12. Twelve #2
“Yes, it will be just like Full House. You know, without a single laugh,” Tallulah said dryly.
“Is that what you watch when you’re putting on the Preparation H at night?” I asked because I couldn’t stop myself. “You know, when you’re all by your lonesome.”
Tallulah flicked my ear before heading over to the bar. I wouldn’t call it a flirty touch, and yet, there was that feeling again. What the hell was wrong with me?
“You guys are adorable,” Olivia noted once her best friend was gone. “When are you going to start acting on all of this sexual tension?”
I laughed because I was convinced she was messing with me.
Then I frowned when I realized she was serious.
“Oh, there’s no sexual tension.” Even saying it felt like a lie.
I was committed to that lie, however. As amusing as I found Tallulah—and she was downright hysterical sometimes—there was no path forward for us. I wasn’t in the market for … that.
“Are you seriously looking me in the eye and saying you two aren’t spending your days flirting?” she challenged.
“We’re working,” I replied. “There’s no flirting involved. We’re just bored.”
“Right.” Olivia nodded, but she didn’t look convinced. “If you say so.”
“I know so.” Determined to change the subject, I glanced over at the television screens. “It’s been quiet the past week or so. Do you know of any big groups coming in?”
“Yeah, we have an entire movie crew staying here … and for a month straight. They arrive tomorrow. In exchange for them staying here—and posting photos of their stay while filming—all of them have been given access to this lounge.”
I was caught off guard. “Seriously?”
“Seriously,” she confirmed.
“Well, that’s going to make for a busy few weeks. Although if they’re filming a movie, they’ll probably be busy during the day.”
“It’s not as if they’ll all be on set at the same time,” Olivia argued. “I’m thinking this lounge will be pretty busy. That’s why I stopped in. I was hoping to talk to Kyla.”
“She’s due to swing by in about ten minutes,” I offered. “She checks in regularly.”
“Okay.” Olivia kept rubbing her stomach as if she were a genie trying to wish her baby out. “Just out of curiosity, how has Kyla been with you?”
“With me?” I was confused.
She nodded.
“She’s been fine. I don’t see her often.”
“And Tallulah?” Her voice was deceptively mild, but she wasn’t fooling me.
“I don’t think she likes Tallulah,” I replied. It wasn’t my place to get involved, but I couldn’t help myself. Kyla really was terrible to Tallulah, who didn’t deserve it. “I believe there was some static about Kyla’s sister wanting Tallulah’s job.”
Olivia’s expression turned dour. “Just because Kyla wanted her sister to have that job doesn’t mean it was owed to her.”
Was she telling me that for a reason? “I didn’t say it was owed to her. I was simply relating what I believe the problem is.”
“I know.” Olivia’s lower lip came out to play. “I don’t like that Tallulah isn’t happy here. Kyla is a good worker. She just seems to have attitude with Tallulah.”
“I don’t know what to tell you.” Being shoved in the center of this made me uncomfortable.
“It’s not fair to put you in this position,” Olivia agreed.
“And what position is that?” a female voice asked, causing me to internally cringe. I would recognize Kyla’s voice anywhere.
Olivia didn’t quake in the shadow of Kyla’s annoyance. “It’s nothing,” she replied as she turned. “I was just … talking to Ronan about the group that will be coming in tomorrow.”
“You mean the actors?” Kyla’s reaction to Olivia was bland. “I have it well in hand.”
“I didn’t say you didn’t.” Olivia chafed under Kyla’s attitude. “I was giving him a heads-up.”
“Do you think I don’t give my employees a heads-up?”
“I didn’t say that.” Olivia visibly tried to throw off her irritation and remain calm. “I was just discussing things with Ronan.”
“Well, how about you allow me to deal with my employees, huh? This isn’t your territory, Mrs. Stone. I don’t think you should stop in as frequently as you have been.”
Olivia’s mouth dropped open. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.” Kyla, to my absolute surprise and horror, was not backing down. “You swoop in here constantly to take up for your best friend, who is a very poor employee. That’s not how a business is supposed to be run.”
“Are you seriously telling me how the casino is supposed to be run?”
“I didn’t marry into this family and business,” Kyla replied, her tone clipped. “I had to work my way up, so I do understand how this business is supposed to operate. Your constant interference here is turning into a distraction.”
“What did you just say to me?” Olivia’s voice was so shrill that it bounced off every lounge wall.
Tallulah, who had migrated over to some customers, lifted her head. The way she abandoned the guests and cut over in our direction reminded me of a shark scenting blood in the water.
Uh-oh. This was so not good.
“You heard me.” Either Kyla didn’t recognize the dangerous footing she was on or she had reached the end of her rope. “I’m sick of you sticking your nose into my business. This lounge is my turf. If you have a problem with it, perhaps you should take it up with management.”
“I am management,” Olivia reminded her.
“Pfft.” Kyla crossed her arms over her chest. “You might have slept your way to a title, but that doesn’t make you management.”
I opened my mouth to stand up for Olivia, who was steaming mad, but it was too late. Tallulah had retrieved a pitcher of water from the bartender when Olivia started screeching. Before I could even come close to defusing the situation, Tallulah upended the pitcher over our boss’s head.
I stood there, dumbfounded, as Kyla sputtered and swore under her breath. Then she straightened. “Everybody is fired,” she announced in a booming voice. She had the audacity to look smug.
Olivia wasn’t about to kowtow to Kyla, however. Not after what had been said to her. “Nobody is fired,” she shot back.
“You’re not the boss!” Kyla was shrill.
“Yes, well, we’ll see about that.”