The Sturniolos' Assistant

Chapter 6: Professional

The ferry ride was a little over an hour and my head hurts more as soon as we set foot on the island, but I'm too excited to let my migraine get in the way. Cassie and I said we would check in while the boys took pictures on the beach. We walk around people waiting for their luggage and make it through the entrance of the lobby. People in white uniforms are handing out glasses with tiny umbrellas. Cassie heads straight for a tall man with silver hair standing behind the front desk.

"Alfred!" Cassie sings. The skin around his eyes crinkles as he smiles wide and hugs Cassie. I know he's old but he looks good for the age I'm putting him at in my head. He looks at me as they break away from each other.

"Malia, this is Alfred. If there's ever a problem, Alfred's the man to go to. He's the best," Cassie says.

"It's nice to meet you, Malia. I've been working here for years. You're going to love it." He shakes my hand.

"Nice to meet you, too." I smile. I'm meeting so many people, it's hard to keep up. I add Alfred-the-concierge to the list in my head.

"Here are the keys to your villas and a map of the island." He hands me the key and map.

"Can I also check in and get the keys for the Sturniolo triplets?" I ask.

"Yes, of course." He hands me three more keys. "Enjoy your stay."

"Thank you," I manage to say after trying my hardest not to say "You too." I check out the map while we walk back to meet the boys.

"Your villas are right here." She points to a cluster of villas by a golf course. "And I'll be staying here." She points to more villas on the other side of the island.

"Wow, that's far."

"It's closer than you'd think. James, where are you staying?" Cassie asks. James walks up to us and puts his arms around us.

"East side. What about you Malia?"

"West side."

"Are we gonna rumble? Little West Side Story situation?" He shakes our shoulders and I laugh.

"Oh my gosh, you're such a dork." Cassie laughs too. "Alright, our shuttle is here."

"I'll see you tonight," James says to me.

"Okay." I smile. He's really cute, especially with those green eyes.

Cassie, James, Louis, and a bunch of other people get onto the shuttles going to the east side of the island. I pull my jacket up to my chin and fidget with the zipper until I remember.

"Wait," I call out to James. "Your jacket."

"You can give it to me later." He smiles and my heart flutters. The boys and I wave goodbye as we wait for our shuttle. I was excited to write on the beach and hang out with the boys, but now I'm excited to hang out with James, too.

When the shuttle pulls up, we're the only ones who get on. There must be people hanging out in the lobby who will catch the next shuttle. When we make it to the west side, there are two villas with two rooms. The villas are surrounded by thick greenery like a rainforest, so I bet the other villas are on the other side.

"This is just for us?" Nick asks.

"Looks like it," Chris says. 

Matt and Chris will share a villa and Nick and I will share the other. We grab our luggage from the shuttle and settle into our rooms. My room is on the same side as Matt's. I walk over after seeing him struggle to open the door. I grab the key from him and unlock it.

"I loosened it for you," Matt jokes. I shake my head and laugh.

"James seems cool," he says, reaching down to grab his bag.

"Yeah." I grab his other bag and follow him. "It's weird though. Cassie asked me what my type was and then basically snapped her fingers and James appeared. I didn't tell her I was looking or anything, she just kind of threw him at me."

"And James is your type?" Matt sets his bag on the bed.

"Uh, I guess so." He looks at me, waiting for more information, but I suddenly feel too embarrassed to keep talking about what type of person I'm looking for, especially with Matt. "Cassie and Chris, Louis and Nick, I bet Cassie already has someone lined up for you at the party." I chuckled but scanned his face for a reaction.

"Yeah, maybe." He shrugs. I look at the time.

"The shuttle will be here in about forty-five minutes to pick us up for the welcome dinner. I should probably go get ready." I put his bag down.

"Right, yeah. I'll see you later."

I'm lucky that James is here because he does seem cool and I want to get to know him more, but I'm also lucky because the timing is perfect. I don't want to call James a distraction because that sounds bad like I'm using him, but if I spend more time with him then maybe I'll forget about my feelings for Matt. Yup, I'm a Matt girl.

I had a crush on Matt before I started working with them and after spending more time with him, my crush has grown. I hoped that it wouldn't, but it did. He's easy to talk to, we like the same things but also push each other to try new things. He makes me laugh, he's sweet, and his eyes are adorable. I'm not going to entertain the idea of us being together because that would be crazy, messy, and unprofessional. I'm good about hiding my feelings. And it's not like he feels the same way about me.

Anyway, now my head hurts a little more. I finally take my medicine and start to get ready for the party. It's time to have fun and get out of my head.