Page 77 of Manhattan Kiss

“Of course,” I say, following her into the office she shares with Poppy. I fiddle with my gray silk scarf again. I hope she’s not mad. Taking it off would be humiliating.

“How are things?” she asks, taking a seat at the table by the window.

“Good,” I say. “Is everything okay?”

Poppy comes in. “Hi,” she says. “I’m glad Avril found you. Has she told you?”

My gaze bounces between the two sisters.

“We think we’ve found a site for a Boston hotel,” she says, as she takes a seat around the table.

“Yes, it was such a big deal, because Worth doesn’t want to get involved with another hotel unless he owns the building, so it narrows our choices.”

“Oh,” I say. “That sounds expensive.”

“Right?” Poppy says. “It’s a lot of capital to tie up, but I think it makes long-term business sense. The problem is, the owners of the building aren’t usually the people who run the hotel.”

I nod. “It’s the same in the UK. The Rookery is an exception because it was a family hotel for a long time.”

Poppy grins at me. “Exactly. That’s what we’re trying to build. Family hotels. We don’t want to be too corporate. That’s why I think you’ve fit in so well to Hotel on Ninth Street. You get our vibe.”

“Vibe. Listen to our finance person,” Avril says, lifting her chin toward her sister.

I can’t hold back my laugh, and Poppy joins in.

“But I’m serious,” Poppy says. “Most people just come in and want to do their job, but I think because of our chemistry and your background, it’s different. It’s better than we could have hoped.”

“Definitely,” Avril says.

“Thank you so much. And I’m enjoying it more than I thought I would.”

“Is that because of us, or Mr. Room 325?”

It’s like my cheeks have been set on fire. “It’s definitely the job,” I say, even though the job is only part of why I’m enjoying my time here. Deacon has a role to play for sure.

“Liar, liar, pants on fire,” Avril says and then she bursts into laughter. “You see? I would have an HR problem if I said that to anyone else. I feel like we’re family. Not because we’ve known each other a long time, but because of…”

“The vibe,” Poppy says. We all laugh. She’s not wrong.

“But now we have a Boston hotel in our sights, that’s going to take our focus a lot. And it means that Hotel on Ninth Street is going to need more from…you.”

My heart thuds in my chest.

“More?” I ask.

“Aurora, you’re so capable,” Poppy says. “You could be director of rooms in your sleep. And you handle deputy manager really well. How about you step up into the general manager role?”

It’s such a compliment that they think I’m doing such a good job and feel I could do more. It’s incredibly flattering. It would be easy to say yes. But there are lots of reasons to say no. “But what about you?” I say, turning to Avril.

“I would be CEO of Boston and here. So, it’s not that big a change. We did talk about this being a possible opportunity.”

“I know,” I say. “I just didn’t expect this to happen so quickly.”

“You’re wasted in your current role. You’re amazing with guests, but the staff love you. And they respect you. You’d be such a great fit.”

I think about Deacon. What would he say?

“You’re asking for me to step up into that new role until I leave?” I ask “From now?”