An unlikely romance sprouts from a chance encounter between Cliff and Hannah after she spurns his good deed. ----------
Cliff tries doing a good deed for financially distressed Hannah by paying for her expensive car repairs. He expects nothing in...
Mr. Cento spent the first few days working closely with Hannah, introducing her to her staff, and reviewing the day-to-day tasks she needed to oversee. She appreciated his time, knowing the man had plenty of his own responsibilities as general manager of the entire club.
Much of her day revolved around preparation for the annual social. She coordinated with the banquet hall and reviewed orders and delivery schedules with the head chef but was careful not to step on his toes. The man had years of experience and knew what he was doing. Her approach had been to ask him to educate her on the logistics in the planning of such an important event. At first, he had been suspicious of her motive, but when she didn't interfere or try to micromanage his affairs, he opened up to her.
Hannah knew her success or failure in the smooth running of the biggest event of the year would set the tone for her future with the club. She was determined to make sure upper management and the board of directors viewed her as hard-working and invested in the outcome.
During her first day, Hannah noticed the white canvas tarp that was to serve as a backdrop for the guests' glamour shots had not been taken down. Mr. Cento told her the event sales rep, a man named Gill Mahoney coordinated with outside contractors working the event. He had been responsible for hiring the photographer. He also told her it was perfectly within her purview to change the background to the natural hedgerow she suggested during the day of her interview.
Hannah had informed Gill Mahoney of her decision to nix the tarp and had asked him to have it taken down. She also told him to inform the photographer of the change so there would be no misunderstanding on the day of the event.
While admiring the work of the grounds crew as they sculpted the hedges, she noticed how five days had passed and the tarp had not been removed.
Deciding to find out why, she walked to the sales office. Mahoney was ushering out a prospective client. From their conversation, Hannah heard him finalizing an agreement to rent the banquet facility for the client's daughter's wedding reception. She stood at a discrete distance until the client left.
"Nice job closing that deal," she said wanting to start her conversation with him on a positive note. "Your client sounded happy."
Mahoney shrugged. "I've been doing this job a long time. I know how to make our clients happy."
"Do you have a minute?"
He looked at his watch and sighed. "I'm meeting someone for lunch, but I suppose I can spare a moment." He didn't invite her into his office. They remained standing in the reception area.
She didn't like the man's condescending attitude, so she dropped her diplomatic approach and got right to business. "When are you going to have the tarp removed that I asked you to take down?"
He stood for a moment staring at her before turning on his heel. "I want to show you something." He entered his office and returned a few seconds later with a three-ring binder. "These are customer appreciation letters."
Hannah took the binder from him wondering why he hadn't answered her question about the tarp.
"Have a look at these testimonials while I head out to lunch. We can discuss things when I return."
His disregard for her raised her ire. "No, Mr. Mahoney, we can discuss things right now. I asked you a simple question. When are you having the tarp taken down?"
He stiffened his posture and pointed at the binder. "There are dozens of letters in there from club members over the course of many years expressing their delight in the glamour photos we have taken of their wives, daughters, and girlfriends. We've used the white tarp as a background for the entire eighteen years I've been here. My philosophy is to not mess with what has proven to be successful. The club members are happy with the white background."
Hannah set the binder on a chair without looking through it. "So, you decided to just ignore my directive?"
"I'm suggesting how changing what works would be unwise and may cause our long-time club members to complain."
Hannah had always made it a practice of valuing the opinions of her staff and taking their advice seriously. Had Mr. Mahoney approached her to respectfully make known his concerns, she would've given him a fair hearing. His defiant stance was forcing her hand. If she didn't assert her authority now while she was new to the job, word could spread, and she might lose everyone's respect.
"Mr. Mahoney, I appreciate what has worked in the past. This year we're going to do things differently." Hannah looked him in the eye and used a more authoritative tone. "I expect to see the white tarp removed this afternoon, and you will inform the photographer of the change before end of day."
"But..." He started to protest.
"Do I make myself clear?"
The man huffed, as if he was about to object. Then he calmed down. "You're the boss."
"Thank you," she said. "Enjoy your lunch."
During the afternoon, while she studied a financial report, Hannah debated whether to let Mr. Cento know of the incident. She decided against it. Handling Mr. Mahoney was her responsibility, and she didn't need to bother her supervisor over every minor dispute with her staff.
At the end of her day, Hannah left the building, walking down the promenade, relieved to find the white tarp had been removed. She was relieved it wouldn't be necessary to initiate disciplinary action against an employee so early in her tenure.
She took a moment to enjoy the scent of roses lining the walkway before heading to the employee parking lot. Her initial self-doubt over whether she could handle the job had eased.
Walking past the tennis courts, she spied Izzy and her fiancé Aaron in a far court leisurely batting the ball back and forth.
She laced her fingers through the chain link fence and watched them. She was about to shout a greeting but held back. Did they know she worked there? Did Cliff know? Somehow, she had expected him to text or even call once he had found out, that is, if he had found out. It disappointed her that he hadn't. In hindsight, she regretted not having answered his thinking about you text. She'd feel silly about doing so now after too much time had passed. For what seemed like the thousandth time, Hannah questioned her decision to break things off with him.
It also made her a little angry that he hadn't tried fighting harder for her. One lousy text message. That had been his only attempt.
She should talk to Izzy.
From behind, a vehicle with squeaky brakes pulled to a stop at the curb. She turned and saw a man in an open top jeep wearing mirrored sunglasses. He reached across to the passenger side door and opened it. "Get in, Hannah."
She recognized him. "James? What are you doing here?"
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