5. Michaela
Michaela
M y head spins like a cyclone all the way to Rhys’s place.
A thousand questions rattle in my brain.
On numerous occasions I was tempted to call my father back because I didn’t have the patience to wait, but I refrained.
Something tells me once I have this discussion with him, my world will never be the same.
It’s like I’m a puppet on a string and I’ve lost all control.
The ride back seemed interminable. LA traffic and all.
Once I paid the cabbie, I slid out of the car and closed the door, the thumping sound as eerily scary as the lid of a coffin closing over me while I’m still alive.
The moment I stepped into the main house to tell Keira I was back, she could tell something was wrong.
There was no hiding it—stress was rolling off me.
She had a thousand questions. I didn’t have answers.
I only have bits and pieces of information, and none of it makes a lick of sense.
I promised her I’d spill my guts once I talked to my father.
Daddy, you have some explaining to do.
With my head hanging low, I make my way to the guesthouse. I kick off my high heels and shrug out of my pink dress in favor of shorts and a tank top. With my phone clenched in my hands, I walk to the living room, plop myself on the sofa, and video call my father.
When Daddy accepts the call, his tired face fills the screen.
His green eyes, darker than mine, hold my gaze before his lips part in a sad smile.
My heart is beating so fast, I swear it’s going to jump right out of my rib cage and start running back to New York City.
“I’m sorry, ladybug,” he says.
I close my eyes. “Rip off the Band-Aid.”
“You have to look at me for this conversation, ladybug,” he says.
I do.
He brings a glass to his lips and takes a sip of his red wine.
Wow. If my father is drinking in the afternoon at the office, this is worse than I thought––worse than I’m prepared for.
“The hotel has been on shaky legs for a while?—”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I don’t involve you in the financial parts of the business because I don’t want you to worry. I’m supposed to take care of you.”
“And you think I’m not worried right now? I’m going out of my mind with worry, Daddy. Fear has consumed me since we talked?—”
“It was never my intention to put you in this position?—”
“Perhaps you should’ve been honest with me from the beginning. I’m twenty-three years old. I’m a grown woman. I can handle whatever you’re dealing with.” I hope.
“I thought I could handle it?—”
“How bad is it?” I cut to the chase.
He doesn’t answer.
“Daddy, talk to me. Tell me everything.”
“It’s a colossal shit fest,” he says.
Okay, not good.
“The short answer is, I’m a hair away from bankruptcy.”
I stare at my father in cold shock while my heart tries to painfully reboot.
“Our loyal and dedicated employees count on me to put food on the table, pay their mortgages and send their kids to college,” he says.
“We have multigenerational families working in our hotel.” Pride coats his words.
“I couldn’t let these people down. I couldn’t let Mom down.
Or you. I sunk every dime I had in my effort to keep from sinking––money from Mom’s life insurance, my life savings, and the house is mortgaged to the hilt.
” He stares intently at me. “I even had to dip into the money Mom and I set aside for you. I had no choice if I wanted to cover the payroll.” Another long pause.
“I can’t hold the staff responsible for my screw-ups. ”
“What about the house in the Hamptons? It’s worth several millions of dollars. Isn’t there a way to use some of the equity?”
“I lied about the house in the Hamptons.”
I flinch. “What do you mean?”
“I wasn’t renting it on a long-term lease. I sold it four months ago to keep afloat.”
I gasp in horror. “You sold it without telling me?”
“I was drowning—back taxes, repairs needed for the upkeep of a heritage building as per New York State codes, and an inspection that didn’t go too well.
” His eyes shift to a distant point. “On top of that, I’m still paying for your college degree and the colossal bill from my recent hospitalization, which are choking me.
” He purses his lips. When his green eyes meet mine, I can only read resignation and sadness.
“As much as it kills me to admit this, the sale from of the house in the Hamptons was a drop in the bucket. I was in way too deep for it to turn things around.”
Oh God.
A lump forms in my throat at the thought of what I’m about to suggest, but I have to. What if it’s a lifeline? “What about Mom’s jewelry?”
“No. Never.” Daddy shakes his head. He even adds a rapid finger wave. “That’s off the table. That’s yours.”
“But, Daddy?—”
“I said no, Michaela. I’ve lost my dignity and all my money.
I’ve done enough to disrespect your mother’s memory by nearly losing the family hotel.
I refuse to pawn her jewelry. Those precious pieces are worth a fortune, and they’re irreplaceable.
Not to mention, many were your grandmother’s and great-grandmother’s.
They’ll remain in the bank’s safe, unless you want to wear them. End of discussion.”
I stare at him.
His lips turn up in a lopsided smile, but his eyes are veiled with sadness. “Your mother was always the brains of the operation, Mikki. If she were still alive, none of this would’ve happened.”
You would never have married Thana.
“I’ve never been a numbers guy, which explains my predicament. I have nothing left to my name. I used every penny to save the hotel, but even that wasn’t enough.” Tears well in his eyes. “I thought I could dig myself out of this mess.”
I suck in a shaky breath and lift my gaze to the ceiling.
Dear God.
“I’m sorry I failed you, ladybug.”
My heart breaks at his words. “Oh, Daddy, you didn’t fail me. It’s business. I wish you would’ve confided in me instead of shutting me out.”
“I’ve said everything I had to say on the subject.” His tone bodes no further discussion.
“Given her position and knowledge, didn’t Thana try to do something to help?”
He lets out a sarcastic laugh. “Oh, she did something all right.”
I frown my confusion. “What does that mean?”
“Let me start from the beginning,” he says.
“Please do.”
“About five months ago, Thana started taking nighttime classes, claiming she wanted to be proactive to better help us navigate the ups and downs of the hospitality business. I didn’t object.
She knew things weren’t looking too good.
I thought she had my best interests at heart.
Then all of a sudden, she declared she had to go to an intensive weeklong training in Tucson that was going to propel us forward.
Once again, I was all for it. She left on Thursday, even though the classes started on Monday, stating she wanted to avoid being jetlagged by arriving a few days early.
She didn’t call much, but she sent a few text messages.
I was too busy to make much of it. Monday morning rolls around, and my older brother barges into my office upon his return from a tech conference in San Diego, waving his phone, declaring he knew I had married a bitch, and he had proof she was two-timing me. ”
“What proof did Uncle Ian have?”
“Thana wasn’t in Tucson. She was in San Diego with her lover.”
“What?”
“She was cheating on me.”
“Are you sure? I’m not trying to defend Thana, but that’s a bold accusation.”
“Ian caught her walking hand-in-hand with a man––”
“What if it was someone else?”
“Thana has a unique name. Furthermore, she’s five-eleven, a natural redhead with long hair, blue eyes, and fair skin. Even with heavy makeup, it’s a struggle to hide her freckles. What are the odds it would be someone else?”
Okay, he has a good point.
Still, I find it hard to believe Thana would cheat on my father. After all, my stepmother loves to remind me I’m stuck with her forever because Daddy is the love of her life.
“Your uncle didn’t want to jump to conclusions,” Daddy says. “It could’ve been a family friend. The guy’s much older than me. I’m going to guess he’s in his late sixties or early seventies.”
“Wow.”
Thana is thirty-five. Daddy is fifty-two.
They’ve been married for a year and a half.
They dated for five months before Daddy announced they were getting married.
That was a dark day in my life. So much so, I went to Mom’s grave to talk to her.
Daddy had his heart attack five months after marrying Thana. Coincidence? I think not.
“Ian trailed behind the couple long enough to confirm his suspicions,” Daddy says. “When the pair stopped and sat on a bench, Thana sat on the man’s lap, her arms laced around his neck.”
“Good Lord.”
“Ian didn’t think twice. He pulled out his phone and recorded what was unfolding in front of his eyes.
He had barely pressed the button on his app, when the man planted an open mouth kiss on my wife’s lips.
The video clip showed tongue action and…
”—Daddy purses his lips in a tilt of disdain—“the man rubbing her private parts over her dress.”
I’m dumbfounded.
I don’t hate my stepmother because she was replacing my mom in my father’s life––well, that’s a big part of it, but it’s not the only reason.
I can’t stand Thana because she isn’t trustworthy.
She acts differently around my father than she does around everyone else.
Especially the staff. Mom always treated employees with respect.
Thana talks down to people and treats them like servants.
When she took over running the hotel while Daddy was recovering from his heart attack, morale went way down.
Since Daddy was battling for his life after a scary brush with death, I didn’t want to add to his burden, so I kept my mouth shut.
I always had visions of running the hotel side-by-side with my father, Thana’s arrival changed that.