Chapter 9: Finishing Touches

It had been a bit over a week since Tafford's 'incident' and aside from that things had progressed more or less smoothly. The grand opening was only two days away and the entire staff was busy putting on a final coat of polish to make sure the hotel shined for it's big day. Charlie and Vaggie had been deep in study, cramming psychology books & videos for days on end. Nifty had eradicated every last pest and was in the process of waxing every floor in the building. Husk had actually put in a bit of effort and restocked the bar, knowing full well that most of the liquor would never make it to the guests. Tafford had busied himself with various bits of maintenance throughout the hotel. While Alastor devoted a modicum of his time to paperwork, if only enough keep the hotel free of legal entanglements. Razzle and Dazzle kept busy assisting where they were needed. Lastly and unfortunately, Angel Dust was still largely absent. Although glimpses of the tall spider were becoming more frequent, he never stuck around for long.

Currently Charlie and Vagatha were fixing a banner in the lobby, with her two goat bodyguards holding either ladder.

"And why exactly couldn't you help with this?"

Vagatha asked, addressing Husk who was drinking nearby.

"Someone has to watch for all the poor wayward souls who might wander into this place. Besides, your closer. Plus I don't wanna."

He replied with a healthy dose of sarcasm.

"Ugh, seriously Husk? You don't do anything around here! I swear you have got to be the laziest piece of-"

"Hey, whoa! There's no need for that."

"Charlie, come on! You know he never pitches in, he barley showers, and just about the only time he moves from that stool is to sleep or whenever Alastor orders him to."

"You know that's not true! Just yesterday he restocked the bar, so it's not like he does nothing."

"He stocked it so he could drink all the booze himself! How much has he had this morning alone?"

"Lost count after...seven, I think?"

The drunken cat chimed in.

"See?"

"Look, I know Husk hasn't been as, involved, with the hotel but that's no excuse to just insult him like that. There's never an excuse for rudeness!"

"Ugh, Whatever."

Replied the moth, not wanting to press the issue any more. A few minutes later they herd a,

Knock Knock Knock,

from the front door.

"I'll get it."

Said the princess rushing over to the doors. Opening it reviled a delivery man dressed in a matching brown shirt and shorts with a little hat atop his head.

"Hey, got a delivery for the manager of this place."

"That's me!"

"Sign here."

The delivery demon said, extending a form on a clipboard, which the princess gladly signed.

"Thank you."

She said as the bored worker turned back to his box truck. Despite being a slender lady Charlie had a fair bit of her own strength, and carried the box in herself without issue. As she set the large cube of cardboard on the edge of the bar Vagatha came over with a box cutter.

"Oh good, the new uniforms are here."

Stated the grey moth upon seeing the contents.

"Great! This will let everyone get used to them before the big day."

Charlie takes out her phone and dials Nifty's number

"Yes Boss?"

"Nifty, good news. The new uniforms are here."

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-"

In the next second a brightly colored blur sped on top of the bar, and the nimble sprite materialized next to the box before any of the trio could register what it was.

"-EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Oh my god! They're finally here! Ever since we ordered them I've been so exited, I just love getting new clothes!"

She said taking her new apparel out of the box and disappearing again. Before the other two women or the drunk barman could truly process what they had just seen their mono eyed compatriot returned dressed in her new outfit.

"So, how do I look?"

She asked with a small twirl.

"It looks so cute!"

Complimented Charlie

"Not bad. I like how it goes with your hair."

Added Vagatha

"Aw, thank you! So where's everyone else? I would think they'd want to try on their new clothes right away. What about you Husk, aren't you exited to get your uniform?"

"No."

"No? Why not? I'm always exited whenever I get a new outfit."

"Cause I don't get exited anymore. Unless you can bet on it or get hammered from it, it don't hold my attention."

"Oh. That's pretty sad when you think bout it. I don't know how anyone could live with such little spark to their life."

"You get used to it."

This statement gave Niffty pause, her features briefly saddening before changing the subject.

"Anyways, where's Mr. Tafford? I think he would want to pick up his uniform."

"Well, Tafford is probably off doing some work, and I think Al is still on his walk."

"Oh. Well, make sure everyone gets their uniform, I should get back to the floors. Been waxing all day and I'm almost done. See you later."

She said before speeding off.

"We will, later Nifty."

returned the princess with a small wave.

…

"I should get back to my psych study. There's still some areas I'm not a hundred percent on, and I need to have everything down pat when we open."

"O.K. The banner looks good so I'd say we're done here. Thanks for your help."

After this brief exchange Vagatha would go to do exactly as she said, with Charlie inspecting the lobby to make doubly sure everything was ready for the hotel's unveiling.

The banner was hung and level, and the rest of the decorations were likewise in place. The space was immaculately clean, with newly papered walls and neatly aligned portraits from the princess's own collection. Every light shown gently, creating a soft welcoming atmosphere. Just inflate the balloons and everything would be perfect. With the work on the lobby done Charlie decided now was as good a time as any to do a run through of the building to make sure everything was prepared.

…

Kitchen stocked, rooms cleaned, therapy spaces ready, first floor check.

…

Games ready, TV's hooked up, snacks in place, rec rooms check.

…

Halls waxed, rooms furnished, welcome pamphlets placed, guest rooms check.

…

Sheets set, mini fridges up, balcony views amazing, premium suites check.

…

Elevators, air conditioning, Wi-Fi, check, check, and triple check.

Everywhere she went things were in good shape. Everything worked, there was no mess anywhere, all the rooms were prepared. It was hard to believe that this was the same place as a few weeks ago. Granted things weren't all sunshine and roses yet, but Charlie was closer than ever to making her dream a reality. She had a nice building, a, mostly, hardworking staff, and was armed with all the knowledge she needed to set her people on the right path. After weathering a veritable typhoon of discouragement, and surfing a tidal wave of doubt she could finally say,

They were ready.

Some hours later, that same evening.

It was late, the hotel was dark and everyone was asleep. Almost everyone, as an exhausted thin white spider demon almost dragged himself up to the front doors. Opening them just a crack, he made sure the coast was clear before shuffling towards his room. It had been a long night even by his standards. Had to be four, five am at least and for that reason he didn't dare to check his phone. All he wanted to do was fall into bed and not have worry or think about anything for a few- wha?! He didn't expect Vagatha to still be awake, much less sitting in a corner next to a lamp waiting for him.

"Finally! There you are."

"Ugh, Vags, I know you want to tear into me but I just don't got the energy right now."

He said as he fell onto the bed.

*Sigh* "How many days have you come in this late?"

"More than I want to remember."

He replied his voice muffled by a pillow.

"Too many. Angel, I know your boss is making you bring in more cash, but do you really have to go out like this every night? You've had busy weeks before, but never like this! Just back to back, nonstop with barley any time to rest! That limp purple polla can't keep riding you like this! I mean how much does he even expect you to bring in every week? No one's that greedy!"

The moth railed, her tone a mixture of fury and worry. At that Angel Dust rolled over so he could look to his girlfriend.

"Try tellin him that. Look Vags, if there was a way I could avoid burnin' my candle from both ends don't you think I would take it? I know math ain't my strong suit but even I know that this is the only real way I can keep him off my ass. Throwing big numbers in his face is the only way to keep him happy."

"But you can't keep doing this! Your involvement with the hotel notwithstanding, your working yourself to death! If you keep going on like this your going to kill yourself! Do you have any idea how much that would hurt me? You think I like seeing you commit suicide by prostitution?"

"Vags, I hate this just as much as you. I hate stayin out every night when I could be takin it easy here, I hate havin' to take jobs from any dirty old john or jane who's looking for a quick piece of ass, I hate bein dead tired at the end of every day, and I hate how pissed you and Charlie always are with me! But there's nothing I can do so long as Val holds that contract, so can we please just drop it for tonight. I'm exhausted, I'm dirty, and all I want to do is sleep so I don't have to think about where I'm gonna be in a few hours. Please?"

The moth demon only gave a defeated sigh as she turned off the lamp and crawled into the other end of the bed. But before she drifted off to her rest she had one more thing to say.

"Hey, I know you have to keep throwing money at your boss, but do you think you could take just one day off to attend the grand opening? It's in two days and it would mean a lot to Charlie if you were there. And if you won't do it for Charlie, maybe you could do it for me? Just think about it, please?"

The only response she received was a groan, signifying that the spider to her right was halfway to dreamland. And so, unsure if her boyfriend had even herd her, the moth and the spider quickly drifted off to sleep, a wide gulf between them that made the room just a bit colder.