I have a feeling I won’t be sleeping tonight.
~ ~ ~ ~
“The Cabins?” Autumn looks as shocked as Tillie did when I told her. “You need years of experience kissing rich people’s asses to be put there. Only superstar seasoned Wolf employees get that kind of gig.”
“Yeah. I don’t get it either.” I sigh, studying my new “uniform”—a breezy white blouse and plum-colored pencil skirt with a provocative slit up the back—that hangs in its dry-cleaning packaging on my hook.
I’m neither seasoned nor a superstar and yet the owner of Wolf Cove Hotel wants me catering to the needs of the most elite guests. Why? “So, what am I going to be doing there?” If anyone would know, Autumn would.
“Oh, man.” She unfastens a pearl earring and tosses it into a jewelry box. “Well, you’re basically there to cater to every need that your guests may have. You’re available to them at all times. All Wolf hotels have servants’ quarters on the same floor as the penthouses. Here, I heard that they’ve built little quarters inside each cabin, where you stay until you’re needed. Bring a book,” she warns, with a knowing stare. “And, depending on how demanding the guest is, you may be expected to stay overnight and cater to them at 3:00 a.m. if they buzz. When they want room service, you order it for them. When they want to eat at the restaurant, you make their dinner reservations. You make their excursion arrangements and spa sessions; you recommend activities, you ensure their liquor cabinet is full at all times, their coffee and tea is poured, their dishes are always cleared, their rooms are cleaned.”
“You wipe their asses if they ask you nicely enough,” Tillie murmurs.
I feel my face blanching. I hope she’s kidding.
“And the best part?” Autumn goes on. “You don’t even have to do the actual cleaning. You dial up Housekeeping when it’s convenient for the guest and someone else comes and does the work. Consider yourself a butler, only female.”
Well, that’s one blessing. But... “I’m supposed to book excursions?” My head is beginning to spin with all the things I need to know that I won’t, not before the morning. Why do I need to be there so early, anyway? No one’s going to be there at 7:00 a.m.
“Yes.” Autumn grins, climbing to the top bed. “Through your friendly concierge. And if you’re lucky, they’ll take you on one. You know, because they need a servant while they watch Kodiak bears and view glaciers.”
Mention of bears distracts me from my current agitation, bringing me back to this morning. And Henry. He has invaded my thoughts all afternoon and into the evening as it is.
“Penthouse guests get what they want, when they want it. Honestly, it’s the country club of the service world. At least, it is for a Wolf employee.”
“He’s insane.” I groan as I ease my sore body into the bottom bunk, having already showered and readied for bed.
“Who’s insane?”
“Mr. Wolf. Apparently, he’s the one who put me in this job.” I’ve been wracking my brain for the last half hour, trying to figure out why he would. There is nothing that happened today that should give him the false belief that I can do this job. A dark thought crosses my mind. Maybe he wants me to mess up so he has an excuse to fire me. I quickly dismiss that, though. It makes no more sense than anything else.
“She knocked Wolf on the head with a piece of wood when they were out earlier today, is what I think,” Tillie says, grabbing her robe and her shower caddy.
Autumn’s face suddenly appears beside me, her hair dangling in wet, freshly washed tendrils. “Wait, you were with Mr.Wolf?”
I sigh. So much for Tillie keeping her mouth shut. Thank God I didn’t tell her anything more than I was supposed to. “I helped him load firewood.”
She frowns. “Why? He has the Outdoor crew.”
“Don’t know, but who am I to say no to the boss.” I doubt I’d be capable of saying no to him, regardless of request. “And because I can’t say no, I’ll be down here, studying up on my role as liaison to a bunch of rich people all night.”
“You best suck it on up then because any of us, including me, would murder to be in your place. You’re gonna double your salary this summer, girl. I, for one, am green with envy,” Tillie mutters, heading toward the door.
Autumn, at least, offers me a sympathetic smile and yanks on the privacy curtain to close us in.
I slide on my headset and get ready for a long night.
Chapter Eleven
My black Tieks pad softly along the stone path, sheltered from the drizzle by the elaborately constructed wooden canopy above. The covering stretches all the way from the main lodge to the cabins, easily three hundred feet away. In one hand I hold a paper cup filled with staff lounge coffee, in the other the iPad, to hopefully catch up on everything I didn’t read when I passed out last night.
Unlike yesterday at this time of the morning, Wolf Cove is buzzing with life, staff preparing to meet the first wave of guests at noon with glasses of champagne and swift check-ins. Again, I wonder what I’m supposed to do until my guest arrives.
Ahead of me, the covered path splits off into three smaller paths, each leading toward an elegant and detailed timber cabin, small replicas of the main lodge. An ornate bronzed sign points me to the right.
Penthouse Cabin One and its grand mahogany door stand before me. As Belinda promised, the servants’ entrance is next to it. Inhaling deeply, I stick my key card into the slot and wait for the telltale beep and green light to allow me in.
The liaison’s room is a small nook. On my left is a basic office: a desk, phone, computer, stationery supplies, and the like. Across from me is another door. The one, I presume, that leads into the suite. To my right, shelving with extra supplies—towels, bedding, every toiletry you could imagine, wine glasses—line the wall, along with a shiny stacked washer and dryer. There’s a doorway at the far end. I wander through it and find a small powder room and a twin bed tucked into the corner. I guess that’s where I’ll sleep, if I have a guest who insists on it?
I’m not crazy about this idea.
With a nervous sigh, I set my things on the desk and survey the space again, scanning over the bulletin board. It’s neatly plastered with all kinds of information: the restaurant and room service menus, full alcoholic beverage choices, and phone numbers to all facilities, as well as a checklist of all expected duties, along with timelines.
Place newspaper in mail slot by 6:30 a.m. Does that mean I need to be here by six thirty every morning? And how does Wolf Cove even get newspapers that early?
Deliver new vase of fresh-cut flowers each day with breakfast. That, I can remember.
Turndown service at 8:00 p.m. or when the guest requests it, if they are staying in.
When does my shift here end? Obviously I’ll be handing off at some point... right?
Suddenly the door to the suite opens and I spin on my heels.
“Good, you’re here,” Henry says, filling the doorframe with his body.
It takes me a moment to respond, my mouth hanging open in shock. “What are you doing here?” I scan him from head to toe, and excited butterflies fill my stomach, making me forget my current stress levels. He’s as intoxicating as ever to look at, his black pants custom-fit to a body that sees the leg press at the gym regularly, no doubt. His dress shirt is still hanging open, revealing a white V-neck t-shirt beneath, the material thin and fitted enough to highlight his pectoral muscles and a six-pack beneath.
“I live here.”
“You live here?” My gaze drifts past him to catch glimpses of a white couch and fur rug, and a rustic-hewn side table.