Chapter 11
Erin hadn’t seen Mack since their previous disastrous encounter over breakfast at The Azure.
Not that getting to grips with various other resort duties allowed her time to mull over her mistake, though the disappointment stayed with her.
How could she have misread the situation so badly?
She rarely failed at anything she set her mind to, so the monumental misstep left her more than a little unsettled.
She had a feeling that rowing back on all the financial elements she’d outlined in her pitch wouldn’t work, but, perhaps worse, alternative strategies hadn’t materialised either.
She was beginning to think something was wrong with her.
This had never happened before. She’d never felt so …
out of sync with what was expected of her.
Thank goodness she had Makellah the receptionist, Nadine the concierge, and that nice Lily at least in helping her find her feet; those welcoming fellow staff members were about the only thing going right with this position since she started.
Sadly the majority of the other resort staff still viewed her primarily with suspicion, and she wasn’t winning any friends in management either.
And now as Erin sat across from the general manager in his office, her concern grew even further. ‘What do you mean Mr MacKenzie won’t speak to anyone from the resort?’ she asked, eyes widening.
Grant’s hands were folded on his desk, the vein in his temple throbbing visibly.
‘He was very categoric that if he heard anything further about potential endorsement or partnership with the hotel, he’d end his stay here and go somewhere else.
’ His words felt like bile in Erin’s stomach.
She could still see the disdain in Mack’s eyes. Those absorbing blue eyes.
Grant huffed. ‘I thought you said you had this under control.’
‘I do.’
‘How is this under control?’
Her mind was reeling. ‘I … I haven’t figured out the optimum approach yet. He thinks I was trying to manipulate him—’
‘Were you?’
Her eyes were slow to rise at the question, but eventually her gaze met his. ‘I guess I did try to use our … previous unexpected encounter on the mountain as an in,’ she confessed. ‘I was sure that it would make things a whole lot easier.’
‘Well, you were wrong. The guy resents that and, worse, maybe even the resort by extension.’ He shoved some papers around. ‘If you don’t fix this, my dear, truly I don’t know what will happen.’
She flushed a little. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean this isn’t the best start, is it? And if you were to jeopardise The Palms’ reputation in any way, we may well have to seek out an alternative guest relations manager.’
Yikes.
‘Grant …’
‘I’m sorry, but you need to figure this out, and soon. Otherwise, you may as well pack your belongings along with your predecessor.’
‘I understand,’ Erin stated sombrely. She could see the discomfort it gave him to say what he must, yet also knew Grant’s sentiment echoed that of those much higher up the line of management.
She was about to get to her feet when there was a sharp knock at the door, and, soon after, the head of housekeeping appeared.
‘Yes, Wanda?’ Grant enquired.
‘Sorry to interrupt, but it’s kind of an emergency,’ the woman stated, looking hassled.
‘I don’t know how this happened, but it seems we’re missing about half of our bed linen supply.
And we still have twenty more rooms to service today.
I’ve never seen anything like this; how can that many sheets go missing? ’
Erin raised an eyebrow. The hits just seemed to keep on coming at this hotel. It was as if the staff didn’t even have enough time to put out one fire before another one erupted.
This was not how things normally worked at high-end resorts. Most of the ones she’d previously been in ran like clockwork. But perhaps this was as good an excuse as any to prove her mettle to her superior, she realised, thinking quickly.
‘How many rooms are turning over out of the twenty?’ Erin asked.
Wanda seemed to be counting in her head to determine how many guest rooms would need to be made up for new arrivals.
‘Five.’
‘And do you have enough linen for those rooms at least?’
‘I should think so yes.’
‘Well, maybe for the remaining rooms, for now, make the beds but don’t change the linens, unless there’s reason to obviously. Instead, we could offer them all a resort credit, as part of our new Green Initiative?’ she suggested to Grant.
‘What Green Initiative?’ he asked, raising an eyebrow, but she thought he looked impressed all the same.
‘The one we’ve just introduced. Sound doable to you?’ she asked Wanda.
‘Sounds perfect.’ The other woman smiled and thanked her as she took off to inform the rest of the housekeeping staff of her instructions.
‘That is a good idea,’ Grant said to Erin. ‘As long as no one gets upset, of course.’
‘Of course. But if we’re trying to persuade Mr MacKenzie that we’re serious about our efforts, then we need to start somewhere, don’t we?’
‘Indeed.’
But still, Erin knew what the crux of this meeting was. Either she won Mack’s business, or she could well be out of a job.
Daniel MacKenzie had already bested her at climbing, thwarted her in business, and now, quite possibly, would cause the demise of her very short career in St Lucia.
But if he wouldn’t talk to her, wouldn’t even entertain her requests, how on earth was she going to save this?