Page 14 of Howl You Doin?
“Of course. Do you have the new menu with you?” I ask, mentally going through the options of suppliers if it has changed overly much. I will need to outsource for ingredients. Hopefully it’s not a crazy menu or I’ll need to get on that now.
He hands me a sheet of paper and my brow pinches as I look down at it. The menu has more than quadrupled.
“You’re joking, right?”
“Does it look like I do something as asinine asjoking,Miss Whitt?” The man’s nose flares and his chest spreads as he sucks in a breath. Eesh, this guy is so weird. “All the staff will need to be present for new uniform fittings and a choreography schedule will be provided.”
What?My head goes up at that.“Choreography? You mean like dancing?”
“Yes, that is exactly what I mean, Miss Whitt,” Allan says, his lip curled as he tries to stare me down from his short height.
Why would we need to dance at all? What the hell is going on?
“Umm, where is Connor?” I ask in my sweetest tone. No one ever said anything about dancing on the job description.
The short man’s brows come together, and the thin slash of his mustache twitches. “Mr. O’Doyle is very busy and has entrusted me to oversee these new changes. Youwillfollow my edict.” His tone says,I’m mister big man, hear me roar. He’s all arrogance, and my hands form into fists at my side.
There is no way I am letting this guy talk down to me. I know what I signed on for and this is not it. I grit my teeth, trying not to explode.
“I’m very sorry if I have said something to offend you, Allan. I guess I’m a little stressed: the new living arrangements have been hard to adjust to. However, I am afraid I will need a meeting with O’Doyle myself on this one.”
“And I am very sorry about that, Miss Whitt, but Mr. O’Doyle is very adamant that he is not to be disturbed.” He goes back to frowning at his clipboard and page flipping.
It makes me want to take it and smack him with it.
“What do you mean he’s not to be disturbed?” I ask.
“It is not your place to question him, orme,Miss Whitt, and honestly, it is rude of you to even ask. I suggest you spend your time seeing to the guests and the kitchen instead of wondering when more help will arrive.”
What is with the men around here? I feel like I’ve stepped into a past century.
I resist the urge to scream and move to fill a nearby tray with George and Fifi’s leftovers—anything to keep me from attacking this man.
“There will be new renovations beginning in the following months as well,” he says, like this it’s the most important thing to have happened since the dawn of time.
“New renovations?”
He nods and clears his throat. “Yes. Mr. O’Doyle has several new additions and renovations he wants done, including the fixes to the plumbing.”
“You mean renovations so that guests aren’t drenched in their sleep?” I retort, laying it on thick since he knows my bed was literally ruined. Waking up in the middle of the night drenched, with water splashing on my forehead, was not on my bingo card this year.
With Connor missing, a plumber from the village came to the castle, and from what I heard, he said the bathrooms on the third floor would need repair. I wonder if Connor knows how much damage was done.
“Yes.” He nods once for emphasis.
I give him the side eye and drop a napkin onto the tray. “You didn’t tell him you moved me to his wing, did you?”
The manager blinks like a confused owl. “I don’t see how that’s your concern, Miss Whitt.”
Sure, it isn’t.
“Right, of course. Is there anything else Mr. O’Doyle requires?” I ask, wishing he would just go away.
He takes another look at his clipboard, his mustache pulling down over his mouth as he presses his lips together. “You will attend all dinners dressed in costume and attend to guests’ needs as such until the dinner has concluded.”
“You havegotto be kidding me.”Costumes?What happened to the uniforms? O’Doyle Rules has lost it. “You can tell Mr. O’Doyle thank you for the offer, but I must decline.”
I bat my eyelashes for effect and move toward the kitchen. There is no way I am dressing up for whatever over-the-top event Connor has planned.
