“Okay, let’s talk,” he said, and glanced in my direction before placing his glass on a leather coaster on the table. I took a quick sip of my own drink and did the same.
He picked up the tablet and unlocked it. “Things were pretty crazy today, weren’t they?”
A prickle of nervousness danced across my mind, and I found myself reaching for the glass I’d just put down for another sip. I wasn’t sure where to start, and I didn’t know how much Mr. Klein knew about what had happened in the kitchen.
“Nolan spoke to me,” he continued with a sigh. “Seems like the two of you got off on the wrong foot.”
He didn’t seem like he was angry with me, at least not the way Nolan was. It was a small relief, but I still didn’t know what to expect. His expression seemed concerned rather than disappointed, though.
“Yeah,” I said softly, staring down at my drink and wishing I could down it all in one go. “I messed up there. Sorry, Mr. Klein.”
“Call me Landon, please. And Nolan’s not an easy guy to get along with,” he answered. I noticed his hand reach in my direction, but he hesitated and pulled back. I wondered whether he’d had the urge to put it on my knee and had eventually decided against it. “I’m sure even if everything had gone down perfectly, he would’ve found a reason to argue with someone. I wouldn’t take it too personally if I were you.”
“I guess,” I shrugged. “But I did a lot of stupid things. Almost ruined the tasting.”
“Mm.” Landon was in thought for a moment, like he was searching for what to say about my screw-ups that wouldn’t come over as too harsh. It was interesting to see him be so kind, especially since I had expected strict rigidity from him.
“Look, I’m not going to lie, you did throw a wrench in the works,” he finally concluded. “But I’m going to chalk that up to first-day jitters for now. Try and make sure it doesn’t happen again, and for the love of all that is holy, don’t try to touch random things in the kitchen if you don’t absolutely have to.”
His short chuckle after that sentence made me laugh along with him. “Promise, I won’t.”
“Good.” He flipped to an app on the tablet, before reaching to take another sip of his drink. Finally, he sat back somewhat in the chair, like he was getting slightly more comfortable. I liked seeing this side of him, maybe a little too much. “Honestly, the best way to deal with Nolan is just to stay out of his way. If you can manage that, you’ll be fine.”
I wasn’t sure that I could. Working with Nolan was a big part of my job. I’d probably have to at least talk to him every single day. But maybe I could do that without physically running into him.
“Thanks for the advice,” I said with a smile, glancing down at the tablet. “Full schedule tomorrow, huh?”
“It’s mostly an everyday thing,” Landon confirmed. “We’ve got Reggie’s breakfast again, a few requests for helicopters, two private dining room events, and Mr. Thatcher’s day trip. You have all of the briefs for those, right?”
I nodded confidently. “I’ll look over them again, and don’t worry, I won’t be giving Reggie anyone else’s helicopter this time.”
That seemed to amuse him, and the corner of Landon’s mouth lifted into a half-smile that threatened to make me melt. Once again, I had to look away for a moment. This was ridiculous. I could absolutely not develop a crush on my boss. It was completely and utterly and entirelyoff-limits.
“Right, Reggie,” he stretched the name out as if he was exasperated. “I probably should give you a bit of intel about him. Actually, maybe about all of the VIPs. You’ll be dealing with them often, and I don’t want them to eat you alive.”
I raised both eyebrows, now clasping the glass of whiskey in my hands as if it were a mug of coffee. “They can’t be that bad.”
“Not always,” he replied, pulling his lips in a tight line for a moment. “And if you know how to deal with them, they’re fairly easy to survive. But… Well, if you don’t know them well enough, you might have a horrible time here.”
“I see.”
“Reggie’s not that bad,” he went on, pulling up a profile on the tablet with Reggie’s picture.
It looked like he had a whole list of all of the regular guests with details on each; maybe to keep them organized in his own head. I made a note to try and create lists of my own. I’d already realized how tough it was going to be to remember everything I had to do. Adding everyone’s personal and often ridiculous preferences and requests without noting them down would be almost impossible.
“With him, you really just need to know how to haggle,” he explained. “He’s going to ask for a lot, and usually at the last minute. Half of the time, it’s something we simply can’t do without jeopardizing one of the other guests. Like you saw today.”
“I’m sorry about that,” I answered, feeling the heat in my cheeks. “I really thought I was being helpful.”
“It’s fine. When you’re working with Reggie, always make sure that you double-check everything he’s asking for. Offer something else if it isn’t possible. He’s fairly easily swayed with agood bottle of liquor and rare food. As long as you don’t outright say no to him, you should be fine.”
I thought about that morning. I had been right about one thing; Reggie wasn’t used to being rejected. It looked like the best way to deal with him was just to corral him in a different direction.
“Got it,” I said with a sharp nod. “Reggie needs a border collie.”
Landon actually laughed at that, and the moment made my heart skip a beat. “Yeah, exactly. Next up; Isabella Radcliff. I believe you met her assistant today.”
“Oh, the laptop issue,” I said, remembering the first problem I’d run into that morning. “I believe they were moved to 544.”
