“Was she now?” I say, plastering a phony smile on my face.
“Uh-huh.” Rosy lifts her eyebrows at me. “Apparently you need lots of help and could use your own intern.”
Rage. So much rage right now that I must stuff down inside so as not to cause a scene in the lobby.
“Who could use their own intern?” That’s the voice of Harrison Banks, resort owner and all-around great boss.
“Nora, apparently,” Rosy says as he joins our little circle.
No, no, no, no! They’re going to think I can’t handle my workload.“No, I didn’t—”
“Are you worried you won’t be able to handle the bartending competition?” Harrison asks, screwing up his face in concern.
“Not at—”
“—Of course, she’s worried,” Mum says. “Not that she’d wantyouto know, of course. This one is independent to a fault.”
“I’m not worriedat all,” I tell him with as much confidence as I can muster. “I have everything under control. While my mother is wrong about me being worried, she is right that I’m independent.”
“To a fault?” Rosy asks.
“Not to a fault,” I assure her, knowing that the more I protest the more I sound like a total liar. “Iamindependent and can easily demonstrate good leadership skills. But not to a fault though as my mum has suggested.”
“See?” Mum says. “Can’t admit she’s in over her head.”
“Because I’m not,” I grind out.
She tilts her head as if to say “I don’t know about that” while Kat suddenly looks interested. I’m fairly certain it’s goteverythingto do with my ridiculously handsome boss, who happens to be a champion surfer, yacht captain, and general outdoorsy god. She’s peering up at him from under her eyelash extensions while I try to send her “he’s way too old for you, happily married, and he’s my boss” vibes. Evidently, she’s not picking them up, because she’s twirling her hair and smiling up at him as if this is a nightclub, not a place of business.
Oh my God. Could this get any worse?
“Listen, Mum, I did say I’d ask around to see if there were any openings for Kat, and I will do that as soon as I have a chance,” I tell her, hoping that she’ll take the hint and leave. “But Harrison and Rosy are extremely busy. Neither of them have time for—”
“It’s okay, Nora,” Harrison says with that winning smile of his. “I always have time to meet a possible new recruit, especially one who’s related to a trusted employee.”
Kat grins up at him and blinks what must be insanely heavy eyelashes. “Maybe you could use an intern. I don’t even need to be paid. I just need work experience.”
Harrison nods, looking impressed. “Unpaid. That’s my kind of employee,” he teases. “What do you say, Rosy? Can we use some help around here?”
“It sounds like Nora certainly could,” Rosy answers.
Shit, shit, shit.“No! I really don’t need any help. Honestly, I’ve got it covered, and I’d hate for you to be accused of nepotism. It reeks of privilege, not to mention being wildly unfair and morally wrong.”
Harrison’s smile fades, and it’s at that exact moment I remember this resort is run on nepotism. “You mean like how I made my sister Emma one of the head chefs?”
“Or how my nephew is on the pool-cleaning crew?” Rosy adds.
“That’s different because you’re… the… bosses. I’m just a worker bee, and both of those people are extremely talented. Emma more so than your nephew, I imagine.”Shut up. Shut up now.“I mean, she did graduate from one of the best culinary schools in the world, so shedeservedto have her brother give her a restaurant.”
Rosy plants a hand on one hip. “Harrison didn’tgiveher that restaurant. She earned it, and she had to work at Eden first. Then she had to prove she had the chops to make it as head chef.”
Where’s a good hurricane when you need one? “I didn’t mean give, that’s not what I meant,” I say, with a nervous laugh. “I just don’t want you two to feel obligated to hire my baby sister. You don’t owe me this type ofmassive favour. Plus, she has no experience at all, and I don’t have time to train her right now anyway.”
I glance at Mum, whose jaw is hanging midway to her chest, and then at Kat, who has flushed cheeks and eyes filled with tears. Oh, the guilt.Fix this now, Nora, you dum-dum!“Not that Kat wouldn’t be a great addition to the team, because she would. She’s bright and friendly, and I’m sure, if given the chance, she’d do a terrific job, but since there aren’t any openings at this time, she’ll carry on looking, and we’ll carry on working.”
“Nora,” Mum hisses. “I can’t believe you’re not willing to help your little sister in her time of need.”
“I am.” My underarms are soaked. I whisper, even though they can all hear me, “But I think you may have put Harrison and Rosy on the spot.”
