CHAPTER TEN
Monday morning, after seeing Robbie off to school and taking Vaughn to the airport for his flight to Canada, I raced to get to the hotel in time for Bernie’s staff meeting.
Thankfully, Rhonda was already there as I slid into my seat a few minutes late. Bernie was used to the idea that as mothers and grandmothers, Rhonda and I had other responsibilities and with us, family came first unless there was an emergency.
Bernie was speaking. “The wedding over the weekend was according to everything I’ve heard a success with staff stepping in to help with Lorraine’s absence. Does anyone have any comments or suggestions?”
“I’d like to say that Annette did an outstanding job of handling the details. I recommend she be included on the wedding planner’s staff as a part-timer,” I said, turning to Lorraine.
“I would very much like that,” Lorraine said. “Laura is a wonderful employee, but we need more help. As we all know, weddings here at the hotel are very special because of the service we provide.”
“Our wedding clients seem willing to pay for the extras we offer them,” I added.
“Since she’s your wife, Bernie, I’ll speak to Annette today and make her an offer,” said Lorraine.
Bernie nodded his approval. “And how are we doing with our VIP guests in the two houses?” He turned to Ines Salinas, our new VIP coordinator.
“So far, it seems to be working out well. Tina Marks and Darryl Douglas are satisfied with the arrangements. We’ve been providing food service along with the usual maid service. And Manny has assigned reliable groundskeepers to those properties. The guards haven’t had any real problems with access to the guesthouses except with Brock Goodwin. But they quickly took care of it.”
“What an ass,” Rhonda murmured.
“Any requests for either of them to leave the houses on the property?” Bernie asked Ines.
She shook her head. “Not that I know of.”
“We’ve had a new problem arise. Darryl’s ex-wife, Everly Jansen, who was scheduled to stay in the Presidential Suite next week is now arriving a week early,” said Bernie. “We need to make sure she has no inkling that Darryl is with us. And we certainly don’t want any bad publicity for the hotel.”
“But she’s a woman who seeks attention,” I said. “The publicity about her isn’t favorable.”
“Yeah, she’s making up all kinds of things about Darryl hoping to get more money out of him,” said Rhonda. “She thinks he cheated her out of a fair divorce settlement. At least that’s what Hollywood News says.”
“Well, I don’t depend on news from Hollywood to tell me how to run a hotel,” said Bernie in his stern way. “We’ll carry on as we usually do.”
I glanced at Rhonda.
“You’re right, Bernie,” she said.
“We must be careful with her, keep the press out, maintain the sense of security we’re known for,” said Bernie.
“I agree. If anyone should hear anything about our private houseguests or any others, I suggest they report it to both Bernie and Ines,” I said.
“Yes,” said Bernie. “All of our guests deserve privacy.”
We went on to other topics, but my thoughts returned to Everly Jansen. As soon as the meeting was over, I wanted to do further investigation on her.
Bernie ended the meeting.
As Rhonda and I headed to our office, I said, “Let’s find out a little more about Everly Jansen.”
“Okay. And then we’d better inform Darryl about her presence here at the hotel.”
We huddled in front of my computer while I clicked on several online articles about her. She’d worked at the ACBE network which is where she met Darryl. Darryl, in his early forties, was a single guy popular on television and with a lot of money. Some claimed that’s why Everly, twelve years younger, sought him out. After a whirlwind courtship, they had an extravagant wedding in Hawaii. There were photos of the enormous diamond engagement ring he’d given her. Wedding photos showed pictures of the voluptuous blond looking triumphant and Darryl’s four sisters looking on with uncertain smiles. It was clear they were not happy with his choice. Darryl looked dazed.
Remembering how shy I thought he was, I pointed this out to Rhonda.
“A little gold digger,” said Rhonda. “Like the kind my Sal got involved with after he lost his mind and left me. Thank God he didn’t marry any of them.”
We checked for more information. It turned out Everly’s job had been given to her by a friend of the family, and as soon as she married Darryl, she quit. To do what, the article didn’t say.
I stopped reading. “There’s no sense in continuing. I’m sure Everly must have some nice qualities, but I’m not going to try to read about them. She’s a very disliked person.”
“A frickin’ shame Darryl got mixed up with her,” said Rhonda. “I’m hoping I can do my magic and help him find a better love.”
I rolled my eyes and stood. “Let’s go tell him about Everly’s visit.” Normally, we’d keep quiet about our guests, but this was an emergency, and he had a right to know.
###
On the walk over to Darryl’s house, we had a chance to study the grounds of the hotel. We were very fortunate to have Manny head a team of workers who kept the lawn, landscaping, and grounds pristine. It was essential to maintain an upscale look as part of what guests could expect when coming to the hotel.
By using the private back path to the houses, we quickly arrived at our destination.
We stopped at Darryl’s house first. We went to the front door and knocked.
“Come in,” said a male voice.
Rhonda and I entered the house to find Darryl doing exercises out on the pool deck.
He stood when he saw us. As he came over to greet us, I saw the change in him. He was a healthy tanned, trimmer, and more muscular person than the man he’d been when he’d arrived.
“Wow!” said Rhonda. “Look what happened to you.”
“That’s all due to Abbie,” he said and indicated Abbie behind him. She was wearing short shorts and a tank top that showed the shape of her trim, defined body.
I could feel the energy between them and glanced at Rhonda who wore a satisfied smile. There was nothing I could do to stop her from saying. “You two are great together. Just like I thought.”
A look passed between Darryl and Abbie, and then she said, “It’s time for me to train with Tina. We’re making progress.”
“And progress here, I’m glad to see,” said Rhonda, and I knew she wasn’t talking about the training.
I held up my hand to stop Abbie from leaving. “We’re here to give you both some news. We’ll be talking to Tina too. Normally, we don’t speak about other guests staying at the hotel, but, in this case, we must, because it may affect all three of you in the houses if she gets the opportunity to find out you’re here.”
“Yes, we want you to know that Darryl’s ex, Everly Jansen, will be staying in the Presidential Suite for the next week or so,” said Rhonda. “We already provide you with security and seclusion, but you’ll need to be extra careful about being seen.”
“We don’t allow uninvited news cameras in the hotel, but from what we’ve read, Everly doesn’t mind publicity,” I said, hoping I was being tactful enough.
“She’s a real piece of work,” said Rhonda.
So much for being tactful.
Darryl let out a long sigh. “I’m here to get away from all the publicity about my wanting to cancel my contract on the show. There’s another matter I’m dealing with too. The last thing I want to do is meet my ex-wife here.”
“We’d arranged for her to stay here next week, not knowing how long you’d be staying,” I explained.
“This has been a productive visit for me,” said Darryl, glancing at Abbie. “I want to extend my stay to six weeks. Maybe longer.”
“We’ll work that out,” said Rhonda. “This is important. The two of you are getting along so well.”
Rhonda ignored the “cease and desist” look I was giving her and smiled happily at the two of them.
“Thanks for the tip about Everly,” said Darryl. “Believe me, I have no intention of either seeing my ex or having anything to do with the press for any reason.”
“That’s a relief to hear,” I said. “Now, we’re going to talk to Tina. We want to ensure that Everly’s presence does nothing to expose Tina.”
Rhonda and I left Darryl’s house and walked down the road to the most recent house we’d built. It was as attractive as the original house which had been mine until I sold it to the hotel.
As I knew she would, Rhonda nudged me. “Those two are very sweet together. I hardly have any work to do with this one.”
I shook my head at Rhonda’s idea of being a matchmaker, but I returned her smile. It made her happy.
###
Tina answered the door wearing workout shorts and a tank top. “Hi, I’m glad to see you. We haven’t had any time together recently, and I’ve missed it.”
“We’ve had some people out sick with the flu, but I think everyone’s healthy again,” I said. “We didn’t want to expose anyone to it.”
“We need to talk to you,” said Rhonda.
“Come on in. I’ve been meaning to call you. I’m going to return to California for a couple of days and come right back here. Abbie will stay in the house while I’m gone.”
“What do you think of Abbie and Darryl as a couple?” asked Rhonda. “I think they’re perfect together.”
Tina stopped and put her hands on her hips. “Are you trying to be a matchmaker again?”
The three of us looked at one another and burst out laughing as Rhonda’s cheeks grew pink. “You know I’m excellent at it,” Rhonda said, defending herself.
“I must admit you’ve been right a couple of times,” said Tina, continuing to tease Rhonda.
I stood by, enjoying all of it.
“What’s taking you away from here?” I asked Tina.
“Victor has a school play he has a big part in, and I promised him I’d see it. That, some medical appointments, and a chance to have my hair cut and styled with Antonio. But, as I said, I’ll return. It’s going to be a fast in-and-out situation because I’m still not ready for the role.”
I couldn’t resist hugging her. “You’re beautiful, Tina. You always will be to me.”
“Cameras can be horribly cruel. Once the movie is over, I’ll relax a bit.” She frowned. “What did you want to talk to me about?” She indicated for us to have a seat on one of the chairs surrounding the kitchen table.
“Normally, we wouldn’t discuss anyone who’s staying in the hotel with any other guests,” I said. “But we feel you have a right to know that Darryl’s ex-wife is going to be staying in the Presidential Suite.”
“According to what we’ve read, she could cause both Darryl and you trouble if she somehow made it to the guesthouses or heard about you,” said Rhonda.
“We had to move her out of a stay in a house to accommodate Darryl’s longer one,” I said. “If Everly found out, it could be a problem because she’s already out to confront him on other issues.”
“I certainly don’t want to be part of that mess,” said Tina. “I appreciate your telling me this. How long is Everly staying here?”
“She’s booked in the Suite for two weeks,” Rhonda said. “We don’t know if she’ll stay that long. She’s changed her arrival.”
“I’ve spent some time with Darryl, of course, through training times together. He’s a very nice man,” said Tina. “And, Rhonda, I think you’re right. Abbie is starting to fall for him. She’s very accustomed to working with high-profile people, but she says he’s different, very genuine.”
“We heard that Abbie has four older brothers. I bet she’s a little spoiled,” Rhonda said.
Tina shook her head. “Abbie’s tough physically and mentally, but she’s a sweet person. It’s very interesting, now that you’ve mentioned it. Both Abbie and Darryl are the youngest of five siblings, four of which are the opposite sex. Maybe that’s why they get along well. It’s certainly happened fast.”
I held back a chuckle at the glow of success on Rhonda’s face. If she beat the odds and things did work out between Darryl and Abbie, she’d never let me forget it.
We talked about Tina’s boys, Vincent and his younger brother, Tyler, and then Abbie arrived.
After greeting us, Abbie said to Tina, “Ready to begin?”
Tina groaned and got to her feet. “Guess I have no choice.”
“You’re doing very well,” said Abbie. “A couple more weeks and you’ll be glad you listened to me.”
Rhonda and I stood.
“Safe trip home,” I said to Tina. “Please let us know when you return. We want to make sure our security team will assist you.”
Tina gave each of us goodbye hugs. “I’ll talk to you later.”
On the walk back to the hotel, Rhonda said, “I wish I didn’t have a bad feeling about Everly coming here.”