Page 137 of Slumming It
"Speaking of pancakes…" I let the words hang like a promise before finishing the thought. "You know what you should do?"
"What?"
"Ask for a leave of absence."
Her smile faltered. "You mean from my waitressing job?"
After that argument in my car, I realized it was a sore subject, but I wasn't just asking for myself. I was thinking of her safety. I still didn't like the looks of that place, especially with fuck-knows-who wanting to catch Emily by surprise.
I nodded. "Sure, why not? You can afford it, right?" I knew the answer already, because I had doubled her consulting fee as another way to make amends. Sure, she had protested a bit, but the relief in her eyes after she had finally agreed told me that I'd done the right thing.
But why stop there?
She bit her lip. "But what happens if they don't take me back?"
I didn't like the idea of herevergoing back, but that was a conversation for another time. "So, negotiate it up-front."
"Yeah, but you don't know my boss. He doesn't negotiate anything."
She was wrong.Everything was negotiable.I had the properties to prove it. "How about this?" I said. "Just call and ask. The worst he can say is no, right?" I smiled. "OrIcould do it."
She rolled her eyes. "Oh, I'm sure he'd lovethat."
"You never know. He might if I put it the right way."
But already, Emily was shaking her head. "That's really nice of you to offer, but—"
"Nice?" I said with a laugh. "Notthatword again."
"Itisnice," she insisted. "But seriously, I can't let you fight my battles."
"Who says it has to be a battle?"
"Trust me, with Freddie,everything'sa battle. One time, one of the cooks asked for a week off to attend his brother's wedding, and Freddie just about flipped."
Just then, the elevator slowed to a stop – not on our floor, but a few below it. When the doors slid open, an older couple walked into the elevator as we stepped aside to give them room.
The woman looked at the control panel and said, "Oh, shoot. It's going up."
The guy shrugged. "Eh, it'll go down eventually."
The woman turned to look at us and did a double-take. Zooming in on me, she said, "I know you." Her brow wrinkled in confusion. "You're on TV, right?"
I smiled. "Not if I can help it."
She put a finger to her chin as if thinking. "But you're somebody."
Her husband said, "Of course he'ssomebody. He's staying in the penthouse for Chrissake."
The wife turned to look at him. "How do you know?"
The guy pointed toward the control panel. "That's what the 'P' stands for."
"Oh, I knewthat," she said. "I just didn't notice, that's all." But then, her tone grew wistful. "A penthouse. I can't even imagine."
Emily spoke up. "Yeah, but it doesn't take up the whole floor. There's a bunch of suites up there, so it's not like you're missing out."
I had to smile. That was Emily for you, always working to put people at ease, even strangers in an elevator.
