Page 24 of Please Send Snow
She’s moving at the speed of light toward the back hall and I wonder if they’re going to try and charge me for breakfast, now that I clearly have an income.
But when I reach the kitchen, I see Michael is there waiting, along with Bronson and Anna, and I finally get to ask the question that’s been bugging me all morning.
“What’s going on here?”
“I’m not going to beat around the bush, Maddie,” Margo says, turning back to me. “We could use your help.”
My help?
I’m so surprised that I literally don’t know what to say.
“You’re Madeline Foster, the heiress,” Michael says gently. “That means that you’re part of Mr. Stone’s world in a way that none of us are. With your help, maybe we can convince him that the Angel Mountain Lodge has the potential to serve a high-end clientele.”
I know for a fact that Michael’s grandson, Derek, got rich after he invented some kind of video game that went viral not too long ago. Derek could probably be running in the same circles as Jake Stone, and Michael right along with him. But I know family stuff can be tricky, so I focus on the one big flaw in their plan instead.
“I’m not an heiress,” I remind him. “My stepmother inherited everything and she… isn’t inclined to share.”
That’s putting it about as politely as I can.
“Forgive me for saying so,” Michael says gently. “But that doesn’t seem to be common knowledge.”
“He’s right,” Anna puts in suddenly. “I googled you. No one knows you live in a broom closet.”
I glance over at Margo, afraid she’ll be mad about the fact that I’m a stowaway in her hotel, but she’s only smiling and nodding at me, like we have a marvelous secret.
“Mr. Stone will see you enjoying your stay and all the best amenities that the lodge has to offer,” she says. “And that will convince him that this place is worth keeping.”
“But I can’t afford any of this stuff,” I tell her honestly. “With what I’m being paid, I probably can’t even afford the broom closet.”
“The supply room is yours, free of charge,” she replies magnanimously. “So long as you agree to help us.”
“We can’t upgrade you to a room,” Michael says with a sad smile. “If Mr. Stone asks to look at the books, we’d have to explain the discrepancy in our charges.”
“But your food is also free, as is the use of all our amenities,” Margo says brightly.
You had me at free food.
“Yes,” I say quickly. “I’ll do it.”
“Excellent,” she says, nodding in a businesslike way. “We’ll need to know when he’s going to be here so we can be sure to give you the VIP treatment. You’ll pay attention to his likes and dislikes and report back so we can better accommodate him.”
“So like… a double agent?” I venture.
It’s a good idea, in theory. But I’m a bad liar. This won’t go well.
“Sure,” she says, shrugging. “And we’ll want you to tell him all about the luxury experience you’re having here.”
“So you’ll be pretending this place is already fancy,” I say. “And I’ll have to pretend to like fancy stuff too?”
“Shouldn’t be too hard for you,” Margo sniffs.
I know what she thinks. She thinks that my dad and I lived some kind of luxurious lifestyle before he passed. But nothing could be farther from the truth. I know almost zero about the stuff they’ll want me to ask for and do.
But I’m not going to ruin my chance at survival by telling her that. What Jake is paying me is fine for a part-time babysitting gig, but I’m in no position to turn down food and a place to sleep.
My dad once told me that being flexible is the first step toward happiness. I think he mainly said it because he found out that Delilah wanted us to move out of the house where I had all my memories with my mom, but it’s really not a bad piece of advice.
Maybe if I can be flexible here I can actually finish my book. Hopefully when that’s done I’ll have a little saved and I can work on finding a full-time job and a permanent place to live while I try to get it published.
