Page 46 of No Holds Barred

Angelica knew that Hope could. She’d been cold to Hope before, and it hadn’t even been that long. Hardly more than a week ago. Angelica ran her fingers through her hair and clenched her jaw hard. “Ashlee told us that she has no prior work experience.”

“What?” Hope’s jaw dropped. “None?”

“None,” Angelica confirmed. “I asked her to get the front manager for me because I need to figure out how this place hasn’t been run into the ground in the last year.”

“It’s a miracle it hasn’t,” Hope agreed.

Leanne snorted. “And you think you can figure that all out with one conversation?”

Angelica opened her mouth to answer, but Hope jumped in first.

“It’s a good place to start, don’t you think?” Hope eyed Leanne hard. “Because sitting on our hands and doing nothing isn’t going to help Ashlee learn the skills she needs in order to manage this hotel.”

Angelica couldn’t argue with Hope there. And honestly, it felt good not to have to defend herself. She couldn’t remember the last time that had happened.

“Ashlee needs to ditch this place with someone who can actually run it.” Leanne’s voice ripped through the room.

“No, she doesn’t,” Angelica answered, her voice sharp. “What she needs is someone who can sit with her patiently and teach her what she needs to know and give her the skills she needs. It’s my job to figure out what those are.”

Angelica looked up and winced. Ashlee stood in the doorway, the front manager half a step behind her. Angelica waved both of them in to sit down, but Ashlee’s eyes were red, and Angelica feared she would burst into another round of tears.

“Can we talk to Marian alone for a minute, and then we’ll call you back in?” Angelica asked.

“Yeah,” Ashlee squeaked the word out and then skittered away.

“Hope?” Angelica said. “Would you mind?”

“No, I’m on it.” Though she didn’t stand up immediately, once again sending Leanne a glare that Angelica deeply admired.

As soon as she was gone, Leanne focused on Angelica. “You could learn a lesson or two as well.”

“I’m sure I could.” Angelica sighed and focused on Marian. “Can you tell me, succinctly, how it is that you think this place has managed to keep running in the last year?”

Marian’s jaw dropped before she closed it. “Ashlee’s a very sweet girl.”

That was it exactly, wasn’t it? She was so young, but it wasn’t her age that made her young. It was her innocence, her lack of leadership, the fact that she was devoid of the necessary skills to hold the position that she had.

“Her father keeps putting money into it, I think. But I don’t think he’s doing that anymore.”

“Right.” Angelica should have figured that one out. Anyone who could buy a hotel on a whim would probably be able to afford to keep it afloat for a while too. She sighed. “What do you see as the major issues here?”

“Communication?” Marian said it like it was a question.

“Is that what you actually think is the problem or is it something else?” Angelica dug in deeper. Already her body was weary from sitting in this position for so long, and the aches were starting to cloud her mind. But she needed to stay focused.

“No,” Marian whispered. “Ashlee’s so sweet, but she doesn’t know how to be a boss at all. She can’t balance the books. She doesn’t know how to hold the line on guests when they’re being dicks. And she can’t for the life of her figure out how to manage people.”

That was what Angelica had suspected after learning about Ashlee’s lack of training. “Thank you, Marian.”

Marian skittered off. Angelica folded her hands, the pain moving from her ankle up her leg and into her backside. God, she hated this.

“She’s going to run this into the ground.” Leanne snapped her fingers like she owned the joint.

“Yes, she will,” Angelica agreed. “I’m going to need to talk to her, but I need a minute right now.” Angelica shifted on the hard chair, wincing as she went. She shouldn’t be here working. She should be flat on her back in bed. She didn’t have the willpower to deal with Leanne’s antics.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Just… the painkillers are wearing off.” Angelica bit her lip and looked around to see if Lyric was nearby, but she couldn’t find her. Sliding her phone in front of her, she sent off a quick text. She needed to get more drugs in her system sooner rather than later.