Page 53 of Fight

Lena cringed as heat seeped up her face.“Oh man,” she groaned.

Maggie and Kendra burst into loud laughter as Maggie reached out to rub Lena’s shoulder reassuringly. Just as Maggie drew a breath to speak, they were interrupted by the sound of something roughly hitting the front desk.

Looking up, Lena saw Cynthia leaning on the shiny front desk. She had dropped her binder on the shiny surface. She stared at Lena as she slowly crossed her arms atop the binder, her walkie-talkie hanging in her right hand.

She looked like she’d just sucked on a lemon—her eyes were narrowed into prickly points and her lips pinched in a tight frown. Damn, where had she come from? She looked like she’d been standing there a while, too.

“Maggie, Kendra,” Cynthia addressed them, not looking at Lena. “Is this how we behave at the Lake Conrad Resort? Do you think our guests want to hear this bawdy conversation?”

“Sorry, Cynthia,” both Maggie and Kendra mumbled as they looked down on their computer screens and started clicking at things.

There was a long pause before Cynthia looked over at Lena. “Helena,” she said finally. “Go to my office and wait for meoutsidethe door. I have to speak with Chef Carlson in the Black Bear, and then I’ll head up and meet you. We need to talk.”

Lena felt her heart drop to her toes just as heat rose up her neck to swallow her face. “Sure, Cynthia. I’ll head up now,” she answered nervously.

Cynthia didn’t respond; however, she leveled Lena with a stern look that felt like it went on for entirely too long before she picked up her walkie-talkie and binder, and walked toward the Black Bear.

Lena took a deep breath as her heart started pounding. “I think I’m in big trouble,” she admitted, looking over at Maggie and Kendra.

“It’s no big deal,” Maggie assured her. “Cynthia’s particular, but she’s harmless. She probably wants to give you a smack on the wrist. But Kendra and I were the ones being loud, so I’m not sure why she’s singling you out,” she admitted with an eyeroll.

Lena knew why she was being singled out: Cynthia hated her guts. Remembering what Jake had told her about Cynthia wanting her fired, she had a feeling this was more serious than Maggie and Kendra understood. Cynthia might not be easy on them, necessarily, but she seemingly liked them and appreciated their work ethic. She only tolerated Lena, and Lena wasn’t sure how much longer she’d get that much out of her.

Lena shuffled out of the front desk area, down the hallway that led to the staff stairs, and up to the second floor. She felt like she was walking toward her execution. Her heart beat painfully fast at the same time the space around her seemed to freeze.

Cynthia’s office door was open, but Lena leaned against the wall outside it looking down at the lobby below, and Jake’s closed office door on the other other side of the open-air walkway. He was off today, but Lena was glad he wasn’t here. She felt droopy and humiliated standing outside Cynthia’s office waiting for her sentence.

Lena was shaken out of her thoughts by Cynthia stomping down the hallway toward her. She narrowed her eyes as she got closer to Lena and walked past her and into her office without saying a word. Lena swallowed wordlessly and as the seconds ticked by, she could hear Cynthia moving things around in her office. Finally, she put Lena out of her misery and called out to her from inside the office.

“Helena,” came her sharp voice. “Come inside and close the door.”

Obeying, Lena entered the office, closed the door, and sat down tentatively on one of the tweed blue office chairs in front of Cynthia’s desk. She took a few breaths as her eyes darted around Cynthia’s cluttered office.

“Helena,” Cynthia finally said crisply, her hands folded neatly on her desk.“Do you know that today’s my day off?”

Lena pulled back in surprise. That’s not what she was expecting. “No,” she answered quietly. “But I guess that makes sense, since it’s Saturday.”

“Do you know why I’mhereon my day off?” she asked, biting the words out slowly.

Lena shook her head with wide eyes. “No,” she said. “I don’t.”

“I’m here because of you,” Cynthia asserted, dipping her chin down to her chest to glower at Lena more effectively.

Lena’s fear abandoned her, quickly replaced by confusion.Well, that’s crazy.“Me? Why?” she asked.

“Because I don’t trust you, Helena. First, you verbally assault a guest—”

What?!Lena sat up straight in her seat and started shaking her head. “No, Cynthia, let me explain—”

“Please don’t interrupt me,” Cynthia scolded, holding her hand up. Lena closed her mouth immediately and cowered back in her seat.

“After youverbally assaulteda treasured guest, I hear you loudly announcing at the resort’s front desk that you’ve been fraternizing with another employee. Do you think that was appropriate conduct for our resort?”

Lena felt like this situation was spiraling out of control. “I’m sorry, Cynthia. I didn’t mean—”

“I think both of these situations combined with your bad attitude make it clear to me that this isn’t a good fit for you, Helena. I’m going to have to let you go.”

“Cynthia, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you so angry—”

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