Marishka arrived at the Hotel Cortez about fifteen minutes early. Checking the time on her phone she sighed. Her instructions had been to wait outside until precisely 8:30 a.m. at which point she would be greeted by a representative of the hotel.For five minutes she stood, propped against the wall waiting for the time to pass. At the sixth minute she stepped inside.
“Oh.” For some reason the art deco interior had come as a suprise- at least in comparison to the exterior. Strolling through the lobba she began taking small mental notes.
“Can I help you?” A feminine voice sounded, catching Marishka’s attention. The voice belonged to broad woman of short stature who’s larger than life glasses were the first thing Marishka noticed and immediately her favorite accessory.
“Good morning.” Marishka cleared the distance to the front desk. “I’m Marishka Rao. I’m here to assist with the reno-”
“I know who you are. I thought I told them to tell you eight o’clock.” The words were more of a statement than a question.
“You did. I just happened to arrive early so I thought I’d take a look. Plus hotel guests can be unpredictable, so might as well get as much in before they start to wake up.” Marishka offered with a brief smile.
The young woman’s smile was met with no change in expression. Putting down her crossword puzzle she gestured for Marishka to follow. “Let’s get started then.”
The first couple hours passed with older woman showing Marishka layout of the hotel and explaining the basic day to day operations. It seemed her first couple weeks were going to be a bit of a uphill battle- something that became apparent when she realized all of the records were still paper based. When they left the back office she was shocked to find it was already 10:30!
“And who is this, Iris?” A bald woman in rather elegant attire asked, peering down at her.
“This is Marishka Rao. She’s who they sent to oversee the renovations.” Iris stated flatly.
Marishka realized Iris had never actually introduced herself as she stepped forward. “Hello, pleasure to meet you.”
“The pleasure is mine. It’s been a while since I’ve been blessed with someone who’s interest in fashion pairs with my own.” She held out her hand. “You can call my Liz.”
“Liz will explain the decor changes to you.” Iris stated quietly before picking up her crossword.
“A-alright. Thank you.” Marishka held up her notepad for emphasis of all the notes she’d taken before slinking away with Liz to the bar. As Liz made her way behind the bar Marishka took her cue to have a seat.
“I take it you’ve seen the state of our back office?”
A light laugh escaped Marishka. “Oooooh yeah. It’s fine though. It’s what I signed up for.”
“You like big projects?” Liz asked, idly cleaning the last bit of cups.
“Yeah. The pay off is always worth it to me.”
“Sounds like you’re in the right place then.” Liz noted, an amused smile on her face.
“Good.” Marishka smiled. “So tell me, how modern do you intend to go….”
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