CHAPTER 45
C HAPTER 45
T hankfully, all the necessary arrangements for the gala had been finalized days before; in some cases, weeks. Curtis dressed in a clean outfit and made a quick survey of the hotel’s main rooms. Alvita was already stationed inside the manager’s office. She paused in her discussions as he passed by her open door. She was joined by the headwaiter, the wine steward, and a white-uniformed woman Curtis thought he recognized from some television program. He assumed it was the visiting chef. Curtis nodded at her and kept walking. Soon as he was out of sight, he heard Alvita resume the conversation.
Of Simon and his assistant manager, there was no sign.
Curtis had two hours before the first guests were scheduled to arrive, so he slipped on trunks and a T-shirt. He was tempted to go for a run, but fatigue was already a weight that would only grow more burdensome as the night progressed. So he walked down to the shore, left his sandals by the crossover, and started north. He passed the housing resort’s new beachfront club, where decorators were putting the final touches on what would soon become a shining pastel jewel. A hundred yards farther, the crowds were all behind him. He left his T-shirt on the sand and dove in. The water held a bracing edge in contrast to the day’s unseasonable heat. He swam a few strokes, then turned on his back and watched the drifting clouds.
Events of the past few days crowded in on all sides. One event after the other, constantly accelerating, and changing his life in the process. All he felt now was a blur of emotions. The highs and lows blended together into a seamless gray.
He was engaged.
His boss and best friend had offered Curtis his blessing.
His company was solvent.
He was to become the head of their North American operations. Which was not about to begin a major expansion.
All because of what they had found buried in the Cape Fortune property’s foundations.
His body jerked with each flash of memory. As if he actually experienced the shocking moments all over again.
* * *
When the chill started biting, he swam to shore and headed back. He returned to his room, showered, and stretched out on the bed. But trying to relax was futile, so he slipped back into trousers and knit shirt and sockless loafers and did another circuit of the main rooms.
Curtis entered the ballroom just as the band completed the sound check. A sea of starched linen, crystal goblets, silverware, and frosted wine buckets stretched out beneath a domed ceiling and sparkling chandeliers. He stood by the rear wall, opposite the long bar and its collection of uniformed staff. He watched Alvita make a slow circuit, adjusting a chair here, a knife there, smoothing the lapel on a waiter’s jacket as her words drew smiles from her staff.
His life had held moments when he’d forged ahead on the path he assumed was his to claim. Then something happened. A sheriff was shot in the line of duty. A mother fell in love a second time and moved them from the only home Curtis had ever known. A young woman promised to love him despite everything and to wait for his return, which never happened. A man from a distant land opened his eyes to a world Curtis had never imagined might exist. An earthbound angel loved him fully and granted him a taste of eternity. Then she was gone, taking their child and his future hopes with her.
And now this.
A new course was set, their current crisis resolved.
And Curtis Gage was betrothed. To a lovely woman, intelligent and gifted.
He knew it was the right move. He knew he would do this. Walk the aisle. Stand before the world. Promise to give her everything he had left. All he could.
The commitment rested on his weary soul like a weightless comforter. He was doing the right thing. Taking the only step that honored her and her father and all they meant to him.
Holden entered the ballroom, spotted him, and walked over. “Everything appears totally calm. I’ve heard there’s been a change in hotel personnel. Should we be expecting blowback?”
“Not tonight.” Curtis felt the gray flow of events sweep him along, take him back into the stream of everything that was about to unfold. “I need to thank you,” Curtis told him. “You and your team.”
“Just doing our job.”
“No, this is something else entirely. Working with us on this level, offering protection and help when you could have—”
“Don’t even say it,” Holden snapped. He waited long enough to be certain Curtis would not continue down that path; then he resumed his calm manner. “When we sign on, that is exactly what we do. It’s how Elena and I select our crew. Hunting out individuals who can be trusted, no matter what.”
“My job is to thank you in a way that holds meaning for everyone involved.”
Holden’s only response was to keep surveying the room’s exits.
“Let me tell you what’s going to happen,” Curtis went on. “Your group will be put on a long-term contract.”
“No need.”
“Now is the time for you to be quiet and listen.” He was rewarded with one of Holden’s rare smiles. “We have to jump through a number of legal and tax hoops. Which means this payout will take a while. The disbursement also needs to happen so we don’t attract the attention of possible watchers. Rae is setting up a shell company that will hold the new assets and serve as official lender to our group. How long all this will take to put in place, I have no idea. Your ongoing contract will form part of this. You and your team will be paid. And you will receive bonuses. Whether or not we actually need your help with anything more going forward isn’t an issue. ”
Holden remained as he was, tracking the room, for a very long moment. Then he offered Curtis his hand. “I wish we had more clients like you.”
“Thank you, Holden. For everything. You and your crew have saved our group.”
“We played a role. The one we were born for. Nothing more, nothing less.” He started away, then turned back. “Can I ask a personal question?”
“Seems to me that pretty much summarizes everything we’ve been discussing,” Curtis replied. “Personal.”
“This is different.”
“You can ask me whatever you want. Now or at any point in the future.”
Still the man hesitated. A long glance over the room, then Holden said quietly, “I’ve been wondering about Rae.”
It was, Curtis thought, the right question asked by the right man, and happening at the perfect point in time. “She has just broken up with a man almost everyone thought made a perfect match. You know her Aunt Emma?”
“Never had the pleasure.”
“She’ll be here tonight. Emma told Amiya that John was a fine young man. But she owed Amiya a lifetime debt for steering Rae in a different direction.”
Holden gave that the time it deserved, then, “Sounds to me like I should make a point of getting on that lady’s good side. You know, if I’m going to try and introduce myself to the recently single Rae.”
Curtis watched the solemn warrior cross the room, speak with Alvita, and shake the woman’s hand, then depart through the exit used by the band members. He started across the room, taking comfort in the fact that the people accompanying him through life’s next chapter were friends. That, in itself, was a gift.
Directly in front of the bandstand stretched a half-moon of polished elm flooring that made a lovely dance floor. Alvita and her team had made a remarkable job of adding the extra table, tightening the lanes between tables a fraction, encroaching on the dance floor to where the front chairs had only inches to spare. Alvita stood by what was now the head table, pretending to adjust this and that, all the while staring at what was now an empty chair.
“Allow me to introduce myself.” He offered his hand. “Curtis Gage.”
She managed to be both solemn and happy at the same time. “And I, good sir, am the happiest lady on this good earth.”
“It appears we have an extra person accompanying us tonight. Kurien Morais is chairman and CEO of the hotel’s parent group.” He inspected the table. “Is there a Mister Alvita?”
His question sparked a new level of humor in those dark eyes. “His name is Raymond, and the man has come to love my stories of snakes and mystery guests.”
“Can we fit fourteen places around this table?”
She waved her hand over the glittering array. “See for yourself. So long as everyone here are friends, there should be no problem.”
He met her gaze. “Simon certainly did one good thing. Hiring you. Do you have an outfit that might suit the evening?”
“Oh, Mr. Gage—”
“Curtis.”
“Curtis.” She was tall enough to meet his gaze with a broad smile. “I have an evening dress that has been whispering to me all the day long.”
“Would Raymond be willing to join us?”
“If the man knows what is good for him.”
“Join us, Alvita. Please.”
She offered a grinning little curtsey. “Oh, Curtis. You do know how to give a lady wings.”