The Player + The Pact = I Do (New York City Billionaires #2)

Chapter 6

SIX

Jules

Operation: Manage The Mayfair is underway. Sophia is locked and loaded in the Starbucks next door, waiting to be Leo’s ten o’clock. Leo’s going to realize I can make anything happen. That I’m the most impressive person he’s ever worked with, and he’s bound to employ me as his hotel’s general manager.

But first, I have my first-ever scheduled meeting with my boss.

On cue, Leo crashes out of his office. “I just looked at my calendar. Have we got a meeting now?” he asks. It’s understandable he’s confused. I’ve never put a meeting in the calendar for the two of us. He calls me into his office whenever he needs to speak to me, and I go in whenever I need something from him. No scheduling required.

“We do,” I say, standing and picking up the papers I have to present to him. “It’s just twenty minutes.”

“You’ve gotten me a fiancée?” he asks.

“I’ve got someone for you to meet. She’ll be here in about twenty minutes. But I wanted to talk to you about something first.”

He looks at me and I stare right back, my face blank, like I’m not a little dizzy from the intensity of his gaze. I’ve really got to get out of here.

“Okay,” he says. “What’s this about? You after a pay raise?”

“Kinda,” I mumble under my breath. “It’s about The Mayfair.”

He groans. “What’s happened now?” He actively avoids calls from Louis, so I’m not quite sure why he’s acting like he’s constantly bothered by the hotel.

“I want to run through a few things with you.”

“You do?” he asks.

I pull in a breath. This is it. This is me shooting my shot. “I don’t know if you know this about me, but my background is hotels.”

“Right,” he says, turning back toward his office. He’s not shutting me down, just moving us to a location that will be more comfortable for him. I follow him. “I’ve had experience in almost all departments, from housekeeping to reception, and I’ve acted as deputy manager.” I don’t add that I was one of three deputy managers. It’s not unusual in a hotel to have more than one.

“Right,” he says again, taking a seat behind his desk and glancing at his computer screen.

“And I’ve worked at The Mayfair.”

That gets his attention, and he finally looks at me. “You did?”

I nod, glancing away as I sit. “And I got to see how things work—and don’t work—up close. I have some ideas.”

“I don’t run the place,” he replies. “Speak to Louis. I’m sure he’ll appreciate your input. ”

He’s trying to get rid of me, but I’m not going to let him. Right now is about me, not him. “Louis isn’t the right manager for The Mayfair.”

Leo sighs. He couldn’t be less interested in this conversation if he had Margot Robbie in his lap. “But Louis is the manager of the hotel.”

“But he shouldn’t be.”

He raises his eyebrows like a warning that I’m about the step over the line. But there’s no point in me working this job unless I’m prepared to say what needs to be said.

“You might not want to hear it but it’s true, and I think you agree with me. Louis isn’t setting the place on fire by any stretch. But he hides from his responsibilities and has no energy to implement new ideas. He’s cut the marketing budget to a tenth of what it was in order to improve profitability, and I guess it’s kept him in a job until now, but that lack of marketing budget is having an impact. Bookings are down for the third year in a row. He hasn’t asked you for any capital investment for refurbishments, despite a significant number of rooms showing signs of wear and tear.” I pause, but Leo doesn’t respond, so I go on. “He’s running the place into the ground and he doesn’t care. This is what he does. I’ve had a look at his history and talked to people in the industry. He’s done it at the last three places he’s managed.”

Leo sighs. “The Mayfair isn’t a priority for me.”

“Clearly,” I say, and immediately wish I hadn’t. “Then why don’t you sell it?”

“It’s complicated. I can’t.”

“So you’re going to watch it get worse and worse until… when?”

“Have you scheduled this entire meeting so you can complain about Louis, or are you here to propose a solution?”

I pull my shoulders back. “I have a solution for you. It will require some investment and you’re not going to see an uptick in profits for two years, but…” I pull out my financial forecast. “After that, you can see that profitability should increase by twenty-three percent in the following two years.”

“You think the marketing budget should increase?”

I set in front of him the budget and capital expenditure plans I developed. He starts scanning the numbers, then flips a page and sees my proposals for increasing the use of the event space and refurbishing the rooms to justify higher room rates. “Increasing the marketing budget alone won’t do it. We need to do some capital works. We need to be smarter about advertising. Practically everything Louis is doing needs to be done differently.”

He takes his time to look through the financials, tracing his fingers down columns and across rows of figures. I sit, watching, pressing my palms together as hard as I can to keep from fidgeting.

“It all looks impressive,” he says. “But I don’t have the capacity to recruit and oversee a manager. It all takes time, and I’ve got to put all my focus into the New River development. Maybe I’ll be able to think about it when I’ve gotten through this bottleneck.”

I’ve only worked with Leo three months, but I know he’s never getting through this bottleneck, and if he does, he’ll go right into another one. He’s a self-made billionaire. He didn’t manage that by kicking up his heels. I’ve got his attention now. He knows my ideas are good or this meeting would have ended five minutes ago. I’ve got to strike while the iron’s hot and ask for what I want .

I pull in a breath. “You need to fire Louis.”

“Like I said, I don’t have the capacity to do that.”

“I can help with everything.” I’m being vague and hedging my bets. I need to tell him that I’m the person he’s looking for.

This is my shot.

“If you made me the manager, you wouldn’t have to recruit, train, or oversee me. You already know I’m trustworthy and good at my job. I have plenty of experience in hotels. I want you to fire Louis and make me the manager of The Mayfair.”

Leo’s full lips press together in a smirk, and I want to punch him in the mouth, then kiss him. “Right,” he says sarcastically.

“I’m serious. I’m well-qualified for the job and I’ve just presented my strategic plan. All I have to do now is execute it.”

“And I’m serious that I employed you to be my assistant. An assistant is what I need. I have a hotel manager.”

“I’ll find you another assistant. She’ll be twice as good as me, and then I can get on with running your hotel.”

“No, Jules.” He practically growls out the words and then pulls out his cell. “I have to make a call. Let me know when the woman you have for me to meet arrives.”

I remain in my seat, numb from the realization I’ve taken my shot and so completely and utterly missed. What the actual hell do I do now? I don’t have a backup plan. He’s got my future in the palm of his hand and all the asshole is interested in is his stupid date for the awards.

He widens his eyes as if to ask me when I’m leaving his office. I gather up the papers, trying to swallow down the fist of cotton in my throat. There’s no way I’m going to let this asshole see me cry.

I exit Leo’s office and my phone buzzes in my hand. I drop all my papers onto my desk and see that it’s Sophia.

“Hey,” I say softly, blinking away my tears.

“Alright, mate,” she squarks in what she thinks is a fake Australian accent, but just makes her sound like she’s been drinking all night. “Want me to come up to the office now, mate?” I know she’s just trying to make me laugh but I’m not in the mood. I’m not in the mood to solve another problem for Leo. If he’s not going to make me manager of The Mayfair, why do I care if he gets a stupid fiancée for his awards ceremony?

But Sophia’s my friend, and a thousand dollars means she’ll be able to fly down to Florida to see Jamie the next time he’s got some time off.

I sigh. “Why not? Just tell reception you’re here to see me.” If Leo’s not going to make me manager of The Mayfair, I’m not sure where I go from here. Should I try again? Should I just give up and get a deputy manager role somewhere else and pray for promotion? I’ve had my heart set on this job for so long now, it feels like a waste just to walk away.

Fuck. That. Shit.

I can’t just accept no from him. No ? Two letters, one syllable. I’m going to have to change that no to a yes somehow, or these last three months and my bad suits have all been for nothing. I swallow down my bruised pride and resolve to come up with a plan to change his mind.