Chapter 17
The first guests have just arrived in Bangkok. After checking in at the hotel front desk, they direct them to our hospitality desk in the lobby, which has been specifically set up for Pureskin employees.
We greet them with a smile, a welcome bag, and a trip itinerary. Then, we tell them to meet back in the lobby at six p.m. to leave for our welcome dinner cruise on the river.
Nate and I do all this in between sparring. As soon as a guest leaves, our smiles drop, and the boxing gloves come back on. The friendly joking through text that happened during our travel day is a thing of the past.
The battle of wills began yesterday when we were getting organized and preparing for the arrivals. Nate believes I have unrealistic expectations of perfection, while I think he’s a lazy do-nothing who enjoys critiquing everything I do. That’s the gist that has carried over to the hospitality desk today.
“Did you move the sunglasses to the pillow gift in Phuket?” I glance from my checklist to Nate.
“ Room drop , not pillow gifts,” he corrects as he sits back in his chair with arms folded and legs outstretched.
“Well, did you do it?” My pen hovers over the line item, waiting to cross it off.
His head slowly turns to me. His gaze is both smug and irritated. “Yes.”
Another item crossed off. “And don’t forget that we need to change the push notifications on the Chapstick day to something a little more clever.”
“I’ve been running trips and events for four years. I don’t need you following me around with a clipboard, triple-checking everything I do. It’s annoying.”
“ And ”—my face hardens as I purposely continue going down my checklist—“we need to make sure the river cruise has a microphone cord long enough to reach the head table for the welcome dinner tonight.”
“Traveling with you is my worst nightmare.” He glances away, bored and annoyed with my presence.
“And you think I want to be here with you?” I drop my clipboard on the table with a huff. “You’re the last person in the world I’d want to spend time with.”
“The feeling is mutual.” The sentiment was said under his breath, but I heard it.
We spend the next few minutes in hateful silence while I fume over his actions. Normally, there’s a hint of a smile or tease behind most insults Nate throws at me. From the beginning, I’m the one who has put the bite behind our communication. I had to if my heart wanted to survive. But the last two days have been different, and I don’t know why, and it’s bothering me. A little niggle in my heart, a nagging feeling that I don’t like.
Nate suddenly sits up, swearing.
The abruptness causes me to jump and lean away. “What?”
He looks around in a panic and then drops to the ground, hiding under the tablecloth.
I bend over. “What are you doing?”
But I’m met with the swipe of his hand, pushing me away.
A throat clears, and I pop up. A man in navy slacks and a light button-up shirt stares back at me. His dark hair is patterned with gray streaks, and his dark eyes hold a familiar hue. A pretty woman with a brown bob stands just behind his shoulder, looking at me expectantly.
“Hi!” I jump to my feet with a smile. “Are you with Pureskin?”
“Yes.” His demeanor is intimidating, but my smile holds.
“Welcome to Thailand!” I grab my list of guests. “What’s your name?”
“Mack Farnsworth.”
My eyes scan the list until I get to his name. “Right. Mack and Connie Farnsworth. You guys were the new add-ons to the trip. We’re so happy you decided to come.” I hand them their packet of stuff. Mack stands still, but his wife reaches out and takes the items. “There are some goodies in the bag, courtesy of Pureskin. Then the trip itinerary for Bangkok, and if you’ll notice, we have our first event tonight. A welcome dinner cruise on the Chao Phraya River. There will be a Thai buffet, live music, and dancing. Should be a lot of fun.”
Connie is the first to speak. “That sounds lovely.”
“I know. I’m so excited to see the city at night! So, meet in the lobby at six p.m., and we’ll head to the dock where we'll board the boat. In the meantime, if you have any questions, feel free to come and talk to us. We’ll be here in the lobby all afternoon, welcoming guests. I’m Carly Catterson if you need anything.”
“Thank you.” Connie smiles, and thank goodness for her because Mack seems like a complete dud.
“I’m looking for my son,” he finally says.
“Who’s your son?” My eyes drop to the list of guests. About ten other Farnsworths are on this trip. Nate said they were distant cousins and uncles he never sees.
“Nate. He’s supposed to be running the event.”
Nate.
As in this is the owner of Pureskin, Nate’s dad, who he said wasn’t coming on the trip.
“You’re Nate’s parents?”
“Yes.” His pursed lips show his impatience with me.
I imagined meeting Nate’s mom multiple times over the last nine months. I always dreamed about telling her how much her son sucks and that, as parents, they did a crappy job raising him, because he failed to launch into adulthood like a normal man. But Connie Farnsworth seems kind and lovely, and I suddenly feel guilty for questioning her parenting skills. Mack, on the other hand…not as lovely.
“I thought Nate would be here with you. Or is he off playing instead of working?”
“Um…” My eyes drop to where Nate’s hiding under the table. “No, Nate’s here… close. ” He flicks my leg multiple times, and I shake it to get his pesky fingers away from me.
I could out him to his dad right now. Get back at him for all the late-night phone calls, the extra work he’s made me do, all the trips he’s kicked me off of, but I remember the gift of first class and take pity on him.
“Nate is around here somewhere.” I make a show of looking over the lobby. “He’s definitely working. Working hard. In fact, I think he left to go help an elderly woman get her bags up to her room.”
Mack’s dark brows fold inward. “Why not let the bellhop do that?”
“You know Nate.” I laugh. “Such a kind heart.” I choke on the words a little as they come out.
“Come on, Mack.” Connie tugs his arm. “We’ll see Nate tonight. Let him work right now.”
“Fine.” He flicks his gaze to me while stepping toward the elevators. “If you see him, tell him I’m looking for him.”
“You bet.” My smile is overly big, despite the fact that there is no way Mack Farnsworth could be killed with kindness. “We’ll see you both tonight.”
I wait until they’re both in the elevator before plopping down in my chair.
Nate peeks out from under the tablecloth, mouthing, “Are they gone?”
“Relax. They went up to their room.”
“This is your fault,” he snaps as he drags himself up to his seat.
“My fault? What did I do?”
“You booked my parents on this trip without even telling me they were coming.”
“How was I supposed to know the last-minute add-ons were your parents? It was just another Farnsworth name.”
“This is worst-case scenario.” His elbows lean on the table, with his head in his hands. “What am I going to do?”
Lines pull across my forehead as I watch this dramatic display of panic.
“I don’t understand what the problem is. So what if your parents are here? You already said Pureskin hired an in-house event manager, so it’s not like future jobs are on the line.”
His head lifts to look me in the eyes. “The problem, Carly , is that I didn’t know they were going to be here.”
“I see that, Nate. ” My brows drop even more. “But now you know. So deal with it.”
“I can’t just deal with it, okay?”
“I get that your dad is some intimidating, scary guy, but just stay away from him.”
“You don’t get it. I told some…” He sucks in a deep breath as he pinches the bridge of his nose. “I told some lies recently to get my parents off my back, and now there’s no way out of them.”
“You told some lies?”
He drags both hands down his face, and it’s kind of nice to see the cocky guy from work in a little bit of distress.
“I may have told my parents I had a serious girlfriend and was bringing her on the Thailand trip with me.”
I fold my arms as I lean back into my chair.
“Oh, don’t look so satisfied and smug.”
“Me? Smug?” I bite back my smile. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You can wipe that silly grin off your face, okay? I’m already at an all-time low.”
My shoulders drop with guilt. Nate may be my nemesis, but he’s clearly in duress, and I’m not some unfeeling ice queen. “I’m sorry.” With great care, I adjust my expression to something even and unjudgmental. “I’m sure we can figure this out. Why did you tell your parents you had a serious girlfriend coming with you on the trip?”
He blows out a breath. “My dad is always harping on me for being irresponsible and not doing all the expected things, and my little brother just got engaged to some respectable woman, and I don’t know…” His shoulders lift. “I just blurted it out. I guess I thought if I said I was close to getting married too, if I could show that I was settling down a little, he’d leave me alone for a few months. I didn’t think they’d book a flight and show up on the trip.”
“When did you tell them this?”
He shakes his head as he thinks it through. “Friday, just before I came to the restaurant to meet you.”
“I got the email Saturday morning to add them to the trip.”
“Oh, no.” Nate’s head drops into his hands again.
“It’s not that big of a deal. Just tell them that she got sick and couldn’t make it. Or she had to work last minute, or you had a huge fight and broke up. There are a million easy excuses you can throw out there to explain why she’s not here.”
“You don’t get it.” He shoots me a pointed stare. “They know I’m lying, and they came all the way across the world to catch me in my deceit.”
“They did not.”
“You don’t know my father the way I do. And let’s just pretend, for a moment, that I do use one of those excuses. They’ll instantly know I made the whole thing up, and suddenly, I’m back to being the irresponsible son that’s not going anywhere in life. At least, when I had a serious girlfriend, they thought there was hope for me. Do you know how torturous this week will be if I’m back to square one and a known liar?”
The anxiety behind his eyes is no joke. Clearly, Nate has some serious daddy issues, which were apparent weeks ago when I sat in his office and saw how tense he was while talking about the man. But I had no clue those issues ran this deep.
“Then tell the truth. It would be good for you to face your dad like a mature adult. Being a mature adult means—” I start to say but stop when my gaze latches onto something familiar across the lobby.
All the blood drains from my face and rushes to my heart.
“Oh, no.”
“What?” Nate whirls around on high alert. “Is it my dad?”
It’s worse.
Much, much worse.
Isaac is here with a gorgeous brunette draped on his arm.