Tapping my foot, I growled at the elevator as it slowly made its way up to the topmost floor—only to pause two levels below.
“Fuck it. I don’t have time for this.”
I dashed down the stairway and flung open the side door.
Nodding to the front desk clerk, I took a few even breaths, then made minor adjustments in the display mirror before speed walking into the meeting room.
“You are late.”
Peering up at the clock on the wall, I winced at the confirmation I was indeed five minutes late—twenty minutes later than when I usually arrive.
“I am sorry. I had some unplanned—”
“Is this how you manage things?” scuffed an unfamiliar male dressed in a business suit far more luxurious than what was typically worn.
Dread filled me as I scanned the room and noticed there were no open spots available around the meeting table. This wasn’t a normal quarterly business discussion. A black portfolio folder and pen sat in front of every member around the table. My longtime managers shook their heads in disappointment, and the hotel owners had blank looks on their faces as the unknown businessmen scolded me.
“No, Mr. Advic,” my General Manager, Stacy replied, narrowing her eyes. “Typically, all of my employees are on time and presentable.”
Presentable? I glanced down at my dress shirt and slacks. Sure, it wasn’t a suit, but I usually worked in the back of the house as the Executive Housekeeper. I was never required to dress up in an outfit for these meetings. Today was my regular scheduled day off, but obviously, they didn’t give me the memo they were having guests at this meeting and to dress classier.
Stacy’s jab hurt. What happened to us being friends? Granted, we didn’t do anything outside of work other than having a few drinks as a group here or there, but still. Now, she was throwing me under the bus? I schooled my facial expression and tried to remain calm, not showing the sense of betrayal and worry that coursed through me.
“Not like it matters anymore,” mused the blonde-haired woman in a tight red dress. “Not after today.”
“What do you mean?”
“Emerald, you know this hotel has been struggling to make a profit,” Stacy replied.
“Correct.” I licked my lips. “That was why I was willing to take a major cut to my pay in exchange for living in one of the old suites.”
“I will be the first to tell you, that is going to end today,” the luxuriously dressed male said. “Starting at midnight, I am now the new owner of this rundown hotel, and the first thing I am going to do is fire most of its staff—which includes you.” He knocked his knuckles on the table. “Then, I am closing its doors and doing a complete update.”
“You can’t do that!”
“I will, and I can.”
Clinching my fists, I stared at Stacy and the hotel’s old owners.
“When were you going to tell me this?”
They refused to meet my gaze, focusing on the table or the pen in their hands. It was too late for them to regret their actions. They just proved they didn’t really see me as a friend after all and didn’t even respect me as a coworker. I sacrificed my pay to help them stay afloat and was willing to be the on-call manager when problems arose.
“So, this is how you repay me, huh?” I hissed. When they didn’t reply once again, I turned my focus to the hotel’s new manager. “So there is no way I can stay?”
“You didn’t have a contract with them, and even if you did, you don’t have one with me, so I can treat you as a guest who refuses to leave,” chuckled the hotel’s new owner.
“Fine. I will be packed and gone by noon.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Happy fucking birthday to me,” I muttered as I sped along the highway, away from that mess.
My car was jammed packed with what few of things I had collected over the years as I drove aimlessly along northern New York to the sounds of the local Top 40 radio station. There was nowhere I wanted to go or be.
The people I thought were my friends obliviously weren’t, and my whole family had moved to Toronto while I was pursuing my hospitality business degree. It was mid-December, and everyone had their holiday help already hired and well established for the final push. My best bet for survival would be to find a cheap place and bunker down until the students returned to school, then try to find a place hiring.
No matter what I did, it seemed my dreams of managing a sizeable exotic resort hotel came crashing down as soon as I failed to secure the assistant front desk manager position fresh after graduation. That was the very beginning of the chain of how every interview process went until I started to work for that hellhole.
I may not have my dream job—or any position at the moment—but I wasn’t ready to give up being independent and crawl my way back to my parents. Even though it was more common these days, moving back home to my parents would show everyone how much of a failure I was. I might as well take this time to self-reflect and find myself while looking for a new job and place to stay.
I sighed, refusing to allow the tears that threatened to fall from the heaviness of how everything was going unplanned once again.
What happened to the American Dream?
Get good grades and graduate from a nice college, score an entry-level job to the dream career you wanted, and work up the corporate ladder. Been there, done that. But what did I get in return? Single, no house, fired by my current and only real job, and hardly any possessions in my name.
Today was my thirty-third birthday for fuck’s sake, and the only thing I had was my paid-off car and being debt-free. I lost my home, job, and my favorite pet pleco fish, Godzilla, all on the same day.
Everyone always said things came in threes. Well, today’s events better count as three items because I could use some good luck.
“Like that will happen.”
As I drove on, I studied the road signs and looked for a random nice-sounding town. Everyone always says to never judge a book by its cover, but every city with a cute and easy to pronounce name had never failed me with their nice cozy hometown feel. I always avoided the towns with the super long-ass names that were hard to pronounce. The one thing I’ve always failed at was pronouncing the guest's names correctly, so there was no way I would settle in a town I couldn’t easily say.
How could I tell people where I lived if I couldn’t even pronounce it?
A highway sign for “Silver Springs” and “Scarborough” caught my eye. Silver Springs was the perfect name for a town to stop in for the night. Smiling, I turned off the exit and turned right in the direction of both cities.
Following the windy mountain ridge road between a thick forest, I scanned the brush for any wildlife. The lack of vehicles on the street was concerning as I tried to spot any distance markers for two towns.
There were only trees—no houses, no roadside food stands, not even a gas station, even though my gas gauge stated it had a third of a tank left.
Three songs later, I spotted the turnoff sign for “Scarborough.” Nope, not a friendly named town. But at least that meant I was getting closer to my destination.
Suddenly, my car vibrated violently, making a loud grinding noise. Cursing, I pulled off to the side of the road, putting my car into park, right in front of the “Silver Springs 5 Miles” sign before turning it off. Growling, I slammed my hands on the steering wheel and glared at the sky.
“Fuck!”
Click here to read the rest of Emerald! https://www.amazon.com/Emerald-Jewels-Cafe-Book-9-ebook/dp/B07Y9J6LQ5
Want to read more about Celeste?
Check out Hallowed Woods Academy Semester 1, available now on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Hallowed-Woods-Academy-Semester-1-ebook/dp/B07YBV7DDG/
Guess what? Not only will Celeste’s adventures continue in Hallowed Woods Academy Semester 2, but Celeste will also be getting a second book of her own! Join my newsletter for upcoming details! http://www.thethirdthrone.com/hallowed-woods-academy
; About the Author
Tabitha Barret is a Multi-Genre Romance author who graduated from Rutgers University with a BA in English. She married the interesting guy from her Creative Writing class and together had two amazing children. They live together in a quiet town in New Jersey with their four rambunctious dogs. To learn more about her other books and to sign up for her newsletter, please visit her website at www.tabithabarret.com.
Pearl (Jewels Cafe Book 8) Page 13
