Sara looked over the reservations for the day. “Curious because you’re thinking of working late and having dinner if he’s here? Or curious because you want to avoid him if he does?”
“Neither. I was just curious.”
“Must be the first option,” Sara said as though the matter was settled. “Nobody would want to work late otherwise.”
“I’m not working late. However, if Ms. Livingston wants to extend her stay again, tell her we may have discovered mold in her room and she’s better off at the Hampton.”
“Mmm,” Sara said knowingly. “Getting rid of the competition.”
“The woman is just annoying.”
“And pretty blatant. Last night, she kept trying to get Lucas to sit by the fireplace with her.”
A pang went through Riley. She couldn’t help but think about all the times she’d sat with Lucas in front of a fireplace and what they’d done there. His arms wrapping around her waist, his lips brushing against her earlobe…
“Tell Ms. Livingston that there’s mold and that an amateur hard-rock band is checking into the room next to hers. They’ll be practicing electric guitar riffs all night.”
Sara laughed, but Riley still felt cross as she left the inn. Of course every beautiful single woman who came to The Riverside would hit on Lucas. Tall, gorgeous Lucas with his bright smile. Lucas who had thatI’m a defender and will protect youvibe going on. Riley would be forced to watch women throw themselves at him as long as she worked here.
She really ought to look into getting a new job.
The Riverside Inn wasn’t the only place in town. Other buildings could feel like home. Maybe it was time she looked for something else with warmth, hospitality, and style.
The problem was those sorts of places were hard to find.
Riley was still in a bad mood when she came in the next morning. It didn’t even get better when Ms. Livingston checked out.
The woman looked too happy. “This place is a hidden gem,” she purred as she returned her key. “I’ll have to stop by again on my way back.”
“We might be full,” Riley said.
Ms. Livingston laughed. “Lucas told me he’d always have room for me.”
“Did he?” Riley said with a hitched breath.
Ms. Livingston didn’t answer. She just hummed as she sashayed out the front door.
So Riley wasn’t in a good mood, and Lucas with all of his body language skills should’ve seen that and kept his distance, not come up to her to give her one of hisYou guys did things wrong before I took over, and now I have to set them rightmanagerial talks.
He emerged from his office with his suit coat off and his sleeves rolled up. “I’ve been going over the records, and I needto talk to you about your work schedule during the summer months.”
A good topic to cover. Last summer she’d worked sixty and sometimes seventy-hour weeks, not only doing managerial tasks but working the front desk and spending time as a boating guide as well. “Right. I put in a lot of overtime then.” She’d thought she needed to earn as much money as possible for the down payment. “Since technically as the assistant manager, I’m salaried, Mr. Ross paid me bonuses for the extra hours which were equivalent to overtime.
“Next summer, unless you plan on paying me bonuses again, I only want to work the normal forty-hour week.”
“Fair enough,” Lucas said. “I noticed that some of your hours were spent on white-water rafting, kayaking, and even horseback riding tours. Someone else can do those jobs. I want you inside doing the managerial tasks.”
She blinked at him, absorbing the words like they were a blow. Her favorite part of the job was the outdoor activities, and he wanted to take that away from her?
“Why?” she stammered. “Is this because I tried to change the architectural design? You’re going to ground me to the office now?”
His head snapped back. “No, this is about the comparative advantage of your skills. You have the experience and knowledge of a manager. That’s where you’re needed. What’s the point of having you work as a trail guide? Half the college kids who come home for summer can do that job for minimum wage and tips.”
Yeah, except she loved the outdoor stuff, loved taking a break to be out in the sunshine.
“Once the inn expands,” he went on, “employees should specialize instead of being a jack-of-all-trades. You’ll be needed overseeing operations, not checking to make sure tourists’ life vests are secured before they step into a kayak.”
Her chest felt tight. “Some people don’t consider it being a jack-of-all-trades. Some people consider it being well-rounded. I like kayaking.”