“Of course.” By now, Charlie knew everyone’s favorite flavor. For instance, Knox couldn’t resist a honey cruller. She’d already set one aside and planned to bring it to him when he showed up for work later.
Selena Reyes walked in, pushing a cart laden with a full coffee service. As the hotel’s food and beverage manager, she could be counted on to supply them with decent coffee. “I brewed us the good stuff—French roast from Alma’s Beanery.” She gave Rosie an appraising stare. “Look at you, with your gorgeous tan. I figured you and Drew would spend your entire vacation in bed.”
“I’ll have you know we went on five different hikes.” Rosie grinned. “Though we did have sex outside once. That’s a new one for me.”
“You had sex outside?” Laurel Gibson, the hotel’s sales and marketing manager, came into the room, carrying a stack of orange folders. “I didn’t think you were that bold.”
“I’m not a total prude,” Rosie said. “Besides, it’s not like you’ve ever had sex outdoors.”
“Wanna bet? I grew up on a farm.” Laurel gave a toss of her straw-blond hair, then passed out the folders. “There’s one for each of you, and it includes a tentative schedule of events for September and October. Fair warning, we’ve got a lot going on.”
Charlie took one and peeked at the schedule. Laurel wasn’t kidding. This fall was going to be busier than ever.
“Thanks for getting it all organized,” Rosie said. “I’m so glad we’re not scrambling to get our events on everyone’s radar, like last Christmas. Preston also agreed to increase our advertising budget. As you’ve probably guessed, he wants us to ‘go hard’ on Halloween.”
“Of course he does,” Selena muttered. “He’s not the one doing all the work.”
“At least he hasn’t fired us,” Charlie said.
Last November, when Preston had come on board as the hotel’s new GM, all four of them had been in danger of losing their jobs. He’d given them a chance to prove their worth when he challenged them to increase the hotel’s occupancy rate by making it more holiday-forward. The Damsels’ efforts had attracted so many new guests that they’d all been allowed to stay. Ever since then, he’d insisted they “lean into” every holiday.
Laurel pointed to the folders. “Take a minute to look through everything. Now that September’s here, we’re going to offer fall-themed activities for a few weeks before ramping up to spooky season in October.”
Charlie passed the box of donuts around, then grabbed an apple fritter for herself, along with a cup of coffee. As she reviewed Laurel’s list of events, she grew excited. Fall was her favorite season in Victoria, and she enjoyed participating in the hotel’s holiday activities. Not to mention, she was eager to share her news aboutCanada’s Most Haunted.
Laurel called them to attention ten minutes later. “Given that Halloween is one of the biggest holidays of the year, I want to focus on planning for it first. I’ve probably mentioned it before, but my roommate, Celia, works as a part-time guide for Historic Hauntings, giving ghostly walking tours of Victoria. In exchange for promoting her tours to our guests, she’ll offer us a discounted rate. She could even arrange a few private tours, if there’s enough interest.”
“That’s great,” Rosie said. “Those tours get super popular around Halloween.”
Charlie couldn’t wait any longer. She was so antsy she was practically jumping out of her chair. “Speaking of ghosts, I have to tell you about the latest development. I’ve been sitting on this for three days, and it’s killing me.Canada’s Most Hauntedis coming to Victoria.”
“Ooh, I love that show,” Laurel said. “Where are they filming?”
Charlie felt a touch of pride, knowing she had the inside scoop. “They haven’t decided yet, but they’re considering shooting an episode at the Duchess.”
The silence that followed was…unnerving.
Rosie spoke up first. “You know the Duchess isn’t haunted, right?”
“We’re not even mentioned on Celia’s ghost tour,” Laurel added.
Charlie had yet to do any research on the hotel’s history, but she’d sought out Knox two days ago to get more information about the show. As she went on to explain the situation to the Damsels, her anxiety kicked in, making her wonder if she’d been too hasty in agreeing to work on this project.
“Are you saying we’d have to pretend our hotel is haunted?” Selena asked. “Are we going to dress up in sheets and frighten people? Or hide out and make scary noises?”
“And why did Preston pick you as the point person?” Laurel said. “Since when are you a fan of spooky reality shows?”
“I’m not, but…” Charlie cringed. “I got roped into it because Preston told me Knox needed my help. So, I…” She trailed off as she caught the others’ knowing looks. “What?”
“Oh, hon.” Selena sighed. “You don’t have to work on this show to get close to Knox. Just lure him into a dark corner and kiss him. Break the spell he’s under and turn him from a beast back into a human. Like inBeauty and the Beast.”
“Are you serious? I can’t imagine being that pushy.”
“But you wouldn’t be helping with this ghost show if he wasn’t part of the deal,” Selena said. “Right?”
“It’s not just that. I’m always up for anything that helps the Duchess stand out. It’s an important part of my job.” No matter how exhausted or stressed-out she got, Charlie always tried her best to be a goodwill ambassador. To make the hotel an appealing place for everyone who stayed there. From an early age, she’d trained herself to be a people-pleaser, because her mother had only praised her when she presented a positive face to the world.
When no one responded right away, she reached for the lone chocolate glazed donut in the box. Being in the hot seat required a few more carbs. “Anyway, it’s too late to back out now. Knox agreed to help Preston, and I agreed to help Knox, and somehow, we have to make this hotel a little more haunted.”
