All that remains now is to deal with the repercussions of involving Olivia in this affair.
That conversations happens on the next morning, in my office. I call on Olivia to join me there. She's in her maid uniform. She closes the door behind her and smiles wryly.
"So, Olivia."
"Melody."
"Are we... going to have a problem?"
She smiles at me.
"Why would we? You are going to pay me for my time, right?"
"Of course."
I will. Out of my own pocket. I can't have those numbers on the official spreadsheets.
"I can pay you now," I tell her.
"No need. I know you're good for it. But Melody... you know I'm already paid handsomely for my work here. Truth is - money is good but maybe I'd like something more."
It's always tricky negotiating outside of monetary concerns, but I feel I owe her for last night - even though she did fail to keep mother and daughter apart, it ultimately turned out well.
"What do you have in mind?"
"My schedule," she says.
Of course, her schedule sucks. She's the newest girl. If I move her around, people will wonder why. It's a bad idea. The only reason this works is that I have never played preferential treatment. People get what they deserve given their job and entry rank. Olivia notices my hesitation and I think she understands why.
"Well, if you can't do that, what can you do?" she asks.
A fair question, and I want to try to be accomodating. This is one of those instances where I'm not negotiating with my body. I can't be fucking her as I make this decision, and I can't use sex as leverage. This is all business.
"How would you feel if I swapped you into another department?"
"Like what?"
Olivia has few qualifications for anything but being a maid. The janitorial service might work, but I doubt she'd like it. She can't go into administration, and the massage parlor is already full staffed. But maybe there is something that she can do that would up her alley. I have to check.
"Well... how much did you enjoy last night?"
"I was very nice," she says, and I can hear the understatement in her words. - that's good.
"Would you like to make it a more regular thing?"
"Explain."
There's something I haven't been doing in my hotel where I might be able to turn a larger profit. I've been enjoying the company of my staff very privately. Perhaps that's been a limitation.
"Do you like men as much as women?"
"More so," she answered, and she begins to suspect what I'm going to recommend - she doesn't back away from it.
"Well," I tell her, "I think we have a few things to talk about."
She agrees, and I know I'm committing to something that may have grave repercussions. This isn't a bawdy house. This is a four-star hotel.
But this is business too. And whatever brings in the clientele - well I'm fairly certain my father wouldn't approve - officially. But I'm running this hotel. It's my job to make that call.
END OF CHAPTER 4
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