Aisling's Summer Diary

Chapter 11 | The Board Room

I cannot believe Siobhan is packing it in and going home!  This whole trip was HER idea, and she was the one who prodded Ciaran into taking Lotus Lady’s bet!  It’s so not like her to pour her heart into something and then just walk away.  She loves a challenge, and honestly, I think she’s going to regret giving up on her biggest yet.

9:40 a.m.

And maybe that’s why she’s decided to stay after all!!!  Ali and I stood back, not quite believing as the cab began to pull away.  I had my fingers crossed tightly in my pockets—Please come back, Siobhan!  PLEASE!—and just as the taxi was about to round the bend, she flung the door open and jumped out!  Her eyes had that flashing ‘I believe’ look in them again!  Ali and I tackled her in a big hug, and uncle Ciaran welcomed her back “home.”  We were one big happy family again! 

11:00 a.m.

That is until Siobhan went all Apprentice on us.  She called Ali, Ciaran, and I into her “board room” for our first official meeting.  You should have seen her, all kitted out in a smart black blazer and bold red lipstick.  And the way she carried herself!  She had this air of confident intention about her that I’d never seen before.  You wanted Siobhan in full force, you got her, I thought to myself. 

The three of us sat meekly at the conference table, holding our breath while she flicked a digital presentation onto a projector.  “We are going to win the bet,” she said, slapping her notes down definitively on the table top.  “I’m going to get some real-life business experience.  Ali’s going to get the money he needs for magic college.  And Ciaran, you’re not only going to get our hotel back, you’re going to make it THE hotel in Dún Mártain in the process. SO with that in mind—”

“Wait,” I butted in.  “What about me?”  Siobhan looked down at her clipboard.  “I... don’t have anything,” she said.  NOTHING?!  How could Siobhan say that!  I have dreams and goals, just like she and Ciaran and Ali do!  They’re just not so...concrete.  “Anyway,” Siobhan said, eager to move on, “the point is, the stakes are high.  I’m sure you all realize we have to make sacrifices.”  Sacrifices?  She handed uncle Ciaran a form, and he read through it.  No surfing.  No giving up.  No impossible bets. Siobhan nodded along approvingly.  Ciaran looked up at his niece, the pen wavering in the air.  “But the bet—”  “Just sign it,” Siobhan cut him off.  He scribbled his name onto the page.  I didn’t know whether to laugh or cringe.  This new whip-cracking Siobhan—she’s kind of scary!

She turned to face Ali, her face deadly serious. “Ali, no internet chats.  Especially not with people you don’t know.”  Ali’s mouth fell open in shock, and I burst out laughing.  Oh yeah, we knew what you were up to all along, Ali!  Siobhan went on: “No more ‘disappearing’ acts,” she said, “and no tricks that involve fiery hoops or water tanks or wild animals.”  Ali signed on the dotted line, and Siobhan handed me my contract.  “Aisling Fitzsimons: No boys?” I balked.  “That’s it, no boys?  Pfft.  Piece of cake,” I grabbed a pen and signed.  She gave me a sharp, knowing look as if to say, “We’ll see.”

“What about you?” Ciaran asked Siobhan.  Yeah, what about Siobhan?  I couldn’t wait to hear this.  How ‘bout:  No dramatic exits.  No overblown expectations.  No guilt trips.  “I don’t need a contract,” she trilled.  “I’m the boss.”  And it’s already gone to your head! I thought. 

She pulled up a fresh screen.  Did I mention that I hate presentations?  “I’ve broken down our respective duties with regard to each of our particular talents.” “Ciaran, you’ll be in charge of decorating, repairs, DIY, and social networking.”  Ciaran beamed, happy enough with the jobs he’d been given.  Siobhan clicked to the next slide.  “I will be in charge of management, finance, and marketing.”  Finance?  HA!  That should be an easy enough job—what’s 0 minus 0?  And let me guess.  Ali will be our showman.  Siobhan flicked to the next slide.  “Ali, you’re in charge of entertainment.”  Ali was hopping in his chair he was so excited.  So what does that leave ME? 

“As for Aisling...” Siobhan trailed off.  There wasn’t a single skill on the list!  “Y have nothing for me again?” I asked.  “I tried to work out your talents.  There’s your Irish dancing, but we need something...a bit more distinctive and edgy.  So Ali will be handling the entertainment.”  I could feel my cheeks burning hot.  Was Siobhan trying to be mean?  Was she getting back at me for something?  Or was she just being “the boss”?   

“Where do you need help?” Ciaran asked to Siobhan.  She squinted her eyes, putting on that she was wracking her brain, then smiled broadly.  “Cooking.  We need someone to manage the kitchens.”  I rolled my eyes.  “Cooking?  NO WAY.”  That was one of my ground rules from day one!  I thought I’d made that perfectly clear! “We could also use someone to scrub the toilets,” Siobhan said.  She had me backed into corner, and she knew it.  “I’ll take cooking,” I said, my stomach in a churning knot. 

Siobhan shook our hands one by one and told us what a fabulous job we’d done.  “So we can manage all of the work between us,” Ciaran chimed in, “but what we really need is cash.  Where are we going to get the money to fix this place up?”  Siobhan’s eyes bulged and she shook her head.  Great.  THE single biggest issue we all face as “a board” and the boss doesn’t have the slightest idea what we should do!  Something tells me that Siobhan will be coming to me for creative insight ASAP!

After lunch, Ali and I went for a walk on the beach.  I asked him about how he felt about the “new management,” and he laughed and said something vaguely encouraging like, “It’ll be hard going the first couple of weeks, but I know everything’ll work out.”  That’s Ali for you.  Never a bad word about anyone.  I wanted to vent to him about Siobhan—how she’d really hurt my feelings back in the board room—but the last thing I wanted was for him to think I was whining, or worse, bad-mouthing Siobhan, so I kept my mouth shut.  When I planned a summer away with my best friends, I never thought I’d feel this alone.     

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