Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 103050 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103050 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
Rhonda offers a small smile and then heads off.
Avril ushers me inside. “You’ll remember Poppy from the wedding, even if she hasn’t hounded you quite as much as I have. As you know, she mainly looks after the financial and administrative sides of things, whereas I deal more with front of house, but we manage things together really.”
I smile at Poppy. “Nice to see you again.”
She rounds her desk and pulls me in for another hug.
I’m not not a hugger. But the first time I meet my boss, I definitely don’t expect to be hugging them. But, like I said, New York is different.
“How are you settling into New York?” Poppy asks, as she guides me to a small table under the window with four chairs around it. We all take a seat.
It gives me a few seconds to figure out what I’m going to say. “It’s very different.”
They both laugh. “It can be a shock to the system. Even to Americans.”
“Really?” I ask.
“Yeah,” Avril says. “But eventually, you’ll find your rhythm. I always think that New York is like a record. Until you get the needle in the groove, it’s all scratchy and weird sounding and then, all of a sudden, the needle finds its place and it’s beautiful.”
I smile at her analogy. I like the idea that all of a sudden life can be beautiful.
“So I have to be patient?” I ask.
“Patient and also observant,” Poppy says. “Don’t expect it to be like London. It isn’t. But just watch it and feel it, and then you’ll be part of it.”
They’re making New York sound like it’s magical or something. A magical city.
I can only hope.
I need some magic in my life at the moment.
“Okay, so if you need anything at all outside of work, you have our numbers,” Avril says. “You can call us anytime. And why don’t the three of us go to brunch this weekend? Do you have plans?”
I shake my head. “None. My best friend’s brother and his wife live in the city, but they’re away at the moment. I was just planning to do some sightseeing.”
“Great, well, build brunch with us into your plans,” Avril says. “In the meantime, we’ll get you familiar with Hotel on Ninth Street. As I said to you on the phone, I’m going to treat this as a permanent position, because I have faith that after a couple of months with us, you’re never going to want to leave.”
We all laugh, but deep down inside, I think she’s crazy. Of course I’ll be leaving in three months. I hope she doesn’t go back on her word and get weird when I tell her that I’m flying home on 5th September.
But I can’t think about leaving now. I need to be in the moment and squeeze out every last drop of experience from these next three months.
“So we’re going to onboard you in the usual way for senior management, by you having a stint in each department,” Avril says. “At the end, Poppy and I will want to chat with you about how you’ve found things. We really want to mine your experience and see if you have ideas on if we can improve things.”
“We’re going to start you on reception,” Avril says. “Guests are guests, and I’m sure your British charm will win them all over.”
“You can learn the IT systems, which are going to be really important for you in your role,” Poppy says.
I nod. “Sounds good.”
“Let’s get you started, then,” Avril says. “I can introduce you to the team. Poppy doesn’t leave the office unless there’s a fire or she wants coffee.”
We make our way out of the office and to the hotel lobby. It’s such a cool vibe. It’s all dark wood and peacock colors. It’s a perfect blend of old and new.
“I love this space,” I say, looking all around.
“Thank you,” Avril says. “We gutted the entire hotel. I’m so pleased with how it turned out.”
“And you, Poppy, and your brother run it?”
“My brother not so much,” she says. “But he owns it with us. He has other business interests that take up most of his time.”
As we head across the lobby, my entire body flushes with heat as I see the man who shoved me against the wall and spilled coffee all down my shirt and then barked at me. He’s coming toward us.
I don’t know if I want to punch him in the face or pray that he won’t see me and make some comment about how I was in his way.
As he comes closer, he gets taller and taller, and I can’t stop staring at him. He might possibly be the rudest man on the planet, but he also might be the best-looking man in the entire universe. How is that okay? Like if someone’s very handsome, what have they got to be shitty about? It’s a proven fact that more attractive people get treated better in this world.