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“I’m sorry about that,” Birgit quipped back, “but how is that our problem?”
Anita let out a huff and looked at Birgit begrudgingly.
“Our new clerks weren’t trained properly on the new booking system we just started using,” Anita continued. “We need somewhere to put all our extra guests, and everyone has requested that I get them a room here.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, Anita, but that’s just not possible,” Birgit replied. “Our guests booked these rooms months ago, and all but five rooms are already checked in.”
“You don’t understand,” Anita pushed, clearly not settling for Birgit’s answer. “Myguests are different than yours. They’re not spending their last dime to try your “healing waters.” They have loads of cash and are willing to spend double, eventriple,the cost of my average suite. Yeah, you may have to kick out a few guests, but you and I would both walk away with ahugeChristmas bonus!”
“No,” Birgit said flatly. “I empathize with your situation, Anita, I really do, but there is no way I’m makingmyguests leavemyhotel so thatyourhotels can save a little face. And you’re right. My guests, for the most part, may be in a different tax bracket than yours, but that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve to spend their Christmas in the best hotel in Leavenworth.”
Anita’s blue eyes sparked with hatred as she glared at Birgit, and her long nails dug into the fine, finished oak counter. Anger seemed to vibrate from the woman’s very core, but Birgit was standing her ground. Anita was able to scare a lot of the local business owners to her whim, but Birgit refused to join their ranks.
“This is a mistake,” Anita whispered gravely.
“It is,” Birgit agreed, “but it’syourmistake, Anita. And you have to accept responsibility for it. It sounds awful, it truly does, but we’re not going to make our guests suffer for it no matter what yours are willing to pay.”
Anita’s mouth opened wide as if to begin a balustrade of epic proportions, but Birgit cut her off before she could start.
“I believe that the business we have today is officially conducted,” Birgit pressed on, “and now we have the rest of our guests coming in any minute to check in. It is time you leave and figure out your problem elsewhere. Come, I’ll walk out with you.”
Birgit waved her arm to the oaken, gold-embossed double doors of the hotel’s entrance, and waited for Anita to start walking. For a moment, the woman looked as if she were about to explode. Then, with trembling hands, she picked up her designer bag and began stomping toward the door.
“This is a big mistake, Birgit, BIG!” Anita hissed loudly, looking at her as she walked away. “You girls have no idea what you’re doing. You’ll need me someday, and you just ensured that I won’t be there when the time comes!”
“I’m sure we’ll manage just fine,” Birgit replied pleasantly, following her outside. “Have a great day, Anita!”
Birgit couldn’t help but smile as Anita let out a loud huff of frustration as she walked to her Escalade. Once she watched the woman drive away, Birgit went to her old, dark blue Jeep, and started the heater. The engine whined and coughed as she turned on the old hunk of metal, and she patted the steering wheel lovingly. It might not be new or fancy like Anita’s vehicle, but Beulah was always reliable.
As she was waiting for the heat to kick in, Birgit’s phone began to ring, and she answered it on the newly installed Bluetooth.
“She’s gone,” she said in way of a greeting. From the other end, she could hear Heidi breathe a sigh of relief.
“I tried to tell her it wasn’t possible, B, I swear I did,” Heidi replied, sounding distraught.
“I know you did, honey,” Birgit replied softly, making her way out of the parking lot.
“She just wouldn’t let it go,” Heidi continued. “She was relentless!”
“Women like that always are,” Birgit replied with a tired sigh. “But don’t worry, I made it clear that we weren’t canceling any of our reservations.”
“Was she mad?” Heidi asked after a moment of silence. Birgit let out a dry laugh.
“You could say that,” she replied. “But don’t put any more thought into it, okay? We have enough to worry about without focusing on a prissy temper tantrum. Just focus on getting the rest of our guests checked in, and make sure you’re at the front desk when Gary shows up to double-check our breakers, okay? I want to be absolutely sure our Christmas lights don’t short-circuit our system.”
Heidi said that she would, and after a quick goodbye, they hung up the phone. A moment later, Birgit pulled intoO’Patrick’s Spiritsand went inside.
ChapterTwo
To say thatO’Patrick’s Spiritswas busy would have been a major understatement, Birgit realized as she walked into Christopher O’Patrick’s store. While there were two other wine and spirit stores in Leavenworth,O’Patrick’swas always everyone’s favorite to visit. Part of that had to do with the handsome owner who ran the store, which he’d designed to look like an old western general store, but mostly, it was because of Christopher’s drive to have perfect customer service. Whether it was for a local business owner he distributed to or a couple visiting on vacation, he would go to whatever lengths necessary to find what the customer wanted as long as he was given a little time.
“Birgit!” Christopher called from the opposite end of the store. She looked up over the crowd of customers and smiled when she saw his tall form start to gently push through. He was dressed nice, as always, in a pair of dark blue slacks and a light blue button-up shirt. Like it had in high school, his dark brown hair hung to his shoulders, blending well against the thick, well-manicured beard he always grew out in the winter.
“Looks like the festivities kicked off early for you,” Birgit said in way of a greeting.
“It’s been crazy.” Christopher chuckled, his blue eyes glittering with mirth as he reached her. “Come on, why don’t you follow me? I have your order ready in the back. Do you have a couple of minutes to chat?”
Birgit went to look down at her watch but was jostled by a nearby elbow. She loved Leavenworth and the tourists it brought, but sometimes she didn’t enjoy how crowded it got.
