employment records?"
"I've arranged for you to have access to everywhere in the building. The employment records are kept in our human resources office with Louisa Moore , our HR manager. You can look through whatever you want. I told Louisa that you'll be doing some employment research for me , so she won't get in your way."
"Thanks. I appreciate that." It was good to tell the client that they were doing things right, and that they were a help, not a burden. Edward relaxed slightly and a spot of light illuminated a shiny patch on his head, appearing like a little halo . "You haven't been manager long. Do you think the grudge is against the hotel group , or you personally ?" I asked.
"I was appointed manager when the hotel was taken over ; and not everyone was happy about leaving, or abou t my promotion. But I earned it,” he assured me. “ I've been in the hotel industry for more than twenty years. I've worked every job. I've grafted to get where I am today."
"I believe that. Can you get me a list of anyone who was, or could have been mad at you for your promotion? Say, anyone at the hotel who wanted your current job ? "
"Sure. I want to point out that the sabotage started months after I got the job , though ."
"It's just an angle to explore," I explained. "And please pardon this question, but have any complaints been made against you by any employee?"
"None," Edward said emphatically, and without offen s e. "You're welcome to check with Louisa."
I changed tactics because I didn’t want Edward to focus on the personal angle . "Tell me about the sabotage."
Edward relaxed in his chair and rolled his shoulders , like he was limbering up. He was a muscular man, and broadly built, his shirt stretching across his chest. I saw no hint of a beer gut. "It started with little things, things that our guests would pass off as carelessness, or sloppy work, but things just didn't sit right when I looked at them altogether . Too many lost bookings for rooms or lost reservations in the restaurant. Then the refrigerators were left open two Friday nights in a row. Weekends are big for us. We g e t a lot of company dinners , as well as couples and families. We fully stock the refrigerators in preparation. Needless to say, those nights, everything spoiled and needed restocking . After the second incident , I got a guy in from the manufacturer to replace the locking mechanism on the doors. It seemed okay ; then a month later it happened again, right before a wedding. The wedding breakfast was for two hundred, canapés and drinks for three hundred , and an evening buffet. We lost thousands , and that's not including the discount we had to bung the couple for being late on serving everything. We'll be lucky if they don't tell all their rich friends that we screwed up their special day."
"Sounds stressful."
"It wa s. Something similar to the wedding catastrophe happened two weeks later. We had an awards dinner for a bunch of suits. We had to call every vendor we knew and beg for supplies. Our vendors supply other restaurants and hotels too, so I can only hope they kept their mouths shut , or we'll be a laughing stock . This may seem like a big industry , but not when the mud starts flying, " Edward finished, his voice edging towards despair.
Most of this I already knew , but it was good to hear from Edward. He was one unhappy man and I got it. He finally attained the job he ’d worked his entire career for , and some little shit was trying to screw him over. He appeared remarkably calm about it, even though it looked like he was counting the days until he was fired. "There were other incidents?" I pressed.
"After the second incident with the refrigerators, stuff started disappearing from the guest rooms. Jewelry, phones, laptops, iPods. Expensive stuff. Some of the guests, understandably, wanted the police called in."
"Did you call the police?"
"No. We put in theft reports and reimbursed all the guests as well as interviewed every
"I've arranged for you to have access to everywhere in the building. The employment records are kept in our human resources office with Louisa Moore , our HR manager. You can look through whatever you want. I told Louisa that you'll be doing some employment research for me , so she won't get in your way."
"Thanks. I appreciate that." It was good to tell the client that they were doing things right, and that they were a help, not a burden. Edward relaxed slightly and a spot of light illuminated a shiny patch on his head, appearing like a little halo . "You haven't been manager long. Do you think the grudge is against the hotel group , or you personally ?" I asked.
"I was appointed manager when the hotel was taken over ; and not everyone was happy about leaving, or abou t my promotion. But I earned it,” he assured me. “ I've been in the hotel industry for more than twenty years. I've worked every job. I've grafted to get where I am today."
"I believe that. Can you get me a list of anyone who was, or could have been mad at you for your promotion? Say, anyone at the hotel who wanted your current job ? "
"Sure. I want to point out that the sabotage started months after I got the job , though ."
"It's just an angle to explore," I explained. "And please pardon this question, but have any complaints been made against you by any employee?"
"None," Edward said emphatically, and without offen s e. "You're welcome to check with Louisa."
I changed tactics because I didn’t want Edward to focus on the personal angle . "Tell me about the sabotage."
Edward relaxed in his chair and rolled his shoulders , like he was limbering up. He was a muscular man, and broadly built, his shirt stretching across his chest. I saw no hint of a beer gut. "It started with little things, things that our guests would pass off as carelessness, or sloppy work, but things just didn't sit right when I looked at them altogether . Too many lost bookings for rooms or lost reservations in the restaurant. Then the refrigerators were left open two Friday nights in a row. Weekends are big for us. We g e t a lot of company dinners , as well as couples and families. We fully stock the refrigerators in preparation. Needless to say, those nights, everything spoiled and needed restocking . After the second incident , I got a guy in from the manufacturer to replace the locking mechanism on the doors. It seemed okay ; then a month later it happened again, right before a wedding. The wedding breakfast was for two hundred, canapés and drinks for three hundred , and an evening buffet. We lost thousands , and that's not including the discount we had to bung the couple for being late on serving everything. We'll be lucky if they don't tell all their rich friends that we screwed up their special day."
"Sounds stressful."
"It wa s. Something similar to the wedding catastrophe happened two weeks later. We had an awards dinner for a bunch of suits. We had to call every vendor we knew and beg for supplies. Our vendors supply other restaurants and hotels too, so I can only hope they kept their mouths shut , or we'll be a laughing stock . This may seem like a big industry , but not when the mud starts flying, " Edward finished, his voice edging towards despair.
Most of this I already knew , but it was good to hear from Edward. He was one unhappy man and I got it. He finally attained the job he ’d worked his entire career for , and some little shit was trying to screw him over. He appeared remarkably calm about it, even though it looked like he was counting the days until he was fired. "There were other incidents?" I pressed.
"After the second incident with the refrigerators, stuff started disappearing from the guest rooms. Jewelry, phones, laptops, iPods. Expensive stuff. Some of the guests, understandably, wanted the police called in."
"Did you call the police?"
"No. We put in theft reports and reimbursed all the guests as well as interviewed every
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