The Hotel

by Pamela Kelley

  She wondered how things were going with Missy, if they ever ended up going out. David didn’t talk much about his personal life. She assumed he was single but for all she knew there was someone in New York he was eager to get back to. For some reason, that thought depressed her. She’d wondered when he first told her about the situation with his mother if he was planning on relocating back to Nantucket. But it didn’t look like that was a possibility. She knew job opportunities, especially for the kind of consulting work that he did, were pretty much non-existent on Nantucket.

  A slow song came on and the dance floor filled with couples swaying to the beat. It was an older song that Paula had always loved, “Wonderful Tonight.”

  She glanced at David and he smiled. “Great song,” he said.

  Paula felt a sense of anticipation and wondered what it would be like to dance with David. To feel his arms around her. She hadn’t really thought about him that way before, but suddenly she was very aware of everything about him. How his lashes were so long it was downright unfair, how his arms were muscled and how the laugh lines around his mouth only made him more attractive. He leaned forward and she prepared to get up and head to the dance floor. But then he sighed instead and leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. And the moment was gone. She felt a bit silly for even imagining he was about to ask her to dance. They were not on a date. They were just two co-workers.

  So, when the set ended and David asked if she was ready to go, she nodded. He pulled into her driveway twenty minutes later.

  “Thanks for letting me tag along tonight. That was fun,” he said.

  “It was. You’re welcome to tag along anytime.”

  “Goodnight, Paula.”

  He waited until she opened her front door before driving off. Paula stepped inside and locked the door behind her. Chester came running and she scooped him up and gave him a hug. She shook her head, frustrated with herself. It was no wonder she was still single. Instead of falling for the perfectly nice, available local guy, Jason, she instead found herself more interested in someone who was completely unavailable and soon to be leaving Nantucket.

  David drove home feeling a mix of emotions, among them regret that he didn’t ask Paula to dance. There was a moment when he sensed he could have and she would have said yes and it might have been magical. But he hesitated and considered it for too long and talked himself out of it. He’d reminded himself that it was inappropriate, given their working relationship and he didn’t want to send the wrong message. Especially since he found himself fighting an attraction that took him by surprise.

  When he’d first met Paula, he found her attractive but quickly dismissed the thought, given their working relationship. And at first, he wasn’t even sure if she liked him as a co-worker. She was definitely uneasy about the move into the new role and in having someone there to watch over her. When he gave her the feedback that she was too nice, he felt her retreat and regretted having to tell her that. But it was true. And to her credit, she immediately tried to do something about it. Even if she didn’t like hearing it.

  But he’d enjoyed working closely with her and lately they’d been spending more time outside of work together, too, and he found himself wanting to be around her. But as much as he’d love to date her, he knew it was impossible and he didn’t want to start something he couldn’t finish. He only had a few weeks left, and then he’d be heading home to Manhattan and probably wouldn’t see Paula again. So, no sense in making things any more difficult than they needed to be.

  Chapter 32

  “Are you up for fishing tomorrow with Nick and Bella, and then dinner at his place? Should be a fun time.” Marco leaned against the concierge desk, waiting for Andrea’s reply. He was finishing up a shift and she was taking over for the evening.

  She smiled. “I can’t tomorrow. I have plans,” she said vaguely.

  “Yeah? What are you doing that’s more exciting than coming out with us?”

  She laughed. “I’m heading to New York for the night. I have Sunday and Monday off. Meeting an old friend. We might see a show or something.” It wasn’t a total lie. She did have plans to meet up with a friend, but the friend was Ben. It turned out that he had to go home for a real estate closing and to see another property.

  Marco looked disappointed. “Oh, okay. Well, have fun then. I’ll see you when you get back.”

  Andrea took a two o’clock flight to New York on Sunday and checked into her room at a quarter to four. The hotel was as elegant as she remembered and the woman who helped her at the front desk was really lovely. She welcomed Andrea and quickly got her settled with a spacious suite. Andrea wasn’t meeting Ben until six, so she took a book into the bath and soaked in the tub until her skin felt wrinkly. It was nice to just relax and read for a while.

  She was excited to go out in the city. Ben had mentioned possibly getting tickets to a Broadway show. She wore a cute new dress she found at Nantucket Threads earlier that week—it was a sleeveless, black cocktail-length dress and was very flattering on.

  He texted her when he walked into the lobby and she went down to meet him. He looked handsome in a navy blazer, dark pants and a pale-yellow dress shirt. He smiled when he saw her.

  “You look gorgeous.”

  “Thank you. You’re looking pretty sharp yourself.”

  They went to one of his favorite restaurants, a small Italian bistro a few blocks from the theater. And he’d managed to get third row center seats for one of the hottest shows on Broadway. She was impressed.

  “How did you manage that?”

  He grinned. “I know a guy. Our real estate attorney gets good seats all the time. He hooked me up.”

  Dinner was great and the show was wonderful. When it finished, they joined the crowds pouring onto the streets in Times Square.

  “Want to go for a quick drink?” Ben asked. “There’s a really cool piano bar not far from here.”

  “Sure.”

  He led the way to a cozy bar that had a huge piano and lots of small cocktail tables. They each only had one drink, but they stayed for several hours, singing along to the music and chatting during the breaks. It was a fun night, and the time flew by. When it was past midnight, they reluctantly decided to leave as Andrea’s interview was at nine the next day. They strolled back to the hotel and when they reached the front door, Ben pulled her to him for a hug and then a kiss. It was a nice kiss, but Andrea was a little disappointed that the expected spark wasn’t there. She was so sure that it would be. Maybe she was just too tired.

  He met her eye and smiled. “Goodnight. And good luck tomorrow.”

  Andrea woke early the next day, ordered a big room service breakfast of scrambled eggs, home fries, toast and coffee and felt pretty good about her upcoming interview. She wasn’t as nervous as she normally was before an interview and she had a feeling it might go well. She’d found that the more it mattered whether she got a job, the more nervous she tended to be. Whereas when she was less invested, she tended to be more confident, more relaxed and interviewed better.

  And that’s exactly what happened. She was led into a conference room and took a seat at a long table where three interviewers faced her. Normally that would be intimidating, but she just smiled and actually had fun with the interview. She knew she had the experience, and she gave lots of good examples for each question that she was asked. When the interview ended, she knew she’d done well.

  They asked ‘buying questions,’ and the final one was, “Ms. Whitley, if this were to work out, how soon would you be able to begin?”

  She smiled. “I would have to give several weeks’ notice but could start right after that.”

  “Excellent. We’ll be in touch with a decision by the end of the week.”

  By the time Andrea checked out and boarded the plane home to Nantucket, her high from the interview had faded. And she worried about actually getting an offer and having to make a decision that she still felt so unsure about. The flight was
smooth and as her plane landed on Nantucket and she turned her phone back on, it pinged with a text message and she smiled when she saw that it was sent earlier from Marco.

  “Hope you’re having fun in the Big Apple. Missed you yesterday. Caught lots of fish. See you tomorrow.”

  She texted back. “Glad you had fun and caught lots of fish. Any leftovers?”

  Sixty seconds later, her phone pinged. “Lots. Dinner tomorrow night, my place?”

  “See you then.”

  Andrea headed to her parents’ house for dinner Monday night. They’d postponed their normal Sunday gathering as both Andrea and her father were out of town. She wondered what her father was up to, as he rarely went off-island. Her mother said their Aunt Vivian would also be joining them as well as Uncle Freddy. As Andrea had expected, those two had kissed and made-up. Aunt Vivian was just all bluster and drama. She loved the attention.

  The mood around the dinner table was festive. Andrea hadn’t seen her father in such a good mood in a long time. And her aunt and uncle were madly in love again.

  “So, how did it go? Do you think you have a good shot at the job?” her mother asked.

  Aunt Vivian leaned forward. It was the first she’d heard of Andrea’s interview. “What job is this?”

  She addressed her aunt first. “It’s a GM role at a boutique hotel in Manhattan.” And then her mother. “I think it went well. I wouldn’t be surprised if they make an offer. I should know by the end of the week.”

  “Manhattan. That’s exciting. I didn’t know you wanted to go there,” her aunt said.

  Andrea laughed. “I’m not sure that I do. I’d prefer Boston as it’s closer or ideally something here, but there don’t seem to be any opportunities either place at the moment.”

  “Aside from the location, are you sure that’s the job you want? To go back into a general manager role? I’ve honestly never seen you as happy and relaxed as you’ve been since moving to the concierge desk,” her mother said.

  “I agree. And selfishly, I don’t want you to leave. But, if it’s what you really want to do, of course we will all support that,” Hallie said.

  “I honestly don’t know what I want to do. The job seems perfect other than the location. And you’re right, I have been enjoying the concierge role. But I haven’t thought of it as something long-term, just a fun temporary role until I land a GM spot.”

  “I don’t see why it has to be temporary,” her mother said. “Work doesn’t feel like work when you enjoy what you do.”

  Hallie nodded. “I’ve said that before, too. Work is much less stressful and more enjoyable when it’s fun.”

  “I have a lot to think about. I’ve never really considered concierge as a long-term place for me,” Andrea said.

  “Well, maybe you should. I agree with the others,” her aunt chimed in.

  That reminded Andrea of something she’d meant to ask her aunt.

  “Aunt Vivian, you recently had a realtor in to see you at The Whitley. What was that all about?”

  Her aunt smiled impishly. “I called him in to do a fair market evaluation of The Whitley, for your grandfather.”

  That shocked the table into silence. Finally, Andrea spoke. “He asked you to do that? Is he seriously thinking of selling?”

  “Well, no he didn’t exactly ask me to do it. But I thought I’d get the information and then share it with him in case he might want to consider selling.”

  Her mother frowned. “Vivian, why on earth would you want to encourage that?”

  “Well, I don’t think any of you realize what that hotel is worth. We could sell it, divide the proceeds and never have to worry about working again.” She glanced at Uncle Freddy. “Some of us could really use that money.”

  “Are you having money issues again?” her mother asked.

  Aunt Vivian glanced away. Uncle Freddy put his hand on hers and squeezed it. She met his gaze and then sighed.

  “I may have gotten into a bit of a jam in Europe. The casinos there are fabulous.”

  “That’s what we were actually arguing about,” Uncle Freddy added. He usually stayed quiet, but Andrea sensed he wanted to clear the air and let them know he wasn’t the bad guy in what happened.

  “He’s right. He insisted that I stop going to the casinos and that’s when I got mad and came home.”

  “Well, that makes more sense. But I thought you stopped gambling years ago?” her mother asked.

  “I did. But then I sort of started again. I thought I could handle it and the casinos there are so lovely. But I know now that it’s still a problem. I found a local Gamblers Anonymous group on Nantucket and have been going regularly. I’m not even buying scratch tickets anymore.”

  “But she was until I got home. I found a box of scratched off tickets in the garage,” Uncle Freddy added.

  “Why do you keep the tickets?” Andrea’s mother asked.

  “Just in case they might be useful. There’s fine print on the back about holding onto them,” her aunt said.

  “I put them in the trash,” Uncle Freddy said.

  “So, what has Grandfather said about all this?” Andrea asked.

  “I haven’t talked to him yet. We have a meeting set for Tuesday morning.” Grandfather had been out of town for the past week on a cruise with some friends.

  “What will you do if he says no?” her mother asked.

  Aunt Vivian smiled. “We’ll cross that bridge when we have to.”

  Andrea was surprised by a phone call the next afternoon from Elaine, the headhunter.

  “Great news! They want to offer you the job!”

  The news wasn’t all that unexpected, but the timing was. “Already? I didn’t expect to hear until the end of the week.”

  “They all loved you. It was close with the other candidate, but they met with her yesterday afternoon, then took a vote and you won.” She mentioned a very generous figure, more than Andrea had anticipated. She was shocked into silence.

  “So, shall I tell them you accept? When would you like to start? That’s another reason they didn’t wait until the end of the week. They want you there ASAP.”

  “Well, this is exciting news. But I need to think about it. When do they need an answer?”

  “I could probably stall them a day or two, tops. They don’t want to lose the other candidate if you’re not in. You are taking it, though, right? This is an incredible opportunity, and they came in higher than we expected on the money.”

  “I know. It’s a very generous offer. I just need to sleep on it and let it digest.”

  “Okay. Let me know as soon as possible. And congratulations.”

  “Thanks, Elaine.”

  Andrea ended the call and took a deep breath. Now that she actually had the offer, she didn’t know what she wanted to do. She really did need to sleep on it. Especially after the conversation with her family the night before.

  And she was due at Marco’s house in an hour. She finished up at five, went home to freshen up and headed off to Marco’s. She stopped at Bradford’s Liquors on the way to pick up a six pack of the local Cisco Brewers’ beer that Marco liked and her favorite wine, Bread and Butter chardonnay.

  Marco was outside on the deck, firing up the grill, when she pulled into his driveway. His car was the only other one there. She parked and carried the beer and wine over to him.

  “Hey, there,” he said when he saw her. “The door is open if you want to set that in the kitchen.” He grinned. “If you feel like pouring us a drink, even better.”

  “Will do. Where are your brother and sister tonight? Are they working?”

  “Alana is. Sergio is out with friends. I don’t expect either of them back ‘til later. So, all the fish is ours!”

  She laughed. “How can I help?”

  “Everything’s done. I just need to throw the fish and veggies on the grill. Rice and salad are already made. We can sit outside and relax until it’s ready.”

  “Works for me.” She went inside and
put the beer in the refrigerator and poured one into a glass for Marco. She also opened the wine and poured a glass for herself and brought both drinks outside. Marco was just sliding two aluminum foil packets onto the grill. When he closed the cover, she handed him his beer.

  They sat at the round table on his patio and chatted for a bit. She told him about her day. It was his day off and it had been a comical day at the concierge desk.

  “I think there might be a full moon. I don’t remember the last time I had so many odd requests in one day. The first one was actually kind of romantic. The groom of a honeymoon couple called and wanted us to scatter pink Nantucket rose petals all over the bed. Then the wife of an older couple that was coming to celebrate his 80th birthday asked us to get several boxes of those chocolate covered cranberries from Sweet Inspirations and leave them in the room with a bottle of champagne.”

  “That sounds like a good combo, actually,” Marco said.

  She laughed. “I thought so, too. But the funniest request of all was from Mrs. Davis. She’s arriving tomorrow and asked us to get a baby blue doggie sweatshirt that says Nantucket on it for her newest addition to the family.”

  “She got another dog? Or did something happen to Pepper?”

  Mrs. David was one of their favorite guests. She came every summer for a month, rented one of their biggest suites, had people in and out visiting every weekend and she always brought her gorgeous Pomeranian, Pepper.

  “Pepper’s fine. She said thought Pepper might be lonely and needed a sibling, so she recently acquired Daisy.”

  Marco chuckled. “I’m glad Pepper is okay. That sounds like quite the day.”