“I know we talked about this a little bit when I did the interview initially. But I think what I really need to know is what exactly you want the guests to experience when they come to the hotel. I mean, beyond just a list of activities that are offered. That’s obvious.”
“I don’t know. I want them to have a good experience,” Cody said. “So that we get good reviews, and they come back.”
She knew that he wasn’t being entirely honest. Because he didn’t start this as a money-making venture in a vacuum. Butgetting down to the why of anything that he did seemed like it was going to require intense work. The man was so closed off.
He didn’t even want to share this. Which made her think there was something deep that he wanted. Something emotional that he wanted people to take away.
She was no stranger to trying to keep her gooey center hidden. In fact, it was why this whole discussion had made her slightly uncomfortable.
She didn’t even like to admit to herself how much security-seeking she had done her whole life. And she especially didn’t want to reflect on it now.
“I can do that,” she said. “I am very good at customer service.”
“That’s good,” Lila said. “Because the only one of us who’s even sort of good at it is Walker, and that’s just because he’s so disingenuous.”
She could see, clearly, that neither Cody nor Lila had a disingenuous bone in their bodies. Had no inclination or ability to tell a lie, and in the present moment, she found that somewhat reassuring.
“That’s okay. I’m very good at taking complaints. It’s my job. So, I can certainly get into the space where I let the customer be right about everything. But I hope that we don’t have very many incidents. I think the facility is great, and as long as I have the resources to keep it running and a competent staff, I think it’s going to be smooth sailing.”
It was very organized. Cody might hate paperwork, but clearly, he had done his due diligence in getting this place up and running.
“I suppose I ought to take you down to the cabins.”
“Oh, that would be great,” she said. “I’d love to see those. Really, I think I need to do a whole tour of the facility. But I also… I need to get a car. Except…”
She didn’t want to get into this in front of them. She shouldn’t have mentioned it at all.
“I have to check some things.”
“What things?”
She gritted her teeth. “Well. To be perfectly honest with you, I don’t know if I have a car budget left in my account. Because it’s not my account. I have a joint account with my… My ex-husband, pending, and I think because I was shocked, I just didn’t even think about money until I got here, and then I haven’t looked and –”
“We have an extra car,” Cody said. “Well, it’s a truck, and it’s older than Lila. But it should be able to get you around the property. And into town if need be. I wouldn’t want to take it on a long road trip.”
“Oh, you don’t have to offer me that,” she said.
“Sure, I do. Don’t worry about it. Nobody’s using it. When you leave, you can leave the truck. But you might as well drive it. Then you don’t have to worry about whatever happened with the money.”
That was kind. Cody might not be nice, on the surface, but he was a good man, she could see that. That might’ve made her feel slightly more at ease if she could catch her breath at all. If she could do something to de-escalate the nerves coursing through her body every time she looked at him.
Nerves, that was a very polite way of sayingarousal.
Because that was what it was. Plain and simple.
When she looked at the man, she felt like she was being lit on fire, and maybe part of her was just desperate for that feeling. Because she felt wrung out, abandoned, unattractive, unloved, and she’d had too much of all that in her life.
But there was no worse idea for easing that feeling than Cody Grayson. That was for sure.
“Why don’t I take you to get the vehicle, and we can do the cabinstomorrow. I know that you have your stuff coming in the moving truck then.”
“Yeah. That sounds like a good idea,” she said.
“All right.”
Cody stood, and she noticed that his lunch was largely untouched.
She had polished off her sandwich, and she stood too.
