17. Gia

seventeen

Gia

"Sorry I'm late!" I yank my heavy coat off, and neatly toss it on the coat hook as I breeze by it. The aroma of thyme and fresh basil tickles my nose, awakening me. Grace is already aproned up and spacing cinnamon roll dough on the pans, something I usually do. I grab an apron, quickly tie it around my waist, and scoot in front of the handwashing sink to scrub. "Let me do the rolls."

"It's fine." She plops the last of the dough on the pan and whisks the bowl into the soaking sink. "I already have all my roasts in the convection oven."

"That's what smells so hearty." I stick my nose high in the air, inhaling one more time.

"Yes, I used all the leftover onions." She pauses and her eyebrows clamp together, tipping me off to her confusion. "So, get this. An administrative meeting is going on in the brunch room."

"An admin meeting on a Monday morning?" I echo, my Spidey sense alerting. "As long as I've been here, they've always stuck to Thursday lunches."

"Right? It felt off to me, too. It was deathly quiet when I walked in this morning, and the curtain dividing those two dining rooms had been rolled back. I thought maybe the weekend staff never closed it. I went in there to tidy up, and that's when I saw Gerry, and Marcie. It's both of their mornings off, but they had gotten emails last night, announcing an emergency meeting this morning."

"That doesn't sound good." I swallow, bustling to the kitchen door to peek out the window into the dining room, all the seats at the round center table are filled with management. All their faces are devoid of expression. "Are we supposed to go to this meeting?"

"Nobody said." She slides her pans into the oven and joins me, standing on her toes to look inside. "It doesn't look like we're getting huge bonuses, does it?"

"Nope."

"I don't know." She drops to her flat feet, brushing off her apron. "I can't imagine it's anything bad . The holidays are right around the corner, and it's our busiest season."

"Do you know what? I bet that's what it's actually all about." I breathe out, hoping to convince myself that this isn't going to negatively affect my position, or my pay. "Maybe we are going to be so busy, they need to implement some new schedule?"

I back away from the window as Marcie rises from her seat and heads our way. I push open the swinging door for her, and a look of dread consumes her face.

"What's the meeting about?" I ask so softly I can barely hear my own voice.

"We got shut down." Marcie exhales, disbelief in all her facial features. Even her perfect perky-Karen haircut seems to be deflated today.

"What?" My T ticks hard and I stammer, "Wh-what do you mean?"

Her gaze waffles between Grace and me. "They pulled our hospitality license, citing health and safety concerns. The guests are all being asked to check out this morning, and as soon as they have vacated, we lock up."

"I don't believe it." My jaw hangs low, and I rack my brain for clues. "Did something happen over the weekend? I don't even remember any inspectors coming around."

"We were never notified about anything." Marcie shrugs hard, her whole face falls with her shoulders. "It almost seems like sabotage. This is a high-demand beachfront property. Some businessman is probably trying to get this place to foreclose so they can buy it on the cheap."

"That's crazy." My voice pitches higher, anger filling my chest. "Who would do that?" Goosebumps rip over my arms, and the hair on my arms stands straight up. I gulp, scanning the kitchen with tears stinging my eyes. This has been my entire life since high school. It's not a perfect job, and I'm not getting rich, but Grace is like a sister to me, and food service is really all I know.

"Ah, it's going to be okay." Grace rushes over and wraps her arms around me. I hadn't realized Grace was also tearing up. Speaking through her sniffles, she tacks on, "We'll figure something out together."

"Yeah," I assure us both. "We'll find something else much better than this."

A niggling in the back of my head haunts me.

Who would want to sabotage this hotel?