20. Damage Control
Chapter twenty
Damage Control
Graham
By Tuesday morning, I was officially out of patience.
Not ideal for hospitality work.
The sunrise over Azure Palms looked spectacular – gold spilling across the ocean, palms swaying gently, lantern remnants glowing faintly from last night’s festival.
Meanwhile someone had made Piper cry.
Quietly. Privately. But enough that her smile looked thinner this morning.
And that?
That I took personally.
Dangerously personally.
“Mercer?”
I looked up from the dock railing.
Marco immediately froze.
“…Oh wow. You’ve got murder face.”
“I don’t have murder face.”
“You absolutely have murder face.”
Fair.
“You also have billionaire-eyebrow tension happening,” Marco added nervously.
“I don’t know what that means.”
“It means I’d confess crimes right now even if I hadn’t committed any.”
I crossed the courtyard quickly while staff prepared breakfast stations beneath the palms.
Piper stood near the inn reception desk arranging excursion packets with mechanical cheerfulness.
Wrong.
Everything about it felt wrong.
Too bright. Too careful.
She glanced up when I approached.
And instantly smiled.
Professional smile.
Not real smile.
And somehow that hurt worse than finding the missing ledger.
My chest tightened sharply.
“There you are,” she said lightly.
There you are.
Like those words mattered more lately.
Dangerous woman.
“You okay?”
“Fine.”
Lie.
Terrible lie.
I lowered my voice slightly.
“What happened?”
Her hands paused briefly over the paperwork.
Then resumed moving.
“Nothing.”
Another lie.
Behind us, two housekeeping staff members abruptly changed direction the second they saw me looking.
Aha.
There it was.
My irritation sharpened instantly.
“Who said what?”
Piper sighed softly.
“Graham.”
“No.”
Her eyes lifted toward mine carefully.
“It’s not worth making into a thing.”
Too late.
Already a thing.
Because I knew exactly what this was – resort gossip, speculation, assumptions.
And suddenly the entire situation felt unbearable.
Piper—kind, hardworking, endlessly genuine Piper—being reduced to some opportunistic cliché because of me.
Absolutely not.
I stepped closer instinctively.
“Listen to me.”
Her expression softened slightly.
“You don’t have to fix every uncomfortable thing.”
“Yes,” I said evenly. “I do.”
The words slipped out before I could soften them.
And judging by the look on her face—
that affected her more than intended.
Dangerous honesty.
Very dangerous.
Before either of us could continue, Boone Ashcroft thundered through the courtyard carrying coffee and emotional volume.
“MORNING, LOVE BIRDS.”
Piper nearly dropped the excursion folders.
I closed my eyes briefly.
Boone pointed between us immediately.
“Okay wow. Tension level today is upsettingly romantic.”
“Go away,” I said.
“That’s not denial.”
Piper buried her face in the paperwork stack.
“I’m moving into the ocean.”
“Too late,” Boone continued cheerfully. “The guests already have theories.”
Of course they did.
Wonderful.
“Boone,” I said calmly, “this is your final warning.”
“About?”
I took one slow breath.
“Minding your business.”
The cowboy millionaire blinked once.
Then slowly backed away while lifting his coffee cup in surrender.
“Yikes. Murder face confirmed.”
Marco whispered from nearby – “Told you.”
I ignored both of them.
Linda from Wisconsin wandered through the lobby carrying a waffle and paused dramatically.
“Oh good,” she said. “We’re finally in the jealousy chapter.”
Piper made a strangled noise into the paperwork.
I finally looked up at her again.
And there it was – that flicker of embarrassment still lingering behind her eyes.
I hated it immediately.
“Who was talking?” I asked quietly.
“Graham—”
“Who?”
Silence stretched between us briefly.
Then she sighed.
“Two staff members.”
Anger moved cold and immediate through my chest.
Not explosive anger.
Worse.
Controlled anger.
I nodded once.
“Okay.”
Piper immediately pointed at me.
“No.”
“No?”
“You are not about to become scary resort Batman.”
“I don’t know what that means.”
“It means stop looking like you’re preparing a hostile takeover.”
I held her gaze steadily.
“Nobody gets to disrespect you because of me.”
The words landed heavily between us.
Piper went still.
Completely still.
And suddenly the entire courtyard seemed quieter somehow.
Wind moving softly through the palms. Distant ocean waves. Breakfast music drifting faintly nearby.
Just us in the middle of it.
Dangerous.
Very dangerous.
Piper swallowed once.
“You can’t control what people think.”
“No.” I stepped slightly closer. “But I can control what’s tolerated here.”
Her breath caught slightly.
Tiny reaction.
Far more effect than it should have had.
I looked away before I did something catastrophically stupid in broad daylight.
Like kiss her against the reception desk.
Excellent. Very healthy thoughts.
Instead I turned toward the staff corridor.
“Where are you going?”
“To work.”
“That answer sounds threatening somehow.”
“It should.”
Piper groaned softly behind me.
Adorable.
Dangerously adorable.
I found the two employees near the service kitchen twenty minutes later pretending productivity.
They both visibly panicked when they saw me approaching.
Correct response.
I stopped in front of them calmly.
Neither spoke.
Good. Made this easier.
“I understand there’s been gossip.”
The younger employee swallowed hard.
“Mr. Mercer, we didn’t mean—”
“I don’t care about intentions right now.”
Silence.
Kitchen noise hummed faintly around us – dishes clattering, coffee brewing, staff moving carefully slower nearby because everyone was absolutely listening.
Fine.
Let them.
I kept my voice level.
“Piper Bennett has worked harder for Azure Palms than almost anyone on this island.”
Both employees stared at the floor now.
“She protects guests. Staff. This entire resort atmosphere. And she’s done it with integrity every single day.”
My jaw tightened slightly.
“So let me be perfectly clear – nobody here will question her character because she happens to matter to me.”
There.
Too honest.
Too revealing.
But I couldn’t regret it.
Not when Piper looked hurt because of this.
The older employee finally whispered:
“We’re sorry.”
Good.
They should be.
I nodded once.
“Do better.”
Then I walked away before my restraint disappeared entirely.
Outside, ocean wind hit my face sharply as I crossed the courtyard again.
My pulse still hammered harder than it should have.
Because apparently hearing people imply Piper wanted anything from me triggered immediate territorial insanity.
Not because I thought she needed defending.
Because she deserved better than that.
Near the pool, the beach dog trotted proudly past dragging an entire string of decorative lanterns behind him like stolen treasure.
Three staff members chased him while one shouted, “SIR THIS IS A FESTIVAL CRIME.”
Seriously?
Mood.
I found her near the front terrace helping Eleanor organize departure gift bags.
The moment Piper saw me returning—
she knew.
“How bad was it?”
“Moderately terrifying.”
Eleanor looked delighted.
“Good.”
Traitorous elderly woman.
Piper studied my face carefully.
“You didn’t humiliate them, did you?”
“No.”
“Threaten them?”
“Emotionally.”
“That still counts.”
I shrugged slightly.
Eleanor patted my arm approvingly.
“Sometimes men should look dangerous for the right reasons.”
Piper pointed at her immediately.
“You are enabling him.”
“I’m eighty-one. I’ve earned it.”
Fair.
Piper sighed softly and shook her head.
But then—
quietly—
she touched my wrist for one brief second.
Thank you.
The warmth of it moved straight through my chest.
And suddenly every secret I still carried felt heavier than ever.
Because she trusted me. Defended me. Reached for me instinctively now.
And if the truth finally destroyed that…
I honestly didn’t know what would be left of me afterward.
Before I could say anything reckless, movement near the dock caught my attention.
A boat approaching the marina.
Sleek. Fast. Mainland registration.
My stomach tightened instantly.
The reporter stepped onto the dock carrying a leather satchel and entirely too much confidence.
And judging by the expression on his face—
he’d just found something important.