Page 331 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
“I’m just trying to help,” Ian protested.
“I know,” I told him honestly. “But you got to make mistakes with the casino business. Now it’s my turn to make some mistakes with the resort.”
Ian looked like he wanted to protest again, but then his lips quirked into a small grin as he reached out to shake my hand. “Deal,” he said.
“And,” I added, staring deep into his eyes as I held on to his hand, “you need to lay off Adam. I know you’re not happy about me and him, but it’s really none of your business.”
Ian looked like he wanted to protest, but I narrowed my eyes at him. “It’s not up for discussion,” I told him. “I’m a big girl, and again, I have to make my own mistakes.”
Ian frowned but then shrugged. “Fine,” he said.
I slowly smiled as I released his hand. I had honestly expected this conversation to be a lot more difficult than it was, and I hadn’t expected Ian to give in so easily. But that was silly; I knew that he just wanted the best for me. He was just looking out for me. I had proven to him that I could take care of myself, and he respected that.
I couldn’t wait to tell Adam the good news the next day.
CHAPTER 42
ADAM
“Adam!” I froze when I heard Bailey’s voice behind me. Slowly, I turned around, pasting a smile on my face.
“Yeah?” I asked her.
“Where are you going?” she asked me, her hands on her hips. “We’re about to start the all-employee meeting.” There was a disapproving note in her voice, but she looked amused, like she knew exactly what I was about to say.
I shrugged one shoulder, glancing back behind me towards the exit. “There’s some stuff that I have to deal with, with the lifts,” I told her. “Unfortunately, it won’t wait.”
It was only sort of a lie; there was some stuff that I needed to deal with, with one of the lifts. But did I have to do it right that second? Probably not. I never went to the employee meetings, though. Gretchen always gave me the information that I needed afterwards. Usually, there was nothing too important for me, and I had plenty of other things on my plate.
Besides, I didn’t really want to hear whatever it was that Bailey wanted to talk to everyone about. She had assured me the previous day that she was going to have dinner with Ian and straighten out that situation, but I had seen Ian around the resort already that morning. I doubted that she had managed to say anything to him.
Which, okay, fair enough. He was her older brother. I’m sure it was hard for her to tell him off. But all the same, she shouldn’t have promised me that she was going to talk to him if she wasn’t really going to. And as for this meeting, well, whatever she had to say to everyone couldn’t be too important if she was refusing to solve the very real issues that we were having at the resort.
So why the hell should I care? I was starting to wonder if I should just suck it up and quit before I got myself fired. I didn’t want to find a different job, but at the moment, I didn’t really want this one either.
Bailey frowned at me. “I’ll keep the meeting short, but I really want everyone to be there,” she said.
I stared at her for a moment, wanting to protest. But then, I shrugged. I had a feeling if I did try to weasel my way out of it, she would just remind me that she was the boss around here. I didn’t need to hear that again.
“Fine,” I said, following her into the conference room.
Bailey smiled and greeted everyone, then took a deep breath. “I just wanted to apologize for the way things have been around here lately,” she said. She locked eyes with me. “I know that there’s been a certain amount of confusion about who’s the boss, and that certain of your jobs have been a bit uncomfortable as a consequence.” She looked around the room again. “But I wanted to let you know that things are going to be back to normal.”
She gave a short laugh. “It wouldn’t be the holidays if we weren’t dealing with that one disruptive family member, am I right?” There was some quiet laughter around the room. “I know that Ian’s been causing some issues around the place, putting in orders for things that we haven’t agreed to purchase and whatnot. But I just want to make sure you all know that I’m not going to just stand by and let him do whatever he wants here. He might be family, but I’m on your guys’ side here. We’ve made some commitments to improve this resort in certain ways, and we’re still planning to do that. Ian and I have had a long talk, and he has agreed not to meddle anymore.”
“So we should be coming to you if he continues to, uh, step in?” Kayla asked from somewhere in the front of the group.
“Absolutely,” Bailey said, nodding. “I know it’s a lot to ask you guys, and I hope you don’t feel like you’re tattling on him or anything. But if this is going to work, I need to know what’s going on with everyone in the business, and how I can help make your jobs run more smoothly.” Again, her eyes locked on mine. “If Ian is interfering with anyone’s work, that’s something that I need to know.” She shrugged and smiled. “But like I said, I don’t think that’s going to happen anymore, so hopefully it’s not something any of us have to worry about.”
She clapped her hands together. “Now, onto a lighter note. I think Mark wants to talk to everyone about the annual New Year’s torchlight parade, so I’ll turn it over to him.”
There were a few other miscellaneous notes in the meeting, but I could tell from the way that Bailey’s eyes lingered on me that that first part was the reason that she’d wanted me to be there. And I appreciated her words. She really had talked to Ian, and she understood just how uncomfortable he had been making things around the resort. She was committed to making things better for all of us.
Again, I had to admit that she was a good boss. She would do whatever it took to help out her employees. I respected that.
Near the end of the meeting, Bailey got back up to close things out. “I just also wanted to thank everyone for the work that you’ve been putting in over the past couple weeks,” she said. “And to thank you in advance for the work you’ll put in while we close out this busy holiday season. I know that things have been pretty crazy this year, but I’ve heard so many great things about all of you guys from our guests. Guests who plan on making Brooks Mountain part of their yearly holiday traditions. So keep up the good work, and again, let me know if there’s anything that I can do to help you out!”
It was a positive note to end the meeting on, and I could see smiles around the room as everyone started to file out. Bailey’s eyes caught mine, and I nodded at her. She immediately made a beeline over to me, something that I hadn’t anticipated.
