by Judith Keim
“And the hotel?” Vaughn asked.
“Okay, I guess. Wait until you meet our new general manager. I’m anxious to know what you think of him and his little dog.”
Vaughn grinned. “You told me about the dog. My aunt had a dachshund when I was growing up. She and all of us loved him like crazy. Fritzie was his name.”
“Trudy may be small, but she has Bernie well-trained to meet her every wish.”
Vaughn chuckled. “You said he was a bit uptight. Is he fitting in with the rest of the crew?”
I shrugged. “Yes and no. He’s stiff, but that’s his nature. Rhonda’s convinced we can loosen him up a little, but I’m not sure. It’s a bit of a worry for me.”
Vaughn reached over and gently squeezed the back of my neck. “I’m here to take away a few of your worries.”
I laughed at the leering expression he gave me. Vaughn knew when he and I were making love, nothing else mattered.
###
We entered the house to find Elena in the pool with Robbie and Troy. When she saw us, Elena hurried out of the pool and wrapped a towel around herself.
“Hi, Ann! I hope you don’t mind, but I’m learning how to teach Robbie to survive in the water.”
“Of course not. I’m glad you’ll be able to help him between swimming lessons.” I took Vaughn’s elbow. “Elena Ramos, this is my fiancé, Vaughn Sanders.”
She smiled at him and held out her hand. “Pleased to meet you, Mr. Sanders. My mother loves your show.”
Vaughn smiled. “Thanks. Please call me Vaughn. Guess we’re going to be more like family while Robbie is here.”
“Yes, but I’ll stay out of your way as much as possible to give you and Ann your privacy.”
I turned to Troy. “How’s Robbie doing?”
“He’s coming along,” said Troy, ruffling Robbie’s wet, dark hair. “He loves the water, but he doesn’t like to get his face wet. I’m working on that.”
“Gammy!” Robbie cried, pointing at me.
“Gammy? What is that going to make me?” said Vaughn, laughing.
“I’m sure he’ll come up with something. Hard to believe we’re grandparents already, huh?”
Vaughn nodded. “Though I suspect Ty and June won’t wait too long after they’re married. But nothing should stop us from being ourselves. Right?”
I chuckled softly at the sexy look he gave me and took his hand.
“Let me show you some of the changes in the house. You already saw the highchair and other toddler items in the kitchen. The pool fence is easily removed for parties, but will remain up most of the time because of Robbie. We had a locksmith come in and install locks high enough on most of the doors to keep them out of Robbie’s reach. We just have to remember to keep certain doors locked at all times.”
As we walked through the living room, I said, “We’ve put safety covers on electrical outlets, and we’ve installed special openers on many of the cupboards in the kitchen, so he can’t get in. I’ve already informed the hotel housekeepers that, when they come to clean the house, they’ll have to be extra careful not to leave any dangerous cleaning supplies around.”
“Wow!” Vaughn said. “I’d forgotten what it’s like to have a toddler around. Especially these days, when there are so many rules and guidelines.”
“I know.” I’d raised Liz on a much more easygoing regimen, and she’d done just fine.
I led Vaughn into the guest wing of the house and showed him Robbie’s room.
He studied the crib and the racing car theme Liz and I had put together and smiled. “Nice.”
“Elena will use the guest room next door for the nights she’ll be staying here, which will mostly be during the week. Liz is still in her room, and the other guest room will be for anyone else who comes here.” I tightened my fingers on his hand. “Is it okay with you? I know the situation isn’t what either of us envisioned when you bought this place for us.”
He slung an arm around my shoulder. “What can we do? We have to help Liz. And as long as we keep our wing of the house to ourselves, I can live with it.”
I released a little puff of relief.
Vaughn drew me to him and, gazing down at me, wiggled his eyebrows. “You going to help me unpack?”
“Later, big boy,” I said playfully, knowing that wasn’t what he was asking. “How about some lunch?”
He patted his stomach. “Sounds good. God knows you can’t get decent food on an airplane anymore.”
When we went back to the kitchen, Robbie was sitting in his highchair, eating pieces of cheese and small bites of apple.
“He’s almost ready for his nap,” Elena explained. “After I put him down, I’ll be in my room.”
I started to protest and stopped. I wanted her help with Robbie, but I wanted some alone time with Vaughn too.
I made Vaughn’s favorite sandwich—ham and Swiss cheese on rye—and we took our sandwiches and iced tea out to the glass-topped table on the lanai.
Vaughn sat and leaned back in his chair. Lifting his face to the sun, he sighed with pleasure. “Sure feels good. New York is in the low thirties today.”
“It a good time to be here,” I said. “The hotel is full of people grateful to be able to sit in the sun like this.”
After lunch, Vaughn said, “Why don’t we eat dinner at the hotel? I’m hungry for some of Jean-Luc’s food.”
I smiled. “Whatever you want.”
“And later,” he said, eyes twinkling with mirth, “we can have our ‘dessert.’”
I laughed at the game he was playing. “You got it.”
As Vaughn headed into our bedroom to take a nap, I hurried back to the hotel.
When I walked through the front entrance, Bernie greeted me with a worried frown. “We have a problem.”
My heart sank to my toes. “What’s the matter?” Things had been going well when I’d left the hotel to pick up Vaughn.
“It’s the PMS here at the hotel,” he said grimly.
‘Whaaat?” Would he dare to be that much of a sexist?
Bernie rolled his eyes at me. “The Property Management System. The computers.”
Chagrinned, my mind quickly switched gears. “What happened?”
“The whole system crashed. We have to get somebody in right away to fix it. The reservations system, the front office, guest folios, everything I need, they’re all down.”
At the idea of losing reservations and making guests unhappy, my stomach churned. I raced into my office. When we’d first set up the system, we’d used the Geek Guys in town. We needed them now. I punched in their number and tapped my toe, waiting for them to pick up. A message came on. I told them about our emergency and asked them to call back right away.
Bernie knocked at the door. “Any news?”
I shook my head and took a moment to stroke Trudy’s smooth head. “I had to leave a message. Where’s Rhonda? She might know of other people we can call.”
Bernie frowned. “She said she was going to do some last-minute shopping for the baby.”
I ignored the sign of disapproval on his face. We were women running this hotel, and that meant we had more than one role. Being a wife and mother was important to Rhonda. I understood that.
In a panic, I called Troy at the spa. He picked up right away.
“Hi, Ann. What’s going on with the computers?” he asked.
“The system is down. We need to have someone help us get it back up. The Geek Guys didn’t answer their phone. Do you have a friend who might be available to help us immediately?”
“As a matter of fact, I do. A buddy of mine is trying to set up his own computer service and repair business. He knows a lot more about that kind of stuff than most. He’s teaching a couple of courses at the nearby tech college. Want me to see if he’s free?”
“That would be wonderful. In the past, the Geek Guys shop hasn’t always been quick to respond.”
I hung up from Troy and turned to Bernie. “Troy has a friend who
may help us.”
“Good.” Bernie let out a ‘tsk’ of frustration. “I was on a call with the office of Senator Byers when the system went down. I need to call him back.”
At the mention of that name, a shiver crossed my shoulders. “Oh no! Not him! He’s such a slime.”
Bernie stared at me with surprise.
“After some awful publicity about Vaughn and me in my pool, he tried to get me to come to his room. It was so degrading, disrespectful...humiliating.”
“Ahhh, I see.” Bernie’s lips thinned with disgust. “We can’t have that here.”
“No,” I responded, pleased by his attitude.
The phone rang. I snatched up the call.
“Okay,” Troy said, “he’s free and is on his way here. Chad Bowen is his name. He’ll come right to the front desk. Good luck! I’m having to juggle things here a bit.”
“Thanks,” I said and hung up.
Trudy placed her little paws on my legs. At the pleading look in her brown eyes, I picked her up, careful to support her back. “Okay, little lady. Want to say hello?”
She responded with a kiss on the tip of my nose. Smiling, I gave her a little hug and set her down.
The look of adoration on Bernie’s face as he picked up Trudy was touching. As I had before, I wondered about the stern-looking man who all but melted at the feet of this little dog. Impulsively, I said, “Bernie, why don’t you come for cocktails and a simple dinner at my house tonight?” I quickly added, “And bring Trudy.”
He smiled and bobbed his head. “Sounds great. What time?”
Vaughn, I was pretty sure, wouldn’t mind this change of plans. I thought quickly. “Jean-Luc and Sabine can handle dinner, and Tim is scheduled on the front desk. Why don’t we say seven o’clock? It won’t be a late night.” I wasn’t about to give up playtime with Vaughn.
Bernie beamed at me. “Sounds good.”
He left the office with Trudy, and I realized he was a lonely man.
I called Vaughn and told him what I had in mind. “I’ll bring home some steaks if you’re willing to grill them.”
“Sounds good,” said Vaughn. “I’m anxious to meet this new guy of yours.”
“Whoa!” I said, laughing. “Bernie isn’t my guy. You are!”
“Got that damn right,” said Vaughn, keeping the game going.
“See you later,” I said and hung up the phone just as Bernie led a young man into my office.
“Ann, this is Chad Bowen,” said Bernie. “He’s going to get to work on PMS now.”
I stood and shook his hand, unable to stop from staring at him. Chad was tall and muscular. And with his strawberry-blond hair and bright blue eyes, he looked like a male model for a tourism ad for the state of Florida. Not your typical desk jockey, I thought.
“I’ll take a look at the system and see what I can do,” Chad said agreeably. “How long has it been since it has been checked?”
Heat flushed my cheeks. “Six months. I know I should have had it checked sooner, but we were busy preparing for a big wedding, and then the holidays came...” my voice drifted off at the looks of dismay on Bernie’s and Chad’s faces.
“Well, let’s see what’s happening,” Chad said diplomatically. “For a hotel operation like this, I would suggest quarterly inspections and monthly tests in addition to the daily evaluations and backups that should be done during the night audit.”
“Thanks,” I said and sank down into my chair as Bernie and Chad left. Though he sometimes made me feel inadequate, I realized how much Rhonda and I needed to have Bernie around. Our personal lives were changing so rapidly it was affecting our everyday involvement in the business. Nevertheless, I needed to stay on top of things. The hotel was my baby in a way that none of the others was.
I looked over the financial report I’d printed off that morning. We’d had a good month. But the high season—January, February, and March—had to be good for us in order to carry the costs for the entire year. And in the hotel business, warm weather up north, cold weather in Florida, and numerous other factors could mean the difference between doing well and falling on our faces.
Rhonda came bustling into the office. “Annie, you won’t believe all the things I bought for the baby. It was so much fun! I’m getting really excited now!”
“But what about the baby shower Dorothy wanted to give for you?” Dorothy Stern, our part-time office assistant, was thrilled with the prospect of having Rhonda’s and Angela’s babies around.
Rhonda waved away my concern. “I talked to Dorothy this morning, and we agreed that she would request each guest to bring gifts for the women’s shelter I support. They need everything from diapers to toddler clothes. That way, we can celebrate my baby, but in a way to give to others. I’m thrilled with the idea.”
“That’s perfect.” Rhonda had won $187 million dollars in the Florida lottery and certainly didn’t need others to buy things for her. “I know people close to you want to be able to do something special for you.”
“I feel so blessed to have so much that I want to share it. You know? Course, most of it is in trusts and all, but still...”
Rhonda’s story was one I loved to hear. She was one of the lucky winners who’d had excellent legal and financial advice from the beginning. And though she technically had a lot of money, it was tied up in ways that prevented her from spending it in crazy ways. Still, she was one of the most generous people I knew.
“So what’s this I hear about our computers?” she said, easing her pregnant bulk into her desk chair.
“The system must have gone down right after you left the hotel.” I told her the PMS story and we shared a hearty laugh.
“I’m tellin’ ya, Annie, every time I think we’re learning all about the hotel business, something new comes up. Do you think we’ll ever really know everything about it?”
I chuckled. “Not a chance. But we have to do the best we can. And now we have Bernie to help us.”
“Yeah, he’s a bit of a prick, but we need him because, Annie, I don’t think this baby is going to wait too much longer to come into this world. I hope not, anyway. It’s getting really uncomfortable to lug this kid around.” She patted her baby bump affectionately.
We were discussing Chad and his qualifications when a knock sounded at the door and Chad came in.
“I’ve got things up and running, but you’re going to need to install some upgrades, and I need to do some security checks. Maybe we can set up a time to do that late at night sometime this week.”
I turned to Rhonda. “As you must have guessed, this is Chad Bowen.”
She smiled. “I’m glad to meet you. Are you by chance Sadie Bowen’s son?”
He grinned, “Guilty as charged.”
Rhonda laughed. “She’s in a theater group I used to belong to.” She turned to me. “I sometimes worked on the sets for the annual musical show. Sadie is quite the talented singer.”
“Yeah, too bad I didn’t get those genes,” Chad said, smiling.
“Would you consider becoming our IT guy on a part-time basis?” I asked him. “You were so quick to respond, I’m impressed. And now you’re willing to work at night.”
“Great idea,” said Rhonda. “Will you do that for us, Chad?”
“Thanks. I’d like to. I’ll draw up a proposal and then you can decide if you like my terms,” Chad said, impressing me even more.
After he left the office, Rhonda turned to me. “I’ve always heard he’s a good kid. And Sadie’s had a hard time of it. I hope we can hire him. It would be good to add him to the family.”
I smiled. It seemed our family was growing in all kinds of ways.
CHAPTER EIGHT
After greeting Jean-Luc and Sabine and making sure they were set for the dinner rush, I grabbed some steaks from the kitchen and hurried home to get ready for my evening with Vaughn and Bernie.
As I walked into the kitchen, the sight of Vaughn puttering around filled me with joy. He turned and smiled
at me, and I rushed into his open arms.
“So, so glad you’re home,” I said, taking a moment to enjoy his presence, the feel of his arms around me. My life with the hotel was extremely busy, but mornings and nights without Vaughn were achingly lonely.
We broke apart, and I patted Vaughn’s cheek. “I’m looking forward to the evening. Bernie seemed so pleased to be invited. And he’s bringing his dog.”
“That’s a bit unusual, isn’t it?” said Vaughn.
“Trudy isn’t just any dog,” I said, rising to her defense. “She’s a real sweetheart—lively, affectionate, and full of personality. I’m falling in love with her.”
He frowned. “Uh oh. Does that mean we’re getting a dog?”
I laughed. “No, but if we were to ever get one, I’d want a dog like Trudy. Just wait until you see her.”
I left him in the kitchen and went to check on Robbie. He was in the pool with Elena. My spirits lifted at the sound of his giggles as he played with her in the shallow end. She looked up at me and smiled. “Robbie loves the water. And he’s getting better about getting his head and face wet.”
“Good,” I said. I stared at our wooden dock leading into the small inlet that served the eight houses in our small neighborhood. A sailboat tied to the dock bobbed up and down in the water like a toy boat in a tub. The thought of Robbie or any other little one left unattended brought a chill racing across my shoulders.
I turned to Elena. “Tomorrow we’ll have to take Robbie to get fitted for a life jacket. I don’t ever want Robbie by the inlet or the dock without it.”
“Okay. No problem,” said Elena.
Feeling better about his safety, I went into my bedroom to change. As I removed my linen dress, I reveled in the peace and quiet of the room. The walls—painted a soft, warm, gray—met a darker-gray carpet that felt soft on my feet. The pale-gold duvet on the bed complemented the gold, tweed fabric of the overstuffed chairs that sat in front of a large window. The east-facing window overlooked a small, private lanai off the bedroom. On the opposite side of the room, sliding glass doors led to the family lanai and the pool overlooking the water of the inlet.
When I’d first seen the room, I was enthralled with the idea of having the sun available to it from morning until night. The window treatments guaranteed that it wouldn’t cast too much heat into the space.
