Chapter 30
‘It’s just so weird …’ Lily said to Dee, having just gotten off the phone with the dance company following Erin’s discovery about the cancellation.
‘Martha said they had an email from someone at the resort saying that we wouldn’t be using them for this year’s event.
That makes no sense. They’ve been doing the sunset party for as long as I’ve been here. Why would anyone cancel?’
‘So did you iron it out with her and rebook?’ her friend asked, unperturbed, as she bit into a pain au chocolat.
‘She said she couldn’t – they’re going to Breezy Shores instead,’ Lily told her, crestfallen.
‘A-ha. So Breezy Shores must be the ones trying to sabotage us,’ Dee announced, dramatically.
‘I can’t see it, Dee.’
The two resorts, while business competitors, also enjoyed a healthy long-time association being the only two original non-chain hotels remaining on this particular stretch of coast. More often than not, they shared resources and sometimes even suppliers, management of both premises often cooperating to ensure cost efficiency so that they could continue to compete against some of the bigger internationally owned and operated offerings.
So to think that the other hotel could suddenly be trying to undermine their business didn’t sit right with Lily, even taken with the recent realisation that someone certainly was.
According to Erin, there were simply way too many things going awry lately, far more than could be expected, even for a newbie.
‘Ah, maybe the cancellation is for the best in any case,’ Dee said, shrugging. ‘This whole pretend-locals dancing for the tourists thing is a bit outdated anyway, not to mention a bit insulting. Let them dance for themselves.’
At this, Lily sat up a little. ‘You know, you could be onto something there,’ she said as an idea began to form in her mind and she jotted some notes down. ‘But if somebody truly is trying to sabotage our party, then they picked the wrong target to mess with.’
Dee laughed. ‘That’s my girl. So have you said anything to Erin yet about … you know?’ she added, referring to Lily’s decision to quit the events manager post.
‘I didn’t want to, not when she’s dealing with so much already.’
‘And she found nothing in your guy’s room? No key?’
‘He’s not “my guy”.’ Lily made a face, but her insides flooded with warmth at the mention of Shay. ‘She said that nothing stood out to Eugenie’s daughter as such, except maybe an art print of the Pitons. Maybe the key could be hidden behind that or something?’
Lily had since made some inquiries with her own mother about her dad’s previous involvement in keeping the hotel afloat over the years, but as expected, Barbara knew little about Richard’s day-to-day activities at Barclays.
For one crazy moment, Lily wondered if the people who were so hell-bent on securing the hotel might also have had some hand in her dad’s unexpected passing, but then realised that perhaps, even for someone of her imagination, that truly was a step too far.
But she still couldn’t escape the worry that perhaps Shay might have something to do with it, especially when Erin, upon checking how long he’d intended on staying, mentioned something about the absence of a wedding tux in his room.
It probably meant nothing though; perhaps Sarah or another member of the bridal party had been responsible for carrying that stuff?
But still, the notion stayed with her and Lily decided she needed to keep her guard up, figuring that her earlier offer to maybe have Shay help with the preparations for the party was a bad move. Allowing him access to potentially useful hotel information was a risk she couldn’t afford to take.
The real question was, could Lily do the same when it came to Shay accessing her heart?