Chapter 4 #2
I shake my head. “None. My best friend’s brother and his wife live in the city, but they’re away at the moment. I was just planning to do some sightseeing.”
“Great, well, build brunch with us into your plans,” Avril says.
“In the meantime, we’ll get you familiar with Hotel on Ninth Street.
As I said to you on the phone, I’m going to treat this as a permanent position, because I have faith that after a couple of months with us, you’re never going to want to leave. ”
We all laugh, but deep down inside, I think she’s crazy. Of course I’ll be leaving in three months. I hope she doesn’t go back on her word and get weird when I tell her that I’m flying home on 5th September.
But I can’t think about leaving now. I need to be in the moment and squeeze out every last drop of experience from these next three months.
“So we’re going to onboard you in the usual way for senior management, by you having a stint in each department,” Avril says.
“At the end, Poppy and I will want to chat with you about how you’ve found things.
We really want to mine your experience and see if you have ideas on if we can improve things. ”
“We’re going to start you on reception,” Avril says. “Guests are guests, and I’m sure your British charm will win them all over.”
“You can learn the IT systems, which are going to be really important for you in your role,” Poppy says.
I nod. “Sounds good.”
“Let’s get you started, then,” Avril says. “I can introduce you to the team. Poppy doesn’t leave the office unless there’s a fire or she wants coffee.”
We make our way out of the office and to the hotel lobby. It’s such a cool vibe. It’s all dark wood and peacock colors. It’s a perfect blend of old and new.
“I love this space,” I say, looking all around.
“Thank you,” Avril says. “We gutted the entire hotel. I’m so pleased with how it turned out.”
“And you, Poppy, and your brother run it?”
“My brother not so much,” she says. “But he owns it with us. He has other business interests that take up most of his time.”
As we head across the lobby, my entire body flushes with heat as I see the man who shoved me against the wall and spilled coffee all down my shirt and then barked at me. He’s coming toward us.
I don’t know if I want to punch him in the face or pray that he won’t see me and make some comment about how I was in his way.
As he comes closer, he gets taller and taller, and I can’t stop staring at him.
He might possibly be the rudest man on the planet, but he also might be the best-looking man in the entire universe.
How is that okay? Like if someone’s very handsome, what have they got to be shitty about?
It’s a proven fact that more attractive people get treated better in this world.
Avril says, “Good morning, Mr. Black.”
He nods at her and then his gaze slides to me. He glares, then passes us.
What does he have to be in a bad mood about? Plus, he’s the one that knocked into me and spilled coffee on me. He should have at least apologized.
“Mr. Black is one of our most important and regular guests,” she whispers.
And the hits just keep on coming.
Of course the only man in New York I actually have an opinion about, the only person in New York I actively don’t like and who clearly doesn’t like me, is the most important guest of the Hotel on Ninth Street.
I knew all our regular guests at The Rookery. I knew their room preferences, where they last went on holiday, and literally what they had for breakfast.
There wasn’t one of them who didn’t like me. None of them had ever glared at me, let alone thrown coffee on me.
“When you say ‘regular,’ how regular?” I ask.
“Most of our regular guests stay with us on average about once a month. We have fewer of them in the summer, to be honest. They all go to the Hamptons or Europe for the summer and we tend to have more tourists. But some—like Mr. Black—are with us all year round.”
Of course he would be.
“And he stays once a month?” I try to sound more casual than I feel.
“No, Mr. Black stays with us every Sunday—he books Saturday night, but rarely stays that night with us. He arrives Sunday morning and then he’s with us until Wednesday.”
“Every week?” I ask, trying to sound calmer than I am.
“Yes, every week. If only we had more guests like that.” She laughs.
“I wonder why?” I ask, not expecting an answer from Avril.
“Isn’t that the best part of working in a hotel? Speculating about all the guests? Wondering what their lives are like when they’re not in the hotel.”
I smile. I’ve never thought about it, but I speculate about the guests in The Rookery all the time. “Yeah. I guess it is. The Rookery is different. We have people who come back every year and we have a smattering of business guests, but most people are families and retirees on holiday in the area.”
“That makes sense. You’re out of the city.”
“But if Mr. Black stays so often, it must make better sense for him to rent an entire apartment or something? Surely?”
Avril’s eyes grow wide. “Don’t suggest it to him, please.”
“I promise.” Although I’d like to slide brochures of other hotels under his door.
I don’t want to have to deal with him on a regular basis.
I mean, I wouldn’t mind looking at him. I just don’t want to be in his pathway or be snapped at by him.
But life’s all about navigating obstacles.
Mr. Black will just be the first hump I have to get over.