“You really think so little of me, sir?” Kyle asked.
Vaughn just shrugged.
“Uncle Vaughn, you can’t be serious!” Drea exclaimed.
“He only wants you for your money, Drea.”
“Vaughn, stop being ridiculous,” Miller interjected. “And yes, I knew, I have eyes. He looks at her like I looked at Marta.”
Kyle looked over at Miller. He was still sitting at the table, but where he’d been relaxed and almost slumped in his chair before, he was now sitting upright, with both arms resting on the table. Knowing that Miller thought that Kyle looked at Drea the same way he had looked at his own wife meant something to him. The love that radiated off Miller when he talked about her was something Kyle envied and something he knew Drea had always idolized. His statement also meant that Drea was right—Miller was defending them and their relationship, even though they hadn’t been entirely honest with him.
“What about you,” Vaughn said, turning to Grayson. “Do you know about this too?”
“Well, I didn’t realize he’d sealed the deal, but I might have been encouraging it,” he answered, looking over at Kyle and giving the ‘well done, buddy’ nod. Kyle nodded back his thanks.
“Vaughn, for the last time, knock it off,” Simone finally said.
“You too?”
“Yes, me too. She’s had a crush on him since the moment he got here. You know that,” Simone answered him. “So when I saw him kiss her the other night—”
“What?” Vaughn cut her off.
“Uncle Vaughn, if you’d let us explain. We’ve been dating—” Drea started.
“Dating? Drea, he’s been leading you on for years. So I’m sorry if you thought there was more to your friendship and I’m sorry that these two have been indulging your fantasies about it,” he said, gesturing at his brothers.
“Vaughn, she has not been imagining that there is more to our friendship. We’re together, we just chose to keep it to ourselves—”
“Because it’s against the terms of your employment contract?” Vaughn said, cutting him off.
“What?” Kyle asked.
“Even if you aren’t after her money, which I don’t believe for one second, it’s still against resort policy for staff to be romantically involved with each other. You’re fired.”
The words rang in Kyle's ears. He shouldn’t have been surprised to hear them. He knew they were coming. It was what he’d been afraid of since day one of this, what he’d been telling Drea would happen. Deep down he’d always known it, but when Miller and Grayson had started to defend him, there had been a glimmer of hope that maybe the outcome would be different.
“You can’t fire him!” Drea called out, moving in between him and her uncle.
“Oh, but I can.”
“He’s my employee, Vaughn,” Grayson added in.
“Don’t we all get a vote?” Drea asked, panicked.
“He might report to you, Grayson, but as Executive Director of the resort I get final say over employment. Kyle, get out, you’re fired.”
It was as if the earth underneath him turned to quicksand. He couldn’t breathe as the room spun. He looked to Drea, who was fighting back tears.
“No, no, no,” she said.
“Vaughn, don’t be an ass,” Miller said, standing up. “You are not firing the kid because he is involved with Drea. By that logic you’re going to have to find a new housekeeping manager and a maintenance tech.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, but my decision is final. Get out.”
He didn’t need to be told again. He wanted to scream and throw up, but knew that no matter what he did, he wasn’t going to change the man’s mind. He looked at Drea, whose tears had started to fall. Reaching out, he squeezed her hand before turning to her uncles.
“Grayson, Miller, it’s been an honor.”
With those final words, he walked out of the kitchen.
He heard Drea yell his name as he walked away, but he kept walking. He wanted to turn around so badly, but none of it mattered anymore. Everything he’d worked the last five years for was out the window, all because he’d kissed her at breakfast. All his hard work, all the money he’d saved up, meant nothing. He hadn’t saved quite enough to try and make it stretch to get his business up and running, and he certainly couldn’t also help cover his mom’s medical costs.
If he’d only had more self-control, more discipline, he could have held out a little longer. Six more months would have been all he’d needed to have enough saved, and he could have done this properly. Given his notice, gone out on his own, and asked her uncles’ permission to pursue her. But it was all over now.
As he made it to the lobby he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out to find a text from a number he didn’t recognize.
Unknown number: Hi Kyle, this is Claudia Maury, I live across the street from your mother. She gave me your number in case there was ever an emergency. Not that there is one now, but I haven’t seen her around for a couple days and she’s not answering her phone, so I just wanted to check in to make sure everything is OK. Have you heard from her?
Shit, Kyle thought. He knew she’d sounded off the other night when they talked. But he’d been so focused on getting back to Drea he accepted her answer of “tired” and didn’t push any further. He should have known better. All sorts of worst-case scenarios flew through his mind as he rushed back to his dorm. He had to get back to Florida.
Drea watched as Kyle just walked out of the kitchen, ignoring her pleas for him to come back. Her heart sank, why would he just keep walking? Her uncle’s words echoed in her head, he’s been leading you on for years...sorry if you thought there was more to your friendship. Vaughn was wrong, he had to be. He hadn’t been there this morning in the shower as Kyle told her how amazing she was, or this past weekend in San Juan as he told her how much she meant to him and how she could cry to him whenever she needed to. If he’d known about those moments, he wouldn't have accused Kyle the way he did.
“Vaughn, have you lost your fucking mind?” Miller asked.
“You do realize I was about to promote him to Marina Manager, right? Who am I gonna get to do that now? Much less actually do the tours on the Runnin’?” Grayson tacked on.
They continued to argue, but Drea could barely hear them. She slumped down into her chair, just staring into space. She couldn’t believe what just happened. How had the conversation gone from being one of the best moments of her life to blowing up in her face? Oh, that’s right, her family. She felt something on her arm and looked over to find that Simone had moved and was now sitting in the chair Kyle had been in.
“Drea,” she said softly. “Drea, honey, talk to me.”
“Simone, not now,” Vaughn cut in.
“Shut it, Vaughn, you have done more than enough this morning,” she shot back.
That was all it took to snap Drea out of her pity party. She shot up from her chair and slammed both her palms on the table, making the dishes still sitting there rattle.
“Stop!” she shouted. “All of you just stop!”
Everyone in the kitchen stopped moving, even the staff who had been milling about and working like nothing was happening over at the family table.
“Not you,” she said, turning around, addressing the staff. “You all can keep doing whatever you were doing.”
“Drea—” Grayson started.
“NO!” she shouted again.
Her family all looked at her wide-eyed. She never lost her temper. Anger was not an emotion Drea had very often. She was smiles and giggles and hugs. But in this moment, something snapped.
“I can’t believe you. I can’t believe you just fucking did that!”
“Drea, he’s been leading you on for years. We just have your best interest at heart,”
Vaughn replied.
“We? You’re the one who just fucking fired my best employee!” Grayson snarked.
“Enough!” She said, banging h
er fists on the table. “You do not have my best interest at heart. You were thinking about what’s best for you! All three of you talk about me like I’m not here, when I’m sitting two chairs away. You ignore me when I ask questions. You treat me like I’m still eight. Then this morning, I find out you’ve been hiding something from me all my life. And not something little, like, oh hey, your birth name is Gabriella and we just decided to call you Andrea. No, you’ve been hiding something major! Which, by the way, for people who were operating under the idea that I was an equal partner, you certainly weren’t acting like it a lot of the time. You couldn’t have been too worried about whether or not Miller had told me, since the rest of you certainly weren’t bringing it up!”
The words rushed out of her mouth faster than she had intended. But she was pissed and all the anger had her worked up. She couldn’t believe them. Couldn’t believe they had lied to her for this long and then decided to take it out on Kyle.
“And apparently I can’t be trusted with my own heart either. I’m sorry that for whatever reason you don’t think Kyle is good enough, but too bad. He’s amazing, and he treats me like I walk on water. We just had the most amazing weekend together. Which was not spent with him “taking advantage of me” as you so obnoxiously put it! You don’t get to decide who I have sex with! I get to decide that!”
All three of her uncles winced at the mention of her having sex, but she didn’t really care whom she was making uncomfortable at the moment. In fact, the more uncomfortable they were, the better. Maybe that would help get the message across to them.
“We haven’t been public about our relationship, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a relationship. In fact, one of the biggest reasons we kept it from you was exactly what happened this morning. Kyle was afraid that you all would lose your shit and would fire him. And me, well, I was naive enough to believe that it wasn’t true. I thought that you all would respect my choice of boyfriend and you would accept him into our family the same way everyone accepted Simone. But I guess I was really, really fucking wrong on that one, wasn’t I?” She threw up her arms in exasperation. She knew she was ranting but she couldn’t stop.
“You know what?” she asked, glancing between all three of them. “I take it back. I take it all back. I don’t want to be here. I no longer want to be the family in Quinlan Family Resorts.”
“Drea, you don’t mean that,” Miller said.
“I do,” she paused. “I do. Buy me out. When the lawyer is here on Friday, tell him to draw up the papers and buy me out.”
“And just what are you gonna do?” Vaughn asked.
“None of your fucking business, now is it?”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Kyle was shoving clothes into his duffle as fast as he could, not paying much attention to what was really being packed or how unorganized he was being in the process. At the rate he was going, he was just going to make the noon flight out of the airport over in Charlotte Amalie. He’d worry about getting the rest of his stuff packed up later. The staff dorms weren’t completely full, so it’s not like they would need the room tomorrow. Certainly he could convince Dalton to throw his stuff into boxes and ship it all back to Florida for him.
Back to Clearwater, Florida. Not something he had really pictured in a long time. His sights had been set on St. Thomas since he had arrived and his dream revolved around the port in Charlotte Amalie, right by where all the cruise boats came in. If he closed his eyes, he could still see it, his own catamaran sitting there in the dock, bobbing up and down with the waves. While he’d always liked how Grayson had named all his boats after songs, there was only one thing he’d ever considered naming his: Brave Beauty. It was an easy decision—after all, Andrea meant brave in French, or so some French tourist had told them one day when they were on a tour.
He hadn’t told her this part of the plan. He had wanted it to be a surprise for after he’d gotten up on his feet and secured the boat. The moment was all planned out in his head—walking her down to the pier, showing her the boat, and then revealing the name. In his head, she had cried some happy tears and leapt into his arms, kissing him, owning him in front of anyone and everyone who happened to be around. Next they would have set sail for an overnight, where he would have packed a picnic, complete with her favorite potstickers, and a bottle of champagne. In some versions of his fantasy he proposed, but in most, he simply told her how much he loved her and how this was the beginning of the rest of their lives.
But after this morning, that was all gone. It didn’t matter whether or not he went with the proposal, with or without a ring, because there would be no boat, no charter business. All of it was down the drain, at least as far as St. Thomas was concerned. Moving back in with his mother in Florida would allow him to not only save money again, but to help her with her dialysis. Provided he could find a job. If he groveled enough, they’d probably take him back at the marina where Grayson had found him. Or maybe there was a hotel who needed a boat captain.
The door to his room flew open, hitting the door stopper on the wall with a crash. Drea came rushing in, her tear-soaked cheeks breaking his heart even more as soon as he saw them.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Packing.”
“Why?”
“I’m heading back to Florida.”
“Why?” she said, choking back a cry.
“Do you remember what just happened in the kitchen? I got fired. Just like I told you I would,” he snapped.
“That doesn’t mean you have to go back to Florida! You can stay here, we can figure this out!”
“There is nothing to figure out!” he said, raising his voice. “I’m now jobless, homeless, and the dream I was saving up for is gone! I don’t have enough money to start my own business, much less also cover living expenses. No one will hire me once they find out I got fired from the Indigo Royal. My only option is to go back to Florida!”
“No, it’s not, I’ve got the money covered. We can start the charter business together.”
“Drea, I can’t take your savings.”
“I asked my uncles to buy me out.”
“You what?” he shouted. “Why the fuck would you do that?”
“Because I love you! And I don’t want to be a part of the Indigo Royal if you’re not here. My uncles don’t treat me like a partner anyway, so it shouldn’t matter. I will take my share, and we can go do our own thing.”
“No, Drea, we can’t,” he said simply. “You can’t just quit your family for me.”
The words hurt to say, especially after hearing her say the one thing he’d waited to hear for years. She loved him. But he loved her too much in return to let her do this. The hurt on her face was obvious, which made the words hurt even more. He hated the idea of hurting her, but he knew this was for the best. He couldn’t stay and he wouldn’t string her along by giving her the impression they could do long distance. No matter what her uncle seemed to think of him, he wasn’t that kind of guy. He was also not the kind of guy to let her give up on her dream, and her dream was the resort spa.
“I can do what I want. And what I want is to be with you, Kyle. I asked them to buy me out, and the lawyer will take care of the paperwork on Friday. I’m not saying it’s ideal, but we can make it work.”
“No. You can’t let them buy you out. This resort is your life. You said so while we were on the boat. You have dreamed of that spa for years. Don’t walk away from that.”
“And your dream is a charter company. You can’t tell me not to walk away from my dream while you’re doing the exact same thing!”
“Not all dreams come true, Drea. Mine isn’t going to happen, yours is. Florida is my only option. Besides, I haven’t heard from mom in a couple of days, and I need to get home to see her.”
It was a lame excuse. He knew it, and she knew it. He felt like shit for using it. But she wasn’t listening and he didn’t know how to make it any clearer to her.
“Drea, I get that yo
u think you have the answer, but you don’t. This was great while it lasted, but it’s obviously not meant to be,” he said, wanting to puke as soon as the words left his mouth.
“You can’t be serious,” she said, the tears starting to fall again. “Kyle, I love you. You’re my forever.”
“Don’t say that, Drea.”
“Why not? It’s true. You are my forever. I know it like my mother knew it. And I’ve known it since that night on Playa Peña.”
“It doesn’t matter, Drea. It doesn’t matter.”
“How can you say it doesn’t matter?” She walked up to him until there was only a couple of inches in between them. “Are you telling me that you don’t love me? Because you just told my uncles you do.”
“How I feel doesn’t matter. Whether or not I love you isn’t going to change things. You need to go back to your uncles, tell them you overreacted and that you don’t want them to buy you out, you want to open a spa.” He pulled her in close, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight. He could feel her heart pounding and he had to fight back the tears. He was dying inside. It was taking all he had not to shout back ‘I love you too!’, but he knew that it would only make things harder. He needed to focus, finishing packing, and get to the airport.
She shoved at him violently, screaming as she did so. “I can’t believe you. You’re just like them, telling me what I can and can't do! And yes, how you feel does matter, because I just gave you my fucking heart, Kyle. All of it!”
“Drea, listen—” he began, but she cut him off.
“No, you fucking listen. I love you. I love you. And back there in the kitchen, you told my uncles that you love me! So either you do love me, too, and we figure out a way to make this work, or you lied, and are exactly what Uncle Vaughn said you are. And I refuse to believe that.”
Can't Fight This Feeling (Indigo Royal Resort Book 1) Page 23
