Lauren lays her hands flat on the desk. “Maya has had a difficult time keeping Mr. Evans on schedule. He even considered not doing the interview. However, I spoke with his manager a few minutes ago and was able to make sure we are back on track.”
Mr. Mynt sits forward. “That’s great work, Lauren!”
“Thank you, sir.”
Mr. Mynt then stands and walks toward the door. Pausing, he turns around and says, “I’ll meet you in the conference room for the interview.”
“I’ll be there!” Lauren smiles as Mr. Mynt exits. Then, she turns her attention back to me. “I understand this is your first time hosting such an important guest. It’s my fault for thinking you were ready.”
My mind is spinning.
Did Lauren just blame me for Eddie missing his events and then take credit for getting him to do the interview?
She must not know, or doesn’t care, that he had headaches from the stress and memories this event brought on. I’m not going to share his personal information, but this really sucks.
I swallow. “I tried my best to accommodate Mr. Evans. He wasn’t feeling well—”
Lauren holds up her hand, interrupting me. “Listen, I don’t buy for a second Mr. Evans wasn’t feeling well, and you shouldn’t have either. I told you he was hesitant to come. It was your job to find a way to make his time here successful. On top of that, I got a call from Mr. Gray last night, telling me Eddie didn’t want to do the interview. Furthermore, he was planning to leave this morning.” Lauren stands. “Well, it’s a good thing I was able to talk to Mr. Evans and convince him otherwise. Now, he’s happily doing the interview, which I need to get to.”
Lauren heads to the door. I stand to follow her. She stops, puts her hand on her hip and says, “You are no longer Mr. Evans’s host. I’ll be doing the job myself.”
My heart drops. “What? What will I do?”
Lauren looks at a mirror hanging near the door and adjusts her bangs. Without looking at me she says, “The housekeeping crew is swamped. Head to the basement immediately for laundry duty. You can report there until further notice.”
I feel tears welling up. I’m angry, and I’m sad, and I’m disappointed. How did everything go south so quickly? There’s no way Eddie will be okay with Lauren hosting him, right?
It doesn’t matter. I’ll be spending my foreseeable future in the dungeon, a.k.a the laundry room.
It’s probably better this way. Eddie is leaving soon. I let myself get caught in Holly’s world of romantic fantasy. Eddie is a professional athlete, and I’m just a resort worker. My time with him was great, but it was temporary. It’s over now.
Chapter 19
Eddie
Istandwithwobblylegs after talking to Mr. Mynt for nearly an hour. I’m relieved the interview is finally over, but I can’t find Maya. I waited for her in the lobby, but some lady named Lauren escorted me and Roger to a conference room before she arrived. I was thrown off because Maya is always on time, but I know she had to pick up her friend Holly for work. Maybe that messed with her schedule.
I’m about to text her when I notice a message. It’s from Maya. “Hey, I hope the interview went well. Sorry I couldn’t make it.”
That’s weird. I hope nothing happened. I’m about to text back when I notice Roger talking to Mr. Mynt.
They shake hands, and Roger comes my way. “You nailed it!” His giant smile is back. “Now, all that’s left is the Merry Mynt Ball tomorrow. If you attend that—and stay the whole time—the sponsorship is on track.”
“That’s good,” I say, not as excited as I probably should be. The sponsorship is important, but that’s not why I did the interview. My new goal is to honor Joey—whether that’s as a pro tennis player or not.
The interview was an opportunity to raise awareness about the dangers of distracted driving. I can’t bring Joey back, but I can share about his life. And maybe, I can prevent someone else from losing someone they love.
I have another idea in mind to honor Joey too. I was looking forward to running it by Maya. She is so good with people, I was hoping she might even be interested in helping me make it happen.
“Roger,” I say, “have you seen Maya?”
He looks around the room with me. “Now that you mention it, I haven’t. Do you want me to ask Lauren where she is?”
“No, that’s fine.” I don’t want to get her into trouble if she is supposed to be here. “I’m just going to head up to my room. Can you let her know I’m there if you see her?”
“I can do that,” Roger says as he pats me on the back. I think he might be the most excited about the interview and sponsorship, which makes sense considering he is in charge of paying the bills. I’m glad that I’ve lightened his load.
I make my way to the elevator, scanning for Maya the whole time. There’s no sign of her though.
