Page 59 of Tasty Cherry

I’m about to have to do the same if Maverick doesn’t shape up.

“Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Anna. I’ll call him in.”

She gives me a sharp nod and leaves the office.

Maybe there’s something in the water. Maverick, all over this new cache of available women. Me, all over this intern I met before I knew who she was.

I rest my chin on my hands, but then there is that smell of her again.

God. I can’t escape it.

I should get up. Wash my damn hands. Get some control. I’m thirty-damn-two. I shouldn’t be acting sixteen.

And I have an ugly confrontation with Maverick ahead.

That cools my jets.

As I head to the bathroom, I consider the speech I’ll give him.

And how I can possibly apply the same rules to myself.

When I pop into the meeting room slightly ahead of five, only Raya is inside. No interns. No Mila.

She looks up from where she’s collecting papers from the long table at the front of the rows of chairs. “I sent the interns off early. There’s only so much reviewing the risks of salmonella you can do.”

“How do you feel now that you’ve had a week with them?”

She shoves her reading glasses up on her head. “Ilsa has the best work ethic. She’s responsible and competent.”

“But?”

“Nobody likes her. She’s too cutthroat. She wants the position too much.”

I perch on the end of the table. “The event manager has to be personable.”

“I know. Your Maverick is probably a little too personable. I can’t stand him, but he’s won over everyone in the kitchen. They already requested him for next week, like I don’t have a schedule already.”

“He never went to HR?”

“No, he did dish room Monday and Tuesday, then Cristal in laundry snagged him the rest of the week. I let it go.”

I consider telling her that Anna complained about how he’s seducing the young women there, but think better of it. I’ll handle him.

I’m itching to know what she thinks of Mila, but I wait it out.

“Owen is the friendliest, but he gets flustered easily. He’s like a golden retriever who gets distracted by every squirrel.”

“So not organized.”

“Not in the least. Both Brooklyn and Mila were away from me the most, so I don’t have a good read on them. They were with you at the front desk. What’s your assessment?”

I didn’t expect this turn. “They were both excellent. They quickly learned how to handle the most common problems. They interfaced with guests both at the desk and in rooms. They learned how to program the alarm clocks, reset the TVs, adjust the thermostats. They can check guests in and out. They have a pretty good lay of the guest-facing areas of the hotel.”

“Good. I think the front desk is where we’ll see their strengths.”

“Who is on it next week?”

“Just Owen. I’m trying to mix them up. Brooklyn and Maverick were supposed to be on room service, but with Maverick in the kitchen, maybe I’ll put Brooklyn there, too. My schedule will need to be reconfigured.”