Page 78 of Manhattan Kiss

Poppy and Avril share a glance. “We’d like it to be a permanent position,” Avril says.

Panic slides through my veins. Permanent?

“As much as anything is permanent,” Poppy says.

“What does that mean?” I ask. I haven’t missed home as much as I thought I would. More I’m a little sad I didn’t take a chance to do something different sooner. But I’m not sure I want to make anything permanent. I need time.

“Yeah,” Avril says. “What does that mean?”

“I’m just saying that everything changes all the time. Nothing’s really permanent.”

I study Poppy’s face. I’m not quite sure what point she’s making.

“We want you to take the position permanently, but that might mean you’re with us for a year. Or thirty years. We want you to take the position without an end date.”

“Ahh,” Avril says. “So don’t think about it as a decision that means you have to spend the rest of your life doing it, but the next chapter of your life.”

“Exactly,” Poppy says. “None of us know what’s around the corner. Maybe you’ll get married to Mr. Room 325 and you’ll pop out babies and be too busy to work.”

Something inside me shrivels at the mention of me having babies.

I know that’s not my path. If I was to take the job, I won’t be leaving because I’m pregnant.

“Think about it,” Avril says.

“Just consider extending your stay a little.”

If I accepted the job, The Rookery would find a permanent solution to me not being there. I’d probably find it more difficult to go back home to Chilternshire and pick up where I left off if things didn’t work out here in New York.

I’m not sure if that’s a bad thing or not.

If I was to stay in New York…

Maybe part of Deacon’s attraction to me is because I’m not going to be here for long. He knows we have an end date, so he doesn’t have to worry about me getting too close.

Or maybe he’d be happy.

“I’ll think about it,” I say.

“And you should know, we don’t want to stop at Boston,” Poppy says. “We’re ambitious. We want to keep building this empire. So there will be other opportunities down the line too.”

Being hotel manager is a promotion. A big promotion. And I know I could do it. I’ve been in the industry a long time, so even though I haven’t been at Hotel on Ninth Street for long, I know I wouldn’t feel out of my depth.

“I’ll definitely think about it. And I want to say that I really enjoy working for you both. I love the hotel. The staff is brilliant. It’s a great opportunity.”

Avril’s eyes light up as I speak.

“But there’s a lot to think about. I work in the village where I grew up, and although New York is a wonderful place, I’ve never seen myself anywhere but Woolton.”

Avril nods. “I get it. Just think about it,” she says.

Poppy stands and grabs some papers off her desk. “These are the details of the package. Obviously, there’s a substantial pay raise.”

“Thank you,” I say, standing. “Whatever the outcome, I just want to say thank you for believing in me. It means a lot.”

Hotel work is something I just fell into. It never felt like a passion or a calling at The Rookery. Maybe that’s because I was a teenager when I first started. Many of the staff that were working there then, are still employees, and I think they still see me as the kid who worked at the weekends. I’ve never felt like that at Hotel on Ninth Street. Here, I feel like an adult with a career. I feel like I have my own life.

I head out, clutching the papers, and cross the lobby, trying to tamp down my smile. It’s so flattering that Poppy and Avril want to promote me so quickly. I know some of it is because they want to relieve the pressure on themselves with a site for the Boston hotel being identified. But even so, it’s a huge responsibility to give me, and I know they wouldn’t do it unless they were sure.