CHAPTER EIGHT
After the dinner guests left, I made sure the staff was cleaning up the private dining room and then went to see Rhonda.
She was sitting at a table outside the kitchen in fine spirits talking with Chet.
When she saw me, she said, “I was just telling Chet that when we first started the hotel this is what it was like—me cooking and you entertaining. It feels good, but, Annie, I’m exhausted.”
I laughed. “The two of you did a fabulous job with the meal. As you saw, the Ambassador loved it.”
“Jonny didn’t like it at all,” said Rhonda. “I say screw him. We have our own business to run.”
“Do you know Philippa?” I asked Chet. “It looked like you recognized one another.”
“I met her at a friend’s party in New York City. She and I spent some time together that night and then she disappeared. After realizing who she was and what her family is like, I get it. We’re not a match.”
Seeing Chet’s discomfort, I dropped the subject.
“After the dinner, Jonny spoke to the group telling them he wanted Enrico’s support for his new restaurant.
Enrico quickly shut him down, saying it was no time for business.
I quickly thanked people for coming, ending their silent standoff.
It was uncomfortable. Jonny left unhappy with me, the evening, seeing Chet, everything. ”
“I tried to tell Rhonda I shouldn’t go into the dining room,” said Chet.
Rhonda held up her hand to stop him. “We’re not hiding you,” she said to Chet. “No matter how hard they try to pull us into their game, we have to stay strong. We can’t ruin our reputations or that of the hotel.”
“Agreed,” I said, recalling the venom coming from Jonny. Brock was Brock and didn’t scare me. He was just very annoying.
“I’m calling it a night,” said Rhonda getting to her feet. She turned to Chet. “Thanks for everything. Please don’t leave until you have Jean-Luc’s permission.”
“I’ll walk you out,” I said. “Housekeeping is scheduled to come in to take care of the private dining room after it’s cleared of food and dishes.”
We left the hotel together, exiting through the back of the hotel to where we’d parked.
Heading toward my car, I stopped and stared in disbelief. “Oh, my God! Look!”
Two of my tires were flat. Even from a short distance, I could tell the tires had been slashed.
“This has to be tied to Jonny Arno’s team,” said Rhonda. “I can’t think of anyone else who’d do something like this.” She went over to her car. “My tires are okay.”
“I’ll call security. Don’t wait around for me,” I said letting out a tired sigh. “I know how exhausted you are.”
“Annie, I won’t leave you like this. We’re partners, and partners stick together.”
We looked up as a member of our hotel security came toward us.
I showed him what had happened.
“We’ll check the security cameras and try to find out who did this. It looks like someone came up from the beach.” He pointed to the sandy footprints leading to the car.
“The breeze is already blowing them away,” I said.
“Why don’t I arrange for someone to drive you home?” the guard said.
“I can do that,” said Rhonda.
“Okay. We’ll take photos and see what we can find,” the guard promised.
“Thank you. I’ll go with Rhonda and leave you to your work,” I said, looking around nervously. I felt violated. It was scary knowing some deranged person was this angry at me.
I climbed into the car with Rhonda, and she turned to me. “I’m sorry, Annie. I know you’re upset. So am I. But let’s keep this quiet. We’ll do some investigation on our own.”
“I don’t think Brock did it. Do you?”
Rhonda harrumphed. “I can’t imagine him getting his hands dirty like this. But he might have arranged it. He’s more the sleezy behind-the-scenes kind of guy.”
“Maybe we should ask Chet to leave,” I said, then shook my head. “No, forget that. We can’t let people like Jonny or Brock intimidate us. We were here first.”
“You got that right,” said Rhonda. “We’re not going to let these bastards scare us.”
She drove up to my house and stopped the car. “Do you need a ride tomorrow?”
“No, thanks. I’ll take one of Vaughn’s cars,” I said. “Thanks for dropping me off.”
“Anytime. I’ll be in late tomorrow morning. I’m going to a teacher’s meeting with Angie. Evan is doing so well in school that they’re thinking of moving him up to 8th grade. I told her that might be a mistake, but I’ll support her decision. We’ll see.”
“Each child is so different,” I said. “How’s Sally Kate doing?”
“Better, now that she knows she’s not stupid. Funny, she’s so eager to work hard to make the situation better. Evan, on the other hand, is lazy because schoolwork comes easily to him.”
“They’re adorable children. I’m so glad we get to live and work by our children and grandchildren.” I frowned at the sudden thought. “You don’t think Jonny will try to get to our families, do you?”
“No,” Rhonda said quickly, but I’d seen a look of horror flash across her face.
I opened the door and got out of the car, wishing we’d never agreed to host a dinner for Ambassador Ferrara.
###
The next morning, I pulled Vaughn’s SUV up to the front of the hotel for valet parking. I didn’t think anyone would be slashing tires in that area.
I was climbing the front stairs when a security guard approached me. “Morning, Ms. Sanders. I have a report for you.”
“Thank you. Please come to my office.”
We walked together through the lobby and to the back of the hotel to my office, where we could have privacy.
I ushered the guard, a man who’d worked for us for years, inside and indicated for him to take a seat by my desk.
Still upset by the memory of last night’s episode, I sat behind my desk and faced him. “What did you find out?”
“The cameras caught the figure of a man slashing the tires. Unfortunately, he was wearing a mask and non-distinguishable clothing. Though we saw evidence of sandy footprints, nothing could be traced because onshore breezes prevented them from remaining in a pattern. We can say the person whom we suspect is male and is of average height and weight.”
“In other words, we have nothing to identify the person,” I said, sighing.
“I’m sorry,” the guard said. “We’ll be patrolling that area more frequently.”
“Yes, I think you should. Jonny Arno with the new Osteria Arno restaurant up the beach is not happy with us, and I’d hate to see any bad behavior escalate. Both Rhonda and I think he and his people had something to do with this.”
“I see,” said the guard. “I’ll make a note of it on the report.”
###
After the guard left, I went into the kitchen to say hello to Consuela and grab a cup of coffee and a sweet roll. I needed both.
Consuela turned when I approached her. “Hi, Annie. I heard about your car. When Manny saw it out back with the tires slashed, he was upset. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, but I worry this might be one in a string of retaliations for hiring Chet. I know it sounds crazy, but it happens.”
“Chet is a fine young man,” said Consuela firmly. “You and Rhonda should be able to hire anyone you want.”
“I know,” I said. “I hate conflict of any kind.” I felt the sting of tears.
She gave me a quick hug. “It’ll be all right, Ann.” She plated a sweet roll and handed it to me. “Sit. Have some coffee and something to eat. Things will seem better then.”
“Just talking to you makes me feel better,” I said, meaning it.
As I was sitting at the kitchen table outside the cooking area, Chet arrived.
“ ’Morning. I’m glad to see you here so early,” I said.
Chet bobbed his head at me. “I said I’d work the early shift to help prepare for the Ambassador’s luncheon, then take a break before the wedding dinner tonight. Jean-Luc said that will be a true test of my skill. Wedding dinner and a busy Saturday night at the hotel.”
“I’m happy you and Jean-Luc are getting along,” I said. “It’s a win-win for both of you.”
Chet gave me a long look. “Thank you. That means a lot to me. I noticed Jonny’s expression when he saw me at dinner last night. He’s not happy with either of us.”
“Rhonda and I can’t let someone like that try to derail our business over petty jealousy,” I said firmly. I decided not to tell him about the tires on my car. I didn’t want to start his day with bad news, though he’d probably find out about it on his own.”
I put my empty plate in the sink and took my coffee to my office. It was going to be a long day.
Later, as I was going over financial papers for the wedding, I thought about how important weddings were to our business. Not only did they usually put ’heads in beds’, but they produced a lot of income through meals and special events like afternoon teas or spa treatments.
I called Lorraine to see how this wedding was going and was surprised to have Annette answer the call. “Hi, Annette! What’s up? Where’s Lorraine?”
“She’s at the hospital with Arthur. He wasn’t feeling well, and she was worried he was having a stroke.”
“Oh, my! That sounds like more than a worry. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Actually, there is. A breakfast buffet is laid out for the wedding guests in the library. Would you mind going there to greet the guests? I have to stay in the office to take care of some things for the ceremony, which is at four o’clock.”
“Not a problem. Anything else?”
“Would you make sure the flowers from the rehearsal dinner last night are on the buffet table?”
“Of course. Please let me know if you get any news about Arthur. Thanks.”
I left the office and went to the library, which was now a very versatile event room for us. This morning it was set up for a buffet with round tables spread comfortably throughout the space and would remain a hospitality room for wedding guests until tomorrow.
I noticed the floral centerpiece and saw a plentiful array of stainless steel serving pieces keeping a variety of dishes warm.
Standing, assessing the room, I heard someone came up beside me. I turned and smiled at the mother-of-the-bride who had already proven to be difficult.
“Hello,” I said cheerfully. “Beautiful day for a wedding.”