Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Nellie
“Don’t stress! I know it’s not easy learning a new job, but you’re doing great!” Charlotte assured me an hour later, after I’d screwed up the summer rates on a phone call.
“I guess I have a hard time with getting things wrong,” I sighed. I could run the café with my eyes closed, but this was a whole different kettle of fish.
“It’s only your second day, and there’s a lot to memorize.
We have different rates, depending on the season.
” Charlotte gestured to the stack of binders beside me on the desk.
“These binders will be your lifeline for the next little bit. Full disclosure, I rely on them sometimes, and I’ve been here for a few years. ”
“Okay, that makes me feel a little better.”
“Did you want a coffee? I’m going to go make a fresh pot,” Charlotte said, standing up and stretching a little.
“Oh, I’m okay. I might make a tea in a bit,” I answered.
“Ah, a tea drinker. You’ll fit right in with Mama Wood. She loves her specialty teas! She probably still has a stash of good ones in the kitchen cupboard. I’ll put the kettle on, too, for you.”
“Thank you!”
“No problem, you keep reading those binders, and I’ll be right back.”
Charlotte left the office, leaving me alone for a couple minutes. I took a deep, cleansing breath, reminding myself that Rome wasn’t built in a day. A lot of aspects of this job were easy, it was remembering all the small things.
Before I could start reading, the dryer chimed, signalling that the cycle was complete. I stood up and made my way into the laundry room, ready to switch the load and start folding.
The back door beeped as someone opened it.
I looked over, my heart fluttering when Noah stepped inside.
He was dressed warmly in a winter jacket, his long hair pulled back and tucked beneath a black hat that had the resort logo on it.
He blinked away the snowflakes on his lashes, almost seeming to freeze when he saw me.
Dimples on his cheeks appeared when he smiled, his eyes lighting up. “Hey. How’s it going?”
“Pretty good,” I replied, although it seemed I’d suddenly forgotten how to fold a fitted sheet.
“Here, let me help you with that,” Noah chuckled, moving over to assist me.
If he weren’t technically my boss, I’d snap at him that I could figure it out myself, but he was my boss, so I let him help me.
Our fingers brushed against each other as we folded the sheet together, a current sparking between us—likely from the static of the sheet, but Noah swallowed hard, as if affected.
“How’s your day going so far?” he asked, his blue eyes lifting to meet mine. “Charlotte teaching you the ropes?”
“Yeah, she’s great. It’s going well. Lots of stuff to learn, but I like a challenge.”
“Good, there’s lots of challenges around here for you,” Noah said, his voice deeper than usual.
Before I could respond, Charlotte walked into the laundry room, probably looking for me.
“Oh, hey Noah! I put a pot of coffee on, should be ready in a couple of minutes.” Charlotte said.
“Great, we’ll need it.”
“Kids Club not going well?” Charlotte asked, her voice sympathetic.
“Oh, that’s fine. Those high school students we brought in are a lot of help,” Noah answered. “It’s cold and snowing, and the family in the Pine View cottage is keeping Damien on his toes.”
“The Miltons? Uh oh. What’s going on? We haven’t heard any complaints from them yet today.”
“That’s because they keep pulling Damien away from shoveling.
They couldn’t figure out the coffeemaker, then they complained about the toaster not toasting properly.
Not sure why they’d go to the grumpiest of us with their issues, Damien hardly has the customer service skills to manage their complaints. But he’s trying.”
Charlotte smiled, her eyes softening. “Well, I can go check on things if you’d like to help Nellie manage the front for a bit.”
“Yeah, I could do that,” Noah said, his gaze coming back to me.
The butterflies in my stomach fluttered—or was that morning sickness?
Charlotte put on her coat and outdoor boots and headed out the back door.
“So, the Miltons sound like they have a bit of a reputation?” I asked, continuing to fold the last of the sheets.
“They do,” Noah said, tugging his hat off and shoving it in his coat pocket and hanging it up on the coat rack. “They come every winter break, and their favourite pastime is to complain about anything and everything they can. We’ve got a few repeat customers like that.”
“They keep coming back, though, so they must like it,” I said, placing the last folded sheet with its match. Once they were neatly piled, I carried the sheets over to the shelving unit to store them by size.
“I think some people don’t know how to enjoy themselves, even when they are enjoying themselves.” Noah snuck a smile at me.
“Some people enjoy complaining,” I said. “We had several customers like that at the café. They were always complaining about something, but they’d come back the next day all the same.”
The phone rang in the front office, interrupting our conversation, and we went back into the office so I could answer it. “Do you want me to answer it on speaker phone? That’s what Charlotte’s been having me do.”
“Sure, have at ‘er.”
It was even more intimidating with Noah standing right over my shoulder, coaching me. I swallowed, answering the call. “Whimsical Woods Resort, Nellie speaking. How can I help you?”
“Nellie, you say? You must be new!” the woman said. She sounded like the friendly grandmotherly type, the cadence and kindness of her voice instantly putting me at ease. I was new at office work, but even in the café, you could always tell if a customer was going to be difficult by their tone.
“I am, it’s technically my first day answering the phone,” I admitted, smiling.
“Well, I’ll go easy on you! It’s Georgia Moran calling. I’d like to pay for our summer stay, please. We always stay for a week in August, in the Lakeview Cottage.”
“Can I put you on hold to check the availability for the Lakeview Cottage in August?” I asked, looking at Noah for approval. He nodded, his smile putting me at ease and making me feel like I wasn’t completely screwing things up.
“You sure can, Nellie,” Georgia Moran said. I pressed the hold button and opened the booking software.
“Georgia Moran and her family come out every year and have for about twenty years now,” Noah explained as I clicked over to bookings for the month of August. “They prefer to stay in the Lakeview Cottage, and each year before they leave, they pay a deposit to book it for the following year.”
Noah leaned closer to the screen and pointed where Georgia Moran’s information was already listed in pink.
His rugged scent of mint, pine, and outdoors invaded my senses, making my mouth water.
That was one thing I remembered about our shared night together, how good he smelled—and the taste of him.
“Okay, so. I go back on the line and tell her she’s booked for the week of August eighteenth?” My brain felt muddled from his proximity, and I tried not to swoon when his minty breath fanned across my cheek.
“And doublecheck her credit card information,” Noah nodded, straightening with an encouraging smile.
I did as he requested, somehow managing to pay enough attention to get through the call without any mishaps. Noah moved to sit at the other computer, watching me while I wrapped up the call with Georgia Moran.
“Good job,” he praised me, and my thoughts instantly went back to that night, when he praised me for…other reasons. Noah hesitated and seemed to wince, as if realizing the innuendo behind what he’d said.
“Thanks,” I said, feeling my cheeks heating.
I let my hair fall in front of my face to mask my reaction while I fumbled for my water bottle, suddenly parched.
It was almost like by catching a whiff of him, I’d awakened memories of our night together.
Which was inconvenient, especially considering he was now my boss as well as potentially the father of my unborn baby.
The web was getting even more tangled, and I didn’t know if I could do this. It was only my second official day on the job, and I was already having a visceral reaction to Noah.
A bell chimed from the laundry room, and a few moments later, Charlotte was stepping back into the office, her cheeks rosy from the cold.
“How’d it go with the Miltons?” Noah asked her.
“As expected, everything works perfectly fine. They don’t like to do things for themselves. I told them to call the office and speak to me if they had any more concerns, because our maintenance guys need to focus on keeping the roads and paths cleared and sanded.”
“And how’s Damien holding up?” Noah questioned, a smirk appearing on those kissable lips. Just lips, I corrected myself mentally. I couldn’t afford to think about Noah’s lips as kissable, even though I knew that they absolutely were.
“Much better now,” she assured him with a wink before going to the kitchen.
“Charlotte is engaged to Damien, and she’s pretty much the only one that can bring a smile to his grumpy face,” Noah informed me.
“Does the whole family work at the resort?” I asked, feeling a tug in my chest.
It really shouldn’t have been a surprise that Noah’s family worked at the family resort, but I guess my main concern had been about how complicated it’d be working with Noah.
I didn’t even factor in his family’s presence.
What would they think of my predicament?
Sure, they might be a family-first kind of business that normally wouldn’t bat a lash at a knocked-up employee, but given the murky circumstances with Noah, this was an even bigger recipe for disaster.
“Pretty much, yes. My parents are retired, but they still help on occasion. Mostly they watch the twins so Damien and Charlotte can work, though.”
“Oh right, Damien has twins, too,” a sick sensation welled up, and I took another sip of water, hoping to wash away the nausea. “Do, uh. Twins run in your family?”
“On and off,” Noah chuckled with a shrug. “Tends to skip a couple generations. My great grandma was the twin sister of Tabitha’s great grandma. There were no twins until Damien and Tabitha both had theirs.”
I swallowed hard, battling the wave of nausea. Tabitha had twins, Damien had twins—what was the likelihood that I’d end up with twins, if Noah really was the father?
“You okay, Nell? You’re looking pale.” Noah said, concerned.
“Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Probably need a snack or something, low blood sugar,” I stood up abruptly and made my escape into the kitchen. Charlotte was in there, fixing herself a cup of coffee.
“Hey, the kettle’s boiled if you’d like a tea,” Charlotte said.
“Thanks.” The decaffeinated green tea bags I’d brought would probably help with the nausea, but so would some distance from Noah.
I opened the refrigerator and grabbed my lunch bag, found the granola bar I’d stashed inside for a morning snack and took a bite while I grabbed a mug from the cupboard.
“Everything okay?” Charlotte asked as she leaned against the counter and sipped at her coffee.
“Yup, I need a snack and a tea,” I replied. Charlotte nodded like she didn’t quite believe me. The phone rang again, but before I could scurry off to answer it, Charlotte shook her head.
“I can get this one, you get your tea ready,” she went back to the office with her mug, leaving me alone in the kitchen. I took a few deep breaths, trying to centre myself and will away the nausea as I poured the boiled water into my mug.
I left the tea bag in and finished chewing on the granola bar while it steeped. Once I had that bit of food in me, the nausea eased up. I used a spoon to fish the tea bag out and squeezed it on the side of the sink, dropping it into the compost bin beneath the counter.
When I returned to the office, Noah was gone.