14. Jaime
Ishould”ve called Emma after everything settled down with my mother, but by the time I finally got her to sleep, it was so late I didn’t want to wake her. So I just sent her a quick text goodnight and fell into an exhausted stupor.
Despite the difficult ending to the night, when I woke the next morning, my mom seemed to be in better spirits and I let my mind wander to the evening I shared with the woman I loved the night before.
But as soon as I walked into work, I was greeted by a very concerned Charlie.
”Do I want to know? Did Ashley show up late again? Or did Joey forget to prep the fruit?”
Charlie just looked at me and then nodded to my office behind the bar. Once inside, he closed the door behind him and a knot of worry formed at the bottom of my stomach.
”Listen, man, you know I”m not anybody”s keeper and I definitely don”t like to stick my nose where it doesn’t belong, but something kept me up all night, and I feel you need to know.”
”Okay,” I said, drawing out the two syllables. ”Don”t leave me in suspense. What’s up?”
He relayed what happened in the lobby with Emma and her business associate, Andrew.
”You”ve got to be fucking kidding me.” I growled.
”No, I”m not. I couldn”t decide whether I was going to tell you, but when you came in whistling, I figured you must not know. I wanted to throw the guy out, but she insisted he just needed to sleep it off. Kinda blew my mind that he’d lay a hand on her like that. This is not good, bro.”
I nodded in agreement. ”I’m not sure how you want to handle it, but if you need backup, I”m here,” he offered.
”Thank you, man. I appreciate it, and I’m really thankful you were here to help Emma.”
He shook his head. ”No problem. But you’ll probably want to check on her. She said she was fine, but she looked pretty shaken up.”
Before I could respond, there was a knock at the door.
I didn”t want to deal with whoever it was, but reluctantly I said, ”Come in.”
It was Ashley, one of the servers.
”Sorry to interrupt, but did you know there are surveyors behind the resort?”
The word surveyor made the knot of worry in my stomach grow exponentially. The Lounge bar and restaurant faced the back of the resort, and the land belonged to Emma now that her mother was gone.
It remained untouched, exactly the way her mother wanted it. At least, that”s what Emma explained to me when I asked her why she felt so loyal to the family business and Pine Crest. She needed to protect her mother”s legacy, and her legacy was that land. Knowing that surveyors were there made ice trickle down my spine.
”No, I hadn’t heard, but I”m going to find out what”s going on” I said, quickly weaving my way through the back of the bar with Charlie hot on my heels as I went out the back exit and found two men with surveying equipment.
”Excuse me, gentlemen, what are you doing?”
The two men stopped and turned, looking confused.
”We were contracted by Pine Crest Resorts to survey the land. We have permits.”
”And who signed those contracts? I know the woman who owns this land, and there”s no way she would hire surveyors.”
One of the men produced a folded piece of paper from his work vest. I looked down at the permit, which had a bunch of legal gibberish, but it clearly stated John Carter had hired them.
Charlie must have been reading over my shoulder. ”Fuck,” I bit off.
”I”m guessing Emma doesn”t know?”
I shook my head. ”I can guarantee she has no idea,” I seethed as I handed the permit back to the surveyor and turned to Charlie. ”Please don”t say anything about this to the staff. I need to sort this out first—and I need to talk to Emma.”
”Better make that sooner rather than later,” Charlie suggested, ”I’ll hold down the fort here while you go talk to her.”
I didn’t need to be told twice.
I raced to the elevator, cursing every drawn-out second it took to arrive, and I only let out a breath when I got to Emma”s floor. When I arrived at her door, there was a do not disturb sign hung on the handle, but that would not stop me.
I knocked on the door, and when there was no answer, I called through the door, ”Emma? It”s Jaime. I need to see you.”
I let out a sigh of relief when she answered, but my chest clenched when I saw her face and the dark rings around her eyes.
I rushed in, taking her into my arms. ”Come here baby, are you okay?” I asked into her hair.
She gently pushed off me, shrugging off my concern. ”I”m fine… but what’s wrong with you? You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Do I look that bad?”
”You’re always the most beautiful woman in the room,” I responded as I followed her through the room. ”I heard about last night and needed to make sure you were alright.”
She had a tight smile on her lips when she turned back to me. ”He just had too much to drink. It”s no big deal. ”
”The man put his hands on you and had you cornered. That’s a big fucking deal.”
She looked at me, determination in her eyes. ”I appreciate your concern, Jaime, but I am a grown woman. I can take care of myself.”
I hesitated before responding, realizing I might be on thin ice here. Emma was so used to taking care of everything herself that it was hard for her to accept help. ”I know you can, I just… tell me you”re not going to be alone with this guy anymore, please?”
She huffed out a laugh. ”I will do my best.” Her face softened when she took into my expression. ”I’ll be careful, Jaime, I promise, and I’m going to do everything I can to wrap this thing up because.…”
”Because?”
She shook her head. ”Because it”s been a pain in my ass and, frankly, it’s time to move on.”
I wasn”t sure if she was referring to the business deal or being in Silverpine, but I didn’t have time to overthink her comment.
”Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but when I got to work this morning, we found surveyors assessing the land behind the resort.”
Her eyebrows raised in surprise. ”Seriously?”
”Yeah,” I confirmed. ”I confronted them and they showed me the permit—it was authorized by your dad.”
”Fuck,” Emma cursed, something I didn’t hear her do often, and then she looked at me with a strained smile. ”I”m sure it”s nothing. I”ll talk to him about it,” she said a little too casually.
”Emma, you know if there”s something going on, you can talk to me about it.”
”I appreciate the offer, but I”ve got this covered. Don”t worry Jaime.”
”Emma,” I pleaded. ”There’s obviously something going on here. I know you’d never go against your mother’s wishes, so why the hell would surveyors come anywhere near this place?”
”Jaime,” she sighed, ”I told you, I have it covered. My dad is thorough and likes to know what”s going on around the resort. That”s probably all this is.”
I let out a sigh of frustration before I could stop myself, and she looked at me sharply. ”What? Just say it—whatever it is you’re thinking, just say it.”
I ran a frustrated hand through my hair. ”He”s doing it again. ”
”And by again, you mean?”
”He”s calling the shots, pulling the strings. He”s deciding for you.”
Her lips flattened into an irritated line. ”I know he”s done that in the past, but I am a grown-up now. There”s no way I would let him do that again.”
”Maybe not intentionally, but he”s vindictive and sneaky Emma, you know that by now.”
She stood, looking irritated. ”You think I don”t know my own father?”
I let out a frustrated growl. ”No. You probably know him better than anyone, but you also give him the most leeway and, at some point, it has to stop. He”s already made some pretty life altering decision on your behalf. I’d hate to see what happens if you don”t learn to stand up to him now,” I said as she put up a hand to stop me and I immediately regretted my words.
”That”s enough. I am sick and tired of people telling me what I should and shouldn’t do and the dire consequences that await me. I have worked really hard to get where I am and I”m not stupid.”
”Emma, you’re the smartest, most talented woman I know. It”s just…”
”It”s just you still think of me as that na?ve teenager who let him drive a wedge between us?”
I bit my tongue, kicking myself for not having done it sooner.
”I get it. You still have an axe to grind with him. No one understands that more than me, Jaime. But I have my mother”s legacy to protect, so that means dealing with him. Which is what I intend to do in my own way, and in my own time. I just need everyone to get off my back and let me figure out the best way to approach him. I realize his behavior makes him seem like some evil, capitalistic swine, but he’s my father and he’d never want to see me get hurt.”
I couldn”t stop the snicker that came out or the words that followed, ”Could”ve fooled me.”
”Excuse me?”
I was in it now, no turning back. ”The man coerced you into leaving me, the man you loved. He makes you his workhorse for years on end, taking advantage of your grief over your mother’s passing. You jump through all of his stupid hoops, and it”s still not enough. Now he”s letting some creep go after you? What kind of man does that?”
Fire lit in her eyes and I knew there was no backtracking on this conversation. ”I think you said everything there is to say. Now, if you would please leave, I have work to do.”
I let out another exasperated groan. ”Emma, please, I’m just pointing out what the rest of the world sees. I”m not trying to hurt your feelings or tell you what to do.”
”Well, you could”ve fooled me,” she said, with a grim smile parroting my words back to me. ”I”ll see you later, Jaime,” she insisted, effectively dismissing me as she strode to the bathroom.
I waited for a moment debating whether I should stick it out and make her talk to me, but I figured I”d be no better than her father or the schmuck from the other night by forcing her into a corner she didn’t want to be in.
I had to give her space and let us cool down. In the meantime, I was going to figure out what the fuck her father was up to.