“No.” My tone is firm.
The full-time gardener had been released and we hired a landscape firm to tend the grounds every other week—the once beautiful gardens are becoming a sad sight, indeed.
“The landscaping company has other accounts, but Arthur only has one job, his wife is ill, and he’s been loyal to the school for longer than I’ve been alive. If more money continuesto move out rather than in, it’ll be the landscapers, the cook, the housekeepers, and then the additional teachers. Arthur stays with us until the end.” My tone is unyielding.
“I understand you’re sentimental, but that has no room in running a business.” Regina simpers a smile.
A deep furrow slices my brow. I’m not sentimental at all, except once a year, which happened to be the other day. I’m intentional about keeping emotions separate from my professional life—not that I let myself experience many emotions much at all.
“I beg your pardon,” I say as Regina’s words dig in. “I’m not sentimental. I am compassionate.”
I won’t get into details with Regina, but Arthur Fitzgerald relies on the healthcare provided through his job to help with his wife’s ailments. To lay him off right now would be a hardship.
Regina crosses her arms and cocks her hip. “We need an additional thirty-four thousand dollars to cover operating costs, and I don’t see where else we can get it. The landscape service runs fifteen annually, leaving us with nineteen remaining to cover if we remove it from the budget. If we let Arthur go and no longer have to pay his salary, we’d have a surplus.”
My face is made of stone, unshakable. To some, that dollar amount might not sound like much, but in the last several years, since Regina took over as bursar from her previous role as junior headmistress when the position was eliminated, the school has had to count every cent.
“I’m sure our guests can figure out how to open doors by themselves and—” Regina starts in, slighting Arthur’s importance to the operation at Blancbourg.
I hold my hand up in the universal sign for stop. I’ve heard enough. “When do you need these additional funds by?”
“We have thirty days. That’s also when we have our next meeting with the Board of Regents. I requested a meetingbecause things cannot continue in this fashion.” Regina cuts her eyes in my direction, challenging me.
“I will come up with the amounts by then.”
“You mean you’ll try. Believe me, Cateline, I’ve tried. The money isn’t there.” Regina slides some documents across the desk.
I skim them. “Please email me the spreadsheets, account information, and anything else relevant to the budget.”
“Are you suggesting that I missed something? That I don’t know how to do my job? Might I remind you that I’ve been working at Blancbourg for seventeen years? I know everything there is to know about every aspect of every job. You’ve only been?—”
“I’ve been here for almost eight years, less than half your time, as you’re so kind as to remind me with frequency. I, too, am familiar with the functioning of this school. I aim to keep it open so long as I am employed as headmistress.”
The financial straits are real, but given that we pour the majority of our budget into advertising, I find it hard to believe our enrollment would be diving down so deeply.
Regina fingers her brooch. “Of course. I wasn’t suggesting we close Blancbourg, but?—”
“What were you suggesting?”
“I already said. We need to eliminate personnel.”
I hold the door open. “Thank you for alerting me to this issue.”
Regina stumps down the hall.
I call, “Oh, and Mrs. Harrow, considering you’re well versed in the many roles and positions at Blancbourg, then you’ll understand that Arthur is indispensable.”
If the school had a mascot, it would be him. He attends to the guests’ needs, makes them feel comfortable, and is alwayscheerful. All of that, on top of countless behind-the-scenes duties. If anything, he’ll be the last man standing.
I set the papers aside. I’ll take the time to look at the budget later and get to the bottom of the lack of funds, where the money is going, and why it seems like there is never enough.
First, I have to deal with our current roster of clients since, for better or worse, they’re the current moneymakers. I have to be sure they succeed, even if it means putting up with Connor Wolfe and his man muscles.
11
CATELINE
After a brief check-in with the other teachers and getting status updates on each of their clients, I enter the inner courtyard to take a shortcut to the dining area. I’m lost in thought about the terrible first impression I got of Connor and how I can put my irritation aside so that he has a favorable outcome.
