Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
AIDEN
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been this mad. And that was saying something, considering the fact that I’d been dealing with my sister every day for the vast majority of her twenty-seven years. But I’d had enough with that overstepping little shit.
The system we had at the resort may not have been perfect, but it was ours.
One that had been working for years. When we’d been thrown into the deep end ten years ago, following our mother’s death and our father completely shutting down after it, we’d had to figure shit out.
Quickly. While the day-to-day operations were mostly run by Addison and me, with Beck taking on the responsibility of the diner, it was still a collaborative family effort.
Ford did repairs around the resort and any new builds, Levi ran boat tours, and Brady had picked up the monetary slack for years.
Yet Addison had taken it upon herself to hire a new employee without so much as whispering the mere suggestion to any of us. It was complete bullshit, and I was pissed enough to corner her about it without allowing myself time to cool down.
She might have been upset with me for what had been going on this week—okay, these past couple months—but it had nothing on how I was feeling right now.
Frustration over the fact that I couldn’t get my shit done.
Worry about whether I’d be able to meet my publisher’s deadline.
Regret over the fact that I’d shared my secret with someone I absolutely shouldn’t have.
And anger that my meddling sister had brought that mistake directly to my doorstep.
Once I was back at the resort after a day full of games, I strode into the main inn, spotting Brady’s girlfriend, Luna, behind the desk, with Levi lounging on the couch, reading a book.
Luna was fairly new around here. She’d caught the eye of my older brother when she’d chained herself to a tree on our property’s border to protest a new development in town.
While she’d been a pain in the ass for me and this resort in the beginning, she’d eventually become the reason we were finally standing on two feet.
Since she and Brady had officially become a couple, she now worked for the resort, providing in-room massages to guests and hosting daily yoga classes on the beach.
And, apparently, covering the main inn when my sister fucked off to play with her friend.
“Either of you see Addison around?” I asked.
Levi grunted out something I took to mean no, and Luna shook her head. “Not since earlier when she introduced us to Avery.” She grinned. “I’m so excited to have another girl join the crew! Even if it’s only for a few months.”
I stumbled to a stop and glanced at Luna over my shoulder. “Wait. Addison told you we were hiring Avery?”
“Yeah.” She lifted a single shoulder in a shrug. “This morning when she asked Levi and me over to cover for her.”
I clenched my jaw and gave a stilted nod before storming through the house to find my pain-in-the-ass sister.
She didn’t think it prudent to touch base with me—the guy in charge of all the financials—before bringing on a new hire, but she did discuss it with Brady’s girlfriend and the resort’s yoga instructor?
Complete and utter bullshit.
That wasn’t how we did things around here, and I had no qualms about reminding her of that fact. Loudly and vehemently until she got it through her thick skull.
The main inn wasn’t ostentatiously large, but it was big enough that it had held a family of eight comfortably for years.
Now, Addison and I were the only two who resided in it, leaving the vast majority of the rooms empty—or empty when they weren’t filled with cases of paper towels, thanks to my most recent screw-up.
Since one had to be cleared out for Avery to use, it could’ve been any of the four bedrooms available.
I could only hope Addison put her on the other side of the house where her room was, rather than in the only other bedroom on my side.
One that wasn’t just close but also happened to be connected by a bathroom.
I had no idea how I’d handle being that close to Avery, day in and day out, for the next three months. Because not only was she a walking, talking time bomb, but she was someone I was uncontrollably attracted to.
But Addison wouldn’t do that. She’d want her friend close to her. She wouldn’t—
I stopped dead in my tracks when I strode through my bathroom and into the connecting bedroom that had once been Brady’s.
It had been cleared of all paper towel cartons, leaving only the few furnishings in it—a bed, dresser, and nightstand.
But clearly, my hope that Addison wouldn’t put her friend directly next to me had merely been wishful thinking.
Because there, on top of the navy comforter, were Avery’s bags.
“Fuck me,” I muttered under my breath, scrubbing a hand down my face.
I had no idea how the fuck I was going to handle this.
Having the woman I’d had a one-night stand with, who was now my employee and knew the secret I couldn’t have getting out, only two doors away was going to be a challenge I hadn’t anticipated.
Add that to the already precarious tower of bricks my life was, and I didn’t know how I was going to make it through without everything tumbling down around me.
I gritted my teeth and stormed out into the hallway, intent on finding Addison.
Something out the window caught my eye, and I glanced down to see my sister leading Avery around, obviously giving her a tour of the resort.
I stopped in front of the window and braced my hands on the sill, my shoulders sagging as I blew out a frustrated breath.
Apparently our little chat was going to have to wait.
Since Luna and Levi were watching the inn and Addison wasn’t available for me to lay into, I might as well make use of this time and put all these feelings to work in my writing.
I was currently struggling my way through a sex scene that I’d been blocked on for a while, but if there was one good thing about all this anger and frustration bubbling up inside, it was that I could release some of that onto the page.
I didn’t know how much later it was when my sister came stomping down the hallway, her obnoxious laugh breaking my train of thought.
Though it didn’t matter much because I’d spent the past hour staring at a blank document, my mind not coming up with anything constructive.
Instead, it’d constantly strayed to last night and how Avery had looked every time I’d made her come.
Even without trying, she rattled my concentration, something I couldn’t afford with everything I had on the line.
I listened as Avery and my sister said their goodnights, and then a door closed and retreating footsteps sounded, signaling my cue as Addison left.
After closing my laptop, I tore out of my room, taking a second glance toward Avery’s now-shut door to ensure she was tucked away. It took only three strides before I caught up with Addison, and I gripped my sister’s wrist to haul her to a stop. “We need to talk.”
She turned to face me with a raised brow. “Oh, now you want to talk? Where was that interest this morning when you ditched the meeting?”
“I was busy. And so were you, apparently.” I clenched my jaw, crossing my arms over my chest as I glowered down at her. “I want to know what made you think it was a good idea to hire a new employee without discussing it with anyone.”
“Well, if you hadn’t been fucking off wherever you were this morning, I could have discussed it with you.”
“Nice try, but I was out coaching the Little League team we sponsor when you decided to go Maverick on us.”
“What’s even the big deal, Aiden? We need the help. Desperately.”
“What’s the big deal?” I asked incredulously. “You have no idea about the resort’s financials. How do you even know if we can afford to pay someone?”
“Are you kidding? I have to listen to you drone on about it every week! Of course I know we can afford to pay someone. And the only reason I took it upon myself to handle it is because I knew you never would. You haven’t.
You can never ask for help, even when you’re drowning. So I did what needed to be done.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you haven’t been handling yourself or your duties at the resort.
Shit has been slipping through the cracks for months.
Something had to give, because I can’t keep pulling your weight and my own.
” She shrugged. “Avery’s plans fell through, and she doesn’t have anywhere to be until January. This was the perfect solution.”
“The perfect solution for whom?”
“All of us, obviously.” She rolled her eyes.
“I can focus on our social media and marketing and getting this documentary handled, you can focus on the boring spreadsheets that you love to bury your face in all day long and whatever the hell else has been taking your attention, and Avery can deal with the day-to-day guest interactions. Getting my bestie here to help even out the overwhelming testosterone I choke on every day is just a bonus.”
I clenched my jaw, unable to dispute any of her claims but hating every bit of it. “You still should’ve talked to us before you made that decision on your own.”
“Maybe. But it’s already done.” She shrugged, like she hadn’t thrown a wrench the size of Europe into my life. “Look, we needed help, Aiden. And it’s not like we don’t have the room for her.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Yeah, four open bedrooms, and yet you pick the only one next to me. There a reason for that?”