Page 16 of The Main Event

Rosie nodded in agreement. “From what I’ve heard, you’re the one who was keeping the hotel afloat toward the end when George was … drifting.”

That was a nice word for what George was doing. The last six months or so of his tenure, he’d been struggling to keep it together. He’d been dying, of course, but we hadn’t realized that at the time. He basically left the hotel to his workers at a certain point because he was having trouble remembering his daily tasks. We’d covered for him as much as possible, but it hadn’tbeen easy … and there had been a few incidents where important business meetings had fallen through the cracks.

“I don’t think I would put it that way,” I hedged. “The parties bring in good money. You can’t keep the entire operation running on just my parties, though.”

“I don’t understand that at all,” Rosie argued. “It’s Salem. We’re a tourist destination. We have like three hotels. How can that place not make a profit?”

“It’s outdated,” I replied. “I mean … it’s bad. Some of our suites have power strips jutting out from under the couches.”

“Yes, and what lovely couches they are,” Levi drawled.

I shot him a warning look. “They’re not terrible.”

Levi made a face and waited.

“Okay, they’re not great, but they’re not terrible either,” I countered. “They’re just old. Everything in the hotel is old. Well, everything on floors four through six. I mean … the walls are made of plaster. They’re not even drywall.”

“I never knew that.” Mom’s eyebrows drew toward one another. “Why wouldn’t they have replaced the plaster years ago?”

“Money,” was all I could offer as I shrugged. “To do a project of that size you need to shut down entire floors. Then everything gets stripped to the studs, new electrical and plumbing goes in. You lose the money for an entire floor for weeks, if not months, and then you have to do it all over again on the next floor. It’s a lot of work.”

“Yes, but when it’s finished, then it’s a total moneymaker,” Rosie insisted.

“I don’t disagree, but George was always too frightened to pull the trigger and do it all at once. That’s why we were doing it floor by floor. Plus … it takes money.” Normally, I was an optimist. For a moment—just a split second really—I allowedmyself to wallow in pessimist territory. “I’m afraid the hotel won’t survive over the long haul.”

Mom looked appropriately appalled. “And why is that? Salem can’t survive without three hotels.”

“I’m just not sure the new guy understands what we’re up against,” I replied. “The fact that he was willing to fire me without knowing what I really do … well … it doesn’t fill me with hope.”

“I think he’s just in over his head,” Levi countered, drawing my eyes to him.

“Oh, so you’re a fan suddenly?” I challenged. “I thought you hated him.”

“I don’t know him enough to hate him. Do I think he’s a bit of a tool? Yes. That might not be all his fault, though.”

“How is it not his fault that he’s a tool?” I was honestly curious.

“Because he was raised by hyenas. You heard the stories George used to tell about his family. They’re jerks.”

“So, why did he leave the hotel to one of them?”

“Maybe he thought Jax was somehow different from the rest of the family.”

I gave it some thought as I released my mother’s hand and rolled to my stomach so I could take the assumed position and start stretching on my own. “I don’t like him,” I announced out of nowhere after the silence had stretched for too long.

“Well, he fired you,” Mom said. “I wouldn’t like him either.”

“Didn’t he rehire you, though?” Rosie challenged.

“Technically, I wasn’t fired,” I replied. “He mentioned he thought I was overpaid. As punishment, I said he could run Delilah Stratton’s party on his own. I knew he wouldn’t be able to manage it, so I figured it would be a good lesson in getting what you pay for.”

“And how did that go?” Mom asked.

“Yeah, Daisy,” Levi drawled. “How did that go?”

I glared at him. “It went as well as could be expected,” I said flatly.

Mom rolled her eyes until they landed on Levi. “How did it go?”

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