Chapter 4
Chapter four
Greer
“Where the hell is this place?”
I left Garland twenty minutes ago, and my GPS is glitching. I swear I’ve been driving in circles. The snow is impossibly thick, and did I mention it’s dark? Stupid winter. Stupid daylight savings.
Thank god for four-wheel drive and properly fitted chains on my tires, or I’m sure I’d be in a snowbank by now.
“You should be there already. It was on the outskirts of Garland.” Avery’s voice floats through the car speakers.
“I still can’t believe you booked me a Roads Motel, it’s a one star,” I grouse. “I’m going to end up with bed bugs.”
“Oh, don’t be so uppity, Greer. I’ve stayed in them in a pinch before, and I remember staying in one when I went on a trip with you and your family, too. They’re fine—or at least this one is. It’s got good reviews.”
I grip the steering wheel. She knows I hate when she brings up my family or the past. This is the second time she’s done so today.
“You’re sure there was nothing else available?” Now I really don’t want to stay there. The last thing I want is to be haunted by ghosts of the past.
“I’m positive. Garland is a ski town that’s perfect for the holidays, and it’s three days before Christmas. I’m shocked I was even able to find this room.”
I don’t say anything because I know she’s right. But I’m debating if sleeping in my SUV would be better. I groan. That would be stupid—I’d freeze to death under a pile of snow.
I glance down at my GPS then out the window. When I look back at it, the Roads Motel is no longer on the map.
“I think I got turned around,” I say.
“What do you mean? There’s only one way in and out of Garland. If you followed the road out, you should have passed it on the outskirts. Did you turn somewhere you weren’t supposed to?”
“Of course I didn’t!” I snap.
“Alright, alright. I was just asking.”
I clench my jaw and hit the button to turn down the heat. My skin is flushed with frustration, and the weather is only getting worse, if that’s possible. I need to find this fucking motel.
I glance down at the GPS—still no Roads Motel on the map. The little arrow marking my path just shows that I’m moving south.
“I think I should turn back around.”
“What does your GPS say?”
My pulse thrums faster against my throat. “It shows I’m moving, but it doesn’t have any town names around it.”
“Okay, then, yeah. Turn around. Don’t get yourself killed.”
“Thanks.”
Avery starts to ask a million more questions about landmarks and my location. But like I told her before, I don’t see anything. Now that I think of it, I should be seeing some random restaurants and hotels. There were several of them leading into Garland.
My stomach sinks. “I’m going to hang up; I need to focus.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay on the line with me?”
I shake my head even though she can’t see it. “I’m going to head back to the restaurant then figure something out from there. It’ll be fine.”
“Is that really a good idea? I don’t think you’ll be welcomed back in.”
“What do you mean?” I think of the older woman I left not long ago. Sure, she wasn’t happy to see me, but the walkthrough was pretty painless. I did what I needed to do, told her I’d be in touch, then left.
“You already got an angry email from Holly. She thought she was sending it to you and Mr. Cross, but she sent it to my assistant email.”
“What did it say?”
“I forwarded it to you.”
“You didn’t forward it to Mr. Cross, did you?”
“Of course not.”
I breathe a sigh of relief. I think Mr. Cross will be happy I came today instead of after the New Year, but I’d rather let him know in person after the holiday than have him find out through an angry email from the business owner, especially if he does end up getting miffed.
But like I said, I don’t think he will. I’m sure he’s gotten plenty of angry emails over the years, so he’ll understand and applaud my gumption.
“Can you give me the short version?” I ask.
“Essentially, she called you a bitch without calling you a bitch. Said you had no soul for coming around before the holiday, that you ruined her and her family’s Christmas.”
“Bit dramatic.”
“I told you not to go today.”
“It’s just business, Avery. And Christmas is days away.”
“That’s not the point. You told the woman she might lose her business right before Christmas.”
“I did not tell her that. I told her there are goals that need to be met in the next few weeks that could determine the renewal of their lease. She can always move the restaurant to a new location or a new town.”
“You know that’s not true. You’ll price her out, and it’s her home.”
“Do you know this woman?” I ask, turning my car around in a place that looks safe. Just because I’m going back doesn’t mean I have to go to the restaurant. But at least I will be in civilization and not surrounded by woods.
“No, I don’t know her. But one look at the evaluation you sent over, and I know you’ll be serving her an eviction notice soon. And if she can’t afford the rent in Garland, where else will she go? Northlight owns all the open buildings.”
My knuckles turn white on the steering wheel.
I know that Avery is right, but it doesn’t matter.
I think about the audiobook I was listening to, taking emotion out of business.
I know how to do it, as I’ve been working in commercial real estate since I graduated college.
But it’s always good to have a refresher.
There was a time when I let emotions run my life, even my work.
Back then, I might’ve cared about this woman’s feelings.
But I learned better. If you allow feelings to get in the way of your goals and your job, you won’t make money or get far in life.
I can’t cater to this woman and her family.
I have to do what’s best for Garland’s future.
“It’s business,” I say to Avery. “It’s not personal.”
She snorts, and I almost hang up on her.
I’m driving in the middle of a snowstorm—I don’t need her judgment.
“I’m going to hang up now. But can you send me their reported numbers for last year?
I’d also like the current lease terms. And something else: I saw a building as I was leaving town that looked like we could swoop it up.
I’d love to know if the owners are selling.
” I finish that thought by rattling off the address I memorized.
“It’s after six,” Avery says. “I was about to leave and pick up everything after Christmas.”
“I told you; you still have work until Christmas Eve.”
She pauses a long beat before she says, “My mom called. Our families are hanging out tonight.”
My stomach flips, my gaze focused on the road ahead of me. The windshield wipers flick back and forth as fast as they can go, but the snow is coming down so hard they hardly give me a better view of the road.
“Send me what I ask for, then you can go.”
“Greer,” she pleads. “Come on. Just because you don’t like to spend time with any of them doesn’t mean I don’t.”
“I look forward to your emails. And please update me on Tim’s status with Carole’s.”
“Greer—”
I click the button that hangs up the phone and nearly scream into the car. Instead, I inhale through my nose and exhale through my mouth, remembering the mantra from the audiobook.
“Emotions are a liability. Control is power.” I repeat it several times while I try to push out any and all thoughts of my family. Fuck.
Why did Avery feel the need to tell me our families are hanging out tonight? It’s not like it’s new; I know they hang out a lot over the holidays and always have. But between that and the memories of the Roads Motel, I’m more than annoyed.
Avery is the only one I speak to. I haven’t seen her parents or boyfriend or had a conversation with my mom and dad since they called me an Ice Queen on Christmas Eve three years ago.
We had a huge fight after that in front of everyone, including my then-boyfriend.
It was embarrassing and uncalled for. The only good to come of it was I learned what my parents thought of me, of my job.
They were disappointed and embarrassed by me.
It was obvious that they wished they had a kid like Avery instead—my mom even said as much.
They wished I was someone warm and nice, someone who wanted to settle down and have a family in the suburbs.
That’s not me and never has been. I’ve wanted to work in the corporate world, to earn enough money so that I didn’t have to pinch pennies like my parents did my entire life.
I wanted to make a name for myself, to carve my own path.
It’s not my fault that’s not what they wanted for me or that I don’t want to be like them.
Memories of that night stab into my consciousness.
That Christmas Eve and the following day were some of the worst of my life.
Not only did I sever contact with my family, no longer seeing them or accepting their calls, but my boyfriend of over a year broke up with me the next morning after I gave him an expensive watch.
He stood up, gave me back the gift, and said he agreed with my parents.
Said I wasn’t the person I was when we started dating, that I’d changed but he’d been too afraid of me to say anything.
After that, I took a long, hard look in the mirror.
If people thought I was an Ice Queen, then that was that.
I’ve leaned into it ever since, and life has never been better.
I’m working for a promotion, I rent a beautiful three-bedroom condo in the city, my car is paid off, and I have no debt and money in the bank. What more could I ask for?
“Emotions are a liability. Control is power,” I repeat to myself as I step on the gas, my car accelerating up the side of the mountain.
On another exhale, I look at my GPS. I frown when I still don’t see anything that looks remotely like I’m approaching Garland.
“What the hell?” I ask out loud. This car is nearly brand new; the GPS should not be malfunctioning.