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“Okay, then let's go over some numbers.”
Finally, Brian thought. Then he noticed Mr. Prince still didn't have his briefcase, so what numbers were they going to go over?
“I noticed in the report when it came to housekeeping, it seemed like there was a lot of turnovers.”
Brian knew this.
“Yes, there have been a lot of turnovers in housekeeping and what we're doing is bringing in temporary help.”
“Have you identified the root cause of the turnover?”
Brian stopped and looked at him. Root cause of turnovers? Butler Hotels were sitting in the biggest cities in the US. Turnover was always bound to happen.
“I would assume that the turnover has to do with the current economy.”
“I would assume that you're wrong. Did you know that HR has a policy of hiring people who need visas?”
Brian waited. He didn't know, but he didn't see the relevance yet.
“The point being that it seems as though a lot of your turnover happens around the same time when visas need to be renewed. The question I would have for you is, are we renewing them in a timely fashion?”
Brian was dumbfounded. He wanted to say something, but in the end, he knew that was something he should have known. Brian looked past Mr. Prince and saw the Shell across the way. He saw some smoke and figured Jessica figured out how to cook that steak on that hot plate after all.
Brian needed to get his head back in the game. If he had any intentions of getting those final reports from the board members, he needed to make sure that he showed them that he was competent enough to represent their numbers.
“I hadn't looked at that possibility. I will admit that when I looked at the numbers, I only looked at the totals that came from all of the departments.”
A young man came into the restaurant and took a seat at the table with Brian and Mr. Prince. It didn't seem like Mr. Prince cared, but Brian gave the young man a look that demanded an explanation.
“I’m Clay Helms.”
“And you are?”
Clay looked at Brian and then at Mr. Prince.
“Oh, he helps us put the report together all year long and keeps us on schedule.”
Brian thought the man looked like one of those slender models on billboards.
“Well, I think I’ll be off. You two can finish up. Clay, keep me updated,” Mr. Prince nodded and then walked away.
Brian couldn’t believe Mr. Prince had just abandoned him to his help, then he looked at Clay.
“This is your first time dealing with the board members?” Clay asked.
Brian nodded.
“Well, this is common. Did you bring Jess with you? She makes the entire process easier.”
Brian looked over Clay’s shoulder and had to cock his head to the side until it became clear what he was looking at. “How does she do it?” he asked as he stood up and watched Jessica, who had a fire in her shovel, and she looked as though she would drop the shovel any minute.
Brian didn't know when he had actually started walking. He just knew that he was heading toward Jessica. For a few harrowing moments, he saw Jessica stumble and was scared that she was going to fall onto the shovel. Before she had taken the second step, he was there. He had his hand around the shovel and was carrying it toward the wet sand pile. When he came back she was looking behind him at the doused steak.
“Jessica, are you okay?”
“Um, yes,” she said as she held her hand to her chest. “Thanks, the shovel was way heavier than I thought.”
Brian’s heart skipped a beat as he tried to calm down from the scene he had just witnessed. With a gentle touch, he brushed her cheek and tucked her hair behind her ear. Their eyes locked and for a moment time stood still for him. It took a moment for Brian to realize his hand still lingered behind her ear. He could feel the small pulse at her neck, and he knew she wasn’t as calm as she pretended.
