Men had never been her favorite. Not as a general species. Aiden had laughed with her about that, and she’d said often to him, thank God —thank God!— that she didn’t have to date.
All the while, he’d been one of the men she hadn’t respected, and he’d just smiled and laughed with her, gotten into bed beside her, and turned out his bedside light like he wasn’t a liar and a cheater.
“I thought it would do us all good to sit down and go over the plan,” Cody said.
Lila smirked, picked up the pitcher of lemonade, and poured Marlowe a glass, without Marlowe confirming that she wanted one. She took it and thanked her.
“I love to see you in planning mode,” Lila said, looking at her older brother. “Because I know you hate it.”
“I don’t hate it,” Cody said.
This was fascinating. A look at the way the people around him interacted with him, the people who were familiar with him. His family.
She tried not to be interested in that. Tried not to feel like she was mining the interaction for gold.
She was.
“Yeah, you do,” Lila said cheerfully. “Cody is happiest when he’s outdoors. He isn’t one for paperwork.”
“None of us are,” Walker said. “But unfortunately, running a ranch and the business that we’re building within that requires a lot of paperwork. I’m sure that I don’t have to tell you that.”
“Paperwork is a lifestyle choice that I’ve made,” Marlowesaid. And tried not to think about all the paperwork that would be involved with a divorce.
She blinked and dragged herself out of that thought. “But, I don’t really mind it. Lila, I’m under the impression that you and I have some crossover responsibilities?”
Lila nodded. “Yeah. I’ve been liaising with vendors for supplies for the hotel. Linens, drinks, things like that. I hired the grounds crew and housekeeping for the hotel. We have local wineries that are putting wine in the little store in the lobby, but we also have bigger drink companies supplying our fridges for room service and for the restaurant.”
“Good,” she said. “And you’re managing scheduling?”
Lila nodded. “That was the idea.”
“You don’t have to do that. I think it would be easier if I did it, since I’m going to be at the hotel every day. But I’m happy to let you take on broader operations.”
“Oh. Sure,” Lila said.
She seemed happy about that, and not like she thought Marlowe was overstepping, which she was grateful for.
“I haven’t managed a staff this size, but I have managed them before. I just think it’s easier because I’m the one who’s going to be interacting with them every day. So, if something comes up, I’m going to be the one who’s there. The one that they’ll go to first if they need time off, or if they have to go home early, or if they can’t come in because of an illness.”
“What other places have you managed?” Walker asked.
“It’s on her résumé,” Cody said.
“I don’t want the résumé version. I want to hear about it,” Walker said.
“Oh. A guest farm. In Vermont. There were cottages, and a whole working farm besides. That was really fun. And then after that, a bed-and-breakfast in Maine. Which was gorgeous. Right on the beach. But then, for the last couple of years, it’sbeen the bar in Brooklyn. There are guest rooms above it, and it was very different. I didn’t really enjoy it.” She was trying so hard not to saywe.
“All of these jobs seem to be the kind of thing that take over your life,” Walker said.
Those words were a bit too targeted. They were like a small knife blade sliding in between her rib cage.
“I suppose so. Ranching isn’t any different, is it?”
Cody shook his head. “No. I guess you can have an office job, work for somebody else, but then you go home at night, and you leave the job there. In theory. I know that isn’t always true. But then, there is the kind of job that becomes more than half of who you are. I think having a ranch is that. I guess running hotels and resorts is much the same.”
“I’ve lived where I worked for most of my adult life. With the bar, I lived across the street in an apartment. So, that was the furthest away from work I had been for a long time.”
“I guess we all live at work,” Lila said. “Funny. I never really thought of it that way.”
