Page 11 of The Main Event

“Because I know Daisy and she’s a professional. She wouldn’t just leave you to handle her party.”

“Yes, well, she might think she’s teaching me a lesson.” It was hard for me to admit. I hadn’t missed the smug look on Daisy’s face when she’d handed me the file and suggested I run the party. My ego wouldn’t allow me to walk away from the challenge, but it was obvious she believed I would fail.

Well, I would show her.

Hopefully.

“That doesn’t sound like Daisy,” Lana countered. “She doesn’t even know you. Besides, she loved your grandfather. She would show you loyalty for him alone. I mean … if George left you the hotel, he obviously believed you were the best one to run it. Daisy loved George with her whole heart, so she would want to help you run the hotel and save your grandfather’s legacy.”

My heart pinged with an emotion I couldn’t quite identify. I didn’t know my grandfather. What I did know of him suggested I would’ve liked him. For someone outside of the family to show him more loyalty than anybody inside had, well, it was humbling.

That didn’t mean I wasn’t standing my ground on Daisy Reynolds.

“She makes an exorbitant salary,” I explained. “I merely mentioned that to her, and she flew off the handle.”

Lana narrowed her eyes. “So, you told her she wasn’t worth what she was making after talking to her for five minutes and you’re shocked she stuck you with the party? That’s kind of pathetic.”

I made a face. “Um … aren’t you supposed to be kissing my ass because I’m the boss?”

“No.” Lana shook her head. “That’s not who I am. And if you think that’s who I am, or anybody here really, you have your own set of issues.”

“But … I could fire you.”

“Aw, that’s cute.” Lana patted my hand. “You do realize this is a tourism town and we can all get jobs elsewhere, right?” she challenged. “On top of that, Boston is literally twenty minutes away. Even if we don’t want to leave Salem, we can all bide our time at a nearby restaurant or hotel until we can catch on at one of the local businesses.”

What she was basically saying was that nobody was afraid of me. That might not bode well for what I had to do.

“The people who work here are loyal to your grandfather,” she continued. “None of them were more loyal than Daisy. If George was paying her a good salary, that’s because she deserved it. Do you have any idea how much money those parties bring in?”

I scowled at her. “I have the stat sheets.”

“Well, what those stat sheets don’t tell you is that the adults tend to find their way down here when their teens are partying, and they run up huge bar bills,” Lana volunteered. “Those stat sheets also don’t include the rooms that get booked. That’s separate. Daisy is well worth whatever money she was making.”

“Are you her hype woman or something?” I demanded.

“No, but I’ve known her for a long time. In fact, when I was fourteen and she was thirteen, I babysat her because her moms insisted that she still needed a babysitter and I’d been babysitting for two years. We were very excited to pull one over on our parents. Because she’s Daisy, though, and the most responsible person I know, she tattled on herself, and her moms rewarded her for it.”

“Why do you keep saying ‘moms’? As in plural.”

“Because Daisy has two mothers.”

“Oh.” I nodded sagely. “She was adopted.”

“No, her mother and father were together when she was born. Then her mother realized when Daisy was still young that her yoga buddy did more for her than her husband. Because Mr. Reynolds and Mrs. Stone are like the best people ever, though, they opted to make sure that Daisy’s life wasn’t cast into upheaval. They’re all involved in Daisy’s life. Even though Mr. Reynolds lives in Boston, he still comes over once a week for family dinner.”

That sounded hokey … and kind of nice. It was way better than the relationship I shared with my family. My mother, of course, would be horrified at Daisy’s family makeup. Two mothers and a father was simply not acceptable. It sounded kind of sweet, though. “Well, that sounds great for her.” I refused to back down. “It doesn’t change the fact that she’s being grossly overpaid.”

“If you say so.” Lana almost looked as if she was pitying me as she went back to wiping down the counter. “Good luck with the party.”

“You think I’m going to fail,” I realized out loud.

“Oh, I know you’re going to fail,” she said. “Daisy knows exactly what she’s doing. She’s put together a system for handling these parties. You underestimated her, and now you’re going to have the worst night of your life.”

“How do you know what sort of nights I’ve had?” I challenged. “I could’ve faced something worse.”

She laughed. “Yeah, this is a party for teenage girls. When was the last time you dealt with a teenage girl?”

“I have a niece,” I replied. “She’s fourteen.”And a monster,I silently added, internally cringing. The last time I saw Sarabeth, she informed me that loafers were the footwear of the old and decrepit. I mean … loafers were comfortable.

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