Once Upon a Summertime (21 page)

“Are you all ready for the big day tomorrow?”

Anna turned to see that Sean had joined her. “Yes,” she said crisply. “I am.”

“That's great.” He made a congenial smile. “It must've been no small task to put all those rooms together as well as to get your housekeeping staff ready.”

“It's certainly kept me busy.” She turned away, looking out over the other rooftops as if they were extremely interesting.

“I feel really good about the staff I've hired.”

She turned to look at him, knowing that he was probably making small talk for the sake of the Newmans and feeling irritated by it. “Excuse me,” she said curtly. “I need to speak to Elsie about something.” She walked away. Okay, she knew it was rude and immature, but it was simply a survival tactic on her part.

Before Anna made it back to Elsie, Marley came over with a tall blond guy in tow. “Hey, Anna, I want you to meet Warren. Warren, this is my good friend Anna.”

“Warren the pilot?” Anna immediately regretted her words.
How juvenile. At least she hadn't said “the handsome pilot,” although he was handsome enough. Besides that, he was a good diversion—a good excuse to keep a distance from Sean.

“Some people call me that.” Warren grinned as he shook her hand. “Pleased to meet you, Anna.” He winked at Marley. “You didn't exaggerate. She does look like Nicole Kidman.”

Anna waved her hand. “Marley always says that. You'd think I paid her or something.”

Marley laughed. “Now there's a thought.”

As Anna and Warren stood there visiting, Marley eventually slipped away, going over to join Sean and the Newmans. Anna realized now that it was a smaller group than Marley had insinuated earlier. Just eight people and, it seemed rather clear,
four
couples, since Marley had obviously partnered Anna with Warren. When it was time to sit down for dinner, they were placed next to each other, with Marley and Sean directly across.

It wasn't as if Anna minded being with Warren. Certainly he was pleasant enough. And not hard to look at either. But somehow, seeing Marley sitting next to Sean and chatting so intimately with him—well, it was still rather irksome. Anna felt like she'd been duped. Even so, she did her best to keep a smile pasted on her face, making her best attempts at table talk and looking forward to when this evening was over.

Fortunately, a number of talkative personalities were present and Anna didn't have to be overly chatty. Much of the talk centered on the opening of the Rothsberg tomorrow. Several toasts were made to the success of the hotel. But as the evening progressed, Anna found herself saying less and less, and although she tried not to, she was subtly studying Marley and Sean, trying to gauge their interest level.

Sean, as always, was being the perfect gentleman—attentive and personable and thoughtful. Marley was clearly infatuated with him. If Sean made a joke, she laughed, perhaps too loudly. If he asked for something, she was the first one to jump for it. Anna wondered if Marley realized how silly she looked.

Anna did her best to make polite conversation with Warren when there was a lull or if he asked her a question—and he asked her a lot. She could tell he was probably a good guy, but she didn't feel any serious interest in this relationship. Yes, he was good looking, but he was not her type. She could feel it deep inside of her. Despite his attentiveness, she had no intention of leading him on. When Elsie stood to start clearing the table, Anna quickly offered to help. Efficiently stacking an armload of plates, she followed Elsie over to the makeshift outdoor kitchen.

“This must've been a lot of work bringing everything up here,” Anna said as she set the dishes in a plastic tub of soapy water.

“Max did most of the packing up the stairs, and he promised to pack it back down.” Elsie smiled. “I'm just the cook.”

“And an excellent one.”

“Thanks. Want to help me get dessert?”

“Absolutely.”

“I left it in the apartment,” Elsie said as she led the way back downstairs, “so the ice cream wouldn't melt. Plus I chilled the plates.”

“I barely saw your apartment when Marley and I got here earlier, but it looked really cute.”

“I love it,” Elsie said as she opened the door for Anna. “I've lived here about six years. Max had another place, over in the
Village, and we could've lived there, but I just couldn't bear to leave here. Not only is this apartment bigger, but we've got the terrace. I don't mind riding the subway. It gives me a chance to chill and catch up on my reading. So Max sublet his apartment to a friend, and that's where Sean is staying right now.”

“That was handy.” Anna looked around the charming apartment. “You have a real knack for decorating, Elsie.”

“Thanks!” Elsie handed Anna a carton of vanilla ice cream and a metal scoop. “How are you at making ice cream balls?”

“I'll do my best.” Soon she was dipping relatively round ice cream balls and setting them next to generous servings of baklava. She watched as Elsie artistically drizzled strings of honey over the whole concoction. “That looks yummy.” Elsie placed four servings onto a tray, and Anna offered to take them up.

“Great. I'm going to make some coffee.”

“I'll come back for the other four,” Anna told her.

“Oh, that's okay. You stay up there and enjoy the others.”

“I'll come back and get the other desserts first,” Anna insisted. The truth was, she was enjoying this break from the other diners. She needed a chance to breathe and compose herself.

As Anna was serving the first round of desserts to the Newmans and Marley and Sean, she caught Sean watching her closely. In fact, it seemed more like he was staring at her. She was determined not to reveal how nervous he was making her. She hoped that he wasn't looking at her with disapproval due to the skimpy sundress, although Marley had been right that it was rather comfortable on this warm, balmy evening. Trying to avoid Sean's steady gaze, she focused her attention
on not dumping an ice cream ball in anyone's lap. Then she went back for the next tray. Before long they all had their desserts and coffee and were visiting happily.

As the sun dipped below the horizon of the rosy sky, the terrace grew even more lovely. The lanterns and hurricane candles glowed in a magical way, and strains of Greek music that Max had put on added to the amazing ambiance. Anna could see why Marley had called this place romantic. It was so delightful that Anna could almost imagine falling in love with Warren the pilot. Except that she knew it was hopeless. She'd already taken one fall this summer. One fall too many.

Although it was opening day, the hotel
was eerily quiet by midday on Friday. That was only because check-in wasn't until 3:00. Anna had held a meeting with the maids on duty, checking their uniforms, hair, and makeup. To her relief, everyone looked fine. Even Bianca and Justine had pinned up their hair just like Anna had instructed. And to Anna's delight, the special packaged chocolate mints had come in. Wrapped in gold foil with the hotel's insignia embossed on top, they were to be placed on the pillows of freshly turned down beds in the evening. As she gave a box to each of the maids, she pointed out that she'd written a date on top of the box to remind the maids of how long the quantity of mints should last. Not that she didn't trust them, exactly. But she knew how easy it was for a few small things to go missing . . . and before long it was a lot of small things.

Anna was just making a final walk-through of the lobby and public areas of the hotel, inspecting to make sure that everything was perfection, when she noticed Mrs. Newman
approaching. She looked sleek and stylish in her cream-colored jacket and skirt with a loose pastel-colored scarf draped around her neck. “Good afternoon, Anna,” Mrs. Newman said. “Do you have a minute?”

“Certainly.” Anna nodded.

“My office,” Mrs. Newman said.

As they walked, Mrs. Newman was reading her phone and saying nothing. For some reason, Anna was starting to feel nervous. Was something wrong? Had Anna forgotten something? Had someone on her staff made a mistake?

Mrs. Newman opened her door. “Your suit looks very nice on you, Anna.”

“Thank you.” Anna made an uneasy smile. “I was just admiring how chic you look today, Mrs. Newman.”

“Thank you.” She pointed to a chair. “Take a seat.”

Anna sat down on the edge of the chair, keeping her back rod straight. Waiting.

“Vincent asked me to speak to you, Anna.”

“Oh?”

“He's quite concerned about something.” She looked evenly at Anna. “It's about you and Sean.”

Anna felt her throat getting dry. “Yes?”

“Vincent said that he observed you two last night, and something he saw bothered him.”

Anna pressed her lips together, waiting.

“In fact, he said it wasn't the first time he'd been worried that something was amiss.”

“Really?” Anna took in a shallow breath, bracing herself.

“Yes. I told him it might be his imagination, but he was so insistent that I speak to you. He made me promise to deal with this before we opened today.”

Anna barely nodded. “What seems to be the problem?”

“Vincent is convinced that you are harboring some deep dark resentment toward Sean.”

“What?” Anna blinked.

“Yes, I know it sounds a bit silly. But Vincent thinks that because Sean was hired for the position you had hoped to get, you are holding that against him.”

“No, that's not true at all. I honestly believe that Sean—I mean, Mr. O'Neil is the perfect one for the job. I have absolutely no resentment.”

“Yes, that's what I told Vincent last night. Then he suggested that it might have something to do with you two growing up in the same town. Perhaps something happened to drive a wedge between you. Something that's made you feel disrespect toward him.”

“No, there's nothing at all like that,” Anna assured her. “I've always had the utmost respect for, uh, Mr. O'Neil. Honestly, he was a really great guy back in Springville. I mean, he's
still
a really great guy. I do respect him.”

“Then why is Vincent so certain there's something between you two?”

“I don't really know.” Anna felt a mixture of relief and fear.

“Vincent refuses to employ managers who don't get along, Anna. I must agree with him there. For our hotel to succeed, we need all our managers to be on excellent terms with each other. Good communication is crucial in a business like this. If you have trouble communicating with Sean, it will set us up for problems. Can you understand that?”

“Absolutely. I have no problems communicating with Sean—I mean, Mr. O'Neil. We've had frequent conversations.”

Mrs. Newman studied Anna now, as if she was trying to make heads or tails of this. “I have to admit, it is perplexing. Vincent actually has really good instincts about people.” She frowned. “So do I.”

“I think I know what the problem is,” Anna said cautiously. Somehow she had to straighten this mess up, and that would require honesty. She didn't have to spill all the beans, but she needed to spill some.

“Really?” Mrs. Newman leaned forward with interest.

“You see, I've been lecturing my maids about not getting involved with other employees. I've told them to avoid even casual friendships with the opposite sex. I know, that's probably extreme, but I've seen how quickly these relationships can develop in the workplace, and I'd hate to see any of my maids lose their employment.”

“Yes, and I appreciate that.”

Anna made a crooked smile. “Maybe I've been acting overly cautious myself. I suppose I thought I was setting some kind of example. Perhaps I simply took it too far.”

Mrs. Newman held a finger in the air. “That must be it, Anna. It makes perfect sense. I told Vincent last night that you were a very serious worker, very diligent, and I thought perhaps he'd misread your work ethic as hostility toward Sean. But you were simply being careful.”

“Yes.” Anna nodded eagerly.

“Well, from now on, I want you to treat Sean like a friend, Anna. You're both important managers. We need you two to communicate. In fact, I would recommend that you schedule regular meetings. Perhaps even daily for the first few weeks of operation. Can you promise to do that?”

“Certainly.”

“I'll inform Sean of this too.”

“Great.” Anna forced a big smile. “That will actually be helpful. A way to make sure we're always on the same page.”

“Exactly.” Mrs. Newman stood. “I'm so glad we cleared the air on this, Anna. I can't wait to tell Vincent that he was wrong.” She laughed. “That doesn't happen a lot.” She looked at her watch. “Say, have you taken your lunch yet?”

“Not yet. I was about to.”

Mrs. Newman reached for the phone receiver, hitting an extension number and waiting. “Oh good, Sean, you're still in. Have you had lunch yet?” She waited. “Well, I have Anna here in my office. I want you two to take your lunch break together. A meeting of sorts. I'll call down to the restaurant—they're not open until this evening, but I'll tell them you're there to do a managerial inspection. I'm sure they can throw something together for you.” She paused. “Yes, I'll send Anna now.” She smiled with satisfaction as she hung up. “There. You can go meet with him right now.”

“Uh, thank you.” Anna stood with uncertainty.

“Hurry along,” Mrs. Newman waved as she picked up the phone again. “I'll let the restaurant know.”

Anna felt slightly dazed as she walked back toward the lobby. A forced lunch date with Sean? So that they could communicate better? To placate Mr. Newman's concern that they were at odds? How perfectly ridiculous. However, as she got closer, she could see the sensibility in this plan. Perhaps it was just what she needed. If she started having daily meetings with Sean, it might help to make her more comfortable. Get her past these troubling feelings. Help her to move on.

“Anna,” he said cheerfully as they met in front of the restaurant. “I hear we're going to play spies in there.”

“Something like that.”

He gave her a curious glance as he opened the door.
“Entrez, s'il-vous-plaît.”

“Merci beaucoup.”

“I want to make sure we don't step on any toes.” Sean excused himself to go to the kitchen to speak to the chef, and Anna wandered around the beautiful restaurant. Everything, like the rest of the hotel, was old-world elegant perfection. Seeing the doors to the courtyard and sunshine pouring in, she couldn't resist going out there. The fountain was bubbling and the flower pots looked even fuller and prettier than the last time she'd been out here.

“There you are,” Sean said as he joined her, handing her a lunch menu. “Hey, why don't we eat out here? That way they won't have to reset a table in the dining room.”

“I'd love to eat out here,” she told him.

“I'll go let them know.”

As Sean went back inside, she found a table in dappled sunlight, sat down, and took a deep breath, attempting to calm herself. This was simply a business luncheon, she told herself as she skimmed over the menu. The beginning of a good healthy business relationship between her and . . . Mr. O'Neil. Nothing more.

“What's going on?” Sean asked as he sat across from her. “Why did Mrs. Newman set up this little tête-à-tête?”

Without beating around the bush, Anna retold the whole story in detail, only pausing as a waiter came out with water and table settings and to take their orders. After he left, she continued spilling the whole slightly embarrassing tale.

“I'm afraid it's my fault,” she said finally. “It seems I was being a little too cool toward you.” She explained what she'd
told Mrs. Newman, about being overly cautious as an example to the maids.

“She bought that?”

Anna nodded. “Absolutely.”

“That still doesn't explain why we're here, having lunch together.”

“Mrs. Newman decided that you and I should have daily meetings. This is our first one.”

“I'm down with that.” He grinned.

“So am I. Managers need to be in communication. It makes perfect sense.”

His eyes twinkled. “So we're friends then?”

She stuck out her hand. “Totally.”

He grasped it for a moment, then shook. “Good. I missed your friendship.”

As she extracted her hand from his, she tried to ignore the electric tingles that were running up her arm. This was business. “You're all set for opening today?” she asked as she laid her napkin in her lap.

“All set.” He pursed his lips. “Trying not to think this is just the calm before the storm.”

“You don't really think there'll be a storm, do you?”

“Well, there are bound to be a few kinks and wrinkles. You have to expect that. But we'll iron them out.”

“Yes, we will.”

They continued to talk about the hotel and their expectations. As they ate, they discussed some of the challenges with some of their employees, offering suggestions to each other. By the time they finished, Anna actually felt better. Like they really were friends—members of the same team, working for the same thing.

“Thank you,” she told him as they were leaving.

“Why are you thanking me?”

“For making our first business meeting go so smoothly.”

“We can both check our calendars for the best time to keep on meeting. I assume that it won't always need to be this long.” He chuckled as they paused in the main lobby. “Though I'll admit it was pretty nice.”

“I'd think fifteen to twenty minutes would be sufficient.”

He nodded. “Sounds good to me.” He glanced at his watch. “We have a couple of guests checking in early today. I should probably get back to my staff. Good luck today, Anna.”

She smiled. “You too.”

As she walked back to her office, Anna held her head high, thankful that was behind her. Really, it hadn't been so bad after all. In fact, she felt as if she'd won a small victory. Over herself.

The opening of the hotel went surprisingly smoothly. Oh, there were a few kinks and wrinkles like Sean had predicted, but nothing significant. Anna couldn't have been more pleased with the quality of her maids' service. She had warned them that she'd be doing pop-in inspections, but each time she popped in, she'd been pleasantly surprised. Everyone—even Bianca and Justine—seemed to be on their best behavior.

By Sunday afternoon, after most of the weekend guests had checked out, Anna felt confident that housekeeping was off to a solid start. Still, she knew she'd have to be diligent. She told the maids that pop-in inspections would continue for the next few weeks. What she didn't tell them was that they would probably continue indefinitely. She did tell Ellen.
“Well, it's the official changing of the guard,” Anna said as she got ready to go home. “I know everything is in good hands until I get back on Wednesday.” Already Ellen had been working the later shift, and Anna had no reason to believe this woman wasn't completely efficient. Perhaps even more efficient than Anna, although Anna wasn't ready to admit that to anyone.

“I have your number if there's any kind of emergency,” Ellen reminded her. “Go home and enjoy your days off.”

“Well, it's certainly good timing.” Anna explained how she and Marley would be moving into their new apartment on Tuesday. “This will be the first time I've had two days off in a row since I started working here.”

“You deserve it.” Ellen was looking over the notes Anna had made for her. “So far everything seems to be running like clockwork. You've done a great job.”

Anna thanked her, then gathered her things and left. Ellen was right: their department had been running smoothly. Even Anna's morning meetings with Sean had gone surprisingly well. So much so that she began to think that all her stress and agony over him was simply a product of her imagination. At least that was what she kept telling herself. She hoped that over time she would convince herself of it. Until then, she would continue her brainwashing techniques.

It wouldn't hurt having a couple days off. She was looking forward to getting their new apartment set up. She'd already gotten a sneak peek at it and couldn't wait to actually move in. The painters were supposed to be finished by Monday afternoon, and already Anna was making plans for where things might go. Not that she had any furnishings. Marley didn't seem to really care as long as she had a comfortable
bed to sleep in and a bathroom only shared by two. But Anna wanted more.