Chapter 11
“Hey.” Quinn stopped Morgan before she made it out the door. “Are you by chance swinging by Easton Estate?”
“I am. Why?”
Quinn held up a small stack of mail. “Your grandmother forgot to take this with her. Although in her defense, she was in a hurry.”
“I’ll drop it off.” Morgan slid the mail into her purse. “What are your plans for later, after you clock out of here?”
“Nothing. Why?”
“Because I might have a small errand I need help with.” Morgan hurried on. “Maybe. I need to check on something first.”
“I’m free as a bird.” Quinn held an imaginary phone to her ear. “Give me a call.”
“Will do.” During the drive to Easton Estate, Morgan contemplated her conversation with Quinn. Although her best friend insisted she loved her new home, it was clear she was lonely.
The more she thought about it, the more Morgan was sure she’d not only come up with a solution to combat Quinn’s empty-home syndrome but also give her a unique and special gift.
She arrived at Easton Estate and found a slew of vehicles parked in the driveway including a catering company’s van, a delivery truck from the harbor’s flower shop and a rental supply van.
Circling around, Morgan tracked her grandmother down. She, along with Mrs. Arnsby, Ben and Jax huddled in the back, near the estate’s cobblestone patio. “The wedding party planning staff is in the house,” she joked.
“Hello, Morgan. I thought you mentioned you might stop by.”
“We need to get back to work.” Ben and the other staff excused themselves.
Morgan waited until they were gone. “I’m here to see if there’s anything I can do to help. Plus, Quinn asked me to drop this off.” She handed her the mail.
“Good heavens.” Elizabeth placed her hand on her forehead. “I forgot all about grabbing it. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” She motioned toward the wedding planner and the group of people she was meeting with. “How’s it going?”
“As well as can be expected. This should be the last meeting until the big day—or in this case, the day before the big day—when the workers finish setting up. While you’re here.” Elizabeth took Morgan’s hand and led her to the bluff. “Gerard and I have decided to put the trellis in this spot, giving us an unobstructed view overlooking Lake Huron when we exchange our vows.”
Morgan tucked her hands in her pockets and spun in a slow circle. “I thought you mentioned plans for the estate’s beach area.”
“To cut the cake and end the day. We’ll ride off into the sunset, unless there are clouds. If this is the case, we’ll ride off into the cloud set.”
Morgan crossed her fingers. “No way. It will be gorgeous weather. I can feel it in my bones.”
“I checked this morning. If the current forecast holds, we’re in good shape.” Elizabeth filled her in on the plans for the cocktail reception, followed by dinner and dancing, wrapping it up with cutting the cake down by the lake.
All of it sounded perfectly planned, and Morgan had no doubt it would be executed with precision. “I can’t wait. It’s going to be fabulous.”
“I have one tiny dilemma.” Elizabeth pinched her thumb and index finger together. “It involves the rings.”
“What’s wrong with the rings?”
“Tradition is whoever stands up with the groom keeps the rings. Unfortunately, Gerard’s best man is a bit of a … let’s just say he and I are concerned his friend will misplace them. He’s forgetful.”
“I can hold on to them,” Morgan offered.
“That’s very sweet of you. You’ll have your hands full keeping track of our bouquets. I fear it will be too much to juggle.”
Chester, who had wandered off to greet the tent installation crew, returned to Morgan’s side. “What about Chester?”
“Carrying the rings?”
“Why not?” Morgan warmed to the idea. “He’ll be dressed for the occasion in his spiffy top hat and crisp bowtie. I bet if I ask Mrs. Arnsby, she can help me come up with a box for Chester to carry the rings down the aisle.”
Elizabeth chuckled. “Chester to be the ring bearer. He’s smart as a whip. I’m sure he’s up to the challenge.”
“As long as we keep him focused.” Morgan patted his head. “What do you think about being in charge of the rings?”
The pup flopped down and rolled around in the grass.
“It’s official. Chester will be our ring bearer.”
The wedding planner appeared, asking for Elizabeth’s input.
“I need to get going.” Morgan and Chester took off, making the drive to Locke Village for a brief meeting with her tenant, Joyce, the owner of Locke and Key.
After finishing, she drove back through town, to a sprawling brick building she’d passed many times, thinking one day she would pop in and check it out. Today was the day.
As soon as she parked, Chester made a move toward the door. Morgan gently but firmly nudged him back. “Sorry, buddy. I need to run this errand without you.”
Her pup’s ears twitched, his standard look of annoyance at being left behind. He lowered onto the seat, tucking his paw under his chin and giving her the side eye.
“I’ll be back in two shakes.” Morgan sprang from the vehicle and hurried inside. She explained to the woman at the desk the reason for her visit. “How late are you open? I’m hoping to come back after my friend gets out of work.”
The woman rattled off their hours and handed her a card.
“Awesome. We’ll have plenty of time to get here before you close for the day.” She thanked the woman and returned to her SUV.
Chester, having already forgiven Morgan for leaving him behind, crawled across the center console and licked her hand.
“See? I was only gone for a minute.” She backed out of the parking lot, congratulating herself on coming up with a brilliant housewarming gift…a gift that would keep on giving for years to come.
Their next stop was Locke Pointe. Morgan tracked down Greg and found him over by the new vinyl fence, filling holes. “Good morning.”
“Hey, Morgan.”
“Thank you for filling in the holes.” Morgan tapped the top of the loose dirt with the tip of her shoe. “Chester’s gonna have to work a whole lot harder at digging holes.”
“He likes to tunnel his way over to Naomi’s property,” Greg said. “Before I forget, it was a great party the other night.”
“It was. Thank you for helping.” She shifted her feet. “As I mentioned the other day, it’s time for your six-month review. When you’re done, please stop by the office.”
“Give me about ten minutes.”
“Sounds good.” Morgan called her pup, who was sniffing around the piles of dirt, and they went inside. She swung by the kitchen to let Tina know she was there before trekking across the hall to the office.
After a quick check of the scheduling calendar, Morgan tracked down Greg’s personnel file and flipped through the notes. It was hard to believe six months had already passed since she’d hired her handyman.
Morgan had gone out on a limb, offering him the position, fully aware he’d had difficulty holding down a job. Even Captain Davey had tried, hiring him to work for his ferryboat company. Unfortunately, it hadn’t panned out, mainly because Greg struggled to keep up with the fast pace.
Despite knowing about his previous work history, Morgan had gone ahead and offered him the handyman job at Locke Pointe. The risky move had paid off in spades.
Greg flourished in his new position. He did whatever was asked of him cheerfully and with a smile on his face. The bottom line was he’d found his calling and she couldn’t be more thrilled.
Renovating the carriage house and adding a small apartment had dipped into her savings, but been well worth the expense. On more than one occasion, he’d helped guests after hours, most of whom had inadvertently locked themselves out and he’d been on hand to let them in.
Ronni appeared in the doorway. “Hey, Morgan.”
“Morning Ronni.” She shifted back, giving her B&B manager her full attention. “We confirmed a few more bookings since yesterday, thanks to your brilliant idea to host an open house.”
“I have to admit, it worked out better than I thought.” Ronni folded her arms. “I stopped by Easton Estate to return some dishes from the party this morning.”
“Did you run into Jax?” Morgan teased.
“No.” She rolled her eyes. “Thank goodness. I wasn’t in the mood to have another conversation about how much he dislikes my hair.”
“I don’t think he was insulting your hair.”
“Maybe not, but for some reason, no matter what he says, he rubs me the wrong way,” Ronni sighed. “To be honest, I could be partly to blame. He can’t win with me.”
“No, and you can’t win with him,” Morgan said. “I’m predicting one day you two will bury the hatchet and realize....”
Ronni held up a hand and cut her off. “Don’t say it.”
“Say what? How you’ll realize you’re in love with each other?”
“Seriously.” Ronni wagged her finger. “If that ever happens, I need to have my head examined.”
“I’ll start looking for a therapist.” Morgan tapped the folder in front of her. “It’s time for Greg’s six-month review. Is there anything you want to mention?”
“He’s doing a great job. Greg never complains, never calls in sick. The guests are always commenting about how helpful and friendly he is.”
“Ditto here.” Morgan threw out a dollar amount, a raise some might consider high, but seemed fitting considering everything Greg handled around Locke Pointe.
“I think he’ll be thrilled,” Ronni said. “Would you like me to sit in with you on the review?”
“Thanks for the offer, but I can handle it. Besides, it might make him nervous if we’re both here, like he’s being outnumbered.”
“True. Good point.” Ronni left, claiming she wanted to run upstairs and check in on the housekeepers after having received a recent complaint about one of the suite’s bathrooms not being up to snuff, namely missing toiletries and the guest hinting that the level of cleanliness was lacking.
Morgan heard muffled voices in the hallway. Seconds later, Greg appeared. “Are you ready for me?”
“You betcha. Have a seat.”
He crossed the room and eased into the chair across from Morgan, looking extremely uncomfortable, almost fearful. “I couldn’t believe it when you told me I’ve been working here for six months already. The time has flown by.”
“It certainly has.” Morgan scooched her chair forward. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah. I’ll admit I’m a little nervous.” He swallowed hard. “Employee reviews typically don’t go too well for me.”
“You don’t think this review will be positive?”
Greg cleared his throat. “I hope so. I mean, I don’t think I’ve done anything that would get me into trouble.”
“You haven’t. Not one iota,” Morgan said. “Before we get started, I want to thank you again for helping with the party the other night. I know I don’t say it as often as I should, but I appreciate all that you do. You’re the first to pitch in to help, even when you’re off the clock.”
He hung his head, his cheeks turning red at the unexpected compliment. “You’ve done so much for me. Offering me a job, giving me a place to live. I’ll never be able to repay you.”
“You’re a hard worker, Greg Baker. Never hesitating to do what needs to be done…not only doing it, but doing it with a smile on your face. You earn every penny you make.” Morgan picked up the employee review form and slid it toward him. “This is your performance review. It’s pretty straightforward, rating you in different categories. Before you look at it, I thought we would chat.”
“Chat?”
She nodded. “If you could list one negative thing about your job, something that bothers you or you wish was different, what would it be?”
Greg’s eyes grew round as saucers. “Something I don’t like?”
“Correct.”
“I…uh…I.”
Morgan could see she’d put him on the spot. Clearly, he was uneasy about how he should answer. She leaned forward and spoke in a soft voice. “This isn’t a gotcha question. You handle so much around Locke Pointe, taking care of things I don’t give a second thought to. You do a wonderful job, but surely, there is something we can improve to make it even better.”
“Maybe…uh…if I could have some sort of order pad, so I don’t have to keep bugging Ronni when I need supplies. I can turn it in to her and have her sign off.”
“That’s an excellent idea.” Morgan jotted a note on her notepad. “Consider it done. Is there anything else?”
He thought about it. “This is my dream job. I love it so much. Tina is like a second mother. She’s always trying to feed me. Ronni is easy to work for. She lets me know exactly what needs to be done. You’re all great. The best group of people I’ve ever worked for and with.”
“I guess I don’t have to ask what you like most about your job.” Morgan smiled.
“Everything, but mostly you, Ronni, and Tina. I can work at my own pace. No one rushes me. No one is breathing down my neck. The guests are nice. They even tip me when I carry their bags to their room.”
“So…no complaints?”
“No complaints.”
Morgan slid Greg’s review sheet across the desk. “Go ahead and take a look at your performance review. Your raise is listed at the bottom.”
He went over the form. “This is the best performance review I’ve ever gotten. You don’t have to give me a raise, though. I make enough now and have even been able to sock some money away for an emergency fund.”
“You deserve this review and raise. You earned it. Every penny,” she said sincerely.
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
Greg signed and dated the last page before handing it to her. “I was sweating bullets there for a minute.”
“Your previous employment and past jobs are behind you. It’s only onward and upward from here.” Morgan accompanied him to the door. “By the way, how is it going with Hailey?”
“Good. She’s been over a couple of times for dinner. She likes to bake and has been making me cookies.”
“Are you officially dating, then?” Morgan teased.
“Not yet, but maybe soon.”
“Good for you.”
Greg turned to go. He spun back around and impulsively hugged her. “Thank you for a great review and for the big raise.”
“You’re welcome. The door is always open if you have problems or concerns. If I’m not here, I’m only a phone call or text away.”
“Right. I better get back to work.” Greg strolled down the hallway, whistling under his breath.
The future had never looked brighter for Greg Baker. Morgan knew no matter what life threw her way, Locke Pointe had the best team in place. It was a win-win for everyone.