sabrina said. “It’s your vacation, Marco. I'm just here to make sure it goes smoothly.”
“What if I'd like to take you out to see the city?” He crossed his arms and leaned back. “It's more fun to explore a city with someone than by myself.”
“Are you sure?” Sabrina asked, hesitant. “I'm just your employee.”
“Yes,” he agreed. “But right now, you are the only person I know in this city. I'm supposed to meet some friends here later this week, but they aren't here yet. I'm enjoying your company, but if you'd rather stay in the hotel alone all night, that's fine too.”