Welcome to California

No delegating

     I was hoping to see her. I even walked around the common areas trying to see if she happened to be there. Then I felt ridiculous because she was only my guest. Fuck.

    When I least expected it, ten minutes before heading to bed and leaving Bruno in charge of the hostel, I saw a tired Bette walk into the reception area.

    "Hi. God I must be looking like shit." She said, selfconsciously. This made me think she might not be expecting to see me.

    I shook my head. "No, you look tired is all. Do you need anything?"

    She smiled. "Actually... I slept the day away. Can you believe it? I haven't even unpacked yet. I laid down to rest a little and when I saw it, it was 10PM."

    I smiled in sympathy. "You must have been really tired then." I said, not really knowing what I could do to help her.

    "You're telling me. I was told to go on vacation at my job. It's been a few years since I've relaxed at the beach."

    "I'm glad you decided to come."

    "Me too." She said, looking at me and smiling.

    I didn't know what else to say. I could tell she was making small talk with me but she looked tired and I was too. I was about to ask her if she needed anything when she finally talked.

    "So, do you um, know any good restaurants that are still open?"

    "I can give you a list. If you want, you can also order food through the app and Bruno can take it to your room, in case you need to rest."

    Bette gave me a big smile. "I would love that. Thank you, Tina."

    "Of course. I'll ask Bruno to give you the printed list with our best recommendations."

    "That's perfect. Thank you."

    I smiled at her and talked to Bruno. Then, as Bruno was showing her the list and trying to help her decide what restaurant she'd like best, I turned around to leave.

    "Tina?" I heard her voice.

    I turned around. "Yes?"

    "What time is breakfast  again?" Bette asked. She must have been trying to make conversation with me because I had already told her that and Bruno was there talking to her, so she could simply ask him.

    "It's from 6:30AM to 9:30AM. You remember where it is, right? In the common area." I completed.

    She nodded. "Yes, I had a great tour earlier."

    I smiled. "Good night, Bette."

    As much as I loved having her flirt with me, it killed me not being able to flirt back. Being the owner of the hostel and a very professional person - something my sister definitely was NOT - I always tried to keep the two seperate. While Claire would be having sex with any men that showed up, I avoided beautiful women at all costs. I usually would delegate the services to an employee, like I did by asking Bruno to show her the list of recommendations.

    With Bette, though, I didn't feel like delegating. But I knew that's when I needed to the most.

AN: Guys, I'm planning to post at least 3x a week but I would love to read your comments between chapters. Hope you like it so far :)