Page 21 of Sweeter than Honey
Worry bubbles up in my stomach. Is she angry with me for being late? She wouldn’t fire me for that, right? I can’t lose my job…
“Of course, Ms. Espina, I’ll be right in.”
Chapter 8: The five-year-old
Lily
I hurry into the CEO’s office, trying to appear calm and collected. Renata is perched on her soft leather office chair, her fingers moving with impossible speed over her keyboard as she types. The moment I enter, her eyes snap up to me. It makes me jump a little, since I’m already on edge.
“Take a seat, please,” she says. I close the door behind me and take the chair opposite her’s.
I swallow. My throat is very dry. “What is it?”
“I have an important business matter to discuss with you.” Her dark, perfectly shaped eyebrows knit across her forehead. “Are you all right?”
“Yes! Yes, I’m all right,” I respond.
“Your heart is beating very fast.” As always, her tone is impossible to read. “And the blood is rushing to your cheeks.”
She can tell how fast my heart is beating? Is that some sort of vampire ability? There’s a strangely pleasant squirming sensation in my stomach at the thought. I feel flustered, and I can’t help being honest with her. “I…I was nervous that you would be upset with me, since I came in late today. I was worried you might let me go.”
She frowns, and there’s a flash of anger across her face. It’s a familiar expression, although I’ve never seen it from her. Instinctively, I flinch.
Her face immediately softens again. “I’m not angry with you. I’m angry withmyself, for making you feel that I would let you go for something so trivial. You do exemplary work, Lily. I’m not going to fire you. The hotel couldn’t function without you.”
Now my heart is beating fast for another reason. She has no idea how much such a compliment means to me, coming from her.
“I deeply appreciate your hard work, Lily,” she continues. “I should let you know that more often.”
“Oh, I’m happy to be helpful,” I tell her, embarrassed at the shyness in my voice. “Anything you need, just let me know.”
“Well,” she heaves a deep sigh. “Unfortunately, that’s what I asked you into my office to discuss. My sister has just dropped another big project on my plate.” She pulls a shiny black folder from her top drawer, where I know she keeps her active files. “The Triple Council would like to host a conference for all of the witches in the northern region, and they want to hold it here. I don’t have any solid numbers yet, but…”
I interrupt tentatively. “Excuse me, Ms. Espina, the…whatcouncil?”
“My apologies, Lily, theTripleCouncil. It’s an allied council of the witch covens in the northern region.”
“Witch covens,” I whisper, a little awe-struck. I know that Amara is a witch, and so is Xia, but I didn’t realize they had covens. I know it’ll be a lot of work to organize a conference, but it’s exciting to think that there will be real witch covens here at the hotel.
“Yes,” Renata sighs. “And they’ll all be difficult and fighting with each other the whole time. They originally wanted July, but I convinced them to postpone to the week of August eighth…” She sees the expression on my face. “I know, it’s soon, and we have the McMurphy wedding, but we’re just going to have to figure it out.”
I nod, and take a pen and paper out of my cardigan pocket.
“As I mentioned, there are no set numbers, but we’re looking at between seventy-five to one hundred, so it’s not too large. I think we can use the east hall for Amrita’s keynote, that will be the most well-attended. The rest of the sessions will be break-outs, we can use the conference rooms in the north wing for those…”
As she speaks, I take notes, wondering what sort of things witches will host sessions about. I imagine a room full of cauldrons and broomsticks whizzing around the north wing…
Renata’s watch vibrates, and Damien’s voice comes through. “Ren, we need you right away, in the casino. It’s the mayor.”
She sighs. “I’ll be right down.”
We both stand. She smooths the folds of her fitted blue dress. It has capped black sleeves that make it look both modern and elegant. She always manages to appear professional, but also breathtakingly beautiful.
I bite my lip. I’ve never called her beautiful before, even in my head. But she is.
She gives me a curious look, and I realize she can probably tell my heart is beating quickly again. “I…I’ll be sure to start working on the initial floor plan and budget for the conference.”
“Excellent, thank you, Lily.” She gives me a curt nod and opens the door. But instead of leaving the office, she holds it open for me, gesturing that I should walk through first.