Holly had not seen a single cleaning bot. “I don’t think Moone’s Landing has had them in quite some time, Mom.”
Her father let out a low whistle. “I had no idea the outpost wassorustic.”
“Neither did I.” Holly took note of where Bean had made his deposit so she could clean it up later, then turned around and began walking back toward the hotel, Bean trotting alongside her.
She thought about mentioning the untouched childhood room to her mother and decided to wait on that. There was a tightness in Mirth’s voice that made Holly wonder if her mother had spent their call braced for some information exactly like that. Moone’s Landing was a complicated topic for both of them, in different ways. “Anyway, I’ll have to look into cleaning bots.”
Her parents wished her luck, and Holly ended the call with a promise to check in soon. She made her way out of the forest and back across the square to the hotel, and breakfast. Bean seemed content now that he had done his business, his white-tipped tail swinging as they walked.
Holly pushed open the hotel door and stopped short. Bean’s tail stopped wagging and dropped as he spotted a young man in the lobby, being sternly spoken to by Alyce. Holly knew instantly who he was. It looked like today was the day she was going to meet her elusive cousin Cody.
Eleven
Alyce was shorter than him, but she had a certain power that made her seem to loom over him anyway. Her gold eyes blazed. Her hands were fisted on her hips as she snapped at the young man who looked half awake at most. “Youcannotdemand full pay when you don’t work the hours you were hired to work,” Alyce said in a voice that could have cut glass. “That’s not how employment functions.”
The young man held up his hands in a gesture of peace. “Relax, Alyce. Chill. All I’m saying is, the agreement I made with Charles was for a certain amount. And you, you know, don’t have the authority to halt my payments.”
“Oh, yes I do.” Alyce’s voice dropped to a low, lethal growl and Holly approached them carefully. Bean strained toward Alyce and his panting alerted them both to Holly’s presence. But Alyce did not break her glare at the young man. “I’mawareof your agreement. And it clearly states that you must work the hours to be paid, not that anyonewantsto eat your food.”
Yup. This was definitely Cody.
Holly took him in. He was tall and lanky, with longish hair that flopped over his forehead and to his shoulders in waves. He wore shorts and sandals despite the fact that he was supposedto be a cook. A collection of necklaces hung around his neck, beads and crystals and leather cords layered over one another. His whole vibe was relaxed to the point of boneless.
When he spotted Holly, his face lit up with a wide, easy smile. “Cousin!” He came toward her with his arms spread wide and pulled her into a hug before she could stop him. “Finally. It’s been so long since we’ve seen each other.”
Holly did not hug him back. She eased away, with a cleared throat and a suppressed wince. He smelled sweet, like some kind of oil or incense. It was cloying up close. Bean moved closer to Alyce, who finally bent and scratched behind his ear.
“I’m sure we’ve never met,” she said cooly, determined to handle this better than her meeting with Rasker Vipp. “You must be Cody.”
“That’s me.” He beamed at her like they were old friends. “Welcome to Moone’s Landing. It’s so great to be able to work with family, you know? Family is everything. Family islife.”
Holly ignored that and looked between him and Alyce. “What’s going on here?”
Alyce’s expression remained tight. “Cody is demanding full pay without working the hours he’s supposed to work. Nor does he keep the kitchen up to regulation standards. He confronted me about his account not receiving the full amount and I am explainingwhyhe has not received it.”
Cody spread his hands again. “Alyce doesn’t understand that my meditation practice is an important part of my personal cosmic journey. I can’t just skip it because I’m supposed to be slicing vegetables or cleaning pots. Dunno how Alyce knows my hours anyway.” He sent Alyce a sulky look. “It’s not like she’s ever in the lounge.”
Alyce’s lips pursed. “The kitchen appliances automatically shut off when no staff are present, to prevent guests from usingthem and possibly hurting themselves. The system logs the time.”
“Oh.” Cody’s smile faltered. “That’s…huh. I didn’t know that.”
Holly turned to her cousin and tried to keep her voice even. “Cody, the station can only pay you for the hours you actually worked. And a dirty kitchen isn’t safe. That’s how it has to be.”
Cody’s shoulders slumped. “That’s a bummer, cuz. A real bummer.”
Holly bent down to untangle Bean’s leash from where he had wound it around Alyce’s legs, then straightened and faced Cody again. She winced internally, but she knew she had to address this. “I haven’t tried your food yet, but I think we’re going to have to have a talk about…” She glanced down at his footwear. “Lots of things. Do youcookin open-toed sandals?”
“Oh, sure.” He wiggled his toes. “My feet need tobreathe, you know?”
“No,” Holly said. “That’s pretty gross. And unsafe.”
Cody waved a hand and smiled. “Aw, don’t worry, cuz. I don’tcookwith my feet. But that would be a cool trick, right?”
Alyce gave Holly a look that said,see what I mean?Holly knew in her gut that Cody was not going to be working at the hotel much longer. “Cody, we’re going to have to?—”
“Look, cousin,” he said, cutting her off. “I make great food.Amazingfood.” He put a hand on his chest. “Stop by the lounge and I’ll make you something incredible. You’ll see.”
“I have,” Holly said flatly. “You’re never there.” She also knew that from the unclean state of the kitchen, she would never be eating Cody’s food. She needed to let him go, but she had an appointment with Alyce and didn’t want to derail it by havingthatconversation at that exact moment. “I think we need to have a talk, Cody.” She infused enough foreboding in her voiceto made it clear that it wasn’t going to be ahappytalk, but he seemed clueless.
