The New Job 6/??
The New Job
Story number: 6
Chapters: 6/??, Work in progress
Characters: All the Boyz, Sunniva and a few townspeople and the arrival of a few girls (if I not change my mind)
Beta: A friend
Feedback is always welcome
A/N: Please remember that this takes place in December 2004 and January 2005, so there aren’t any other girls at the Hotel until I briefly of mention their arrival. If any other females are mentioned, they come from the town of Donbury and are made up by me.
Masterlist: Here
Previous chapters: Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5
Summary: It is time for Sunniva to begin her new work and learning more of the Hotel's specialities and some of the Keeper's part. There are a lot to adapt too.
Chapter 6
I must have fall asleep there on the grass in front of the fountain. Only when I now moved I didn't feel any hardness, it was more soft where I lay. I could neither feel the smell of grass or fresh air. I guessed that I in some way had to be elsewhere and I woke up in a bed. Opening my eyes and looking around told me I was in Donbury, in my room at Three Star Motel. I hoped it was a reason, though if this would happen more times I would never understand the world.
I took a moment and stretched in bed and then looked at the time. It was quite early and I decided before I had some breakfast I should go for a run. Half an hour after I had closed the door and gone out in the chilly morning I was back for a shower and food, then I would look for any stores selling furniture locally. I guessed I would not have any luck finding an IKEA. I knew I hadn't seen any when I drove to the town. I would ask Elsa if she had any store to recommend, or where I should go. Making that decision, I was ready to face the rest of the day.
When I came to the reception, it was Elsa behind the counter. Asking her, she told me if I wanted new furniture I had to go into Causton and even further if I wanted to go to IKEA. In Donbury they had an Antique shop, located on Sun Lane, which was the road opposite the motel. She didn't think I would have any problem finding it.
"If you see the clothing store on your right you know you've just passed it." She followed her direction.
"Do you know when they open?" I asked, as I had no clue at all what opening hours were for the stores.
"Wyn Craddock will probably be there from eleven, but if you want I can call her. I'm sure she will come earlier and open for you."
"That's not necessary, I think I saw that you have a few other stores I can check out first."
"Just let me know and I'll help you." Elsa told me.
I thanked her and went into to dinning room. I thought she was little too helpful for my taste and probably it wouldn't be long before she was talking about me. I hoped I would need to spend as little time as possible with her, and the town if they thrived on gossips.
Finishing my breakfast, I knew I was still early for shopping, so I went back to my room and made a plan and list of what I wanted. Looking at what I written down told me I wanted the office to be practical, rustic and slight inspired by Sweden. The later was a question if it would be.
Next thing I thought of was that I didn't know how it would work for me to go shopping. How I should pay for things. Where there any funds I had to use that came from the Hotel or would I need to pay for it myself? I knew that I hadn't that much money to decorate a full room. I would be lucky if it would be enough for a desk and chair, and cables for getting my computer working and a printer. Could I take the things on an invoice? Not knowing, I realised I had to call and ask any of the boys if they knew, or maybe Elisabeth Greene. She had said that I could come to her if there was anything I needed to ask about the Hotel. I looked in my bag for the number of the Hotel. I could not find any. Wondering if I had it in one of the emails, I knew I would need to ask to borrow a computer. I found the card Elisabeth had given me with her address, and also an envelope with my name handwritten that I hadn't seen before.
Curious I opened it. Inside were a note and a credit card.
'To be the manager of the Hotel Garden of Flowers, this card is yours to use for anything you feel is needed for you and the Hotel. You don't need to worry about the money as there is a good balance on the account. The pin code is; 2004.'
'Okay that solved that problem.' I could only hope that 'a good balance' meant that I would be able to fix all I wanted in the office. I really wanted to have the room fixed and finished before I really started work as the manager.
The weather was still chilly, but that was to be expected in January. I had thought of walking to the antique store, but if I didn't find anything I wanted, I probably have to drive into Causton as Elsa had told me. It was best to take the car. I did hope to find something here, as I believed a small shop should have things that felt more personal. I checked twice in my purse to make sure I had my list of things I thought I needed for the office.
I had my car keys in my hand when I quickly turned around. The car was standing there. I almost dropped the keys, as I had just remembered that I had woken up in the bed with no memory of driving from the hotel. Would I ever understand the way it worked?
Elsa had been right, it wasn't that hard to find the shop. I thought I had walked that way last time I took a look at the town, but could not remember seeing it. I parked the car in the street, as it looked like that's what everyone did.
Entering the shop made me smile as I heard the bells jingle above the door announcing a costumer. It also held the special smell of wood, iron and dust you often thought of about in antiques stores. I liked it. Not long after a woman turned up.
"May I help you?"
"I'm just looking around if that’s okay with you." I said, wanting to be able to browse in peace for anything that might catch my eye.
"Please take your time. I'm in the back if there is anything."
"Thanks."
There didn't seem to be any special order to how the things were stored, everything was mixed, furniture with ornaments. I had to go around looking at everything, and there was a lot on display. The whole shop was filled, and I assumed that everything was for sale. Walking around, I asked myself if the store really make a profit in a village as small as Donbury looked to be.
Amongst all the things, I saw some that I liked, but most items would not be practical for an office. Before I decided to buy anything, I went to the back to ask if she took cards or only cash. To my relief she was taking credit cards.
"There is another room through here," she pointed at an opening I'd missed seeing. "I have a few special things there. If you want to look."
"Oh, thank you. I would like that."
I followed her into the room which contained as much as the main showroom. As I wasn't an expert, I could not say if they were more special than the other items. Though one thing caught my eye at once. It was a leather chair in what I would call ox-blood red. It looked very good, almost like it had never been used, and it looked very comfortable. I could see it in my office for my visitors or if I wanted to relax. In my admiration I had walked to it and stroked my hands over the back.
"You may sit down, it's comfortable." The shop owner told me, bringing me out of my reverie.
I sat down and knew right away that I would buy it. The chair was as comfortable as it looked.
"What do you think?" she wondered.
"It's comfortable and I like it. Is there any sofa or companion chair?"
"Unfortunately no. I think that’s why I still haven't sold it." The woman looked worried, in case she had said the wrong thing and that she still wouldn't be able to sell it.
"It's a shame, but I'm sure I'll find something else that would fit with it."
I rose and looked at it again. I could not see anything wrong with it. Close up it was clear it wasn't made recently, but the previous owner or owners must have taken very good care of it. I turned towards her, "I'll take it. Before I'm finished I want to take another look if there is anything else."
She lightened up and told me to take my time.
I didn't check the time, but it probably took at least thirty minutes before I decided on what else I wanted from the shop. The leather chair was the only furniture beside a coffee table. The other things could be seen as unnecessary, but I wanted them as it would stop the office from looking too clinical. One of the things was an old letter writing set, from the time you wrote with ink. It was in grey marble. It included a letter opener, a stand for letters and a blotter. The later was heavy and I would probably only use it as a weight to hold down papers.
Wyn looked happy about my purchase and she promised it wouldn't be a problem to keep the chair and table until I arranged for one of the guy's to pick them up for me. The credit card hadn't given me any problem either.
Finished and in the car I decided to drive to Causton as I still needed a desk, book shelves, a working chair and a few other things. I also decided I could eat any lunch there.
Causton was way bigger than Donbury, with more stores and shops. I saw several interesting shops that I would like to visit, but today I was concentrating on the furniture ones. The first one had a lot, but when I looked at the price tags it was way too expensive. I wasn't after things that cost too much. I wanted things that fit my needs.
The next one I went into was a bed store, so I was out fast. The third wasn't an IKEA, but it did look like the goods were in my price range, and what I was looking for.
I found a desk that had drawers and a cabinet. It was made of what looked like birch-masur. I really liked being able to see the wood grain, and it was light in colour. So often desks were made of oaks or teak, both of which could be dark. They had a bookshelf that fitted the desk, though not in the same wood, at least it was light too.
A good working chair was also among the things I found there, so I felt good. Even if there were things I missed, I had a good start for the office. I didn't need to drive several times back and forth to get all the things back, as they promised to take everything to the hotel the next day. It made it easy as they had all things at home.
My lunch turned into an early dinner and I found a Chinese restaurant that looked good from the outside, and the food was good. Before I left Causton, I also found a computer store where I got some cables and a printer. Seeing that I'd been able to get most of the things on my list, I headed back to Donbury. It was still a few hours before I needed to go to bed and had time to go to the hotel, but I decided to stop at the motel, especially if I would wake up there anyway.
I could have gone for an evening run, but I was satisfied doing that once a day, and I'd did run that morning. I stayed in my room instead. I put on the TV, changed channels to one that I liked and then I sat down and worked on the embroidery I had brought with me.
When I woke up early again the next morning I dressed and took a run. Maybe it would become a habit for me. This time I didn't linger over my breakfast and drove to the hotel. I felt pleased not getting lost on the way there. I drove quite slowly when I knew I had entered the property, so I could notice the change in the landscape. It looked interesting and I would definitely explore it when I could. I knew from when I was there the first time that the nature around the hotel was one of the things that convinced me to take the job.
Walking through the door I was greeted by Oscar. When he saw that I was carrying a few bags he came and offered to take them for me. I let him take a few of them, as I had managed to get most of those I bought with me.
"Where do you want them?" He asked.
"Could we just put them in the reception for now? I'll work on putting the office together today and tomorrow. Most of it will be in there later so I think it's better to have this close by."
"That's okay. We do not have that much here." Oscar came around the desk and put one of the bags under it. "We missed you yesterday."
I knew that I'd called them to tell my plans so I was surprised.
"Didn't Joe tell you what I was doing?" I asked.
"He did tell us, but…" he stopped like he was unsure of what he really should say.
To save him, I said that we would have plenty of time to be together. Oscar blushed and he looked really cute. After a moment he pointed towards the bags and asked, "Did you get everything you wanted?"
"Most of it, I think. There will be a delivery around noon, or just after, with some furniture. I got a desk, bookshelves and a chair from a store in Causton."
I looked around in the foyer before I continued, "By the way, do you know where Todd or Jimmy is?"
"Jimmy is in the kitchen. He said something about preparing for lunch and Todd… I haven't seen him today. He might be in the garage. Why do you ask?"
"I was in the antique store in Donbury yesterday. I bought a chair and table. I said to the lady I would see if one of the guys could pick it up for me today."
"I can go and ask Jimmy if you want."
"Yes please." And when he started walking towards the pub I said thanks.
I opened the door into the office and stood in the doorway until Oscar was back from the kitchen.
"Is something wrong?" he asked.
"Weren't there things in here? I clearly remember there was a bed here on my last visit, where is it now?"
"You're right; there was a bed and other things there, but we cleared the room out yesterday. You did mention that you wanted to fix it so we thought we should help you. If there was anything you wanted to keep you will find it in the attic."
I had worried if I would have had time to clear the room before the things arrived to the hotel, and this made it so much better.
"Thank you. Oscar, you have to thank the others from me too. About what was in here, I don't remember all of if, or if I would need it or not, but I might go up to the attic and check it later."
I went into the room and noticed that they hadn't only taken all the things away they had also cleaned the room, which looked to include new painting. I looked at the walls and was happy they hadn't any flower tapestry and I liked the color of green. Turning back to the reception I remembered why Oscar left before.
"What did Jimmy say?"
"If there's is no hurry he could go and get the things after lunch."
"That sounds good. It's probably best that the other things arrive first."
"I'll go back and tell him then," Oscar said and walked away again.
I went out to my car to pick up the box with the printer. I put it on the end of the reception desk, believing it would not be in the way until I could put in the office. Having done that, I went out again to move the car so that the delivery van would be able to come close to the entrance. While I had to wait for the furniture to arrive, I wasn't sure on what to do. It seemed to be a good day. No rain or snow, so I would be able to walk around outside, take a closer look at the place. Then I could also go up to what would be my apartment to see what was there. I felt I needed to be contactable and had come to the conclusion that staying in the hotel was best.
Knowing what to do I went inside. Oscar was back behind the desk, looking through some papers. I went to stand in front of him and it took a few minutes before he noticed me. Looking at his facial expression, it looked like he was spooked.
"Yes, ma'am."
"Sorry, and please don't call me ma'am. I'm fine with Sunniva."
"I know, but…" he left the explanation hanging.
"I don't know how things works with phones and things, but would you be able to let me know when the furniture arrives? Do you need to call my mobile or is there anything that… a way to get me when I'm in the penthouse? I do know you have one phone here, but…" It sounded confusing, but I really didn't know how modern the hotel was.
"I'll call you. Yes, we do have phones here. There is one in each room, cottage, the tavern, garage and stable. The only difference is all in the hotel, apart from the office and reception are programmed so that you have to use star zero hash (*0#) to get to an outside line. Among the rooms in the hotel you can use a short number. The cottages have their own numbers."
"Oh that's great. Is there a directory?"
"There should be one up in the penthouse, but if you can't find it, I will print a new one for you." Oscar looked down at the papers, so I started to walk towards the stairs.
"Oh, I almost forget to say that Jimmy told me to tell you that the lunch would be ready…" he looked at his watch, "one and a half hour."
"Thank you Oscar."
I took the stairs, as I never liked the confinement of an elevator. I think I actually had a fear of getting stuck in one. I was little out of breath when I reached the destination. All my exercising should have kept me in better shape. At least I could look forward to getting fit with all the stairs.
I took out the key to unlock the door, though I had no memory if I locked it or not last time I was there. I turned the key and hearing the click told me I had locked it, and it felt good. Even if it had been open I didn't have that much worth of steeling. The one which might give some money could easily be replaced.
Inside I felt that something had happened. Not a directly intrusion, but a vibe that someone had been there. The first look did not show any change from what I remembered. I took off my jacket and shoes, and went to the bathroom. It was when I went into the bedroom I saw the change, and I felt the vibes strongest in there too. Things had changed and switched places.
The walk in closet had moved from being towards the outer wall, to being up against the bathroom. The bed and bed-tables had been moved down and this way there was more light in the room from the windows and it felt more open.
I passed the bed and little table and looked out. It was a magnificent view. I saw it would not be a problem to open the window or close the light out if I wanted it dark in the room. All the windows had Venetian blinds.
I sat down in front of the table, looking at and feeling the things put there. They were some of the things I cherished, mostly I'd got as gifts, or saved from places I been to. They gave me a feel of home. I picked up the framed photo that was the newest thing. Actually it was one that I didn't know I had. It was of me and my friends from the surprise party they had arranged when they found out I got the job at the Hotel and would be moving. I smiled, and at the same time I felt how I missed them a lot, not knowing when I would be able to meet them again.
I quickly put it down before I would get a homesickness I wasn't sure how to handle. I decided I would go to the room I had decided to have as my office/workroom in the apartment. Last time I looked in there it had been empty, which it was now too. I had noticed there where a few doors and I was curious to find out where they led. To door to the right went to the kitchen. The right one on the opposite wall to where I entered to a room I felt to be one to many. It had a window, but I would probably use it as storage. The last one led to a staircase. I would ask the boys if they knew where it led.
What I had hoped to find I had no idea. Turning around I saw it as a hobby room. I decided to make the fixing up of the room my hobby project after I had settled and got the hang of being the manager. Not that I could think off how I wanted to have it set out in there. Being empty I went back over to the bedroom and the walk in closet. I opened a few of the boxes, and in the fourth I found some stationery and pens. Until Oscar called telling me that lunch would be ready, I decided to write a few letters. I really liked the old fashion way with the mail.
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