Chapter 8
“Where have you been?” Gray’s dad, Jon, demanded. He was still sitting in his office, as usual, but his chair was turned all the way around to face his son.
The last thing Gray wanted to do was talk to his dad while Riley’s scent and the smell of their incredible lovemaking was all over him. He gave his father a wary look. “I went to the seafood shack for dinner. I was kinda bored, so I stopped down at the bar and made sure it’s all good down there. That night guy’s an asshole, you know. Where’d you find him?”
Jon sighed. “Craigslist, of course. It’s summer, and everyone who’s any good is already working. Is he being an ass to the guests?”
“No. I mean, he’s an asshole, but he’s not stupid. He’s a jerk to the servers, though, and he doesn’t treat me much better.”
“Shit. All right. As soon as I can find a decent night guy, he’s out. Your brother’s coming home soon, so there’s that. If nothing else, he can take over. Have you managed to speak to the Teeter girl?”
Damn it! Gray thought, hating that he had to lie to his dad. “No, sorry.”
Jon stood. “Shit, Gray. Can’t you take a half-hour of your precious time and charm her? I’m not asking you to fuck her.”
“Well, that’s a plus.” The image of her under him brought a new wave of heat coursing through his body.
Jon glared at him. “I just need you to convince her to put me in touch with her father.”
“Why don’t you talk to her?”
Jon ran a hand through his hair. “I’m twice her age, Grayson. Girls like her don’t usually listen past the first words when a man my age talks to them. That’s just a fact. She’ll think I’m some dirty, old pervert, and the last thing I want from Daddy Warbucks is a lawsuit.”
“Have you even considered that maybe she’s smart enough to understand business?” Gray asked, but he knew it was a moot point. His father didn’t even see him as intelligent enough to grasp the family business in any depth; if he did, he wouldn’t have demeaned him to the point of tending the bar and coercing the well-endowed rich bitches on the beach into handing over their daddies’ money.
“Oh, I have no doubt she’s got a brain in that pretty little head of hers, but I also know her parents pull all the strings. How she managed to get a vacation from them is anyone’s guess.”
Gray leaned against the door. “What do you mean?”
Jon stared at his son like he should already know. “Well, I only knew she was coming because her parents gave me an earful, a complete safety briefing. They grilled me on security for at least a half-hour. I tried to talk to her dad then, but it was a dead end. All they wanted to do was lecture me about not being stupid enough to let their precious little angel drown. I doubt she’s ever made a single decision in her entire life without the approval of an entire board of shareholders.”
Damn. No wonder she’s so…cautious. That was the only word he could think of, although after that wild sex they just had in the alley he wasn’t sure it was the best choice. Clearly, she’d thrown caution and her panties to the wind. “Well, anyway, I’ve gotta turn in now, Dad. I’m beat.”
“Just try tomorrow, will you? I know she has a breakfast reservation. Just show up, tell her about the resort, and ask for her dad’s money.”
“Sure,” Gray said with a sigh.
Jon nodded. “Thanks, Gray. We’ve all gotta pitch in if we’re gonna keep this place afloat. All of us have to do our share.”
“I’ll try. ’Night, Dad.” Gray headed to his room. After a shower, he dried himself off and slid into bed. He was dead tired, as all the hours in the hot sun and the constant carrying of heavy crates of beer and liquor had taken a toll; even the amazing sex with Riley had zapped him.
He had to figure out what to do with her, and fast. He knew she was leaving soon, and he didn’t want her to. Except, that wasn’t his decision to make. He crossed his arms behind his head and stared up at the ceiling. “It doesn’t really matter what I want, does it?” he muttered. She had a life to live, and apparently she didn’t have much choice in how to live it. Sound familiar?
What to do? His dad was going to question what he did on his afternoon off. He’d told the old man he’d try. Shit! He’d have to cancel their boating trip, as there was no way he could take her out on the ocean all day and still pretend he wasn’t talking to her. His eyes narrowed to the narrow crack on the ceiling. What if I see her at breakfast, like Dad wants, just long enough to get him off my back? For all Gray knew, she might be okay with asking her dad to talk to his. She did have a good business head on her, and it’d be easy enough to explain to her that the resort in Destin would be running in the black as soon as it got off the ground and all their debts were paid off.
Worry cluttered his mind. The debts were frighteningly huge. He knew a lot about business himself, even if his father didn’t give him credit for it, and there were a ton of things they could do to minimize that debt and make things better for the guests. Annoyingly, no one ever listened to him. He was seriously beginning to wonder if there’d even be a family business left when the smoke cleared.
He also felt guilt. He didn’t want to hurt his family by shying away from Riley, but he had a feeling that was exactly what he’d be doing. His father had forced him into choosing between hurting his family or hurting a woman who was obviously gun-shy about being with anyone, and he had little doubt she’d been used before, too.
Hell, I’ve been used before, he admitted to himself. He’d had too many friends and girlfriends who thought he was made of money just because his family owned the resort. Either that, or they expected carte blanche to the place and to bring their friends and families along, too. There’d been a girl from the small city nearby, and she showed up with twelve of her relatives, claiming they all had free rein of the place because he’d said so. Her greedy folks shamelessly demanded rooms, free food, and everything else before he intervened and sent them all packing. That only happened, of course, after a huge, messy scene with her, one that included a real shitty breakup right in front of her entire family and half the vacationing guests. One of her brothers even tried to punch his lights out.
It was an awful discovery to learn that people were using him, to know that people really would walk all over someone and everything they had ever had together to get what they wanted. He knew it all too well, and was pretty sure Riley knew it. Double shit! He should have told her from the start who he really was. Why did I let her think I’m just a bartender here? Damn it. I should’ve made it clear, then let her decide if she was okay with going out with me. She never gets to decide anything. She could have at least decided that.
Suddenly, his own thoughts stopped him. “Wait. Going out with me? What the hell are you thinking?” he whispered to his dark ceiling.
No; if anything, they were just having fun, a sexy short fling, and that was all right with him as long as neither of them got hurt in the process. He’d learned to guard his heart at an early age, and he wasn’t ready to lower that guard. He knew it’d be crazy dangerous when it came to Riley, because she was the kind of woman who could break his heart in two.
We can never be together anyway, he reasoned. There’s no way her folks would ever let her marry some struggling resort owner’s son, so… he paused and blinked. “What?! Marry? What the hell?”
It was official: Riley had him all twisted up, and he barely knew her. He had to talk to her at breakfast, to confess who he really was and ask her to ask her dad about a deal. Then he had to break off their boating date. It would leave him looking like the biggest jerk of all time, but he hoped it wouldn’t stop her from talking to her father. He’d figure a way to explain it to her. He’d be nice, honest… whatever it took.
Frustrated to the point of insomnia, Gray rolled off the bed and went out to the balcony. He found his father sitting there, a glass of wine in one hand and a cigar in the other. Gray sighed. “Couldn’t sleep?”
“Haven’t tried,” Jon admitted. “You?”
“Nope,” Gray said as he took a position near the railing.
Jon lit the cigar, and rich smoke drifted toward Gray.
Gray cleared his throat and said, “Dad, I have an idea.”
“Yeah?”
Gray nodded. “I’ve been thinking about that timeshare company, the international chain. You know they want access to some of our rooms. It would still be our resort, but we could book more people who might not come here otherwise and—”
“At a reduced cost,” Jon cut in to point out.
“True,” Gray continued, angry that his father was always so short-sighted and stubborn, “but we’d make up that loss with food and drinks. The markup on those is high, and we could add some non-motorized water sports equipment and offer day trips on the boat, maybe fishing outings or sunset cruises for a few couples or even one couple if they wanna shell out a few extra bucks.”
“You know how I feel about anyone being on Maggie.”
“I know, Dad, but—”
“No, Grayson! That damn boat is haunted. You also know how I feel about ceding our rooms to a timeshare.”
Gray did know exactly how his dad felt about that boat. He decided to let that go and concentrate on the first suggestion, hoping he’d see it as more favorable. “Well, the timeshare would be a good upfront payment. We still get paid rental rates, too, on top of the buy-in. I mean, the rent would be lower, but in the long run it’d put us on top. Dad, I know you hate the idea, but it could bring in some much-needed revenue right now. Use your eyes and brain, Dad. We need more staff, more steady reservations. The place is gonna fall apart all around us if we don’t start generating more money and bring on more help. Our reviews on the websites are getting worse by the day, and people are claiming we have horrible customer service. We aren’t giving our customers what they’re paying for, and they’re calling us out on it. I just read on Yelp the other day that—”
“Gray, let me smoke my cigar in peace,” Jon said, holding up his hand.
“But, Dad, I think—”
“I mean it!” he said, great hardness in his tone that indicated how serious he was.
Gray, furious and thwarted, just stared at him. He could not keep the bitterness out of his own voice when he retorted, “So instead of seeking solutions, we’ll just beg and borrow, hoping the other resort will be built and float this one?”
“You’re going too far, Gray.”
“And you’re going nowhere!” Gray yelled before he stormed off. He was going too far, but it was where his father needed to go.