The Agency

XXX. arrival

 Alex had not been paying attention when his agent was describing the place where they would be staying. He had been more focused on what to do about Stephanie's request for him to fire Virginie. Maybe that was why he couldn't stop staring.

The two couples were sharing a private villa on the beach. Each villa came with 24/7 room service and a personal butler. The dual floor adobe brick villa was surrounded by mountains of bright pink zinnias that could even be seen in the dark of night. The two couples made their way up the stairs and entered their designated places.

Their butler, a short, pale man with cropped hair, greeted them at the door. "Welcome to paradise. I am Samuel, your butler for your entire stay. I will not be here all the time but there is a phone that allows you to call room service at all hours of the day. May I interest you in some lemongrass towels to refresh you from your long journey?" He outstretched his hand to give them two damp yet warm towels that they both gratefully accepted.

The rejuvenating scent of the towels got rid of a tiredness that Alex didn't even realize he had. He beamed broadly at the man. "Nice to meet you, Samuel. My name's Alex and this beautiful girl right here is my girlfriend, Stephanie." He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. He had to make sure that she felt like she was cared for.

Stephanie blushed. She waved at the butler. "Hello Samuel, it's nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine." Samuel bowed as he opened the door for the two of them. "Now that our pleasantries are out of the way, can I offer you a welcome cocktail or a snack? I know it's a little bit late, but I'm sure something to nibble on would be nice."

Alex and Stephanie looked at each other and then nodded in agreement. "I think both sounds good for us," Stephanie replied.

Samuel smiled and nodded, disappearing into the kitchen. "Please make yourselves at home while I fix you up something." He paused for a second, deep in thought. "For your drinks, would you like them strong?"

"Strong. Definitely strong," Alex requested. Stephanie murmured in agreement.

As Samuel disappeared into the kitchen to fix them their drinks, Alex and Stephanie landed on the plush blue couch, somewhat exhausted from their journey. Alex took in the space around him.

The villa contained two separate apartment-like spaces that had a spacious bedroom with a king sized bed, an enormous balcony with a teardrop bathtub and furniture, and an HD smart TV. There was a living room that contained another HD smart TV, fully stocked wet bar, and elegant furnishings. There was a kitchen with a fully stocked fridge, electric stove, farm sink, and various stainless steel appliances. The entire villa had a warm blue theme with splashes of green, blue, and white included throughout all of the furniture. There were bits of tasteful art scattered amongst the walls.

Alex nudged her shoulder. "Are you ready to hit the clubs?"

Stephanie yawned. "I don't know, Alex, I'm kind of tired after all that traveling. It's late and I have to do my hair and my makeup..."

Alex rolled his eyes. "You look fine right now. Why can't you go like this?"

Stephanie snuggled closer to him on the couch. "You're so cute. I love it when you use slang." Alex took a deep breath and focused on not slapping Stephanie into the end of the vacation. "But I can't go out like this. My hair looks crazy, I smell weird, and I would have to put on some proper clothes for our first night out on the island. But you can go, though. I trust you."

Alex blinked. "You what?"

Stephanie snorted. "You heard me. I said I trust you."

Alex prayed that Virginie was coming to the club with him so that he could see her let loose. She was always so collected and calculated; he wanted to see her lose inhibitions for once and enjoy herself. He was silently hoping for something else but he didn't want to acknowledge it. He would just have to wait for when it was happening. He kissed Stephanie's cheek. "Thanks, babe, you won't regret it."