Page 5 of Worth the Trip

“I’m not one of your employees.”

“No. You’re my older sister by four exhausting minutes. Office.”

“You are deeply disrespectful.”

“And yet you’re following me.”

I hated when she was right with confidence.

My office sat behind the kitchen, though calling it an office had become generous. Supplier catalogs occupied one corner of the desk. Catering contracts covered another. A box of bookmarks waited near the door for the summer reading program, and three unopened packages of promotional materials rested beneath a chair because I hadn’t decided where else to put them.

Nyla entered behind me and closed the door.

“I know what you’re about to say.”

“Then save us both time and agree.”

“I’ve been busy.”

“You’ve been avoiding being anything else.”

I stopped beside the desk. “What does that mean?”

“The shop needs you. Vendors need you. Community groups call, and you find a way to say yes. Somebody has a problem, and before they finish explaining it, you’re already halfway inside the solution.”

“We built this place to serve people.”

“We did. Together.” She pulled the guest chair away from the desk and sat. I remained standing. “Nolani, when was your last full day off?”

“I take time off.”

“When?”

“I went to Dallas in February.”

“For a hospitality conference.”

“There was a pool.”

“You sat beside it answering emails.”

“The pool was still there.”

Her face didn’t change.

I sighed and sat across from her.

Nyla leaned back. “Crème & Chill has twenty-two employees. Kareem knows how to run a shift. I know how to place an order. The patio contractor doesn’t need you standing over his shoulder. The summer menu is finished, the reading program has a schedule, and I already hired the decorator you canceled on twice.”

My head lifted. “You hired her?”

“I interviewed three people.”

“Without me?”

“You canceled twice.”

“I had supplier meetings.”