Chapter 11
Eleven
Alyce was shorter than him, but she had a certain power that made her seem to loom over him anyway.
Her gold eyes blazed. Her hands were fisted on her hips as she snapped at the young man who looked half awake at most. “You cannot demand full pay when you don’t work the hours you were hired to work,” Alyce said in a voice that could have cut glass. “That’s not how employment functions.”
The young man held up his hands in a gesture of peace. “Relax, Alyce. Chill. All I’m saying is, the agreement I made with Charles was for a certain amount. And you, you know, don’t have the authority to halt my payments.”
“Oh, yes I do.” Alyce’s voice dropped to a low, lethal growl and Holly approached them carefully.
Bean strained toward Alyce and his panting alerted them both to Holly’s presence.
But Alyce did not break her glare at the young man.
“I’m aware of your agreement. And it clearly states that you must work the hours to be paid, not that anyone wants to eat your food. ”
Yup. This was definitely Cody.
Holly took him in. He was tall and lanky, with longish hair that flopped over his forehead and to his shoulders in waves.
He wore shorts and sandals despite the fact that he was supposed to be a cook.
A collection of necklaces hung around his neck, beads and crystals and leather cords layered over one another.
His whole vibe was relaxed to the point of boneless.
When he spotted Holly, his face lit up with a wide, easy smile. “Cousin!” He came toward her with his arms spread wide and pulled her into a hug before she could stop him. “Finally. It’s been so long since we’ve seen each other.”
Holly did not hug him back. She eased away, with a cleared throat and a suppressed wince. He smelled sweet, like some kind of oil or incense. It was cloying up close. Bean moved closer to Alyce, who finally bent and scratched behind his ear.
“I’m sure we’ve never met,” she said cooly, determined to handle this better than her meeting with Rasker Vipp. “You must be Cody.”
“That’s me.” He beamed at her like they were old friends. “Welcome to Moone’s Landing. It’s so great to be able to work with family, you know? Family is everything. Family is life.”
Holly ignored that and looked between him and Alyce. “What’s going on here?”
Alyce’s expression remained tight. “Cody is demanding full pay without working the hours he’s supposed to work. Nor does he keep the kitchen up to regulation standards. He confronted me about his account not receiving the full amount and I am explaining why he has not received it.”
Cody spread his hands again. “Alyce doesn’t understand that my meditation practice is an important part of my personal cosmic journey.
I can’t just skip it because I’m supposed to be slicing vegetables or cleaning pots.
Dunno how Alyce knows my hours anyway.” He sent Alyce a sulky look.
“It’s not like she’s ever in the lounge. ”
Alyce’s lips pursed. “The kitchen appliances automatically shut off when no staff are present, to prevent guests from using them and possibly hurting themselves. The system logs the time.”
“Oh.” Cody’s smile faltered. “That’s…huh. I didn’t know that.”
Holly turned to her cousin and tried to keep her voice even. “Cody, the station can only pay you for the hours you actually worked. And a dirty kitchen isn’t safe. That’s how it has to be.”
Cody’s shoulders slumped. “That’s a bummer, cuz. A real bummer.”
Holly bent down to untangle Bean’s leash from where he had wound it around Alyce’s legs, then straightened and faced Cody again.
She winced internally, but she knew she had to address this.
“I haven’t tried your food yet, but I think we’re going to have to have a talk about…
” She glanced down at his footwear. “Lots of things. Do you cook in open-toed sandals?”
“Oh, sure.” He wiggled his toes. “My feet need to breathe, you know?”
“No,” Holly said. “That’s pretty gross. And unsafe.”
Cody waved a hand and smiled. “Aw, don’t worry, cuz. I don’t cook with my feet. But that would be a cool trick, right?”
Alyce gave Holly a look that said, see what I mean? Holly knew in her gut that Cody was not going to be working at the hotel much longer. “Cody, we’re going to have to—”
“Look, cousin,” he said, cutting her off. “I make great food. Amazing food.” He put a hand on his chest. “Stop by the lounge and I’ll make you something incredible. You’ll see.”
“I have,” Holly said flatly. “You’re never there.
” She also knew that from the unclean state of the kitchen, she would never be eating Cody’s food.
She needed to let him go, but she had an appointment with Alyce and didn’t want to derail it by having that conversation at that exact moment.
“I think we need to have a talk, Cody.” She infused enough foreboding in her voice to made it clear that it wasn’t going to be a happy talk, but he seemed clueless.
“Looking forward to it, cousin.” He gave Holly a lazy salute and loped out of the hotel with his sandals slapping against the stone floor.
Holly watched him go, blinking in confusion, then turned to Alyce. “How is he that oblivious?”
“I don’t know that he is,” Alyce murmured, her gaze hard on the door. “Well, on to more pleasant topics. I’m a little early, but are you ready for your station tour?”
“Let me grab a quick breakfast and we’ll head out.
” Holly and Alyce went inside Holly’s residential unit and released Bean, who immediately took up his spot on the couch.
She inquired about cleaning bots as she tucked into the bowl of hot porridge dotted with blue and pink berries that Luv had waiting for her.
Alyce explained that cleaning bots had not been in operation there for about five years.
“They dwindled, one by one, until the last one broke down and Sam couldn’t get approval for the parts to repair them.
” Judgment was heavy in her voice, making her views about Charles’ inability to manage something as vital as sanitation, clear.
“They’re not gone. Sam still has them in storage. ”
Holly nodded as she ate. “The forest paths are gross. I’ve been cleaning up after Bean when I take him out, but there’s a lot of old messes out there, and other creatures living in the forest. It’s too much for one person, but fixing the bots would be more work for Sam.”
“One thing you need to know about Sam—he wants to fix things,” Alyce said. “He’ll tell you how much it will cost and you can approve to purchase the parts or not.”
“I’ll do that.” Holly spooned her porridge into her mouth, focusing on the delicious berries. “I think next week is when I’ll hold a meeting for the residents. Here, at noon. I should formally introduce myself and find out what they’d like to see happen with the station. Can you make it?”
“Absolutely,” Alyce said. “Put it in the station calendar and I’ll remind everyone. You won’t get a big turnout, I’ll tell you that. But those who come will be the ones you can depend on for support.”
“Thanks.” Holly realized she would have to get the hang of the station calendar.
Holly finished her breakfast and they exited the hotel.
Sitting just outside was a small vehicle.
It had four seats, a steering stick, and hovered about ten inches off the ground.
Aside from that, Holly was shocked it was operational.
It had once been painted red, but now it was mostly gray metal edged with rust. Hull tape held the back seats onto the chassis and one side listed to the left.
Alyce gestured toward it. “We’ll be taking a zig for this excursion. Otherwise, we’d be walking for hours.”
“That’s…interesting,” Holly said, charmed and a little worried, as she slid into the seat beside Alyce, who had chosen the one beside the steering stick. “How many of these vehicles do we have?”
“There are two left,” Alyce replied. “The rest are inoperable. They are housed in the control tower—with the cleaning bots and everything else that’s been decommissioned. These can be taken out by any resident, but you, as the owner, get preference.”
“I don’t think I—” Holly began, but she stopped talking when Alyce pressed the accelerator and they jolted forward. It was clear that Holly’s role was to sit there and listen, so that’s what she did.