Chapter 8 A Night of Madness

Alexander was trapped like a mouse in a cat boutique. The cold wall against his back was his only support as Vanessa, a stunning blonde who looked like something out of every man's fantasies (except his own), cornered him with the precision of a seasoned predator.

"Don't be so shy, sweetie," Vanessa purred, leaning in so close that her perfume threatened to make him sneeze. "The night is just beginning, and I have so many plans for us..."

"Plans?" Alexander squeaked, his voice sounding higher than he would have liked. "What kind of plans?"

"Oh, you know..." Vanessa winked at him. "The kind of plans that make nights... memorable."

From his vantage point, Terrence watched the scene like someone watching his favorite Netflix series.

She found it fascinating to watch her assistant go through the entire palette of every red known to mankind at Vanessa's advances. There was something about the way Alexander squirmed, something almost... feminine.

"Come on, handsome," Vanessa insisted, playing with Alexander's tie. "Don't tell me you've never had a wild adventure in a club."

"The bathroom!" Alexander exclaimed as if he had just discovered the cure for the common cold. "I need to go to the bathroom urgently! It's a medical emergency!"

"Medical emergency?" Vanessa arched a perfectly drawn eyebrow. "What kind of emergency?"

"The worst kind!" Alexander practically jumped out of her grasp. "The kind you can't discuss in public!"

Without waiting for a response, he slunk off to the restrooms, leaving Vanessa with her mouth agape and her pride slightly bruised. What Alexander didn't count on was that the woman would follow him around like a GPS on stilettos.

The persistent blonde followed him into the hallway of the bathrooms like a predator stalking its prey. "Where do you think you're going, sweetie?" She backed him up against the wall. "How about we have our own private party?"

Alexander's (or rather, Amelia's) heart was beating so loud it could probably be heard all the way out on the dance floor.

"Miss, please," he pleaded.

Without warning, Vanessa pounced on him like a lioness on an unsuspecting antelope. She planted a kiss on him that would have made a soap opera star blush.

Amelia had to contain her nausea, she felt like she was living her own romantic horror movie. The taste of cosmopolitan and the perfume that smelled like a "sexual predator" were making her dizzier than a spin in the washing machine.

And then, as if the universe wanted to add more drama to the situation, Vanessa grabbed Alexander's hand and stuck it straight into her cleavage. Amelia felt like she was touching the sky, but not exactly in the way any other man would have wanted.

"You like what you touch, tiger?" Vanessa purred with a smile that would make a shark look innocent.

At that moment, Amelia's survival instinct kicked in like a rocket about to take off. With a maneuver worthy of a movie, she slipped out of Vanessa's grasp and ran away as if she had seen a ghost in a thong.

"Wait!" Vanessa shouted, but Alexander was already gone faster than a fortnight's paycheck.

Terrence, who had witnessed the great escape, couldn't contain his laughter. Watching his assistant run like he was participating in the escape Olympics was better than any comedy show.

Alexander arrived at the main area panting as if he had just run a marathon in heels.

"Everything okay, Roberts?" Terrence asked, biting his lip to keep from laughing. "You seem a little... agitated."

"Perfectly!" Alexander squeaked in a voice three octaves higher than normal. "Just... the air! Yeah, that's it. The air is too... breathy? I think I'd better take my leave."

Terrence nodded, his eyes shining with more than just amusement. There was something about the way his assistant moved, how she reacted, that made him curious beyond the professional.

"Go ahead, boy," he said, his voice softer than usual. "Though I must admit, your escape technique is impressive." Terrence thought he hadn't had so much fun in a while.

Just then, Vanessa appeared like a shark that has smelled blood in the water. Alexander didn't even say goodbye; he simply shot off toward the elevators as if his shoes had built-in rockets.

"Terry!" Karla hung on to her cousin's arm. "What are you laughing so hard about?" she asked curiously.

"You're welcome, cousin," she replied, unable to take her eyes off the spot where her assistant had disappeared. "Just that there's something about Roberts that intrigues me more and more."

In the elevator, Amelia allowed herself a moment of existential crisis.

"My God," she muttered, leaning her forehead against the mirror. "At what point did my life turn into a low-budget romantic comedy?"

The next morning arrived with the subtlety of a hangover. At breakfast, Oliver bombarded her with questions worthy of an FBI interrogation.

"Mr. Roberts!" The boy exclaimed. "Is it true that all the girls in the club wanted to dance with you? Are you like Prince Charming?"

Alexander choked on his coffee so strong he almost spat it out of his nose. "Not exactly, young Oliver..."

"Oh, don't be modest, Roberts," Terrence chimed in with a smile that should be illegal this early in the morning. "Tell Oliver how you won hearts and broke a few too."

"I'd rather not," Alexander muttered, sinking into his chair like an underbaked soufflé.

Things didn't get any better on the beach. He had barely settled under an umbrella when karma decided he hadn't suffered enough.

"Look what the tide brought in!" Vanessa's voice sounded like the theme song from "Jaws."

There she was, in a bikini so small it was probably illegal in several states, with Karla at her side smiling like the cat that ate the canary.

"Ready to finish what we started last night, handsome?" Vanessa purred, wriggling like a mesmerizing snake.

Alexander felt his soul leave his body.

"Miss, I'm... working..." That woman should earn a prize for persistence.

"Oh, come on," Vanessa sat so close she was practically on his lap. "Can you help me with the sunscreen? There are places a girl just can't reach..."

Terrence, returning from the shore with Oliver, paused for a moment to observe the scene. Something in his chest twisted at the sight of Vanessa so close to his assistant.

It was a strange feeling of discomfort. No, impossible, it must be the heat of the sun affecting his brain, he shouldn't be bothered by that.

"Mr. Roberts!" Oliver's shout was like a gift from heaven. "Did you see how I surfed? I almost stood up!"

Alexander had never been so happy to see a child in his life.

"You were amazing, champ!" he exclaimed, standing up so quickly that he almost knocked Vanessa face first into the sand.

During lunch, the situation became more surreal than a Dali painting. Karla and her friends appeared as if they had a radar to detect awkward moments.

"Do you have a girlfriend, Alexander?" Karla asked, while Vanessa practically ate her assistant with her eyes.

"No," he replied, wanting to mentally kick himself for not inventing an imaginary girlfriend. Or better yet, an arranged marriage in a faraway country, anything to get out of this mess.

"Perfect!" Vanessa practically purred. "Then you're all mine tonight..." She smiled, then winked at him.

"Actually, I..."

"Come on, Roberts!" Terrence intervened, interrupting him. "I'm giving you the night off. Go and... have fun."

Alexander looked at his boss as if he had just suggested jumping out of a plane without a parachute.

Whatever it was, it was clear that tonight was going to be another episode in the series "Amelia's Misadventures: How Not to Keep a Secret at a Resort."