“I think the Duchess is lucky to have Rosie,” Drew said. “I’m sure she and her team can turn the place around. In fact, last Friday, I helped them brainstorm different holiday activities the hotel could offer their guests. Maybe all of you could give us some more ideas.”
Isabella scoffed. “You’re talking to the Queen of Christmas. I’ve got ideas for days. How about a workshop where kids could decorate gingerbread people? I can bake up a bunch for you.”
Her enthusiasm took Rosie aback. When was the last time her sister had offered to help her with anything? “That would be fabulous, Iz.”
“You know what would be really fun?” Mamá said. “Have the staff compete in a gingerbread house contest and put them on display. Then the guests can pick their favorite one.”
“Yes!” Camila said. “Last year, I watched the Holiday Baking Showdown on the Food Network, and they did a couple of episodes featuring gingerbread houses.”
“See if you can get any travel influencers to visit the hotel,” Isabella suggested. “I know a few on TikTok if you need some names.”
Rosie could hardly believe it. Just like that, her whole family was in her corner. All because Drew had asked their advice—something she hadn’t done in years. Usually she wanted them to back off, especially when it came to weighing in on her work life, but she’d never considered soliciting their help.
As Drew continued to encourage them, she felt a twinge of regret. Because even if she didn’t need a real boyfriend right now, she wished his support wasn’t just an act.
Six
49 Days UntilChristmas
By the time Rosie made it to the hotel’s conference room on Tuesday afternoon, Charlie and Selena were already there, along with Laurel—the fourth member of the Damsels—who worked as the hotel’s sales and marketing manager. She was a tall white woman with straw-blond hair, freckles, and an easy smile. Though she’d grown up in a rural part of Vancouver Island, she’d come to love living and working in Victoria. She stood at the table, unpacking the food Rosie had ordered for their lunch meeting.
“Sorry I’m late,” Rosie said. “I just came from Preston’s office. He might stop by the conference room in a bit to hear about our ideas.”
Charlie made a face. “I thought this was supposed to be a casual brainstorming session. It won’t be casual if he’s looking over our shoulders.”
“He won’t be here for a while yet,” Rosie said. “He was about to take a call from the owners about the hotel’s numbers.”
Hearing that had made her nervous. As a general rule, the owners of the hotel weren’t involved in the day-to-day running of the Duchess. But they had to know the hotel’s numbers weren’t good. A lot of it was due to the ineptitude of the previous GM, an entitled trust fund bro who’d cared more about hosting his buddies than attracting paying guests. Every time Rosie had come to him with an idea for increasing their visibility in Victoria’s crowded tourist market, he’d shot her down.
Even if their new boss had high expectations, at least he wanted the Duchess to succeed. While his holiday initiative would entail a lot of work, it could make a difference in the hotel’s year-end financials. If the hotel earned enough money, the owners might finally commit to renovating the rooms.
Was that too much to hope for? Maybe so, but Rosie was going to try her hardest. She never did anything halfway.
She went to the front of the conference room, where she’d set up a whiteboard. On it, she wrote down every idea they’d come up with so far, as well as the suggestions her family had offered two nights ago. Today’s objective was to winnow them down to a manageable number and figure out how they could put them into action without spending a fortune. After meeting with the hotel’s head accountant yesterday, she’d learned their holiday budget was minimal. In the past, it had only been used to cover the expense of decorations in the lobby and the breakfast room.
She pointed to the board. “I put a lot of suggestions up here. Some might not be feasible, but I want us to consider every possible option. Does anyone—”
“Hang on,” Selena said. “We’re not going to talk about this until we get the scoop on you and Drew. Charlie told me all about your devious dating plan, but she kept it PG. Which doesn’t sound nearly as enjoyable as it could be.”
Laurel let out a grunt of frustration. “Of course this happened theonetime I missed out on happy hour. I need more details. My dating life has been so boring that even faking it sounds appealing.”
“Faking it?” Selena said. “If there’s sex involved, I hope you don’t feel the need to fake anything. You deserve as much pleasure as he does.”
Rosie rolled her eyes. After her talk with Charlie on Saturday, she’d agreed to let her friend tell the other two Damsels about her agreement with Drew. She just hadn’t expected to be grilled on it right away.
“First of all, Drew and I are just friends, so there’s nothing R-rated going on. And second, I don’t have much to tell. It’s only been a few days since we made this arrangement.”
“But he went to your parents’ house for dinner on Sunday, right?” Charlie said. “How did that go?”
Try as she might, Rosie couldn’t stop herself from smiling. “It went great. My mom sent him home with a Rubbermaid container filled with leftovers. He also got my family to brainstorm festive ideas for the hotel.”
“What a guy,” Laurel said. “Can you explain why you’re not dating him for real?”
“Nope.” Rosie crossed her arms. “Not when we’re on a deadline. We need to focus.”
Laurel shot Selena a grin. “You know they’re going to end up in bed, don’t you?”
“Obviously,” Selena said. “And not to objectify Drew, but have you seen him in action on the gym floor? He’s got muscles for days.”
