Page 19 of Moonshine and Magnolias
“By the window?”
Wendy retraced her path through the office. “They’re on the desk.”
“Okay.”
“Dr. Upshaw, I think we have everything we need from you.” Wendy traveled around the boxes and lay her hand on the open door, hoping he’d take the hint. “Thanks for being such a good sport about this.”
He opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but instead nodded and made his way to the exit. “Good night. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Good night, Dr. Rob,” Brandi sang out to his retreating back.
Wendy shut the door behind him and gave herself a moment before facing her cousin. Brandi had taken the chair he had recently vacated, one long leg flung over the arm. Wendy pressed her lips together at her careless treatment of the antique furniture. Her electric blue toenails reflected the light as her foot bounced up and down.
“So why am I here if he already signed the forms?” Brandi asked. “I was getting ready to go out.” Her jeans molded to all the curves she’d show off at the bar or while playing pool or wherever she thought she was going. It was her turn to be on call, and the paperwork would keep her busy.
“Did you have to lie down to get those zipped?” Wendy asked.
“Almost. There was a lot of jumping involved. You can borrow them anytime you want. Like the next time you’re cozied up playing doctor.”
Wendy ignored the statement and held out the signed pages. “You have to run a background check. And next time know the rules and regulations about hiring someone before you do it, okay? Talk to me if you need to. We could have been in a bad situation.”
Brandi narrowed her eyes, hiding the green. “You don’t approve of me offering a historical job to someone who eats, breathes, and lives history to give a historical tour to a bunch of kids learning about history at a historical location?”
“Of course I do. He’s got the best resume of anyone Fountenoy Hall has hired this year.”
“Then what’s the problem? You have all the forms right there.”
“There’s still work to be done. Employing someone isn’t as easy as saying poof, you’re hired.” Wendy took a deep breath to regain some patience. “I’m not trying to be bossy, Brandi, but this is part of doing all things equally.”
“You’re the one with all the experience.”
“I didn’t get it by sloughing my responsibilities onto someone else.” Wendy tapped the edges of forms on the desk so they were aligned and held them out to her cousin. “It’s a lot of work. It’s always going to be a lot of work. If you’re not all in, I need to know now.”
She held her breath and waited. Maybe her cousin would quit first. Surely being tied down to this job would make it hard for her to flit around from man to man, having them take care of her instead of being independent. She had learned too much from her mother.
Brandi eyes glowed with a fierce determination, and snatched the papers. “Fine. I’m in.”
The business phone shrilled out a ring. Wendy reached for it before deliberately sitting back down. Brandi was on call. That meant she answered it.
It rang a second time.
And a third.
Brandi glanced up from the papers. “Aren’t you going to get that?”
“Nope.” Wendy shook her head. “Your turn. All in, remember?”
Brandi scowled before picking up the receiver. “Thank you for calling the Inn at Fountenoy Hall.”
“This is Brandi Clayton,” Wendy whispered. Her cousin repeated the words.
“How may I help you this evening?”
Brandi narrowed her eyes but recited the greeting. She listened for a moment, pressing the receiver into her ear. “Two rooms? Tonight?” She opened a drawer and took out the reservation book. Alarm came into her eyes and she mouthed for help.
Teaching her cousin how to run the Hall would not be done at the expense of customer service. Wendy reached for the book and flipped to today’s date. Thisplace needed software to enter reservation information instead of this archaic method of paper and pencils, for God’s sake, spiral bound like a teacher’s old-fashioned gradebook.
The night was clear, with no check ins for tomorrow, and Wendy gave her cousin a thumbs up and placed the book in front of her to write down the caller’s information. Brandi finished the conversation and leaned back in the chair. “Well, that wasn’t so bad.”
