16. Jaime
Two days. It had been two days since my fight with Emma and I was going out of my mind.
I understood she needed space, and I knew she was safe because most of my staff would report to me unprompted, but I was miserable. I knew I should go to her and apologize, but I wasn”t sure if she was ready to hear it. That she’d stayed away this long made me think she was still really mad.
I saw her rushing out of the hotel regularly, a woman on a mission. But she never looked over at the bar—or me.
I stood idly wiping down the bar, staring off into space, when a familiar female voice sounded in my ear. ”Okay, the sister brigade has banded, and I’ve been sent to find out what the hell is going on with you Jaime,” I turned to see Sofia.
I quirked a brow. ”I”m sorry, sister brigade?”
She shrugged. ”Or sister squad, if you prefer alliteration. Makes no difference to me. All I know is Maria called me, saying you”ve been acting all mopey for the last couple of days. From the way she described it, I totally recognized it as woman troubles. So what”s going on between you and the fair Emma?”
I rolled my eyes and shook my head, fully prepared to make something up to get her to drop the subject, but when I opened my mouth, I told her the truth. First, I told her about the run-in Emma had with that jackass Andrew. Then I told her how I reacted and screwed it up, and how Emma needed some space.
Sofia listened patiently, waiting until I was finished to say, ”Yeah, you definitely screwed the pooch on that one, little brother. But I don’t think it’s a lost cause. I mean, the worst thing she can accuse you of is being overly concerned, and Emma seems reasonable enough to understand that.”
”I know, that”s what I keep telling myself, but she was livid, and I can”t say I blame her. Especially since her father has spent most of her life second-guessing and overriding her decisions and then here I was doing the same thing.”
”That’s true, but at least you’re mature enough to understand what you were doing and feel bad about it. That”s more than I can say about most men, her father included. Look, if it”s really bothering you this much, you need to gather up your cojones and go talk to her. I know you”re trying to give her space, but if you”re feeling this miserable, chances are she is too.”
”Maybe,” I grumped, as one of my servers rushed towards me and nearly slammed her tray on the bar.
”I need two more Blanton’s, Jaime.”
”Sure, is everything okay out there, Ashley?”
She let out a huff. ”Yeah, I”m fine… just a couple assholes at table twelve.”
I went on high alert. Unfortunately, we have a lot of wealthy clientele who think it’s acceptable to belittle the staff, but I wouldn’t stand for it. I didn”t let anybody mistreat our waitstaff, especially the women. ”Do I need to kick them out?”
Ashley smiled at me sadly. ”I wish you could… too bad it’s the owner of Pine Crest and that douchebag who’s been hanging around Emma.”
That had me standing at attention and Sofia sitting up straighter on her barstool.
”Mr. Carter”s here? How did I not see him?”
”Because they snuck in quietly and took the corner table that”s out of your eyesight. A little sketchy, if you ask me. And I know you’ve been trying to rein in the rumor mill, but you”re not going to like what they”re talking about.”
”Well?” Sofia prompted, ”Lay it on us.”
Ashley looked discreetly over her shoulder, then leaned in close. ”They”re talking about building an addition to the resort, using the nature preserve out back. And don’t get me started on what they”re saying about Emma.”
I felt my anger rise, but I had to hear it with my own ears. I nodded at Ashely, urging her to continue. ”They”re talking about Emma like she”s human chattel. Her father is assuring this guy he’ll convince her that marrying him is good for everybody. That she’ll fall into line like she always does.”
”That motherfucker,” I said under my breath, unable to stop myself.
”I second that,” Sofia said. ”We gotta shut this guy down.”
Ashley continued. ”Well, if you come up with a plan, I want in. I can’t believe Mr. Carter would do this to her. It”s hard to believe they’re even related. I mean, I don”t know her personally, but I”ve heard nothing but good things about her. She seems like a good person and supposedly her mother was an angel.”
”She was, and Emma is too,” I confirmed.
”Even if she wasn”t,” Sofia said, ”No one should talk about someone like that, much less their own child.”
Ashley grabbed the tray with their drinks. ”I better get back before they pitch a fit.”
”Ashley,” I called before she could move away, ”I don”t care who’s at that table. If you’re uncomfortable in any way, you come get me, okay?”
She smiled. ”Got it, boss. Thanks.”
”Okay, Jaime, I know you”re giving her some space, but this changes a lot. We’ve got to move fast.”
”I agree. Question is, what are we going to do?”
Sofia raised a conspiratorial brow. ”I think I know someone who can help us. Just give me a minute,” she said, grabbing her phone from her purse. She jumped off the barstool and shuffled off to somewhere more private as I wrestled with my anger, fighting the urge to march over to that table and deck Mr. Carter and Andrew just for breathing.
Thankfully, Sofia wasn”t gone long, but when she came back, she looked like the cat that ate the canary, grinning at me broadly and announcing, ”You owe me big time, little brother. Help is on the way.”
”Sounds great, but you want to fill me in on this plan you seem to have come up with without me?”
”Nothing too complicated,” Sofia said, slipping back onto the stool. ”I find simple is best. If she is having a hard time believing her father is really a bad dude, then we need to get undeniable proof. We have the perfect opportunity right here: they”re holed up in that corner, and Ashley is plying them with liquor. Now we just need somebody sexy and charming to get them to talk… while we record it.”
”And who do you have in mind for this endeavor? I don”t feel comfortable asking anybody to offer themselves up for this kind of gig.”
She smiled even wider. ”Normally I would agree, but some people are born to perform and would go out of their way for the chance to practice their craft. I happen to know a fine actress who regularly stars in productions at the community Playhouse… and she”s sexy as hell.”
My eyebrow shot up and Sofia quickly continued. ”She”s my new girlfriend. I”ve been waiting to introduce her to everybody… but she”s pretty amazing,” she said, blushing.
I couldn”t help but smile at my sister. ”Are you sure she”s up for this?”
Before she could answer, a tall, curvaceous brunette in a tight red dress sashayed into the bar. When the woman’s eyes met my sister’s, the attraction was undeniable. I felt like I was watching a cartoon where the characters get heart eyes when they see one another.
She walked up to the bar, and Sofia slipped an arm around her waist. ”Jaime, this is Jen, my girlfriend—and our last-minute savior.”
Jen stuck her hand out to shake mine. ”It’s so good to finally meet you, Jaime. And I’m excited to be part of this scheme. I”ve taken down a lot of fictional dirtbags on stage, but now I get to do it in real life. It”s going to be a thrill.”
”I can”t thank you enough for agreeing to be a part of this. It’s all happening so fast.”
Sofia shot me a look. ”They”re talking about your girl like she”s an object to be sold off, Jaime. We can”t make this happen fast enough.” She turned to her girlfriend. ”Do you have everything set up on your phone to record?”
Jen nodded. ”I double-checked everything on the way over here. It”s this app I use when I”m running my lines for plays. I have it tuned to a high frequency, so when I listen back I can make sure I”m hitting the right tones, so it should work perfectly for this.”
”You”re amazing, thank you,” Sofia said.
”Yes, thank you,” I chimed in, staring in wonder at how fast Sofia took action and put this together while I moped.
”Okay guys, it”s showtime,” Jen said with a dazzling smile before she sashayed over to the corner table.
Sofia gathered up her purse and slipped from her stool.
”Where are you going?” I asked, not ready to lose her emotional support.
”I”m going to see if I can sit closer and covertly record a video for backup. Besides, I love watching my woman work. It turns me on,” she admitted.
I grimaced. ”I”ll pretend I didn”t hear that.”
She snickered, ”Just like I”ll try to pretend you”re not salivating over Emma the next time she”s sitting at our family table.”
It was agony not going over to spy on Mr. Carter and Andrew, but something told me I needed to trust my sister and Jen. I also needed to warn Emma about her father”s presence.
Before I could talk myself out of it, I fired off a quick text.
Jaime: I know I”m not your favorite person right now, but I thought you’d like to know your dad is in The Lounge.
My phone buzzed in my pocket a couple of minutes later. A trill of anticipation ran through me, but her response merely said, ”Thank you.”
I would not let myself read into the curt response. I had given her a heads up, but now I needed to complete the mission and get proof of her father’s deceitful acts.