34. Kristin
34
KRISTIN
“ K ristin, don’t you dare run across this parking lot,” Hannah Jane snapped as she slid out of her shiny black car and slammed the door. “I had a wedding last night, I wore new heels, and my feet are destroyed. I don’t feel like chasing you.”
I ignored her and made a beeline for the service entrance. I had been avoiding Hannah like the plague. It wasn’t hard. I knew all the good hiding spots. I hadn’t even had to jump into the laundry cart to hide. It was almost too easy.
Will and I had talked things out. Sort of. I sat on the foyer floor for another hour while he held me in his arms and talked about what he actually did for work.
All the computer-y, tech-y stuff he did each day was more like a hobby. A hobby that made him exorbitant amounts of money.
Not that he needed it.
Will was brilliant, and not only with computer engineering. He credited his investment success to a photographic memory and lots of late nights diving down internet rabbit holes. According to him, you really could learn anything on the internet. Even how to become a billionaire.
The whole concept still shocked me. My only exposure to that kind of money was Isaac. He flaunted it shamelessly. Will lived comfortably— very comfortably— but he wasn’t flashy with his wealth.
He did things like buy me a sleeper couch without asking because he knew I’d say no. It was a little gesture to him, but to me it was about as grand as it got.
Will was the humblest man I’d ever met, despite having enough money to buy a new boat every time the old one got wet.
Holy shit. I was dating a billionaire.
Was I dating a billionaire?
I left and went back home when we finished talking even though he asked me to stay. Will and I never officially got back together.
Then again, I never actually broke up with him either. I just ran.
I was fully prepared to successfully evade Hannah Jane. She was fast in heels, but I was faster. I almost made it to the door when she said, “I have coffee from Queens!”
I froze. Dammit, I couldn’t say no. Zoey hadn’t been sleeping well again, and I had been up all night with her. I really needed an espresso fix. The sludge in the break room wouldn’t pacify the caffeine gremlin in my brain.
“Ha!” she said victoriously as she caught up to me and plucked a paper cup out of the cardboard carrier. “I knew coffee would get your attention. Are you done giving me the ice queen act?”
I glared at her as I took a sip, letting the warmth slide down my throat. Hannah was unbothered by my silence as she shooed me into the inn and out of the cold.
“Are you going to show up to poker tonight?” she asked, lingering in the doorway of her office which sat directly across the hall from where the rest of us peons clocked in.
I stashed my bag in my locker and flipped the lock on the metal door. We had ninety seconds to make it to the Monday morning staff meeting or Rich would bitch me out again.
He’d had it in for me ever since the staff party debacle a few weeks ago. I was looking forward to the short work week. Christmas was in a few days, and I’d get an extra day off.
I could use a day to figure out what the hell I was going to do. Will left the ball in my court. He had asked to go to poker night with me, but honestly, I didn’t know I was ready to go to poker night. If I was ready to face everyone.
Rumors had spread like wildfire amongst the staff, claiming that I’d seduced the new owner. Slept with him and then blackmailed him. Given him blowjobs for raises. One particularly ridiculous story—started by Front Desk Brantley—said that I had been waiting bare ass naked on the bed in his room every day for two weeks while he stayed here. According to that tall tale, the first three days he ignored me. On the fourth, he ravaged me.
Brantley… what a fucking pervert.
If the poker club had told me about Will from the get-go, I would have been able to combat those rumors. Or at least mentally prepare for being ostracized by every single one of my coworkers when the truth came out.
“Maybe,” I said quickly as I swiped my timecard and hustled to the staff meeting. “The kids have a lot going on right now.”
Hannah Jane rolled her eyes. “Bullshit. Stop making excuses. Come to Maddie’s tonight and bitch us all out if you want to. Just show up.”
“Miss Boyd.” Rich greeted me at the door of the conference room. He glanced at his watch. “Nice to see you’re on time. Barely.”
Dick .
I shoved down every ounce of hatred I harbored for that snake and plastered on a fake smile. “Good morning, Mr. Davidson.”
Hannah Jane stood beside me and pinned him with an exacting stare. Her glaring assessment of his ill-fitting suit and greasy combover would have made anyone else would cower under her gaze.
Not Rich. His head was up his own ass too far for him to care.
He grinned like a chimpanzee. “I need you to come by my office after the staff meeting.”
Wasting time on a Monday? Hell no. We had a shit ton to do today to prepare for the holiday week. “Oh, but?—”
“Beth from H.R. will be present. Bring your things with you.” With that bombshell, he turned and walked into the staff meeting.
“Oh my God,” Hannah said as she turned to me, squeezing my arms. “Kris…”
Numb . Everything was numb. A roar of blood rushed in my ears. My vision tunneled.
“Kris, you need to call Will,” Hannah Jane said with panic in her voice.
Jesus. Hannah never panicked.
Her nimble fingers clenched around my biceps and shook me. “Kris, call him! Right now!”
She pulled me away from the door to the conference room, down the hall to her office. I stumbled along the slick floors, my sneakers scuffing with each step. Han unlocked her door and shoved me inside.
“Where’s your phone?” Hannah Jane asked, shoving me into the upholstered chair across from her desk. She yanked open the mini fridge and popped the top on a bottle of water before handing it to me.
I was going to get fired for sleeping with the man who bought the inn .
The man I thought I hated.
The man I love.
“It’s in my locker,” I whimpered.
Hannah Jane growled. Actually growled. She yanked open her desk drawer and pulled out her phone. “Whatever. I have his number,” she said, holding her phone to her ear. While she waited for him to pick up, Hannah pointed at me and said, “You’re not going to roll over and play dead. If Rich is going to try to fire you, you’re going to fight it.”
The call went to voicemail, so Hannah dialed again. We both waited anxiously.
A latent memory worked toward the front of my brain. “He’s not available today…”
Hannah cut her eyes to me. “What do you mean?”
I sniffed. “Last night he said he had an important work thing this morning and that he’d talk to me when I got off work.” I looked down at my hands. “He usually can’t take his phone into those meetings.”
Hannah’s determined demeanor softened. “You’ve talked to him?”
I nodded solemnly. “Just when I thought maybe we’d be able to get past this…”
My lower lip quivered, and I loathed that. I had to be strong. If not for me, for the kids. I couldn’t let them down.
“Beth is reasonable,” Hannah Jane reassured me as she perched her butt on the edge of her desk, rapping her perfectly manicured nails against the side. “She’s not going to let Rich fire you.”
“What if he has cause?”
Hannah Jane raised an eyebrow. “Does he have cause?”
I shrugged. “I mean, I was in a relationship with Will. I honestly didn’t know who he was. Can I just plead stupidity?”
“You’re not stupid, babe,” she said gently. “He was just a guest when you met. Rich doesn’t have a leg to stand on. It’s not like y’all did anything while you were on the clock.” She gave me a hard assessment. “You didn’t fool around with him on the clock, right?”
I glared at her. “I’m not you.”
She smirked.
“What am I gonna do, Han? Christmas is in a few days. I can’t…” I couldn’t even finish the sentence. I cannot lose my job. I worked so hard to be unfireable. Irreplaceable. Essential.
She gave me a sympathetic smile. “It’s going to be okay.”
I didn’t believe her.
I especially didn’t believe her when Beth poked her head in Hannah’s office.
Her eyes fell on me. “Miss Boyd, mind coming with me?”
I nodded glumly and stood. Hannah pushed away from her desk to walk with me, but Beth stopped her.
“Your presence isn’t needed, Miss Hayes,” Rich said as he sided up to Beth.
Hannah paired her saccharine smile with laser focused eyes. “I’d check your tone, Rich,” she clipped. “If you want to throw down with me, be my guest. But you’re going to be surprised at how ugly the fight’s gonna be.”
Beth rolled her eyes and muttered, “Not you too. Don’t make me write you up.”
“Try me, Beth,” she snapped.
“Han, it’s fine,” I said quietly, feeling as though I was walking to my death. “I can handle whatever this is about.”
“I’m coming with you,” she said, not leaving any wiggle room in her words for an argument.
Beth held up her hand, stopping Hannah from leaving her office. “If it was simply a termination, I’d say whatever. Unfortunately, the situation is a little more complex than that.” She looked at me. “Let’s go to Mr. Davidson’s office, Kristin.”
And just like that, it was over .
The life I’d built. The job I’d busted my ass for over the last five years. I would have to go home and tell the kids. I couldn’t lie about it to them.
Maybe Bridget would hire me at the bar. I didn’t know shit about mixing drinks, but I could learn.
“Kristin, take a seat,” Rich said, motioning to the empty chair in front of his desk.
A cold sweat broke out on my forehead, and my clammy hands trembled. “Can you please just get it over with?” I looked at Beth, “I promise, I didn’t know that Mr. Solomon owned Allegiant Holdings. He never told me.”
“This isn’t about your...relationship,” Beth stammered.
Rich sat behind his desk and slid a piece of paper to me. “Do you know what this is?”
Hunched over with brows furrowed, I scanned the spreadsheet. It was filled with dollar amounts, dates, and account numbers.
I shook my head. “No. Should I?”
“It’s the housekeeping expense account,” he said. “The inn has been bleeding money and we finally traced it back to unauthorized cash-outs from this account.” He looked at me, beady eyes lit with glee. “Unfortunately, we don’t have any choice but to terminate your employment. Charges will have to be filed. Beth is merely present as a formality. Because of the nature of your misconduct, we will not be offering a severance package.”
“But I?—”
Rich held up a hand. “Speaking as a friend , I’d advise you not to say anything else without an attorney present.”
But I didn’t do it! I looked at Beth, hoping she’d say something to corroborate my story.
She was dead behind the eyes as she set a thick stack of papers in front of me. “We’ll need your signature on a few forms before you turn in your key. After that I’ll walk you out. ”
Rich reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a pen, clicking it as he handed it over.
Tears streaked down my cheek and splashed on the page. It smeared the ink as I began to sign my name on the dotted line of the page that explained why I was being fired without severance.
A knock on the door startled me as I began the swoopy loops of the ‘B’ in my last name.
Rich didn’t answer.
There was another loud knock, followed by a voice. “Beaufort P.D.”
Oh my God. I was getting arrested. And that voice… It was Steve.
Beth walked behind me and opened the door.
I peered over my shoulder to find Steve and Chase in the doorway, hands on their hips and stern expressions on their faces. I swallowed thickly and opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. What was I supposed to say?
A third person stood just outside the door behind Chase. Will. He was here.
Was this a prank? It certainly didn’t feel like one. I looked down at the half-way signed document in front of me.
Rich stood up from his desk, pressing his palms on the smooth surface, “If you’ll give us just a second to finish up some paperwork, gentlemen?—”
“Kris, don’t sign that,” Will snapped in the most authoritative voice I’d ever heard him use. It paralyzed the hand that was holding the pen, but sent a thrill of excitement between my legs.
I looked up at him with wide eyes as he pushed his way into the room.
“M-Mr. Solomon—” Rich stammered.
Will was in a crisp black pants and tucked-in dress shirt that was unbuttoned at the collar. His light brown hair was styled and the beard he had last night had been reduced to a thin layer of sandpaper stubble .
“I’d advise you not to say anything without a lawyer present,” he barked.
I looked back at Steve and Chase. What the hell was happening?
Chase offered a covert wink before going stone-cold again.
Steve stepped forward, unlatching a set of handcuffs. “Richard Davidson, you’re under arrest for embezzlement and fraud. Turn around and put your hands behind your back.”
“ What? ” he shouted, pointing his meaty finger at me. “This is preposterous! Miss Boyd is the one who?—”
“You really wanna go there?” Will said, stepping between Rich and the chair I was sitting in. “I know everything. ” A cocky smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. “And apparently your snitch of a brother-in-law does, too.”
“Hands behind your back, Davidson,” Steve said as he rounded the desk. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you?”
Rich glared at me through the sliver between Will’s arm and his ribs.
Steve clicked the handcuffs in place. With one hand on the cuffs and one on the back of Rich’s shoulder, he asked, “With these rights in mind, do you wish to speak to me?”
Rich sneered at the four of us. “Fuck you.”
Steve shrugged. “Good enough for me. Let’s go. I’ve got shit to do today and I don’t wanna be late to poker.” He looked at me, pinning me with a definitive stare. “See you there, Kris.”
Employees and guests alike froze in time, watching as Steve and Chase perp-walked Rich out of the building.
“Did that really just happen?” Hannah Jane asked from her spot outside of Rich’s office. She pressed her hand to her chest. “Oh my God, I think I had a heart attack.” She looked down the hall of the admin wing, where Steve and Chase had disappeared through the doors that led to the lobby. “What the ever-loving fuck, Solomon?”
I couldn’t hold it in any longer. Deep, body-wracking shudders pulsed through my extremities as I hunched forward and sobbed over the pile of termination paperwork.
Beth looked wholly uncomfortable. “I’ll give y’all a minute,” she said before scurrying out.
In the blink of an eye, Will crouched down at my side, put his arms around me, and pulled me into his chest. “Hey,” he said. “I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner.”
“A-Am I f-fired?” I choked out, gasping between words.
“No, sweetheart.” He kissed my temple, wiping my tears away with his thumbs.
I gratefully accepted the tissues Hannah Jane handed me and dabbed my eyes. The woman really was prepared for any situation.
“I’m sorry to interrupt this sweet little moment y’all have going on,” Hannah Jane said. “But what the hell was that ?”
Will didn’t even bother looking at her. His eyes were on me. “After the sale of the inn went through, my accountants were going through the books and suspected someone was embezzling money from the inn. That’s the real reason I was staying here back in August. I put some spyware on the computer server and talked to the employees.”
“So, it was Rich and he tried to pin it on Kristin?” Hannah Jane asked.
Will nodded. “I didn’t know that was his end game, but Elena forwarded me an email that Brantley sent her, spilling everything Rich had been up to. He got immunity in exchange for his testimony. Rich was planning to skip town after he pinned it on Kristin. ”
I tensed at the sound of his ex-fiancé’s name.
Will’s voice softened. “Elena sent it to me as a gesture of good will, I guess. Though with her, you never actually know. She was probably just trying to get her job back.” He leaned forward and pressed his lips to my forehead. “But she doesn’t matter. Never did. Not like you.”