The CEO Gets Her Man by Anne Ashby Read Free Book Online

their meal satisfactory?” She eyeballed Debra. “And do it with the biggest smile you can manage, always making eye contact when you speak to them. Got it?”
    “Got it.”
    “The more you butter up the guests, the happier they are. The happier they are, they’ll remember the service and want to come back.”
    “That makes sense.”
    “This is a classy place, Debra. If you don’t give that little bit extra, you’d be letting the hotel down.”
    Debra nodded. George was right about Meg. It appeared her devotion to the resort went deep.
    “All chefs are pigs.” Meg warned as they walked over to the staff quarters for a break. “I reckon they’re specially trained to give waiting staff a hard time. Damn superiority complex—which we all ignore, of course. Best to take no notice of them most of the time.”
    Meg touched her arm. “Don’t let their bell ringing get to you. They’ll single you out for extra attention for sure, knowing you’re new. You’ve already discovered that.” Meg winked. “Don’t take it personally, it’s just their nasty way of saying ‘welcome.’ If they see it getting to you, they’ll only get worse. Remember that, and don’t let them bully you.”
    Unexpected warmth spread through Debra at Meg’s concern. She wasn’t used to people caring about her welfare. “Don’t worry. Bullying I can handle.” Her determined smile slipped a little. “It’s friendliness I have less experience with.”
    Meg’s chuckle warmed Debra even more. “We’ll team up with one of the younger girls tonight. Cathy and I will see you’re okay. I’ll give you this—you’re a quick learner, Debra.” She glanced around to ensure they were alone. “If you ever need a job, I reckon waitressing might just be your calling.” With another of her weird cackles, she disappeared down the hallway to her own room.
    ****
    Some of Meg’s instruction must have sunk in. Debra grinned as her table settings were carefully inspected by the chatty young local not long out of school. Cathy’s cheerful personality made it easier to accept her slight corrections without embarrassment.
    Too caught up earlier coping with Meg’s instruction to delve into matters pertaining to the running of Riversleigh, Debra grasped at the chance to begin digging for information now.
    Cathy grinned across at Debra while they transformed table napkins into attractive swans. “Riversleigh has changed so much since the resort was built. Unless there was an opening on one of the fishing boats, or the supermarket, or at the paua shell factory, there just wasn’t any work.”
    She reached into a box and pulled out more neatly ironed napkins, folding at least three to every one of Debra’s as she chatted. “My brothers and sister all left home when they finished school. It broke my Mum’s heart—at least that’s what she tells me. Leaving here would have broken mine, too. I’m a real homebody,” she winked. “I love working here.”
    Cathy stopped folding and gazed out the window with a far-away smile. “Toby and I are saving for a house. It would take years longer if we had to live in the city.”
    Debra bit her cheeks, hard, to smother the urge to laugh. Cathy meant Invercargill when she said “city,”—hardly comparable to London or New York for exorbitant real estate costs.
    Debra dropped her gaze. Her fingers fumbled as she deplored her moment of arrogance. Forget it, a voice whispered inside her head. You’re here to get information, not make friends. “Does your boyfriend work at the hotel, too?”
    “He’s a porter for now, but not forever. Jase signed both of us up for extra-mural classes at the polytech.”
    Debra couldn’t control her eyebrows. She was aiming the conversation around to Jase McEwan but hadn’t expected it to take this type of turn.
    “We grabbed at the chance. It’ll mean pay rises for us, but Jase says it’s about more than money. He says it’s important to get recognised