Chapter Nine #2
“Because Tim has been with us for three years, and could hardly be blamed for spilling the tray when the little Wicken boy stuck out his foot and tripped him. Several other waiters, and several of the guests, saw it happen.”
“Be that as it may, I gave you a specific order.”
“Yes, sir.” The cheerful little tune in her head became a throbbing headache. She’d meant to go over all of this with Stenerson before. “And after a closer review of the circumstances, I chose to handle it differently.”
“Need I remind you who is in charge of this hotel, Miss Calhoun?”
“No, sir, but I would think after all the years I’ve worked at the BayWatch, you would trust my judgment.” She took a deep breath, and a big risk. “If you don’t, it might be best if I turned in my resignation.”
He blinked three times, then cleared his throat. “Don’t you feel that’s a bit rash?”
“No, sir. If you don’t feel I’m competent to make certain decisions, it undermines the system.”
“It isn’t your competence, but your lack of experience. However,” he added, holding up a hand, “I’m sure you did what you felt was best in this case.”
“Yes, sir.”
By the time she left his office, her jaw was clenched. Amanda forced it to relax when William stopped her in the lobby.
“I just wanted to tell you again how much I enjoyed the tour of your home, and the wonderful meal.”
“It was our pleasure.”
“I have the feeling if I asked you to dinner again, you would have a different reason than hotel policy for saying no.”
“William, I—”
“No, no.” He patted her hand. “I understand. I’m disappointed, but I understand. I suppose Mr. O’Riley will attend the séance tonight?”
She laughed. “Whether he wants to or not.”
“I really am sorry I’ll miss it.” He gave her hand a final squeeze. “It’s at eight, did you say?”
“No, nine, sharp. Aunt Coco will have us all gathered around the dining table holding hands and sending out alpha waves or whatever.”
“I hope you’ll let me know if you receive any messages from... the other side.”
“It’s a deal. Good night.”
“Good night.” He glanced at his watch as she left. He had more than enough time to get ready.
“I thought I’d find you here.” Amanda stepped into the large circular room the family called Bianca’s tower. Lilah was curled on the window seat, as she often was, looking out to the cliffs.
“Yeah, just me and fierce Fred.” Coming out of a private dream, she ruffled the dozing dog’s fur. “We’re getting in tune for tonight’s séance.”
“Spare me.” Amanda plopped onto the seat beside her.
“Well, what’s wiped off that satisfied smile you had on your face this morning? Did you fight with Sloan?”
“No.”
“Then it must be the dastardly Stenerson.” At Amanda’s brief oath, Lilah grinned. “Right the second time. Why do you put up with him, Mandy? The man’s a weasel.”
“Because I work for him.”
“So quit.”
“Easy for you to say.” She shot Lilah an impatient look. “We can’t all drift around from day to day like dreamy forest sprites.” She cut herself off, letting out a disgusted breath. “Sorry.”
Lilah only shrugged. “It sounds like you’ve got more needling you than Stenerson.”
“He started it. He said I didn’t have my mind on my work, and he was right.”
“So your mind was wandering. Big deal.”
“It is a big deal. Damn it, I like my job, and I’m good at it. But I haven’t been concentrating, not on that or the necklace, or anything, since...”
“Since the big gun swaggered in from the West.”
“It’s not funny.”
“Sure it is.” Lilah wrapped her arms around her knees and rested her chin on them. “So you lose a little concentration, misplace one of your lists or miss an appointment by five minutes. So what?”
“I’ll tell you so what. He’s changing me and I don’t know what to do about it.
I have responsibilities, obligations. Damn it, I have goals.
I have to think about tomorrow, and five years from tomorrow.
” The trouble was, when she did, she thought of Sloan.
“What if he’s just a glitch? A wonderful, exciting glitch that throws off everything I’ve planned out?
A few weeks from now, he finishes up here and heads back to Oklahoma, and my life’s a mess. ”
“What if he asks you to go with him?”
“That’s worse.” Flustered, Amanda rose to wander in distracted circles. “What am I supposed to do? Throw away everything I’ve worked for, everything I’ve hoped for just because he says saddle up?”
“Would you?”
Amanda shut her eyes. “I’m afraid I would.”
“Then why don’t you talk to him?”
“I can’t.” She sat again. “We haven’t talked about the future. I guess neither of us wants to think about it. It was just that today, I started thinking—”
“You would get back to it.”
“I started thinking,” Amanda repeated, “that a month ago I didn’t even know him. It’s crazy to start planning my life around someone I’ve only known such a short time.”
“And you’ve always been the sensible one,” Lilah put in.
“Well, yes.”
“Then relax.” For encouragement she patted Amanda’s shoulder. “When the time comes, you’re bound to do the sensible thing.”
“I hope you’re right,” Amanda murmured, then forced herself to add a decisive nod. “Of course you’re right. I’m going to work in the storeroom until dinner.”
“See you’re back on track already.” Lilah chuckled to herself when Amanda strode out. “Come on, Fred.” She nuzzled his nose. “Let’s go see if we can derail her.”
Sloan walked into the storeroom, armed with a bottle of champagne, a wicker basket and some of Lilah’s sisterly advice. Keep her off balance, big guy. The one thing you can’t let her do is get logical on you.
Though he wasn’t exactly sure what had prompted Lilah’s visit, he approved the spirit of it.
Just as he approved the way Amanda looked, hunched over a desk in the storeroom, glasses on her nose, hair clipped back.
There were neatly labeled file boxes stacked behind her, dozens of dusty cardboard boxes scattered alongside her and several fat piles of paper in front of her.
“Hey, Calhoun, ready for a break?”
“What?” Her head came up quickly, but it took a moment for her eyes to focus. “Oh, hi. I didn’t hear you come in.”
“Where were you?”
She lifted a ledger. “Back in 1929. It seems my illustrious great-grandpapa made a little pin money running liquor in from Canada during Prohibition.”
“Good old Fergus.”
“Greedy old Fergus,” she corrected. “But a businessman through and through. If he kept such meticulous books of his illegal activities, he certainly would have a record of sale if he sold the emeralds.”
“I thought Bianca hid them.”
“That’s the legend.” She leaned back to rub her tired eyes. “I’d rather have the facts. I had this thought that maybe he put them in a safe-deposit box he didn’t tell anyone about. But I can’t find any record of that, either.”
“Maybe you’re looking in the wrong place.” He set the bottle and basket down as he stood behind her. Gently he began to massage her neck muscles. “Maybe you should concentrate on Bianca. It was her necklace after all.”
“We don’t have a lot of information about Bianca.” When her eyes started to drift closed, she popped them open again. “Great-Grandpapa destroyed all of her pictures, her letters, just about everything concerning her. We’ve only come across one of her date books so far.”
“He must have been crazy mad.”
“Crazy, anyway. Grieving, I’d think.”
“No.” Bending, he kissed the top of her head. “If he’d been grieving, he would have kept everything.”
“Maybe it hurt to remember.”
“If he’d loved her, he would have wanted to remember. He would have needed to. When you love someone, everything about them’s precious.” He felt her muscles knot under his fingers. “What’s the problem, Amanda? You’re all tied up.”
“I’ve been sitting too long, that’s all.”
“Then my timing’s perfect.” He stepped back to pick up the champagne.
“What’s that for?”
“Most people drink it.” Sloan released the cork. After the pop came the seductive hiss. “I don’t know about you, but I worked my butt off today. I thought we’d take a first-class coffee break.”
She didn’t need champagne to cloud her brain. He did that all by himself. And that, she reminded herself as she rose, was exactly what she needed to avoid. “It’s a nice thought, but I should go help Aunt Coco with dinner.”
“Lilah’s helping her.”
“Lilah?” Amanda’s brows shot up. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
“Nope.” He opened the basket to take out two fluted glasses. “Suzanna’s doing homework with the kids, and you and I are having dinner alone.”
“Sloan, I’m really not dressed to go out.”
“I like you in sweats.” He poured the wine and, setting the bottle aside, lifted both glasses. “And we’re not going anywhere.”
“You just said—”
“I said we were having dinner alone, and we are. Right here.”
“Here?” She gestured. “In the storeroom?”
“Yep. I got some of your aunt’s paté, some cold chicken and asparagus, and fresh strawberries.” He tapped his glass against hers before drinking. “I’ve been thinking about you all day.”
He didn’t even have to try to make her knees weak. When he did sweet things, said sweet things, she dissolved into a puddle of love. “Sloan, we have to talk.”
“Sure.” But he bent down to rub his lips lazily over hers. “Why don’t we get comfortable first?”
“What?” Already dizzy, she stared at him as he took out a blanket and spread it over the floor.
“Come on.”
“I really think it would be better if we...” But he was already pulling her down to the blanket.
He took the glass from her hand, setting it on the floor before nuzzling her mouth. “This is better,” he murmured. “Much better.”
“The children are home,” she managed as his hands slid under her shirt. “If someone came in—”
“I locked the door.” Gently he skimmed the rough pad of his thumb over her nipples. “Pay attention, Calhoun, I’m going to show you how to relax.”
She was so relaxed, she didn’t think she could move. Heavy, her eyes fluttered partway open when Sloan laid a smidgen of paté on her tongue.