Page 14 of The Main Event

“You’re not being paid to be here.” I had no idea why I said it. I was just irritated. It had been an hour of arguing about the color of the napkins … and the swizzle sticks … and the stars hanging from the ceiling. Delilah was determined that the stars were a light shade of blue instead of silver, and she’d specifically requested silver.

Teenage girls were the absolute worst. There was no getting around it.

Daisy’s expression turned dark. “I know I’m not being paid. If you want to know the truth, I felt bad about sticking you with the party. Delilah is … particular.”

“That’s a nice word for what she is,” I muttered.

“I thought I would help. Out of the goodness of my heart,” she added. “I guess that was a mistake.” She turned to leave, but I couldn’t stop myself from reaching out to stop her.

When my hand touched her wrist, I felt a sizzle like I’d never felt before, and I immediately snagged it back.

When she turned to look at me, she was incredulous. “What do you think you’re doing? You can’t touch me.”

She was right. I shouldn’t have touched her. I was just desperate to make sure she didn’t leave. “I’m sorry.” I held up my hands in capitulation, trying hard not to focus on how pretty her face was when the disco ball light hit it just right. I wasn’t here for romance. She wasn’t even my type. Wait … did I have a type? That didn’t matter. “I just don’t want you to go.”

“Because you admit I’m important to the hotel?”

“I admit that you obviously know what you’re doing.” I chose my words carefully. “I can’t do this. I don’t know how, and I’m sorry for all of it. I just … didn’t realize.” I dragged a hand through my hair as I tried to center myself.

Daisy took pity on me. “You wouldn’t have been so far out of your element if you hadn’t been forced to step in so late in the game. It’s easier when you plan things from the start.”

“Tammy is threatening to throw the cake in the garbage,” I whined. “She says it’s satanic. Carolyn is threatening to kill Tammy and chop up the body. And the napkins are the wrong color. So are the swizzle sticks. Everything is messed up.”

Daisy stared at me for what felt like a really long time. Then she sighed. “Welcome to the world of teenage girls. For the record, the swizzle sticks and napkins were always going to be the wrong color. As for the cake, I’ll handle it.”

“How?” I was genuinely confused.

“Just … come on.” She motioned for me to follow her, which I did. When we got into the kitchen, she took the long way around and circled behind Tammy, who was ranting and raving aboutteenagers worshiping the dark one. Daisy took me by surprise when she moved in on Tammy’s right and bumped her hip into Tammy with little fanfare.

There was a man in a chef’s uniform waiting by the cooler, and he opened the door just as Tammy was knocked inside. Then he slowly closed the cooler just as Tammy started yelling and pounding on the metal door with her fists.

“I’m pretty sure that’s not allowed,” I said, pointing. “Isn’t that against the law?”

“Totally,” Daisy agreed. “We do it at least twice a month, though. She’s nutty.”

“Is that your clinical diagnosis?”

“No. She’s just always been nutty. She’ll be fine once the cake has been delivered. We just leave her in there to cool off for twenty minutes or so.”

“She once swallowed a worm in Mexico and hates anything that looks like a Day of the Dead decoration,” the kitchen worker who had closed her in the cooler volunteered.

“Is that true?” I demanded of Daisy.

Daisy shrugged. “I have no idea. It’s a good story, though.” She moved toward the cake to look it over. “This is beautiful, Carolyn.” She offered up a chef’s kiss. “It will be the highlight of the evening.”

Carolyn remained dubious. “Is that saying much?”

“It will be fine,” Daisy promised. “Trust me.” She turned to me. “I provide an important service here. You might not get it. That doesn’t mean I’m not integral to the operation of the hotel.”

I was starting to see that. “We’ll talk again once I better understand what I’m dealing with here,” I said.

“Sure.” She headed back for the ballroom. “I can’t wait for that conversation.”

That made one of us.

5

FIVE

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