CHAPTER TWO
Rhonda and I sat on the couch in my living room facing the television. I’d fixed Irish coffee for each of us, and a plate of brownie bites sat on the table. Cindy, our black and tan short-haired dachshund, had been sent away from the food to Robbie’s bedroom to sleep with him. He was eleven now and growing fast, but he was still young enough to want his dog at night.
Rhonda let out a long sigh. “This house seems very quiet. My kids would still be fighting sleep,” she said, talking about her two children, Willow, eight, and Drew, six. Her oldest child, Angie, was in her late twenties like my daughter, Liz. They’d been college freshmen roommates, which is how Rhonda and I met. Now they were busy mothers of our collective six grandchildren. Hopefully, Liz and Angie would take over running the hotel, but that day seemed a long way off.
“Okay,” I said lifting my cup of special coffee. “Here’s to making a fair decision. Let’s enjoy the show.”
Rhonda raised her cup of coffee and took a sip. “Delicious. If nightcaps are the way to making a wise choice, I’m all for it. But, Annie, we gotta be sensible.”
“I know. But, in truth, we need the business and Amelia’s continued support. The hotel business is very competitive. Especially when we have others trying to emulate us.”
The show’s title, Night Talk with Darryl Douglas , came on screen with a musical introduction. I moved in my seat restlessly, hoping we could give Amelia the answer she wanted. Darryl’s bio indicated he was the youngest of the family with four older sisters. I could only imagine how spoiled he must’ve been growing up.
At the sound of a certain drum roll, Darryl walked out on stage. He was of average height, a little overweight, and had a bright, easy smile as he waved to the studio audience.
“He looks like a cuddly Teddy Bear,” I murmured, and beside me, Rhonda nodded.
“I bet those four sisters of his spoiled him like crazy,” she said. “That or made his life miserable by dominating him.”
“Maybe that’s why he turned to comedy,” I said, seeing him in a whole new light.
Darryl did a short monologue talking about teachers being back at school that had us both laughing. And then he walked behind his desk and announced who would be his guests for the evening.
A young actress who, no doubt, had had breast enhancement surgery was the first guest. Her perfect facial features and botoxed lips made her beautiful, but I’m sure she would’ve been perfectly fine without all the enhancements.
I could sense Rhonda grow tense beside me and knew she was irritated by the idea that some women had to meet certain standards of appearance to become successful. She hated the idea, and I understood. But that’s what it often took to get noticed in the entertainment industry.
Darryl asked the actress about the role she was in and listened politely while she talked about how she’d fallen in love with her co-star, a sexy man known for fooling around. She smiled. “In making this movie, I’ve discovered what it’s like to be with a man who knows how to truly make a woman satisfied. You know what I mean?”
She leaned forward, waiting for Darryl to answer.
Darryl grimaced and said, “Let’s go to break time.”
“Wow,” said Rhonda. “He all but rolled his eyes. I don’t blame him. I don’t think the woman has a brain in her head. Do you think that’s the problem with him doing the show?
‘I’m not sure,” I said. “I have a feeling we’ll find out someday. I like Darryl. His jokes are funny. He has a great sense of humor. But he did seem embarrassed by his guests.”
“I agree,” said Rhonda, taking a brownie from the plate. “He seems like a nice guy. Let’s give him the chance to stay here. It’s for four weeks or so. Right?”
“That’s what the request said. But we’d better verify that. I agree we give him the chance. He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who’d intrude on Tina’s stay.”
Rhonda waggled a finger at me. “I wouldn’t trust him on that point. We’ll just have to make sure they never meet. I don’t think anyone would give up the chance to interview Tina Marks. She’s usually very private.”
“You’re right. And the one person who can never know about either of them is Brock. Heaven knows what he’d do with information like that.”
###
By the end of the program, Rhonda was snoring, and I was doing everything I could to stay awake. With Vaughn traveling from time to time, I sometimes read before going to sleep. But I never stayed up this late when I had to work the next day.
“Okay, Rhonda. Time to get up and go home,” I said shaking her gently.
Her eyes flew open. “Is it the kids?”
“No, Rhonda, we were watching the Darryl Douglas show. Now it’s over.”
She yawned and stretched before standing. “Okay. Don’t worry. I can make it home.”
I walked her to the door, and after seeing her off, I locked the house and turned into my bedroom. The bed was empty without Vaughn. We’d talked earlier that evening, but words of love didn’t compare to having him beside me.
###
The next morning, I awoke with a start, glanced at the clock, and hurried to wake Robbie.
He was stretched out, face down across the bed. Cindy nestled up beside him. She turned and looked at me, then moved as I called out to Robbie to wake up.
“Sorry. I overslept. Hurry. I’ll fix breakfast for you while you get dressed.” I studied the young man he was becoming and remembered the two-year-old toddler we’d adopted. He’d been orphaned by his parent’s automobile accident. Robert, my ex, had dumped me for his voluptuous receptionist. Robbie was theirs, and now he was Vaughn’s and mine.
He’d grown recently and I realized he’d be tall like his father.
I left him and hurried to let Cindy out before fixing breakfast for both. It was going to be a busy day at the hotel with a new group moving in for a small conference. As much as we relied on our regular guests, we needed a lot of group and wedding business. Rhonda and I always tried to give personal attention to them.
Robbie came into the kitchen. “Remember, I have a swim meet today. Are you coming?”
“I’ve got it marked down and will keep that time free. But emergencies do arise. I’ve heard from Stephanie. She and Randolph are planning on being there.” Longtime guests at the hotel, the Willises had become substitute grandparents to Robbie. A pleasant situation for all.
“Great,” said Robbie. “When is Dad coming back?”
“Not for a couple of weeks. The movie is taking longer than they thought. But you know him. He’s anxious to get home and get out on the water in the sailboat with you.”
“I know,” said Robbie. He quickly ate the cereal and drank the juice I’d set out for him.
I handed him some protein bars, and he tucked them into his backpack.
“Make sure you get a healthy lunch at school,” I said snatching a kiss from him. I loved that he still let me kiss him.
“The coach makes sure we all eat well,” Robbie said.
We got into the car, and I dropped him off at school before heading home again to get ready for work.
###
At the hotel, I slid into my seat in Bernhard Bruner’s office just in time for his meeting. Bernie was a talented hotel general manager whom we trusted to run the hotel for us. Rhonda was already there, but she looked as if she’d stayed up past her bedtime, too.
Bernie asked us if we’d decided about having Darryl Douglas stay at the hotel. With a nod of approval from Rhonda, I said that we would agree to let him have the house for up to six weeks.
“Then I think that the guests assigned to the house for part of that time should be offered a stay in the Presidential Suite for the same price they would’ve paid for the house,” said Bernie. “Is that agreeable to both of you?”
Rhonda and I quickly agreed. The Presidential Suite was beautiful. No guest would have reason to complain.
“The problem is that one of the guests we’re talking about is someone who has been in verbal warfare with Darryl recently,” said Bernie, giving us a worried look.
Rhonda’s eyes widened. “Do you mean Darryl’s ex-wife?”
“Yes,” said Bernie. “I will suggest she come another time when the house will be available, but if she refuses, there’s nothing I can do about it. Just a heads up.”
Rhonda and I exchanged glances. Tina, Darryl, and his ex-wife would all be staying at the hotel wanting confidentiality at the same time. Could we do it?
“Why don’t we hire additional security to block anyone else from gaining access to either house?” said Bernie. “Having a guard protect the road leading to them is nothing new. No one would suspect a thing.”
“Good idea,” I said. “I just don’t want trouble. Being exclusive and able to promise a certain degree of privacy is what has made The Beach House Hotel in such demand.”
“We only have one person needing to be monitored round the clock,” muttered Rhonda. “Brock Goodwin is such a pain in the ass.”
“The staff is aware of the need to keep him out of that area,” said Bernie. “But having a security guard by the road’s entrance to the houses will be helpful.”
“Okay, then, we’ve agreed on that. What else do we need to deal with?” I asked.
“This next weekend, we have the Gorman wedding. This is a social win for us,” said Bernie. “Lorraine, why don’t you fill us in on any special requirements.”
Lorraine Grace ran Wedding Perfections for us. Married now to Angie’s father-in-law, Arthur Smythe, she looked fabulous. We were lucky she still wanted to continue her business through the hotel. It seemed to work well that she was as busy as Arthur was with his financial consulting business.
“The Gorman’s are a prominent family in New York and are well-known to Arthur. It was he who persuaded them to have the wedding here at the hotel. There will be lots of publicity both there and here in Florida, but I assure you it will be handled properly,” Lorraine said.
“Are any of the guests staying on at the hotel?” I asked.
“A few of them may remain for an extra couple of days but nothing that would cause a problem, in my opinion,” said Lorraine.
“We’d better tell the staff that they need to be careful what they say around the guests with all the VIPs inhouse,” said Rhonda.
“Indeed. At the staff meeting, I intend to inform them they must be discreet,” said Bernie. “Though they’ve already signed NDAs, even talking among themselves about either Tina or Darryl could become an issue if overheard.”
We discussed several other items on the agenda, and then I rose. “Thank you, Bernie. Please let us know if there are any problems with Darryl’s ex, Everly Jansen, over the new room arrangement.”
“Will do,” said Bernie. “I’ll speak to the full staff this afternoon to review our policy and the upcoming wedding.”
“Thanks,” said Rhonda. She followed me out of his office. “I don’t know about you, but I need some coffee.”
“Me, too,” I said. “I’m concerned about our upcoming situation with Darryl and his wife being here together, but we need both the money and Amelia’s support.”
“We’ve dealt with difficult guests since the beginning. There’s no reason to think we can’t do it again,” said Rhonda. “There’s no way I’m letting our hotel’s reputation be ruined by a high-profile couple.”
“But from what I’ve heard, there are also issues for Darryl at the studio. That makes his situation even worse.”
“Let’s see if there are any leftover sweet rolls,” said Rhonda. “They always make me feel better.”
We got coffee and treats and carried them to our office. Though it was September, we were reviewing holiday and high-season bookings.
“Lorraine is booked for weddings covering a lot of weekends,” I said, “but we need to fill in weekdays. What about creating pampered packages?”
“We can use those for those slow days before and after the holidays,” said Rhonda. “I like it. A Pampered Package including discounts in our spa, breakfast in bed, and a greeting basket with wine and snacks.”
“Let’s talk to Liz and Angie about doing some online advertising for it. We’ll give them the details and available dates, and they can come up with a plan and graphics for social media,” I said.
“Great idea,” said Rhonda. “Anything to get them involved.”
Liz and Angie managed to help us on their computers but didn’t yet have the flexibility to work outside of their homes. Liz’s triplets were three years old and very active. And while Angie’s oldest, Evan, was eight, her youngest of the three was only two.
“I’ll stop and talk to Liz on my way home,” I said. “I haven’t seen the ‘T’s’ for a few days, and I need ‘GeeGee’ time with them.” The “T’s”—Olivia, Emily, and Noah—were adorable toddlers but exhausting. I loved them like crazy.
“I’m taking care of the two younger kids while Angie and Reggie go to a school program with Evan.” Rhonda smiled. “It’s important for him to have time with his parents without his sisters.”
“He’s a great older brother to them. Back to the hotel business. I like the idea of an additional security guard to protect the guesthouses, but do you think we need to hire even another one for the few days Darryl’s wife is here?”
Rhonda shrugged. “Let’s wait and see.”
“Okay,” I said. “Time to call Amelia. No matter what Everly says about switching her room, we’ve agreed to accept Darryl as our guest for a six-week stay.”
“You call her, Annie. Amelia knows I don’t like her getting involved in our business.”
“Okay,” I said, remembering how angry Rhonda was after the kidnapping attempt we were dragged into. “This will be better than last time.”
“You hope,” said Rhonda, shaking her head.
Though I didn’t like the situation, I was the numbers person and knew it was a wise decision financially. We’d have to make it work.