The Hotel

by Pamela Kelley

  After a while, he excused himself to use the rest room and as soon as he was out of earshot, Hallie asked for an update.

  “I didn’t get it. And the other two interviews I had lined up were both canceled at the last minute. There’s nothing else out there, not right now. So, it looks like I will be going back to work at The Whitley after all.”

  “Oh, Andrea, I’m sorry. I thought the Lennon Hotel sounded great for you. Though I have to confess, I’m glad you’re not going anywhere. I like having you around. And I still think you might find concierge is a pretty cool place to be. You’ll get to work with Marco, too. You guys always got along great. It might actually be fun.”

  “It’s been a long time since work was fun,” Andrea admitted.

  Hallie looked at her with compassion. “Work can be fun. I love what I do. I know you don’t see it now…but this might be a blessing in disguise.”

  “Hmm. I don’t know about that. So, tell me about the new guy.”

  “David Connolly?”

  Andrea nodded. “Yes. I vaguely remember him from high school. I was a sophomore when he was a senior. He was tall, blond, and went out with that cheerleader, Missy whatever her name was.”

  “Right. I don’t remember her last name either, but I know who you mean. He seems nice enough. And smart. He had some great suggestions at his first meeting with us. I think he’ll be good for Paula. She was nervous about stepping into the role.”

  “I bet she was,” Andrea said bitterly. She still partly blamed Paula for her grandfather’s decision.

  “It’s not her fault,” Hallie reminded her.

  “Whatever. So, what is this David’s status? Is he single? Just passing through Nantucket or is he here to stay? His family is still here?”

  “I have no idea if he’s single. It didn’t come up. I know he has family here, but I think this is just a temporary assignment. He lives in New York City.”

  “Of course, he does. There are no eligible men on Nantucket,” she sulked.

  Hallie shot her a look. “That’s ridiculous. There are so many eligible men that come to Nantucket. Figawi weekend is coming up and the island will be overflowing with them.” The famous sailing race took place every Memorial Day weekend when hundreds of huge sailboats with experienced crews raced from Hyannis to Nantucket and then back on Memorial Day. It was one of the busiest weekends of the year on Nantucket.

  “You know what I mean. Men that live here, year-round. Maybe I should move to New York. Elaine is looking there, too.”

  Hallie didn’t look happy about that. “New York is so far away and so big.”

  “It’s just a short plane ride away. Plenty of direct flights to New York.” There were many wealthy people that owned second homes on Nantucket and commuted back and forth on the weekends. Many of them had private planes and during the summer months, there were dozens of them parked at the Nantucket airport at any given time. However, although she’d told Elaine she was open to New York, Andrea really wasn’t excited about it. She hoped something might eventually turn up in Boston.

  As Marco returned to the bar, a seat opened up and he sat next to Andrea. His phone buzzed and he glanced at a text message and shook his head.

  “My brother was supposed to meet me here. He just said he had a chance to pick up some overtime and is working instead.”

  “Why don’t you stay with us? We were going to get some appetizers,” Hallie said.

  Marco happily agreed and they spent the next two hours eating, laughing and chatting. Around eight thirty, Hallie suddenly couldn’t stop yawning.

  “You guys, I know it’s early, but I think I need to head home. This was a long day and it’s caught up to me.”

  Andrea had just been about to order another glass of wine. She wasn’t ready to go home yet.

  “It’s so early. Are you sure you don’t want to stay for one more?”

  Hallie tried to prevent a yawn and failed. She laughed. “Yes, I’m sure. You and Marco should stay, though.”

  “I’ll gladly stay,” Marco said.

  Hallie smiled. “Great! Andrea, I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Goodnight, Marco.”

  Marco was good company. Andrea was glad to be out and, for the first time since losing her job, she wasn’t stressing so much about her job search. She realized that she didn’t know much about him, though, other than that he was from Brazil.

  “Tell me about your brother. Is it just you and him here?”

  “My sister Alana is here, too. We all rent a house together.”

  “Your parents are still in Brazil?”

  He smiled. “Just my mother. We lost my father four years ago. We’ve been trying to get her to come here, at least for a visit. They both came a year before he passed. She said maybe this summer. We’re going to hold her to it.”

  “I hope she comes. What do your brother and sister do here?”

  “Sergio is the oldest. He works for a roofing company. He likes to be outside. Alana is the baby of the family. She works as a server at a restaurant downtown, Mimi’s Place. She loves it there. Nice people.”

  Andrea nodded. “They are. I met the girls that took it over, Mandy, Emma and Jill. They had an open house a year or so ago when they reopened.”

  Marco grinned. “I send a lot of guests there.” One of the most common questions for the concierge desk was what restaurants they would recommend.

  “What do you like to do on your time off? Do you like to fish?” Andrea was curious to learn more about Marco. He was so easy to talk to, and she loved his accent. She’d never really noticed before how dark his eyes were—a deep, warm brown that lit up when he talked. They were almost as dark as his hair, which was thick and wavy, and she liked that it wasn’t too short. She’d always had a preference for hair that was on the longish side. Not that she was thinking of Marco that way. She never had before and given that she was going to be his boss, it was not a good time for any thoughts like that.

  “I’m not much on fishing. I’ve tried it a few times. I prefer surfing.”

  “You know how to surf?” Andrea was impressed. “I’ve always wanted to try that.”

  “You should. There are a couple of surf schools on the island. I took lessons when I first moved here, and I get out whenever I can. I like the South Shore beaches, Cisco or Surfside usually.”

  “I’ve lived here all my life and haven’t gotten around to it yet. Someday.”

  “So, what do you like to do, then?”

  Andrea thought for a minute. “This. I love to go out to dinner or drinks. And when the weather is nice, I like to just be at the beach. I did try paddle boarding last summer. That was fun.”

  “If you can do that, you can surf.”

  “Maybe you can give me a lesson,” she teased.

  But he took her seriously. “Anytime. Just say the word.”

  “Another round?” The bartender noticed that their glasses were almost empty. Andrea had already had two glasses of wine, which was usually her limit.

  “What do you think?” Marco asked.

  “Sure, why not?” Andrea found herself saying. She didn’t really want the night to end just yet. Didn’t want to go home alone to her small cottage and get depressed again thinking about her job search. She wanted to keep forgetting everything for just a little while longer.

  She and Marco lingered over their drinks, chatting and laughing. They learned that they liked a lot of the same TV shows and were both baseball fans. Andrea loved going to Boston for a night or two and taking in a Red Sox game.

  Marco insisted on paying even when she tried to give the bartender her credit card. “But there were two of us.” She had owed Hallie so was planning on treating tonight.

  “Well, I did crash your night with your sister. Let’s consider it a celebration for your promotion.”

  “My promotion?” She was a little fuzzy from the third glass of wine and was about to correct him and say ‘demotion’. But he spoke first.

  “Yes, in my
opinion this is a much better job. General manager just seems stressful. Can you honestly say that job was fun?”

  Andrea laughed. “Fun? No.”

  “See? Work should be fun.”

  “My sister said that earlier, too. Thank you, Marco.”

  “She’s a smart girl.” Marco signed the charge slip and they headed toward the door.

  When they stepped outside, Andrea tripped and almost went down, but Marco caught her.

  “Thank you, again.”

  Marco looked at her and hesitated for a moment. “Why don’t you let me drive you home? You can get your car in the morning?”

  “That’s way out of your way.” Andrea lived by The Whitley which was a good fifteen to twenty minutes away. Marco was less than a mile down the road.

  “I don’t mind. Let’s go.”

  He led her to his truck and helped her into the passenger side. As they rode in comfortable silence, Andrea felt her eyes growing heavy and knew she’d be out as soon as her head hit the pillow.

  When they reached her cottage, Marco walked her to her door. And she automatically invited him in.

  “Would you like to come in? I could make coffee.”

  He smiled. “I’d love to, but I’d better not. You need your sleep.”

  “Okay. Goodnight, Marco and thanks so much, for dinner and driving all the way out here.” She hugged him and he seemed surprised at first, then hugged her back and dropped a kiss on her forehead.

  “Sleep well, Andrea. It was a fun night.”

  Chapter 6

  Paula wasn’t sure what she thought about David Connolly. He certainly knew what he was doing. He was as gifted with a spreadsheet as she was, and he knew the hotel industry inside and out. She asked him one morning over coffee how he’d become such an expert.

  “I went through the Four Seasons management training program right out of college and worked in several different properties. Then I went back to school for my MBA and went into consulting. With the hotel background, they put me into that niche and sent me out on the road with some of the senior consultants. Our typical assignments are two to three months and we see the same issues come up over and over.”

  “You travel so much. Do you ever get sick of it?” Paula couldn’t imagine living that lifestyle. She knew most consultants flew out on Sunday and home on Friday. She wouldn’t want to do that short term, let alone all the time. But she’d always been a homebody. She liked being at home, and close to her family.

  “Sometimes. It’s okay most of the time. The work is interesting.” And then he’d changed the subject. And that’s why she wasn’t sure about him. One minute he was reasonably friendly and the next he was distant and almost cold. Sometimes he looked a million miles away. She wondered if The Whitley was boring to him, too small to be a challenge.

  “We must be small compared to the size hotels you usually deal with.”

  “Yes, it’s on the smaller side. But we deal with hotels of all sizes.” He smiled. “It was nice to come here. To come home to Nantucket. I don’t see my parents often enough. And they are getting older.”

  “How are they? I think you mentioned your father still works as a lawyer?”

  He nodded. “He does. He has an office downtown and he works from home some.”

  “And your mother?”

  “She’s fine. She doesn’t work.” He stood, signaling that the coffee break was over.

  Later that afternoon, they had a meeting with her grandfather to go over David’s recommendations for where they could make some cuts. He had a list of suggestions and most of them made good sense. He’d pointed out areas that they could streamline and improve how they ordered to take advantage of discounts on larger orders. But then he made a recommendation that Paula hadn’t seen coming. It was one that she disagreed with completely. Before she said anything, she glanced at her grandfather, but his face was hard to read. He never gave much away in a business meeting. He’d told her years ago that success in business was like playing cards. You never let them see you sweat, and you keep your cards close to your vest.

  Her grandfather nodded at her. “What do you think about those recommendations, Paula?”

  “Well, I think there are some great suggestions. Things we can implement right away, like the ordering. But I have to say I don’t like the idea of cutting staff. That seems drastic.”

  “It would make us more efficient and more profitable,” David insisted.

  “It’s up to Paula,” her grandfather said.

  She looked at him in surprise. “What do you think?”

  He grinned. “I think you know. Do what you think is right.”

  She took a deep breath and looked at David. “No one loses their job. We can make the other suggestions and continue to try to grow profits other ways.”

  David didn’t look pleased, but he nodded. “Okay.”

  His phone rang and when he glanced at the number, he stood and excused himself.

  “I’m sorry, but I need to take this.”

  “No problem. We’re all done here,” her grandfather said.

  David stepped away and returned a moment later, looking a bit pale.

  “I need to take the rest of the afternoon off. My mother fell and my father just called from the hospital.”

  “Of course,” her grandfather said.

  “I’m so sorry. I hope she’s okay,” Paula added.

  “Thanks. I’ll see you both tomorrow.”

  After he left the room, Paula turned to her grandfather.

  “Was that what you would have done? Did I make the right decision?”

  “Yes, it’s what I would have done. Profits are important but people are, too. I’ve never had a layoff here and I don’t intend to start now. If we were to cut people, something else would fall short. People are what make The Whitley what it is.”

  “Good. That’s what I thought. It’s what you’ve always taught me. And I think it’s what sets us apart, what keeps people coming back.”

  “Right. So, fill me in on what’s new. Do we have anyone especially interesting or famous with us this week?”

  Paula laughed. Her grandfather loved to be up on all the gossip.

  “We do, actually. Cami Carmichael arrived last week. And she’s staying for two months.”

  “Cami Carmichael? She’s that pretty blonde girl, the one in all the romantic comedies, with the big smile?”

  “Yes, that’s her.”

  “I like her smile. She’s everywhere lately. I saw her picture on the cover of People magazine yesterday and they keep playing the commercial for some new movie she has coming out. I hope she’s not being bothered too much?”

  “She’s kind of here incognito. Changed her hair. It’s short and dark brown now and she’s going by a different name. Bella, I think. Lucy checked her in and said she didn’t recognize her at all. The hair made her look so different.”

  “Good. If she’s staying here for two months, she obviously needs to get away. I hope she has a relaxing and peaceful stay.”

  When David arrived at the Nantucket hospital, he checked in at the emergency desk and they directed him to his mother’s room. She was propped up in bed, with one leg resting on a pillow. His father was sitting in a chair next to her, holding her hand.

  “Hi, honey!” His mother seemed unusually cheerful, given the circumstances. His father looked nervous and exhausted.

  David gave his mother a gentle hug and sat next to his father.

  “What happened?”

  “Your mother went out to get the mail. She forgot there was a step, and she went down hard. Luckily, I was home when it happened.”

  “Did she break anything?”

  “We’re not sure yet. The doctor should be back soon. They ran a bunch of tests and took x-rays.”

  “How are you feeling, Mom?”

  “Pretty silly. I can’t believe I missed that step. I just wasn’t paying attention. It doesn’t hurt too bad. Hopefully we can go home soon.” She s
ounded good, clear and upbeat.

  “I think I’m going to go get a coffee. David, do you want to take a quick walk with me? Barbara, we’ll be right back. Would you like a coffee or anything?”

  “No, thank you. I’m feeling kind of tired. I might just close my eyes for a minute.”

  David followed his father out of the room, and they walked the short distance to the cafeteria. They both got a coffee, and on the way back, his father updated David on the search for an assistant. “I think we found someone. Her name is Meghan. She goes by Meg and she can start on Monday. She’ll work afternoons Monday through Friday and she said she could be flexible if we ever need her on a weekend.”

  “That sounds good. What is she like?”

  “She’s in her early sixties, a retired teacher looking to work part-time. I think your mother might like her company.”

  “Good, then you can have a break. You look tired, Dad.”

  “I’m fine. As long as someone is here with her, then I can relax a bit. I do miss being at the office.”

  When they walked back into his mother’s room, the doctor was there and was wrapping his mother’s ankle. He looked up when he saw David and his father.

  “So, I have some good news. We took a bunch of pictures and nothing is broken. But Barbara does have a nasty sprained ankle. I’m going to wrap it up and then you can take her home, but she’s going to have to keep her weight off the leg and use crutches until her ankle heals. I’d give it a good six weeks.”

  “That is good news,” his mother said.

  An hour later, his mother was discharged, and they all went home. It took his mother a few tries to get used to the crutches, and a long while to slowly make her way to the car, but she managed.

  When they arrived home, David’s father helped get his mother settled in her favorite chair, a recliner in the living room, while David ordered a pizza to be delivered.

  Once she was comfortable, they joined her and chatted while waiting for the pizza.

  “How are you liking working at The Whitley? Such a fancy place. Your father took me there on our anniversary a few years ago. We did the tasting menu, and it was heavenly.”