Page 27 of Canapés at the Beach House Hotel
“Great.The wedding crowd is a bunch of drinkers.And several others came in, including young people who’d seen your new ad for canapes at the hotel.A few of them mentioned they were friends of Angie and Liz.I kept watch on what they were drinking and eating.I agree that we can do better with that age group.There’s definitely a place for them here.”
“I hope you’re making careful notes for Angie and Liz so you can come up with plans the three of you agree on,” I said.
“Oh, yes,” said Harper.“Sorry, I have to go meet Annette.”
We followed her into the private dining room.Instead of a long table like last night, four round tables for six were spread across the area.A small bar was set up in the back corner and a dais held a lectern and a microphone.
Each table held a small centerpiece with the same Italian flag color theme as last night.
Annette walked into the room behind us.“I think we’re ready.The four waitresses are coming, and I see Harper is here.”
“Thanks, Annette.How is the wedding dinner shaping up?”
“Fine.Lauren and Lorraine are handling that.”She greeted four waitresses who arrived with a cart holding iced water pitchers.“Okay, we have four minutes until our guests arrive.Please pour the water in the goblets and remove the cart.”
Not wanting to be in their way, Rhonda and I left.
Outside the door, we saw Caterina and Philippa standing with Lindsay.
“How did the tour go?”I asked.
“Very well.I’ve fallen in love with Sabal and realize I’m going to need a lot more time than I thought to consider where we might want to live.I’m meeting with the Luna brothers tomorrow, but that won’t be nearly enough time.Do you think we could rent one of the guesthouses for a week or so?”
“Let me check the reservations schedule and see what we can do,” said Rhonda.“After the luncheon, come see us in our office.We’ll make arrangements of some kind that will please you.”
“Yes, we’ll do our best,” I said.
Enrico came over to us.“Thank you for setting up everything for our meeting today.I’m hoping it will be beneficial to all in the community.”
“I’m curious.Is Jonny Arno one of the invited guests today?”I asked him.
“No.”He grimaced.“He called me this morning.He claims we’re distant cousins.”Enrico shook his head.“It could be possible.In Sicily, many families are intertwined and go back generations.I’ll follow up.”
“We’ll do our best to put Catarina and Philippa in one of the guesthouses,” I said.
“Thank you.It’s easy to see why Amelia Swanson recommended Sabal and your hotel,” he said.He turned away to greet one of the guests heading toward the private dining room.
Rhonda and I went back to our office to check the reservations schedule.
“We can move the one couple who was supposed to stay there for one night to the Presidential Suite.That will give Catarina and Enrico the guesthouse for eight straight days,” I said.“More, if necessary.”
“Okay.That’s better planning.I see that the reservation for the couple was not guaranteed.That makes it easy,” said Rhonda.
“They’ll be thrilled with a stay in the Presidential Suite,” I said.“A win-win for all.”
“I want to check on the employee apartment for Chet and Harper,” Rhonda said.“I wish we were able to build more than the three apartments we have.”
“With the expansion of the laundry room and spa, there wasn’t room,” I said.
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Rhonda and I left our office and went over to the building which at one time was simply a six-car garage.It had changed considerably over the years and now, with additions, housed the spa, laundry room, and three staff apartments.All had beautiful views over gardens and the two tennis courts we had installed for both tennis and pickleball.
Each apartment had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living/dining room, small laundry area, and a decent-sized kitchen with a small eating area.The largest one was occupied by Consuela and Manny.The other two were used by a variety of staffers on a short-term basis.Now, one of the other apartments was temporarily housing a young couple with a baby who were waiting to purchase a house of their own.He was working for Manny on the landscaping crew, and she was employed in the housekeeping department.This flexibility allowed us to find long-term employees, which was so important in the hospitality industry where employee turnover was a problem.
We knocked and walked into the apartment to be used by Chet and Harper.The housekeeping staff had done a great job of getting it ready.A vase of fresh flowers sat on the coffee table in the living room, and bottles of cold water sat in the refrigerator, along with a platter of cheese, fruit, and crackers.
We checked the bedrooms.It appeared that Harper’s things were in one bedroom and Chet’s in the other.
