13. Emma
Even though I immediately missed Jaime”s touch, I knew he needed to get home, and I prayed Jaime and Maria could calm Mama Acosta swiftly. I couldn”t imagine how difficult it must be to watch someone you love gradually disappear before your eyes.
I was lost in thought, reliving our time in the truck and the words he”d said in the heat of the moment…
Except it wasn’t in the heat of the moment. Jaime doesn’t say things he doesn’t mean.
That reminder made me smile wider, even as it twisted at my heart. Jaime was never one to mince words, so when in the heat of passion he announced he loved me and always has, I knew in my heart he was speaking his truth just like I had when I told him I loved him too.
Now that the truth was out there, I needed to face my father—and I wouldn’t let him take Jaime away from me a second time.
I let out a sigh as I ambled down the hall towards the elevator. First thing tomorrow, I would send an SOS text to Caroline and Abby for an emergency meeting. They offered to help me figure out this thing with my father and I was finally going to take them up on it. Not that I couldn”t figure it out for myself, but I was eager to move on with my life with the man I loved, and in that moment, I couldn”t believe I’d put it off for so long. It was now or never.
But for tonight, I wasn”t going to dwell on my father and allow him to dampen the afterglow of my evening. It had been a beautiful night, and I was going to relish every moment.
I had just pushed the button for the elevator when I heard a slurred voice behind me say, ”Well, well, well, look who decided to spend the night in her own room.”
I turned to see an obviously drunk Andrew.
”Andrew? Are you okay?”
He ignored my question. ”You know, I heard rumblings you were running around with the bartender, but it”s a sight to behold to see you stumbling out of that dirty old truck—you look like you had a good time tonight, Emma.”
”Andrew, you”ve obviously had too much to drink. Why don”t you go back to your room and sleep it off?”
”No, not until you tell me why?”
”Why what?”
”Why you picked him over me? I know I look like a buttoned-up guy, but I could be just as wild as him. Is that what turns you on? The Latino heat? Why don”t you come over here, and I”ll show you what kind of heat I can give you,” he said, lurching towards me.
I looked around frantically. It was late and most of the guests were in their rooms. The elevator door just opened, and I worried he would shove me inside. He was bigger than me and could easily overpower me.
”I’m not choosing him over you. We work together—you were never an option I considered,” I tried to explain as calmly as possible.
”Bullshit, you can”t tell me you didn”t feel that thing between us. Even our fathers knew we would hit it off and they were right… you”re the one who’s causing a problem. But I am a fixer and I”m about to fix this problem,” he said, leaning down.
I tried to move away from him, but I was cornered. Just when I thought he was going to make contact, Andrew Jr. suddenly fell to his knees.
I looked up in shock to see Charlie, a bartender at the hotel, with one hand grasping the back of Andrew”s neck and the other restraining his arm behind his back. Charlie was a decent-sized man, but not as tall as Andrew, and yet he’d forced him to his knees with ease.
”I believe the lady said no, jackass,” Charlie said through gritted teeth.
”Hey, you need to mind your own business,” Andrew dared, throwing a glare over his shoulder, but when he caught the look on Charlie”s face—a stony mask of fury—he stuttered, then shut up.
”Now, I think you should follow her suggestion and go sleep it off. Otherwise, I’ll be forced to finish the job.”
Andrew didn”t say anything for a long moment before he staggered to his feet and stumbled into the elevator, muttering under his breath as the doors closed, scowling at both me and Charlie.
As soon as the doors shut, Charlie turned to me. ”Are you okay?”
”Yeah,” I said, shuddering. ”I have no idea what that was about.”
”I’ll call security, and we”ll get him out of here,” Charlie said, turning away.
”No,” I said, putting a hand out to stop him. ”That won”t be necessary. He”s just had too much to drink. I”m sure he”ll be regretful in the morning.”
Charlie looked doubtful, then said, ”Fine, but I”m going to walk you back to your room.”
”That’s not necessary… ” I started, but Charlie cut me off.
”Jaime would never forgive me if I let you go up there by yourself, so I”m walking you to your room and making sure you”re locked in for the night. And I put the staff on alert not to serve that guy.”
I nodded, ”Okay. Thank you.”
Charlie and I rode up in the elevator to the top floor in silence. I knew he had questions, but bit his tongue.
Once he delivered me safely to my room, I locked the door behind me and sagged against it, letting out a long breath.
What the hell was that?
I wasn”t sure, but I knew my ”working relationship” with Andrew Jr. was officially over. Even if he was too sauced to realize what he was doing or the consequences, I wasn”t comfortable anymore.
Despite the late hour, I pulled out my phone and, with shaking hands, dialed my father.
He answered groggily, ”Emma, why are you calling at this hour?”
I let out a long breath, ”I”m sorry Dad, but this couldn”t wait. We”ve run into a problem with the Travers”.”
That had his attention, and I could hear him sober almost instantly. ”What”s going on? What happened?”
”Dad, I’ve tried to be patient with Andrew Jr., but he keeps stalling and making unwanted advances, and tonight, when I returned to the hotel, he tried to force himself on me.”
”Force himself? How?”
Embarrassed, I relayed the incident in the hotel lobby. My dad was silent for a long moment.
This was the part where I expected him to blow up on my behalf and call the whole thing off.
I didn”t expect his next words. ”Dammit, Emma, this should”ve been a slam dunk,” he fumed. I was stunned to silence, but he wasn”t done. ”I thought you were mature enough to handle going back home, but I should”ve known the minute you got near that boy, it would be trouble. It”s obvious you can”t handle the basic task I’ve assigned you, so I”m going to have to clean up this mess myself.”
I finally got my lips to work as I asked in sheer confusion, ”I don”t get it, Dad. You’ve never tolerated that kind of behavior from a client before, especially towards me. I”m shocked you”re reacting this way.”
”Grow up Emma. You can”t hide behind your mother”s skirt forever. You’re playing with the big dogs now and your feelings are going to get stomped on—you can”t afford to be too sensitive. Besides, there”s no way I”m killing this deal. The stakes are just too damn high.”
”But Dad…”
He cut me off. ”Is this the only reason you called so late at night? I should”ve guessed. Listen to me, I want you to put your game face on because tomorrow you”re going to salvage what you can of this deal and I”ll see what I can do with the old man from here. Goodnight,” he sneered, hanging up before I could answer.
For the second time in not so many days, I had the urge to throw my phone across the room. But this was a different kind of anger. My heart was breaking because I realized I’ve lost my father. He was no longer in my corner, protecting me and wanting the best for me.
So I did something I probably shouldn”t have—I didn”t tell anybody what happened. I didn”t phone Caroline to rant. I didn”t talk to Jaime and admit I was in over my head. I didn”t even make the effort the following morning to go for a hike to clear my head and talk to my mom.
Something in me shut down after the call with my father. I knew I should at a minimum talk to Caroline and Abby, but I wasn”t ready to say the words out loud because then it would be true. My father had betrayed me and he’s betrayed the memory of my mother.
I just wasn”t ready to accept it.
So I locked myself away, and fixated on it, shutting myself off from those who could help me.