Chapter 36 Dissolution
Dissolution
Kate mechanically dressed for dinner. She pushed away any thought about her publisher, shoving them to the back of her mind as soon as they surfaced. It wasn’t true. It couldn’t be true.
She pulled out a black and white print dress and threw it on before frowning down at her chest—the V was deep.
She shrugged. Who cares? It didn’t matter.
She just needed fuel and wasn’t up for cooking.
She slid her feet into black wedges, grabbed her phone and key card, and trudged out the door to her golf cart.
When she pulled up to the grand entrance, Mario was at the door. “Hello again, Ms. Danvers! Are you here for dinner?”
Kate forced a smile for the cheerful bellman. “Yes, I am. I won’t be long, though. I just didn’t feel like cooking tonight.”
“No problem. I’ll take care of the cart for you. Have a wonderful evening.”
Kate had just stepped into the lobby, the glass doors whispering closed behind her, when a man brushed past her left side—fast, too close, too firm. She stumbled a little as he muttered, “Sorry,” and kept walking. Rude.
A chill zipped across her upper arm, like she’d walked through a cloud of static. She glanced down. Nothing there. Weird.
“You idiot! Look at what you did! My dress is ruined!” A bitchy voice screeched across the lobby.
Kate paused and glanced over to see Jessa—Jessica—yelling at a young desk clerk. How in the world did a desk clerk ruin her dress?
Mario stepped up beside her when she hesitated and whispered, “That one is a real piece of work. She may look nice on the outside, but she’s a royal B on the inside. She bosses everyone around like she owns the place and then yells at them when they don’t instantly jump to do as she demands.”
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but I don’t understand. I didn’t do anything to your dress.” Confusion and anxiety were written all over the clerk's face. Kate glanced around but didn’t see Lena or anyone else who looked like a manager.
“You bumped your desk into me and knocked over my water bottle! Water ruins silk, you idiot! This dress is coming out of your paycheck!” Jessica’s voice was a painful shriek, echoing across the marbled lobby.
Kate’s blood pressure skyrocketed, and her face flushed as all the fear and anger she’d been bottling up exploded. Who did this bitch think she was, talking to the staff like that?
Kate stalked across the lobby, fury bubbling in her veins. “Jessica, isn’t it?” She paused for a second to allow Jessica time to face her.
“Do I know you?” Jessica looked her over, curling her lip. “No, definitely not.”
Before Jessica could turn away, Kate jumped in with both feet, her tone knife sharp.
“Don’t you think it’s time for you to leave? No one wants you here. Nick did not invite you, as you very well know, since Zach told you the email had been faked. And really, how desperate are you to come running down here on an EMAIL?”
Kate snorted, disgust dripping from her voice now. “You spent how long wandering around here like a lost puppy looking for Nick when you arrived? Why? Because you don’t have his cell number! Hello, get a clue and leave.”
Clapping interrupted her, and she spun toward the sound. An older couple was standing in the restaurant doorway and had apparently witnessed the whole thing.
“Bravo, young lady. We heard her yelling at the clerk but weren’t sure if we should intervene or not.
You handled that well. On the other hand, you, Blondie—your behavior is atrocious.
I can’t believe your mother didn’t teach you basic manners.
You owe that young man an apology. You spilled your own water. It wasn’t his fault you’re clumsy.”
Jessica was rooted there in shock from Kate’s attack. Fury snapped in her eyes, but she said nothing, just stormed off toward the elevators. The elderly man winked at Kate and escorted his wife outside.
Another clap sounded, this time from behind Reception. She spun back to find Lena now standing next to the clerk, who was gazing at Kate with stars in his eyes.
“Kate, you are my hero. That was brilliant. None of us who work here could have done that and kept our jobs. Thank you.”
Heat rushed to her cheeks, burning beneath her skin like she’d stepped too close to a fire.
Her muscles pulled taut, a tight, jittery tension crawling up her spine like spider legs.
She couldn’t catch a full breath—each inhale came quick and shallow, as though she were breathing through a straw, leaving her light-headed and dizzy.
The lobby tilted slightly. She pressed her palms to her burning face, the coolness of her own hands doing nothing to quell the heat, and turned wide eyes to Lena.
“I can’t believe I did that. I hate confrontations!” Kate clenched her fists, nails digging crescents into her palms; the slight pain barely registered through the adrenaline still screaming through her system. “I need to go. I’m more messed up than I thought.”
Her shoulders sagged as the last of her anger drained out like water from a broken dam.
A leaden weight settled in her chest, heavy and cold, making it hard to move, hard to think, hard to even stand upright.
The room blurred at the edges, the marble floor seeming to ripple beneath her feet.
Sounds dulled to a hum, as if someone had stuffed cotton in her ears.
Her thoughts broke apart and tumbled over each other, a confused, pounding rush she couldn’t slow down, couldn’t organize, couldn’t escape.
A quick tap of footsteps approached, then a firm hand grasped her arm. “Kate, are you ok? You're white as a sheet, and shaking.” Concern dripped from Lena’s voice.
“I had a bit of a shock earlier. A big shock, actually. I think maybe I’m in shock still?” Kate’s voice quivered, her words tumbling over each other faster than she could catch them, each syllable trembling.
Her muscles trembled, her heart hammering out of rhythm like a broken drum.
Her vision blurred, colors leaching away as though the world had gone gray and lifeless.
Each breath caught in her throat, shallow and ragged.
Every sound rang too loud, scraping against her nerves like sandpaper.
She tried to pull herself together, tried to force her muscles to obey, but it was like grasping at smoke—her thoughts scattered, her body locked in a state she couldn’t escape.
Vague impressions of what was happening flashed in front of her. Lena’s grip on her arm, surprisingly strong, leading her across the cool marble. The soft give of cushions as she was pushed down. “Sit right there.”
Kate registered the plush fabric beneath her as she sank down, her breath ragged, her thoughts splintering into static. The lobby lights glowed too brightly, drilling into her skull.
She was only distantly aware of Lena pressing a water bottle into her hands, the plastic cool and damp with condensation. Her heart thudded, a ragged, uneven rhythm, each beat echoing in her ears.
“Kate, take the bottle and sip the water.” Kate obediently took the bottle put into her hands and started sipping, the cool liquid sliding down her throat, grounding her.
Gradually, the fog thinned, the edges of the world sharpening into focus again.
Her gaze drifted over to Lena beside her. That’s right—Lena had sat down.
Kate glanced around, disoriented, taking in the familiar rattan furniture and potted palms. The hotel lobby. Why was she here?
“I’m so sorry. I think I need to go home.”
“You are not driving. I’ll take you.” Lena stood and eased Kate up, one hand firm on her elbow, guiding her to the door. “Mario, I’m going to drive her back to the suite.”
With a steady hand, she helped Kate into the golf cart, settling her before sliding in behind the wheel. If Mario responded, she didn’t hear it through the ringing in her ears.
Kate stared straight ahead as they glided through the warm night.
The cool breeze, smelling of pine and damp earth and the distant salt of the gulf, chased some cobwebs from her mind.
Her cheeks heated again, this time with embarrassment rather than panic.
“I’m so sorry, Lena. I freaked out there. I am so embarrassed.”
“Don’t be.” At the suite, Lena slipped out of the cart with practiced grace to help her out. “Don’t you dare move—I don’t want you falling.”
She came around and grasped Kate’s arm with gentle firmness. “Let me help you.” She walked Kate up to the door, took her keys from her trembling fingers, and opened it before leading Kate to a chair, her hand never leaving Kate’s elbow.
“Sit.” Kate sat, the cushion sighing beneath her weight. She was still fuzzy, thoughts moving like molasses, but she recognized an order when she heard one.
“Now, tell me the problem. You said you had a shock. What kind of shock? Do you need help with something?” The soft, melodic tones of Lena’s voice, calm but laced with genuine concern, eased some of the confusion swirling in Kate’s head like a storm cloud.
“There’s nothing you can do, but thanks.
I think I’ll be leaving tomorrow. I’ll know for sure in the morning.
” She stared blankly at the dark wall of glass in front of her, mind drifting again like an untethered boat.
The water was out there, on the other side of that glass, invisible in the darkness but present nonetheless, its waves whispering against the shore.
A knock on the door, sharp and urgent, and the cushions next to her shifted. A moment later, Nick was crouched in front of her, his knees on the hardwood floor, his face filling her vision. “Kate?”
With a slow blink, she focused on Nick, noticing the concern etched on his face—deep lines between his brows, his mouth tight, his eyes searching hers with an intensity that made her chest ache. “Nick? What are you doing here?”