Lunch at the Beach House Hotel

by Judith Keim

  “Lily said she needed to see me, that it was important.”

  “So, of course, you met her.” I knew I sounded churlish, but I couldn’t help it. This woman had almost destroyed our relationship.

  “Yeah. It turns out she’s suing Roger Sloan for child support and might need me to be a witness.”

  “But?”

  “But now some reporter is claiming it was my child all along. Same old story.”

  I looked down at the engagement ring Vaughn had so proudly given me and closed my eyes. Doubt rolled through me like a tidal wave, destroying my sense of happiness. Life with Vaughn was never going to be entirely comfortable. Other women wanted him, or thought they did, and had no problem throwing themselves at him. I might not like Lily Dorio, but even I understood her buxom body was what some men dreamed of. Why should Vaughn be any different? We lived apart, and he was a virile man.

  “Ann? You there?”

  “Yes. I’m simply trying to understand.”

  “Understand? What’s to understand? You know how I feel about you. You know about the business I’m in.”

  I cringed at the defensiveness in his voice. “Yes, of course, but all the fun and fantasy of it is sometimes difficult for me.” To my ears, I sounded like a dull, boring woman.

  “Ann, I love you. You know that.”

  His words tugged at my heart. He’d always made that clear. “Yes, I do.”

  “Thank you. You should also know I bumped into Tina’s mother at the restaurant. She was sitting with a reporter I know. It can’t be good.”

  “Thanks for the warning. I wondered how long it would be before she tried something else. Guess it’s too hard for her to give up the good life her daughter used to provide for her.”

  “She’s a very determined woman,” Vaughn said. “Look, I have to go. I’ve got a conference call with the producers of the soap. I’m trying to get everything wrapped up so I can be there for the Christmas Open House.”

  “Good luck with it. I’ll talk to you later.”

  We hung up without saying our normal, loving goodbyes.

  I slumped in my chair wondering as I sometimes did whether I could ever be sure about a relationship again. Vaughn was as good a man as I’d ever met, but he didn’t seem to mind all the attention he got from other women.

  Rhonda came into the office carrying a small, cardboard box.

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “Our new brochures. The ones that show off the spa. They look great. Take a look.”

  She handed one to me. It opened to the section on our spa, offering special packages for new mothers. One of the photographs showed Troy massaging a woman’s back. It took me a moment to realize it was Tina beneath the protective white sheet, almost unrecognizable with her hair completely blond and cut even shorter.

  “Whaddya think?” said Rhonda, looking over my shoulder. “Troy looks great, and the spa does too.”

  I finished reading the ad. “Any prospective or new mother is going to love it! Good job, Rhonda.”

  She grinned. “Course I had to try everything for myself. I gotta tell ya, that Troy sure is good. He says he got special training to handle pregnant women, and it shows. I’m going to get him to teach Will how to do it.”

  We smiled at each other. Rhonda was enjoying every benefit of being newly pregnant, and Will, bless his heart, was her willing slave.

  Before I went home for a pre-dinner-hour break, I headed to the spa to talk to Tina. Dressed in a short, tan skirt and a pink T-shirt with the hotel logo on it, she looked perfectly content behind the small reception desk. Seeing her this happy, I hated to break the news of her mother’s interview to her.

  I signaled to her to join me outside.

  She left her station, and we walked out to the tennis court together. Taking seats on a bench in the shade, we faced one another.

  I cleared my throat. “Vaughn saw your mother today. She was in a restaurant talking to a reporter. He wanted to give me, us, a warning because this reporter isn’t someone he likes.”

  Tina replied solemnly, “She’s mad at me. I told her I was out of the movie business. At least for the foreseeable future.”

  “I bet she didn’t like that,” I said.

  “No, she screamed at me, told me I was a worthless piece of shit ...” Tina stopped talking and took several deep breaths.

  I drew her to me.

  Resting her head on my shoulder, she murmured, “Why is she that way? I keep asking Barbara the same question. I never did anything to her except be born.”

  I shifted so I was facing Tina. “She’s a very sick woman. You understand that, don’t you?”

  Tina wiped her eyes. “Yeah, but it doesn’t make it any easier.”

  “No, of course not. But you have a circle of friends who care about you, the real you. Not the movie star, certainly, but the person you’ve become.” I gave her an encouraging smile. “It was a rough beginning, but we’re all so proud of you.”

  “Guess I was pretty much an asshole, huh?”

  “Pretty much,” I said, brushing a lock of hair away from her face. “I don’t know what the outcome of your mother’s meeting will be, but we’ll all stick together. Okay?’

  Tina drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Okay.”

  I left her and went on to my house. I’d been thinking about Vaughn all afternoon and wanted another chance to talk to him. I’d let hotel business issues interfere with our growing relationship. I wished I could let go of my need to work so hard to prove an independence that might hurt me ... us.

  Stepping inside my house, I let the peace and quiet wrap around me like a protective blanket. It had become my haven from a sometimes too-busy life at the hotel.

  I grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and went out to the patio to enjoy a few moments of dying sunshine. Sunset in December happened early.

  My thoughts naturally turned to Vaughn. I chided myself for my insecurity. Either we were together, or we were not. And aside from this aspect of our lives, I was happier with him than I’d ever been with Robert.

  I was about to call him when my cell rang. Liz.

  Delighted with the unexpected call, I chirped, “Hello?”

  “Mom? You’d better sit down.”

  My pulse sprinted with worry. “What’s the matter?”

  “It’s that ... that woman that Vaughn was with last year. That Lily person. While you’ve been working at the hotel, he met up with her in California. It’s all over the news.”

  My heart thudded to a stop. “What do you mean all over the news? What are you watching?”

  “I’m at Dad and Kandie’s house. She watches all those television shows about movie stars, and pictures of Vaughn and Lily came up.” Liz’s voice broke. “They’re saying the two of them are back together.”

  “Hold on,” I said, forcing a calmness I didn’t feel. “Vaughn called me earlier to tell me about their luncheon meeting. Everything’s okay. He might have to be called as a witness to a lawsuit Lily is making against the father of her baby. That’s all that’s going on between them.”

  “Oh.” I heard the breath Liz released and then she said, “Kandie was sure it was something else.”

  I reined in the anger that flared inside me. “Tell Kandie to mind her own business. She doesn’t need to worry about me.” I paused. “Not that she was ever concerned about me, especially when she was seducing your father.”

  “I know, I know.”

  “What are you doing at their house? I thought you were going to move in with Angela and her friends.”

  “Not until after the holidays. Besides, if I stay here for a couple of weeks, Dad says he’s going to make it worth my while. I need money to make the move.”

  I pressed my lips together to keep from telling my daughter that Robert’s promises were as empty as throwaway boxes. Maybe for her, he’d follow through. I hoped so.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll make him pay,” Liz said. “Watchi
ng Robbie is worth a lot. They can’t keep a babysitter for long because he’s such a brat.”

  “I’m sure you’ll do fine with him,” I said falsely. I’d only seen Robert’s little boy once. He was cute as can be, but even as a tiny baby, he’d been difficult.

  We hung up, and I sat a moment fighting frustration.

  As I headed back to the hotel to help handle the dinner rush, I was surprised to see a group of reporters standing in the front circle of the hotel. One of our security guards was standing on the front steps, keeping them from entering. I ducked back into my house and called the front desk.

  “What’s going on?” I couldn’t imagine the news about Vaughn and Lily was this big.

  “They’re after news about Tina,” said Tim. “Apparently, her mother has made up a big story about Tina getting hurt here at the hotel. She’s saying she’s going to sue the hotel unless Tina signs up for the next movie she’s scheduled to be in.”

  I felt the blood leave my face. Sinking into one of the kitchen chairs, I gripped the edge of the table. The room spun around me. It was the worst position Tina’s mother could place Tina in—choosing between helping us or taking the blame for hurting us. Her mother might be a bitch, but she was as shrewd as they come.

  Bile rose in my throat.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  I was still fighting nausea when Rhonda called. “Ann, you’d better get over here. We need you to make a statement. First the Lily thing and now this. I’ve called our lawyer. He’s on his way over here.”

  “I’ll be right there.” I stood on shaky knees, determined to save the reputation of the hotel and the people I loved. In these times of instant messaging, it was so easy for people to type in falsehoods. A lot of people used that to their advantage. Tina’s mother, I was sure, was one of them.

  I brushed my hair, put on fresh lip gloss, and closed and locked the door to my house. The thought of reporters invading my personal property sent chills racing down my sweating back. I was a private person sucked into situations like this due, in large part, to loving a very public man.

  Behind my house a tiny space had been cut through the hedge, making it possible for me to get to the street unnoticed. I walked through the front gates of the hotel, past a couple of television trucks dominated by their large antennas and headed for the hotel. Immediately I was surrounded by bodies pressing microphones into my face. My small frame seemed to shrink in their midst. I fought claustrophobia and took several deep breaths to steady myself.

  “Are you and Vaughn over? Is Tina here now? Is it true she’s badly hurt and in the hospital? Did you know her mother is suing you? She says she’s taking the hotel away from you.”

  I held up my hands to stop the shouting. “Give me a little time, and then we’ll make an announcement. Please give me room to get to the hotel and inside. Then, and only then, will I attempt to answer your questions.”

  Tim broke through the crowd, grabbed my elbow and led me away from the howling and shrieking of the reporters. God! I hated them!

  Feeling as if I’d been mauled, I entered the hotel. Rhonda ran over to greet me. Tim stood aside, looking worried. A few curious guests looked on.

  “Oh, Annie. I’m so sorry. I know you hate all this publicity, but this is worse than I’d ever thought it could be. She’s saying she’s going to put the hotel under.” Tears shone in her eyes. “We can’t let her ruin us.”

  “Where’s Tina?”

  “Hiding out in Troy’s apartment. I told her to stay there, that we’ll handle everything.”

  “Is Troy with her?”

  “He promised he wouldn’t leave her side. She’s a mess.”

  “You said Mike’s on his way?”

  “He told me not to talk to anyone until he got here. You too.”

  Michael Torson was a small man whose mild manners made him seem vulnerable. But to those he served, he was a quiet hero—shrewd, smart and quick-witted. People often called him Mike Tyson, a mix-up of names he enjoyed. A tenacious fighter, the name suited him. He’d been Rhonda’s lawyer for years and now served both of us and the hotel very well.

  “He’s here,” said Tim. “I’ll go down to meet him.”

  Tim returned with Mike, towering over the man whose help we needed.

  Mike brushed back a long, brown thread of hair and positioned it over the bare skin on the top of his head for effect. Studying us with toffee-colored eyes that sparkled with intelligence, he said calmly, “We’d better handle this quickly before things get out of control. Give me all the facts, and I’ll see where we stand on this.”

  Rhonda clapped a hand to her heart. “I got a call from Dorothy telling me to turn on the television. She was watching Hollywood Special, that program about the stars, and Tina’s mother was going to appear after the commercial. I raced into the lobby and turned on the television. Tim recorded it. Tina’s mother came on, weeping and wailing and making up a whole bunch of lies about Tina and us. I’m tellin’ ya, Mike, she’s a lying bitch!”

  True to his calm nature, Mike simply nodded. “I need to know to what specific lies you are referring. Let’s go into your office, and we’ll make a list of things we need to address broadly at this early time.” He turned to Tim. “You’d better come too.”

  From behind the front desk, Julie watched us leave.

  Inside our office, Rhonda turned to Mike with an angry flare in her eyes. “No one is going to ruin what Annie and I have built here with this hotel.”

  “Have you had contact with this woman before?”

  “Yes,” I said. “She came here a few weeks ago to try to get Tina to leave and go back to California with her. This was after Tina told her she wasn’t going to be in her next scheduled movie, no matter what.”

  “Were threats made then?”

  “She’d already threatened to sue us during a conversation Tina had with her mother,” I said. “And then, when Tina wouldn’t leave, she told us we’d be sorry.”

  “She’s only interested in the money Tina can earn,” said Rhonda. “She wants it for herself.” Her lips curled with disdain. “She’s done awful things to her daughter.”

  “Tina now has control of her money. Rhonda’s husband, Will, handles it for her.” I suddenly realized how easily that fact could be twisted around to make it seem as if we were controlling Tina as her mother had once controlled her.

  Mike and I exchanged worried looks.

  “Okay, for the time being, I’m making a statement that will explain that a hotel as luxurious as this sometimes faces unwarranted and unjustified libelous claims and we have no further comment at this time. Ann, what do you want to state, if anything, about the relationship Vaughn Sanders and Lily Dorio have?”

  I swallowed hard, trying to settle things in my mind. “Simply say that Vaughn and Lily are professionals who’ve known each other for a number of years.” I held up my left hand. “I could show them this.”

  “That might still a few tongues.” He took my arm. “Come, we’d better face the mob.”

  Standing in front of the crowd of reporters, I thought of Tina. Would she choose to come back to this constant interest in her, or would she decide to face her mother’s challenge? I couldn’t see a way out for her. Either way, she’d lose. That realization left me feeling sorry for her.

  Grateful for his appearance, I listened to Mike expertly refuse to answer the reporters’ questions. Standing on the opposite side of him, Rhonda looked as grim as I felt.

  The questioning turned to me. I let Mike speak for me, repeating the message we’d worked on early. Now, he said, “As a matter of fact, my client and Vaughn Sanders are happily and recently engaged.”

  “Show us the ring, Ann!” a reporter cried out.

  Then others began to shout. “When did it happen? What did he say to you? Did he get down on one knee?”

  Reluctantly, I held up my left hand, and then quickly hid it behind my back. Showing it off made me feel shallow as if the ring he gave me was about
its glitter, not its meaning.

  Mike turned to leave the bank of microphones.

  “Wait!” cried one of the reporters. “Where is Valentina? Why didn’t she come forward? Is she already back in California?”

  “As I told you earlier, we have nothing more to report on her situation. Her mother’s attempt to sue us will follow the natural pattern of such things and will, no doubt, be thrown out of court.”

  Rhonda and I followed Mike inside and exchanged worried looks.

  Mike turned to the small group of guests who had gathered in the lobby. “Nothing to be concerned about. This is our judicial system in operation. Even worthless claims have to be addressed.”

  “We love this hotel,” said one of the guests. “If you need any witnesses to talk about the care we’re always given, let me know.”

  I gave her a grateful smile. Stephanie and Randolph Willis, from Connecticut, were loyal, repeat guests.

  “Thank you,” Mike said to them, “but I don’t think this case will come to that.”

  “Let’s go to the office,” Rhonda said. “I have a few more questions.”

  I led them to the back of the house. Opening the door to our office, I let out a cry of surprise.

  “Tina! Troy! What are you doing here?” They were standing side by side against the back wall, looking like the hunted people they were.

  “While the mob was gathered out front talking to you, Tina and I made our way along the side lawn to the back of the house and in through the delivery area.” Anxiety drew lines of stress across his brow. His height and his obvious strength were reassuring.

  He wrapped an arm around Tina’s shoulders. “As soon as things calm down, I’m taking her to my parents’ house. No one will think to look for her there.”

  Tina’s eyes filled. “Troy’s been a wonderful big brother to me.” Tears slid down her face. “I don’t know why my mother has to do these things. I’m going to fight her all the way.”

  “So you definitely don’t want to do more films?” I knew how committed Vaughn was to his career and found it difficult to believe she’d simply walk away from all the money and fame.