Chapter 23

"You are so good at this. I'm glad they made you manager," Tristen tells me as I finish my first training orientation with the new hires.

I asked her to attend as well to help answer any questions in case I got stuck.

"You could be doing this too. I'm glad you don't hold any hard feelings, though. That would have sucked."

"Are you kidding me? Women should uplift one another. I want to celebrate your successes. My time will come. Besides, I still have so much to learn from you."

"Now you're just trying to flatter me." I open the door to the front reception area, leading the way back to the front desk.

"Maybe, but it's true. You know what you're doing."

"Bet you'd eat her pussy too if she asked," Kendra, one of the employees who usually takes night shifts, mutters.

I spin on her. "Excuse me? What did you say?"

She gives me a fake smile. "Nothing. You must be hearing things, Mrs. Williamson. Oh, I'm sorry, Ms. Knight."

Kendra has been one of the only employees to push back against my promotion. I can see why. She's been at the hotel for two years and has only worked at the front desk. Under the former management, she was able to do whatever she wanted. In fact, she has the highest number of complaints from the remaining employees. From what I understand, she cried about her three children when they called her in to reprimand her for her behavior. She was on the brink of being fired, but she swore she was trying to keep the old manager happy, so she did what she was told.

Max and Iris kept her on, thinking she would be moldable when she's not. I think she manipulated them into keeping her, and she thought she could act like she was someone new. Instead, I was promoted, and she only grew angrier.

"That language is unacceptable. That is your one and only verbal warning. You will be written up if it happens again."

She scoffs. "Seriously? You can't take a joke. I mean, Tristen here is so far up your ass that I'm surprised her nose isn't brown. Besides, you think you can tell me what to do? You've been here, what? Three? Four months? You sucked the boss's dick and now you think you can tell me what to do?"

"HR. Now," I growl at her, my anger growing.

"Oooh. I'm so scared. Maybe I can offer Max a blowie and get my own management position. You think if I get knocked up, I will get a higher salary? I heard that's what you did. You waited a while, though. Smart. Bring the kid in when they are cute to ensnare him. No way Mason would have stayed around with a newborn waking you up every few hours."

"You're fired. Grab your things and leave. Now."

She snorts. "I don't have to leave. You aren't my boss. You are the Williamson charity case. It's quite annoying, really. Mrs. Williamson isn't even allowed in here anymore. You are a sneaky one. I wonder what you had to do in order to get him to give up his mother. That takes real skill. Really, we should be taking notes. Right, Tristen? Oh wait. You are taking notes. I bet you're even stalking her. Do you have a shrine at home with her pictures?"

With shaking hands, I pick up the phone and dial security.

"I need an employee escorted off the premises and banned. Please come quickly."

Hanging up the phone, I look at Kendra once more. "You need to go now. Security is on the way."

Instead of leaving, she starts screaming about me and the hotel. I can't even focus on it because all I can see are the security guards running our way. They get a hold of her and pull her away from the front desk. When she is finally gone, I know what I have to do.

"I need to go report this. You got the front desk?" I ask Tristen.

She nods. "She was wrong, you know. You weren't handed this job. All that shit she said was lies. She's just a jealous bitch."

I give her a sly smile. "You got a little bit of something right here." I rub the side of my nose.

She rolls her eyes. "Go do your report."

I laugh as I walk away from the front desk to the back of the hotel. Bypassing the hall to the staff entrance, I take the main elevator to the meeting room floor. Going down to the main entrance to the offices, I take a deep breath. Not having to go past the conference room is better, but this area still bothers me.

"Hey, Olivia. What are you doing up here?" Mandy, the receptionist, asks.

"I need to see HR. I had to fire an employee just now. She was escorted out by security."

Mandy winces. "Damn. Hold on."

She calls the head of human resources, Danielle. When she sets the phone down, she smiles. "She said to come on back. She's in the conference room right now doing an onboarding, but she is going to meet you outside."

I force a smile. Of course. That conference room is my kryptonite.

Walking down the hall, I try to keep my breathing even. Danielle is waiting for me just like Mandy said.

"Thank you for meeting me out here. What happened?"

"I don't think I should say the things she was saying out here. Especially with a new hire right there," I whisper.

She nods. "I don't need the details. You fired her? Had her escorted out, Mandy said?"

"Yes."

"Okay. I'm going to email you an incident report. Go back downstairs and type it all out. Print it, then bring it back. You did the right thing. We try to always handle any firings, but sometimes it's unavoidable. If security was required, you handled it well. Do you have any witnesses?"

"Tristen was there. The security guards saw the end of it."

"They will turn in their reports. Have Tristen fill one out too. Don't look so freaked out. This is all part of being a manager. Welcome to the club." She pats my arm. "The first one is always the hardest."

She turns back to the room, leaving me standing there wondering if I have situations like that to look forward to.

* * *

"Do you think Mommy will like the cake?" Ari asks.

Ari is standing on a chair, mixing the cake mix. I'm standing behind her to ensure she doesn't fall.

She is getting more interested in the kitchen. I don't mind helping her out when Olivia is out. I am not an amazing cook, but I like to eat. Olivia is much better at it, but she's been working late lately. Until the hotel gets fully staffed and she gets used to her position, she is putting in extra hours.

It's another reason why I know Max made the right decision. She enjoys her job and wants to make sure she's doing it right. She has empathy for the employees, and mixed with her no-bullshit attitude she's the perfect person to handle the employees too. They will respect her, but not hate her. I'm so proud of her for what she is doing. I can see the schooling she studied so hard for paying off. She has all of these new ideas to make the place better. I find it adorable that that's what she wants to talk about during pillow talk. I'd let her talk about anything as long as I could keep hearing her voice.

"She's going to love it because you made it. Are you sure chocolate is her favorite, or is it yours?" I tease.

Ari smiles up at me. "Both."

The door opening has me pausing to listen. I'm not expecting anyone, but whoever it is has a key.

"Honey, I'm home," Olivia calls out as she walks through the door.

"Welcome home, Livvy. In the kitchen," I yell to her.

Within seconds, I hear her walking through the entry. Looking over my shoulder, I smile at her. She looks like she's had a rough day. I want to hold her, but I can't at the moment. I need to finish with Ari.

"Hi, Mommy. We are making a cake."

Olivia walks into the kitchen, kissing Ari on the head before kissing me on the lips.

"That looks fun. Have you figured out dinner?"

"I didn't expect you home so soon. I can order something while the cake bakes."

"That sounds like a plan. I'm going to go change."

I hurry up and finish the cake with Ari and send her to her room to play while it cooks. Then I go in search of Olivia.

I find her standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom, brushing her hair absentmindedly.

Coming up behind her, I wrap my arms around her.

"Livvy, what's going on?"

She sets her brush down and holds onto my arms. "I had a shitty day. Kendra said some really nasty things to me, and I had to call security to escort her out."

"I'm sorry. I'd ask if you want me to fire her, but it seems you already did. I can make sure she doesn't get a letter of recommendation, though."

She sighs. "That's not what's bothering me. Danielle is handling it already. I had to go to the office, though."

"Is that still an issue?"

"The memories I have up there are so bad. I keep hoping the new ones I make each time I go up there will make it better, but it doesn't. It was the worst day of my life. I want to get over it," she says, the pain visible on her eyes.

"You think a new, positive memory will help?"

"It can't hurt, right? It doesn't matter. I'm being silly about it. It was years ago. It was all a lie anyway. I have you here now and you're showing me each day that none of that matters."

"I will keep reminding you too. I love you, Liv."

"I love you too, Mase."

We stand like that for several minutes before I finally kiss the side of her head.

"Go get Ari and pick a movie. I'll order food and check on the cake. We can have a family movie night."

"That sounds like just what I need."

She leaves the bathroom, seeming a little better, but still not quite herself.

I hate that my mother ruined this for her too. It seems like it all comes back to her. Her actions deprived me of time with my daughter. Now her actions have traumatized the love of my life.

I hate that there's nothing I can do about it.

I head into the kitchen, checking on the cake. Then I lean against the counter and order food.

My mind is still on Olivia, though. She said a positive memory might change her view of the offices. She didn't say it, but that conference room is the true problem. I wish I could have it ripped out, but even I know that's not logical.

Maybe we could throw a party?

I don't think that would help, though. She would be so self-conscious about her panicking that she wouldn't enjoy herself.

No, I need something better.

As an idea forms in my mind, I wonder how mad she will be at me for it. It's actually perfect. It's a positive memory. One that will hopefully overshadow everything else.

"What has you smiling?" she asks as she brings the food that was delivered into the kitchen.

"Just thinking about how much I love you. Did you set up the movie?"

"Yep. Dinner on the couch tonight?" she asks.

"I think so. Does Ari have her table set up?"

"She does. That was smart to give her a way to eat out there when we have lazy nights like this or snack time."

"Helps keep the place clean. Especially since you fired the maid."

She rolls her eyes. She fired my maid when she moved in, saying that we could handle cleaning on our own. Little does she know, I still pay the maid for her services. At least until she finds another job. I know Olivia didn't think about her needing the work when she made the decision. She only saw dollar signs coming out of my pocket.

"Make your plate, Mason," she grumbles.

As we get everything together, I look over at her. I would do anything for her. Anything at all.

"You're staring," she mumbles, getting Ari's plate ready.

"You're beautiful."

"Enough with the charm. Ari has that sad movie about the dog and the fox on."

I wince. "Again?"

"It's her favorite right now."

I watch as she carries her and Ari's plates into the living room. I grab my own and follow.

As Ari settles at her little play table to eat, I sit next to Olivia and start the movie.

I look around at my two girls, and I know I'm blessed.

I will do anything to keep this.