“Are you coming down with something?” she asked, loudly enough for some to hear. “Why don’t you sit down and rest, let me do this.”
Hayley nodded mutely, swallowed again, and dropped into a nearby chair, equal parts relieved beyond belief and mortified that she was such a miserable failure at something as simple as a staff meeting.
The mixed emotions carried over as she watched Olivia. On the one hand, Hayley was frustrated with herself. Embarrassed that she apparently couldn’t handle a simple meeting. She wasn’t really a newbie any longer. She should have no trouble with such things. Instead, she’d stood there like a sixth grader giving her first presentation, shaking and sweating. Yeah, the shame she felt was intense. At the same time, though, she was mesmerized by Olivia. By the ease with which she stood in front of the staff and commanded their respect without raising her voice or asserting her authority. Just by being her casual, friendly, approachable self, she had the attention of every single person in the room. Some of them had smiles on their faces as Olivia addressed all questions, concerns, and items on Hayley’s list. After about forty-five minutes, it was over. Olivia excused the staff and they filed out of the room until there was only the two of them left.
“I’m sorry,” Hayley said, still in her chair.
Olivia shook her head as she handed back the pad of paper. “No reason to be.”
“I don’t do well in front of people. I never have.” It wasn’t something she liked to admit, but Hayley felt like she could tell Olivia and not feel like a pathetic loser. She was almost right.
Olivia’s brows met above her nose as she headed for the door and waited for Hayley to follow. “You did okay the first few meetings.”
Hayley scoffed. “The first one was just you introducing me. Still figuring things out for the second. Last week’s was quick and painless because of Thanksgiving. This one was all me. Standing up in front of everybody and being the boss. Which I obviously suck at.”
“You’re really hard on yourself, you know that?” They were walking now, down the back hallway toward the public part of the resort, and Olivia didn’t look at her as she spoke.
“I am?”
“Seems like it to me.” Olivia didn’t elaborate, just kept a brisk pace as they made it back to their offices and desks.
The remark stayed with Hayley for the rest of the day, in the back of her mind, put aside but not forgotten, as she went through email and fielded phone calls. An email popped through in the afternoon from her father. It said simply, “Budget?” With a groan, Hayley dropped her forehead onto the surface of her desk.
“Are you napping?” Olivia’s voice held gentle ribbing, and as Hayley lifted her head, she was pretty sure she saw a ghost of a smile.
“Napping. Yes. That’s exactly what I was doing. Not beating my head against my desk in frustrated confusion. Certainly not that.”
Olivia squinted for a beat before jerking a thumb over her shoulder. “Ronnie is here to see you,” she said quietly.
Hayley stared at her with what she was sure was a blank look on her face.
“The valet.” Olivia lowered her voice as her expression changed. The subtle disapproval again.
“Oh. Oh! Oh, shit.” She had to fire somebody. Yeah. That. “Shit,” she said again.
Olivia pushed off the doorframe and stepped into the office. She shut the door behind her and said. “Ronnie Dean. He’s worked here for a little over six months. I’m not at all sure why Roger hired him, because his work experience is minimal and he doesn’t make a great impression. I question a lot of things Roger did.” She waved a hand in front of her face. “Never mind that. Ronnie has been late at least once a week since he started. Last month, there were complaints from three different guests that change had been stolen from their cars. Ronnie was the only common denominator. Nothing even close to large sums of money, but it’s the principle of it.”
“Messes with our reputation,” Hayley offered.
“Exactly.”
“Okay. I understand. Send him in.” Doing her best to ignore the explosion of nerves in her stomach, Hayley schooled her features, wiped any expression at all off her face, and folded her hands on her desk as the same sentence ricocheted through her head on repeat.
You can do this. You can do this. You can do this.
Chapter Eleven
The afternoon had been a blur for Olivia. She’d had a meeting with Lenny in maintenance to go over some of the applications he’d received for the empty positions he had to fill. Hayley should’ve been there, but she was dealing with Ronnie the valet, so Olivia had gone in her place. Then she’d made the rounds of the Evergreen, something she tried to do a couple times a week just to make sure things were running smoothly and no guests that she ran into along the way had complaints of any kind. She made a quick trip up to the rooftop bar, said hello to the staff there, and visited with a couple of guests, asked them about their stay—something she felt was important. Also, she loved the Christmas decorations they used up there, all the glass lined in white lights, garland along the front of the bar and lining the back shelves. The way the lights reflected off all the bottles gave the whole place a warm, welcoming feel and made Olivia want to order a glass of wine and make herself comfortable on one of the overstuffed couches. Maybe later…
Back behind the front desk, Stephanie was on the phone and computer, working on a reservation, from what Olivia could tell as she passed and entered her own office.
Where she was surprised to find both Maddie and Hayley, their heads close together, as Maddie sat at Olivia’s desk and Hayley stood behind her, bent over so she could see Maddie’s laptop. Hayley pointed at the screen. “See? I mean, you’re not there, but it’s pretty close.” She glanced up, saw Olivia, and smiled.
“Hi, Liv,” Maddie said, eyes bright. “Hayley was helping me with my art history homework. Did you know a lot of museums have virtual tours? So you can actually look at the paintings and artwork just like you were there? Like, you can walk from room to room, check everything out at your own pace.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t know this already,” Olivia said.
Maddie shrugged. “I never thought about it.”
It was close to five, so Maddie started packing up her stuff as Hayley stood up.
“How’d everything go?” Olivia asked. “With Ronnie.”
Hayley lifted one shoulder and tipped her head toward it. “Fine. He was rude and shocked and is going to sue us, but other than that, it went totally okay.” She actually seemed amused by it rather than freaked—which would’ve been the reaction Olivia expected.
“We’ll wait anxiously for the call from his lawyer,” Olivia said, grinning.
“That’s what I told him.”
Stephanie came back to collect her daughter as the front desk changed hands, and they said their good-byes. Olivia reclaimed her desk and Hayley adjourned to her own. There was some paperwork to deal with and a few emails to respond to, but Olivia felt restless. She loved her job, and it was rare that she felt smothered at her desk, but she felt that now. Before she even realized what she was doing, she stood and popped her head into Hayley’s office. When Hayley looked up from her computer and smiled at her, Olivia’s insides went all warm and soft.
“What are you doing right now?”
Hayley looked back at her computer screen, as if to double-check. “I am working on this stupid budget that my—er—Corporate keeps bugging me about. Why?”
“Can you take a break from it?”
“Hell, yes.”
“Feel like a cocktail?”
“Hell, yes again.” Hayley was up and out of her chair so fast it made Olivia laugh. “Lead the way.”
Less than ten minutes later, name tags removed and tucked into pockets, they each had a glass of wine and were reclining on an overstuffed couch in the rooftop bar, facing the windows so they could see the wide expanse of the Evergreen’s front property. Lampposts and trees lined the drive. Each post had
a wreath hanging from it. Each tree was wrapped in festive white lights.
“It looks like the proverbial winter wonderland from up here,” Hayley said softly. “It’s gorgeous.”
“Thank you,” Olivia said. At Hayley’s furrowed brow, she explained. “Roger didn’t want the lights out front. He said decorating the lobby and stuff was enough, that having lights outside wouldn’t matter. I disagreed. Took me three years to change his mind, but when he did, I made sure we went all out. And we got compliments and comments almost immediately. Our Yelp reviews around the holidays consistently talk about how gorgeous our property looks, all decked out. That it makes them want to turn into our driveway just to see it.”
“You were right. It’s beautiful, and if I was looking for a place to stay for the holidays or to go skiing, this place would definitely catch my eye.”
Olivia sipped her wine, feeling oddly satisfied at Hayley’s words. “I don’t do this often, drink among the guests. But it is after hours, and sometimes I just need this view, you know?”
“I can see why.” They sat quietly for a moment before Hayley spoke again. “How come you’re so good at this job?” It was an odd question, and the look on Hayley’s face said she knew it. Still, she turned her head so she was facing Olivia, brows raised in expectation, and Olivia suddenly envisioned her helping Maddie with her homework, showing her something she was passionate about it. It had been lovely to watch.
Olivia shrugged. It might have been an odd question, but it was easy to answer. “Because I love it. Because it’s what I’ve always wanted to do.”
“Really?” This time, Hayley’s expression said this was anything but what she wanted to do.
With a nod, Olivia went on. “The first time I came here, it was for Ski Club in high school. We met here and took one of the Evergreen shuttles up to Clearpeak. It was a very cold day and we had to wait for the shuttle to come back, so we all stood around in the lobby. And I was just taken with the place. I can’t really pinpoint why. But I just watched. The folks at the front desk, the bellhops, the valets, the guests. It fascinated me.” She looked to Hayley to see if she was bored to tears. Surprisingly, she sported a small smile and watched Olivia intently. She went on. “When I was old enough to get a job, I came here, and I kind of begged. The manager then was a really nice man. Mr. Klein. Super patient with me. When he gave me a job doing filing and data entry for him, I’m pretty sure it was just to get me to quit bugging him.” Grinning at the memory, she said, “I went to college and majored in hospitality and hotel management, and I worked here on all holidays and vacations. Once I graduated, I worked in several different departments until the assistant manager job opened up. I was all over that.”
“I bet you were.” Hayley sipped her wine, her eyes still on Olivia. “You’ve told me how you got here, now tell me why you love it so much.”
God, she was good at questions. Olivia scrunched up her nose and gave the inquiry honest thought. There was something about Hayley, about her being this close, about the intensity of her eye contact, that made Olivia feel exposed somehow. Almost naked. Not unpleasantly so. She shifted in her seat, and when their thighs ended up touching, she didn’t readjust.
“I like seeing people happy. I like making their vacation or their weekend away or their holiday something they remember and want to revisit. It’s why I constantly have new ideas to make us better. Not that Corporate ever listens to me.” She sighed, knowing she was about to admit something to Hayley that she probably shouldn’t. “To be honest, I’m a little worried about this place.”
“How come? We were booked solid over Thanksgiving.”
“We did well over Thanksgiving, true. But our smaller size hinders us a bit in the grand scheme of Markham Resorts. Corporate wants us to do better, needs us to do better in order to justify spending more money on us. But it’s hard to do better when we’re starting to appear dated. You know? There are two other big resorts in the area and we’re losing to them because they’re a bit more modern than we are.”
“You don’t think Corporate hears us?”
Olivia shrugged, finished off her wine. “They don’t seem to. I have a file on my computer with scads of ideas on how to improve things. But like I said, we’re so small, I think we just fall by the wayside. Have you seen some of the other Markham resorts?”
An odd…something…zipped across Hayley’s face in that moment. Super fast. Olivia would’ve missed it if she hadn’t been looking in her eyes. Unidentifiable.
“I know of them, yes.” Hayley finished her wine and set her empty glass down on the table next to their couch.
“They’re glamorous. Elegant. And huge.” Olivia thought back on all the websites she’d visited, taken virtual tours of. “Not that we’re not elegant. I believe we do a good job with that.”
Hayley nodded her agreement. “Definitely.”
Olivia blew out a breath and looked around. Several guests sat in clusters or pairs, laughing, drinking. The space was really beautiful, all the glass catching the reflections of the Christmas lights, and not for the first time, a sense of pride welled up in her. When she turned back to Hayley, she was still looking at her, still intently, but Olivia didn’t think she was focused on anything to do with the hotel. Her eyes were dark, her lips sparkled, and Olivia’s stomach fluttered. With a clear of her throat, she said, “Sorry about that. I get a little protective of this place.”
“No reason to apologize. I get it.”
Yeah, Olivia was pretty sure she didn’t. “Anyway. I need to get home to Sir Walter, who awaits his dinner.” As she stood, Hayley remained seated.
“I think I’m going to hang here for a little bit longer. It’s the first time all day I haven’t felt completely stressed out.” She smiled softly. “Thank you for bringing me up here.”
Their gazes held, Olivia looking down at this woman who was, undeniably, a gorgeous specimen of the female form. She swallowed down the lump of arousal that had settled in her throat, gave one nod, and fled.
Once in the elevator, she fell back against the wall and expelled all the air from her lungs in a long, frustrated groan.
* * *
Hayley sat on the couch and tried to focus. On the Christmas lights twinkling in the night. On the gentle hum of conversation around her. On the subtle tinkling of ice cubes against glasses. Not on the jelly-like feel of her legs or on the tightening in her stomach or on the dampness of her underwear. No. Not those things.
Olivia was gone, but Hayley could still smell her, as if she’d left something behind to remember her by, and Hayley inhaled slowly, deeply, wanting to take it in and hold on to it. Something natural, a little woodsy, maybe? Musk? She couldn’t pinpoint it, only knew it was Olivia.
What are you doing to me? she asked silently of the universe. She hadn’t been so attracted to somebody the way she was to Olivia in years. Years. Sure, she’d dated. She’d had a couple of relationships, though none lasted longer than a year or two. Guinevere was beautiful and successful, but she didn’t do it for Hayley like Olivia did. Not even close. Hayley was drawn to Olivia. Yeah, that was the word. She was drawn to Olivia like she’d never been drawn to anybody before. In any other circumstances, she wouldn’t hesitate. She’d have asked her out. Taken her to a fancy, expensive dinner. Maybe dancing, since she now knew what a beautiful sight that was. She’d have kissed her good night, taken her time with that, let her lips linger, leave them both wanting more.
Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen. None of it. If her father was mad at her now, imagine how enraged he’d be if Hayley took her assistant manager to bed. She closed her eyes and shook her head slowly.
So unfair.
Olivia was warming to her. It was obvious. That constant look of disapproval had become…less constant. Bringing Hayley up here to this bar, sharing a drink and some personal information? That had definitely been a step toward warming, toward friendship. You didn’t go to happy hour with people you couldn’t stand, did you?
Nothing like numbers and math to dampen your mood.
Chapter Twelve
It was Friday and the week had gone surprisingly well. Hayley was still stressed out. Pretty highly stressed out, as anyone would expect to be when their job is nonstop and they’re not terribly confident that they know what they’re doing. But she’d managed not to insult any guests, piss off any employees, or skip over any necessary paperwork.
And it was Friday. Yeah, that was worth thinking about twice. She had the day off tomorrow and could do whatever she wanted. What she wanted was to paint. That was, if she could avoid being sought out by the weekend staff for minuscule things. She hadn’t thought it through when she’d decided staying in one of the penthouse suites was the smartest thing to do. It made her far too accessible if somebody had a question or a guest became unruly.
She spun in her chair to look out the window. It had snowed quite a bit overnight, but her maintenance crew had worked hard—was still working hard—to clear it all off the driveway, parking lot, and sidewalks. Now the sun was shining, making the snow sparkle and the icicles drip like wet diamonds. She still missed the city terribly; that hadn’t changed. But this view did not suck. That was the truth.
Things were going okay. Finally.
Hayley was so relaxed and lost in her own thoughts that when her cell phone rang, it startled her enough to make her flinch in her chair and press a hand to her chest, a muttered curse escaping her lips.
The screen said it was her father. Probably calling to tell me he got the budget at last. She’d sent that in last night after about fifty-seven revisions and her finger hovering over the Send button for a year and a half.
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