Summer In Iron Springs (19 page)

             
“Interesting.”

Phoebe sensed, from Jenna’s tone, that she was already concocting a plan.
             

             
“By the way, how was the date with Dave?”

“We went to the Silver Springs Restaurant—it was amazing. And Dave is so nice. He opened the door and helped me out of the car. He pulled out my chair in the restaurant. And, he has the most amazing green eyes. I could just stare into them for hours.”

              “You’re in love!” Phoebe said once Jenna stopped to take a breath.

             
“You’re right! I am!” Jenna exclaimed. “He brought me roses, Phoebe! On our first date—a dozen long stemmed roses.”

             
Phoebe chuckled. “He sounds nice.”

             
“He is! And I think he really likes me. He’s called me three times since our date.”

             
“And . . .”

             
“And what?” Jenna glanced at Phoebe with raised eyebrows.

             
“Come on Jenna, don’t hold out on me.”

             
“Whatever are you talking about?” Jenna’s placed a hand on her heart and feigned ignorance.

             
“I’m talking about Dave, and the date and specifically the
end
of the date. Did you two . . .”

             
Jenna smiled shyly. “No, but I could tell he wanted to. He walked me to the porch and gave me a hug. It was soooo romantic.”

Once the girls were in the large foyer of the Inn, they made their way to the elevators. Phoebe followed Jenna’s lead since she was likely to know her way around—at least that’s what Phoebe told herself. They were about to step on the elevator when Jenna took Phoebe’s arm.

“Wait.” Jenna pointed to the stairs. “Over there.”

When they got to the door that led to the stairwell, Phoebe opened the door
, and she and Jenna stepped inside. Neither spoke until they heard the door click shut. Phoebe moved close to Jenna and spoke softly, “Where should we go now?” Even though she was whispering, her words echoed off the cement walls.

             
Jenna pointed toward the basement and started descending the stairs. Phoebe tip toed behind her down the stairs—one flight, two flights, three flights, Phoebe held her breath. Jenna stopped on the landing and Phoebe stopped right behind her. Jenna looked over her shoulder and mouthed the word
basement
as she pointed to the door before them. The two girls stood listening. Nothing. Phoebe let out a breath before they entered the door that led to the basement. Jenna motioned for them to head down the hall. Phoebe’s pulse quickened when they began edging along the walls until they arrived at a door with an
Employees Only sign
. Jenna reached for the door handle, but Phoebe stopped her.

             
“Wait, Jenna.” Phoebe took hold of her arm. “We can’t go in there.”

             
Jenna smiled slyly. “Sure we can. Just try and act natural—like we belong here.”

             
Phoebe nodded. That might work if I had any idea what a person who belonged here might act like, she thought as she followed Jenna through the door.

They passed several offices, all of which were labeled with signs that indicated which department was housed there. There was a large housekeeping area and an office that belonged to the maintenance manager but no sign of a marketing office.

              “Can I help you girls with something?”

             
The girls spun around to see a tall man wearing a grey shirt and matching pants marching toward them. Phoebe held her breath as the man neared them. The nametag sewn into his shirt told them his name was Brian and that he was the maintenance manager.

             
“Oh, are we glad to see you!” Jenna announced loudly. “We’ve been all over this place trying to find human resources.” She glanced at her watch. “We’re late for an interview and I swear this is where she said we were supposed to come.”

             
The man’s face softened as his stern expression transformed into a kind smile. “Well, you’re definitely lost, dear.” The smile on his face told Phoebe that it was okay to start breathing again. “Human resources is on the twenty eighth floor. Follow me.” He hurried toward the far end of the hallway and stopped when he came to an elevator. “This is the only elevator that will get you there from this level.” Brian turned a small key and then pressed a button triggering the door to open. “I’ll have to escort you up there. You’re not allowed to ride in here alone.”

             
Phoebe shot Jenna a nervous glance to which Jenna responded with a confident nod. Don’t throw up. Don’t throw up.
Phoebe put a hand over her stomach. What’s he going to do when he finds out we don’t actually have an interview? The image of Brian escorting the two of them out of the inn by the back of their pants flashed through her mind. The elevator stopped and the girls followed Brian through the doors.

             
“Right this way, girls.” Brian pointed to a door directly across the hall. “There’s Human Resources.”

             
Phoebe racked her brain for an idea, but she was at a loss. She had all but decided to fess up and tell Brian the truth when Jenna spoke up.

             
“Ummm. . . Brian?” Jenna’s voice was suddenly very high-pitched. “Would you mind not walking us in? I mean, it’s bad enough we’re late without them knowing we got hopelessly lost.” Jenna batted her eyelashes in Brian’s direction. The man smiled, held a finger up to his mouth to indicate that her secret was safe with him. He got back on the elevator and was gone.

             
“Wow! You are good!”

             
“Well, I have done some acting in my life, you know.” Jenna pretended to take a bow before motioning for Phoebe to follow her. “Come on.” The two girls made their way down the hallway until they arrived at the marketing office.

             
“How did you know that the Marketing Department would be on the same floor as Human Resources?”

             
“I didn’t.” Jenna looked at Phoebe and smiled. “I took a chance.”

             
“You really are good!”

Jenna reminded Phoebe of the plan. “We are students writing a paper about the effects of the down economy on tourism in Iron Springs . . . we’ve been talking to Gracie up to this point.”

“Got it.” Phoebe said, following Jenna through the door to the office where a young, twenty-something, lady was seated at a desk. She was attractive with long, thick blonde hair that flowed down her back and friendly light blue eyes.

“How can I help you?”
the lady asked warmly. Phoebe relaxed a little. She took a moment to gather her thoughts before speaking.

             
“We’re here for a meeting with the Marketing Manager.” Phoebe scanned the room as if in search of Gracie. “Is Ms. Brunson in?”

             
“Oh, Gracie, no, she’s…”

             
A man jumped up from his desk in an adjoining office and hurried to the outer office where he shot the receptionist a stern look. The woman’s mouth clamped shut, and her face tightened.

             
“Whatever business you have with Ms. Brunson can be handled by Ms. Hardy.” The man said, his eyes fixed upon Phoebe’s with a searching gaze. He spoke in a friendly tone, but there was no friendliness in his eyes.

             
Phoebe hesitated as she tried to squelch the feeling of intimidation that had crushed her confidence. The man stood, with a crinkled brow, glaring at her impatiently.

“Well . . . um, actually, we’re . . .” She glanced at Jenna.

              “We’re doing a story on the effects of the down economy on tourism.” Jenna picked up the story. “We’ve been talking with Gracie, and we just had a few more questions to ask before we finish the story.” Jenna squared her shoulders and faced the man assertively. “So, if we could just speak with Gracie for a moment, we’ll be on our way.”

             
The man gave the girls a look of contempt and offered the same to the receptionist.

“Ms. Brunson is no longer employed here
, so I’m afraid we can’t be of much assistance.” His tone was full of suspicion and annoyance. He raised an arm toward the door. “Have a good day, girls.”

             
Before exiting the office, Phoebe turned at looked the man in the eyes. She was sure she saw something evil lurking there and almost didn’t speak but, forcing herself to swallow her fear, she asked, “Would it be possible for you to put us in touch with her? The only number I have for her is the one here at the inn.”

             
“I’m afraid that’s against our policy. Good day.” The man turned and walked back into his office.

             
Phoebe glanced at Courtney hoping she would offer to help, but she had her eyes fixed on the computer screen in what was clearly a fake attempt to appear busy.

             
“What now?” Phoebe said once she and Jenna returned to the inn’s lobby.

             
“Come here.” Jenna motioned Phoebe toward a seating area.

             
The two girls took a seat on a large sofa that faced an empty fireplace.

             
“We just need to come up with a different plan.” Jenna thought for a moment. “We need to talk to that receptionist”

             
“You’re right.” Phoebe nodded. “She would have talked to us if that man hadn’t been there. I’m sure of it—and it seemed like she actually wanted to help us.”

             
“We just have to wait here until she leaves.” Jenna checked the time on her phone. “It’s almost four now. I wonder what time she gets off.”

             
“I doubt the marketing department stays open late. I’m kind of surprised they’re even open on a Saturday. I bet she gets off around five.”

             
Jenna nodded her head. “Well, as long as she leaves through this exit, we should spot her going out.” She thought for a moment before going on. “But if she doesn’t—” She hesitated as she allowed the idea to take shape. “Don’t places like this usually have a specific parking area for employees?”

             
“Good thinking. Let’s see if we can find out where it is.” The girls approached the reservation desk and got in line. As they waited, they discussed several explanations they could give to support their need to know where the employees parked.

             
“How may I help you today?” An older lady with a kind face spoke from behind the counter.

             
As they’d agreed, Jenna did the talking. “Well, you are going to think this is just so darn silly.” Jenna chuckled in an overly melodramatic fashion. “Gladys?” Jenna said after glancing at the woman’s name tag. “Did I say that right? Gladys? That’s such a beautiful name.”

             
“Yes you did, dear. You said it perfectly.” Gladys smiled; obviously taken by Jenna’s charm.

“Well, Gladys, you are not going to believe this but, I have searched and searched and I simply cannot remember where I parked my car.”

              Gladys gave the girls a kind smile as she placed a map on the counter before her. “Oh, it happens all the time dear. Perhaps if you look at this map it might help. Can you remember what floor you were on or which elevator you exited from?”

             
Jenna scanned the map for several seconds until she spotted exactly what she needed. A small lot in the very back of the inn was labeled “Employee Parking Only”. “Ummm . . . well. . .” She glanced around the lobby as if in search of an answer. “We got off that elevator; didn’t we?” She directed her question at Phoebe.

             
“Uh, yeah, we did.” Phoebe’s scanned the lobby and focused on the elevator. “Because I remember seeing that bouquet of flowers and thinking how pretty they were.” She pointed to a small table that was situated to the right of the elevator.

             
“Okay, well then you probably parked somewhere in this area.” Gladys pointed to the map and indicated the underground parking area. “Now you just need to determine which of the six levels you parked on.”

             
Jenna glanced at Phoebe and the two girls pretended to be deep in thought as they searched their memory for the answer to which floor they had parked on. “Oh, I remember now!” Jenna eventually exclaimed. “Silly me! It was level five. Remember Phoebe? “Remember I said five was my lucky number?”

             
“Oh, yeah.” Phoebe chuckled as she did her best to act like the ditzy friend she was apparently supposed to be.

             
“Thank you so much for your help.” Jenna smiled at the lady. “You really saved us.”