It was mindless work, but it let her thoughts wander while her hands stayed busy. She wiped down the counters and washed and scrubbed until the dishes shone. All the while, her mind churned through numbers and timelines and the cold, hard truth she had to face:
She was not going to finish this job in two months.
Unlike her projects at Sol-Arc Industries, a set timeline would not yield the measurable results she was used to getting. Even if she poured everynitshe could scrape together intorepairs, even if every system was restored to perfect working order, it might not be enough to know if Moone’s Landing could succeed in such a short period of time.
The problem went beyond repairs. The station needed travelers withnitsto spend at the station. It needed income. It needed to climb out of the pit of terrible reviews that had accumulated over years of neglect.
So even if she stayed and gave up her position at Sol-Arc Industries for good, she could still fail. The travelers who had stopped coming might never return. New ones might be scared off by the reviews and never come. She could pour her heart and soul into this place and still watch it fail. Still watch it fall into Rest ’N Recharge’s or Complete Respite’s hands. Charles would get his statue. The forest would die. The residents would have to leave. Holly would be starting over with nothing, and the thought of that sent ice down her spine.
Holly finished wiping down the last counter and surveyed her work. The kitchen was spotless and ready for someone who actually knew how to cook. As she thought that, her wrist comm blinked. She checked it to see a message from Rasker Vipp. Her brow went taut, but it was just the muffin recipe. He’d sent it to her, just as he’d said he would.
Rasker Vipp was the complicated cherry on top of the hot mess sundae that was currently her life. She’d be lying if she said she felt no attraction to him. But she wasn’t foolish enough to let her thoughts wander in that direction. Rasker was here on a mission, and while shehopedhis friendliness was genuine, itwaspossible that he was playing with her. For her own sanity and survival, she needed to keep a cool head when it came to the Nakrian consultant staying in room seventeen.
Holly gathered the remaining muffins onto a plate. Nine of them. She had eaten another one while she cleaned, unable to resist. Rasker had been right. They really were delicious.
The short walk back to her unit was quiet. Holly pushed open her door and stepped inside.
Bean lifted his head from the couch, regarded her with mild interest, then lifted his nose as he detected the scent ofsomething which could be eaten.
“They’re muffins,” she told him. “I can’t give you one. Your gas is bad enough to kill my plants.”
Undeterred, the little dog lumbered down from the couch and trotted over to her, gazing up hopefully.
Holly set the tray on the table and sank into a chair. The week had been long. Good, in many ways. The garden with Mish. The baking with Rasker. Bean was warming up to her a little. But good things didn’t pay for repairs, and warm feelings didn’t fix broken systems.
She picked up a muffin and took a bite. Still delicious, even cooled.
Luv rolled into the room, squeaking loudly. “Do not give that dog a piece of muffin.”
“I’m not going to,” Holly said between bites. “What do you care, though?Youcan’t smell his gas.”
“He needs to stay on his diet or he messes in the unit,” Luv replied. “I’m not cleaning that up.”
Holly chewed thoughtfully on her muffin. “Luv, why don’t you let Sam take a look at your rollerball? He can adjust it for you so you don’t squeak.”
The robot’s optical sensors blinked. “I can’t go to the control tower because I can’t leave the hotel.” Luv’s tone was flat. Final.
Holly set down her muffin. “What do you mean, you can’t leave?”
Instead of answering, Luv’s speakers crackled, and a voice emerged that made Holly’s skin prickle. It was old and male, cranky and belligerent.
“Luv is not leaving this hotel. I need it here.”
Then a woman’s voice, patient but strained and sounding like Alyce: “Charles, Luv needs regular maintenance at the?—”
The old man again, louder now: “My robot stays here with me?—”
“Stop.” Holly’s voice came out sharper than she intended. “Luv, stop the recording.”
The voices cut off immediately. Luv’s optical sensors blinked.
Holly pressed a hand to her stomach. “I’ve never heard my grandfather’s voice before. He sounded like a cruel person. He called you ‘it.’”
Luv did not respond to that.
No wonder Luv reacted so strongly when Holly had made that initial mistake. Holly rubbed her arms, though the room wasn’t cold. She had known Charles Moone was difficult. Her mother had made that clear. But hearing the way he spoke made it real in a way that Mr. Binn’s polite descriptions had not.
“Charles set my boundary parameters to the inside of this building,” Luv said. “I am physically incapable of rolling past the lobby door.”
