Chương 8
“That’s all?”
Kevin looked at me.
“All?”
I shrugged.
“In resort terms, it’s not catastrophic.”
“That isn’t the point.”
“I know.”
And I did.
The amount almost made it worse.
My mother had not risked our relationship for some life-changing advantage.
She had done it for upgraded champagne and massages.
For appearances.
For the tiny thrill of getting more than other people.
I looked toward the lodge again.
This time I saw Patricia through the glass.
She was standing near the fireplace with her phone pressed to her ear.
Her back was to us.
Even from across the terrace, I recognized the way she held herself when she was arguing.
One shoulder slightly higher.
Chin lifted.
A free hand moving in precise little cuts through the air.
“Who is she talking to?” Linda asked.
Thomas looked at me.
“I can find out if the call is internal.”
“No.”
I stood.
“I’ll ask her.”
Kevin stood too.
“Not alone.”
“Yes, alone.”
“Mara.”
“This is between me and her.”
“It stopped being between you and her when she used your company.”
That was true.
I hated that it was true.
Thomas stepped closer.
“From an operational standpoint, Kevin is correct.”
I looked at him.
“You’re siding with my brother now?”
“I side with documentation.”
“That is the most Thomas answer possible.”
“It has kept me employed.”
Despite everything, I smiled.
Then I sighed.
“Fine.”
I looked at Kevin.
“You can come.”
Linda started to rise.
“No.”
She sat immediately.
Joel whispered, “Efficient.”
I pointed at him.
“You stay too.”
He raised both palms.
“I have no authority and no room.”
“Exactly.”
Lily came back from the garden carrying a pinecone.
“Where are we going?”
I bent toward her.
“I need to talk to Grandma.”
“About being mean?”
My eyes closed for one second.
Children are ruthless because they have not yet learned to decorate truth.
“About something else.”
“Can I come?”
“No.”
Her face fell.
Davina stepped in.
“She can stay with us.”
I looked at Lily.
“You okay with that?”
She considered her cousins.
The older one was now pretending the binoculars were a submarine periscope.
“Yes.”
“Stay where Aunt Davina can see you.”
“I know.”
I kissed her forehead.
She smelled faintly like sunscreen and fountain water.
As Kevin and I walked toward the lodge, he said, “You really own this whole place?”
“Not personally.”
He glanced at me.
“You know what I mean.”
“Meridian Crest owns it.”
“And you own Meridian Crest.”
“I own fifty-four percent.”
“Fifty-four.”
“Yes.”
“What’s the rest?”
“Investors, employee equity, two early partners.”
He let out a breath.
“I feel like I’m interviewing you.”
“You are.”
“That’s weird.”
“It’s weird for me too.”
We stepped through the terrace doors.
The lobby was cooler than outside.
Cedar and bergamot.
The scent blend had taken three weeks to approve because I had rejected one version for smelling too much like a candle store.
Patricia was still on the phone.
She had not seen us yet.
“No,” she was saying.
“I understand what you’re telling me, but that authorization should not have failed.”
She listened.
“Yes, I know the limit.”
Kevin looked at me.
Credit card company.
Maybe Thomas had been wrong about the significance of the call.
Then my mother said, “Can you move money from the reserve line?”
Kevin stopped walking.
So did I.
Patricia turned.
She saw us.
Her expression changed instantly.
“I’ll call you back.”
She ended the call.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Then Kevin said, “Reserve line?”
Patricia’s face hardened.
“That is none of your business.”
“It sounds like it’s becoming everybody’s business.”
“Don’t be dramatic.”
He laughed.
I put a hand against his arm.
He looked at me.
I shook my head.
He stepped back.
My mother turned to me.
“So.”
“So.”
“I suppose you’ve come to lecture me.”
“No.”
That seemed to unsettle her.
“I want to understand what happened.”
“Nothing happened.”
“You used my relationship with Meridian Crest to negotiate your reservation.”
Her eyes flickered.
Only once.
But there it was.
“I mentioned that you worked in hospitality.”
“You said I was directly involved in this acquisition.”
“You were.”
“You told me five minutes ago you didn’t know I owned the company.”
Patricia’s lips pressed together.
Kevin whispered, “There it is.”
She shot him a look.
“You don’t need to referee.”
“I’m not.”
“Then be quiet.”
He almost answered.
I tightened my fingers against his arm again.
He stopped.
I looked at my mother.
“How did you know I was involved with Crestwater?”
She said nothing.
The question changed the room.
Until then, I had assumed she had guessed.
Now I could see that she had not.
“You knew something,” I said.
“I knew enough.”
“How?”
Patricia looked toward the front desk.
Two guests were checking in.
A bellman crossed the lobby carrying garment bags.
She lowered her voice.
“Do we have to do this here?”
“Where would you prefer?”
“Somewhere private.”
I gestured toward the library.
She walked ahead without waiting.
Kevin followed.
The library was empty except for an elderly man reading near the window.
I led us through a side door into a small conference room and closed it.
Patricia set her handbag on the table.
She did not sit.
Neither did I.
Kevin leaned against the wall.
“How did you know?” I asked again.
My mother looked at me for a long moment.
Then she opened her handbag.
She took out a folded piece of paper.
Not a phone.
Not an email.
Paper.
That frightened me more than it should have.
She unfolded it carefully and slid it across the table.
I recognized the Meridian Crest letterhead immediately.
The document was nearly three years old.
My name appeared halfway down the page.
Mara Sutton, Managing Partner.
Crestwater Ridge acquisition review.
I looked up.
“Where did you get this?”
Patricia stared at the table.
“When your father died, I went through his office.”
May you like
The room seemed to tilt slightly.
My father had been dead four years.
