12. Linda #3
They thanked him warmly, holding the bags securely as they turned toward the exit. They were right on the verge of reaching the front door when Darius hurried over from the booths, his long strides cutting off their path.
"Penny, Linda, please wait," he said, his breathing slightly elevated as he stopped in front of them.
"Look, can we meet later this afternoon?
Right after my meeting concludes, I'd like to explain what's happening.
" While he was technically addressing both of them, his eyes remained fixed entirely on Linda's face, his expression filled with a silent plea.
Linda lifted her chin slightly, her features freezing into a calm, unreadable mask that gave absolutely nothing away.
"I'm busy for the rest of the day," she told him, her voice level and devoid of any emotional warmth. "If you'll excuse us, we'd like to go eat in peace before our food gets cold."
She sidestepped his frame without a second glance and walked out into the warm afternoon air.
"Penny, please reason with Linda," Darius implored, turning a desperate look toward his former chief operating officer. "Just ask her to give me a chance to explain."
"Heck no," Penny said, her voice sharp as steel. "You had your chance to be honest with her, and you blew it completely. I'm sorry, Darius, but as Isabel and I both told you yesterday, we're standing with Linda on this one."
"Are you seriously resigning your position over this?" Darius's voice held a distinct trace of rising anger and disbelief. "Penny, I'm deeply disappointed in you. You've never allowed your personal life to interfere with your professional one before."
"Well, Darius, neither had you," Penny said, the words causing Linda to stop dead on the pavement to wait for her.
"And the exact moment you crossed that line, I did too.
Only I am standing on the right side of this conflict, and you are way over on the wrong one.
" She glanced back through the glass window toward the corporate booth he had just vacated.
"You know, you should just go home. Go back to Miami.
" She turned away from him and walked quickly toward the car. "Let's go."
Linda and Darius's eyes met one final time through the glass panels of the diner facade.
For one fleeting heartbeat, the hard lines around his jaw seemed to soften, and she had to consciously catch herself to suppress a small, involuntary smile before she locked all her emotions down.
She turned her back on him, and they left the parking lot behind.
As they made their way back toward the Hearts Hotel along the coastal road, Penny reached across the console to gently touch Linda's arm, the silent support causing a sudden wave of raw emotion to swell inside Linda’s throat.
"Are you really okay?" Penny asked softly.
Linda forced herself to take a deep breath, staring out at the blurred green of the mangroves.
She would not cry. Yes, she had fallen for Darius like a ton of bricks dropping straight from the sky, but with her uncle lying in an ICU bed and the hotel under siege, she did not possess the luxury to wallow in personal heartache.
Besides, she had a specific, high-leverage plan to stick to, that would save not just the Hearts Hotel but the entire Sweet Blossom Bay community.
She glanced over at Penny. Her friend's jaw was set tight, her shoulders rigid as she stared out at the passing scenery. No matter how hard Penny tried to disguise her reactions, she was absolutely livid on Linda's behalf.
"I didn't think it would be that hard myself," Penny admitted, letting out a soft sigh. "But we have to push through. We have bigger fish to fry."
"And you need to be brought up to speed about everything we learned at the hospital today," Linda told her, adjusting her grip on the steering wheel.
"Well then, let's go to the beachfront in front of the Hearts Hotel so we can at least enjoy this lovely bottle of wine Pete gave us," Penny suggested. “From there we simply have to walk to our homes.”
Twenty minutes later, they were sitting on a picnic blanket on the sand, sipping wine and eating the food Rosa had gladly reheated for them in the hotel kitchen as Linda detailed the entire conversation from the hospital.
She explained the multi-generational connection to Professor Hyrum Wineberg, the historical frame job against Anna's research, and the true, staggering scale of Owen's private family fortune.
While they were sitting back and relaxing, familiar voices drifted to them from the direction of Linda's father and mother's memorial rose garden.
Recognizing the tones, they turned around, and a genuine smile broke across both of their faces as they watched Isabel and Owen walk through the wrought-iron garden gate together.
"Oh," Linda said, her eyes shifting away from the garden. "I have another piece of juicy news for you."
With their eyes turned back toward the couple in the distance, Penny guessed instantly, pointing with the rim of her wine glass. "Is this about them?"
"Yes," Linda said, a small spark of joy breaking through her focus. "I believe Owen asked Isabel on a date."