And then she got cancer.
It had been better for Kerry that the disease tore through her as quickly as it had. Four months from diagnosis to the end. Much less suffering for her than for many cancer victims he knew or had heard of. So that was a blessing. But he hadn’t been prepared. Hadn’t had time. No, that wasn’t true. He hadn’t taken the time. He’d naïvely assumed she’d beat it. When that seemed less and less likely, he’d stupidly assumed there’d be more time.
God, he’d been a fool.
Kerry was gone and she’d taken his heart with her. It had been more than two years now and he still missed her every single day, so intensely, it made his chest ache.
This would be his second Christmas without her and Benton had learned that the only thing he could do was hold on until January 2. Once that date showed up on his calendar, he would breathe easier. Until the next holiday. Which was Valentine’s Day. He groaned.
Turning back to face his computer, he saw the numbers for the Evergreen were still there, and they tugged his attention right back to Hayley.
She was so much like her mother, it frightened him. He literally had trouble looking at her, as she was the spitting image. Light brown hair that would get even lighter in the sun. Green eyes so intense you couldn’t look away. Playful disposition. Insane artistic talent. Not much of a head for business, but the willingness to try.
They’d pushed each other away after Kerry had passed. He knew it, and he was pretty sure Hayley knew it, too. She frustrated the hell out of him with what he considered her flightiness. Her irresponsibility. Kerry had spoiled Hayley, that was indisputable. But so had he. His youngest by a lot of years and his only daughter. Of course he’d spoiled her. Paid her bills—her rent, her car, her credit card—but she’d been a good kid. A good girl. Respectful.
Until Kerry’s death.
After that, Hayley had done a one-eighty. Spent hours, days in the extra bedroom in her apartment that she called her studio, painting things he never got to see—mostly because he never asked to see them—talking to nobody, barely leaving her apartment. Then that had changed, but not in a good way. She began clubbing. Partying until all hours. Spending exorbitant amounts of money at high-end clubs, on clothes and shoes she didn’t need, on fancy restaurants where she’d pay for all of her friends’ meals as well as her own. It wasn’t that Benton didn’t have the money to cover her credit card charges, it was the utter lack of responsibility and respect he had a tough time with.
And then he’d gotten the credit card statement from her last night out: $1,457.68. He’d hardly been able to believe it. He was so flabbergasted, he’d called the club, asked for a breakdown of her charges, and oh, he’d gotten one. Bottles and bottles of expensive champagne. Top-shelf liquor. Pricey hors d’oeuvres. Hayley had apparently lost her mind while there.
That was it for Benton. The straw that broke the camel’s back. He’d had enough, and he wanted to punish her. For acting like a child. For pushing him away. For reminding him so very much of her mother that it made him want to cry every time he laid eyes on her. Yes, he’d wanted to punish her. He wasn’t proud of it, but he could admit it. He wanted to teach her a lesson, show her that his wealth was not handed to him. That he’d worked his ass off for decades so that she could frivolously spend $1,500 at a nightclub without batting an eye. He wanted her to understand that the business of resorts was not a simple one, and she shouldn’t take it for granted that it was.
So he’d sent her to the Evergreen, and he’d set her up to fail.
Yeah, he could admit that now. He could also admit that he felt bad about it. The Evergreen had been losing money almost steadily for the past two years. Benton knew it was because of that idiot Roger Stiles—the manager he should’ve fired ages ago. And Benton had already pretty much made up his mind that he’d close the Evergreen down next summer and sell it unless it could be shown that it was possible to improve the bottom line. Which he didn’t think it was. He wasn’t proud of himself for sending his daughter into a virtually unfixable situation and expecting her to fix it, especially given she had little to no business experience. He just hoped maybe she’d get to a point where she had more respect and understanding of where her privilege came from.
It had been a terrible idea.
He ran a hand through his salt-and-pepper hair and groaned again.
What the hell was he doing?
“Ben?” A gentle rap on his doorframe snagged his attention, and Susan, his secretary and the woman who kept his schedule—and thereby, his life—somewhat manageable, stood there. “You’ve got a meeting in fifteen minutes in the conference room, I moved your dinner from tonight to next Thursday, and Keith Harper is on line three.”
Benton nodded his thanks.
“Have you eaten?” she asked, before he could punch the right button.
He glanced up at her and she tipped her head to one side, seeing the answer. She sighed quietly, smiled tenderly.
“I’ll order you a sandwich.”
He nodded again and reached for the phone.
Anything to stop him from thinking about the impossible situation he’d tossed his daughter into.
* * *
Friday was payday, and Olivia always brought the paychecks to her staff personally. There was something about handing over the envelope, about looking that individual in the eye, about thanking them for their hard work, that Olivia loved. So that Friday, just before lunch, she got the mail, sorted the checks, and headed to the back of the building where the staff break rooms, lockers, and mailboxes were.
Olivia loved the holiday season. She loved decorating. She loved baking cookies with her mother. She loved giving gifts to the people important to her. She loved the lighter, friendlier attitude that most people had at this time of year. There was a little extra spring in her step as her heels clicked down the back hallway as she approached the break room.
Straight ahead was the loading dock, a big, brown UPS van backed up to it, and Lenny, the head of maintenance, helping the driver stack the day’s deliveries. Olivia smiled and waved at the men, took two steps into the break room, and stopped. Brow furrowed over what she thought she saw, she took those two steps backward so she was in the hall again, squinting in Lenny’s direction.
“Hey, Lenny, how’s life?” she asked, as she approached.
“Not bad, Ms. Santini,” he replied, signing his name on the computer the UPS guy handed him.
“Are these new vacuum cleaners?” Olivia ran her hand over one of the large boxes.
“Yup. Finally.” Lenny grinned. “Mabel’s gonna be thrilled.”
Olivia nodded slowly. “I bet.” She handed Lenny his check as two of his guys walked by with a red toolbox. She followed them with her gaze, then turned back to Lenny, eyebrows raised in expectation.
“There’s a hot water problem in 506,” he said, as if Olivia knew exactly what he was talking about.
She nodded, then hurried around distributing checks to those she could find and putting the rest in mailboxes.
Half an hour later, she dropped into her chair in her small office and tapped several keys on her computer, scanning the screen, then tapping some more. Five minutes after that, she burst into Hayley’s office like somebody had shoved her. “What did you do?” she asked with a bit more force than she’d intended. At Hayley’s wide-eyed look, Olivia took a deep breath, counted to five in her head, then asked again, calmly this time, “Two new vacuum cleaners were just delivered. And there’s a problem with the hot water on the fifth floor?”
Hayley smiled and looked very pleased with herself. “You are correct on both counts.”
“But, there’s no paperwork for either thing.”
Hayley’s smile dimmed a watt or two. “What do you mean?”
“I mean there’s no purchase order for the vacuum cleaners. There’s no work order for the guys who are fixing the hot water.”
“I don’t understand what you’re upset about. Some things needed to be done, and I go
t them done. I thought you’d be happy about it.”
“How are we paying for the vacuum cleaners?”
This time, Hayley looked at her with vague impatience. “We’re going to get a bill and send them money,” she said slowly. The “duh” was unspoken, but it was there.
“But they weren’t budgeted for this year.”
“Then we’ll write them into next year’s budget.”
It wasn’t the right way to do things, at all, but she couldn’t really argue. “What about the hot water thing?”
Hayley tipped her head to one side. “I overheard a guest mention that her shower got cold really fast, so I asked Lenny to have somebody take a look.” She glanced down and then back up. “I didn’t think about a work order. I’m sorry about that.”
The wind taken out of her sails, Olivia stood there for a beat before saying lamely, “Oh.” Now she felt…she wasn’t sure. A little silly for flying off the handle? Embarrassed that she’d busted in like an obnoxious child? Annoyed that she didn’t know these things were happening in her hotel?
Yeah. That last one. It was definitely that last one.
She stood there, feeling awkward, and looked around to avoid eye contact. For the first time, she noticed Hayley had brought in some personal items. Like the painting that hung on the wall.
It was beautifully serene, a scene from a park in the summer, and it drew Olivia closer. Big brown tree trunks and lush green leaves. Black metal benches and many people milling around, some with dogs on leashes. Peeks of bright blue sky appeared through the leaves, rays of sunlight casting the scene in a warm, golden glow. “This is beautiful,” she said quietly, almost not realizing she’d said it aloud.
“Yeah?” Hayley asked.
“Absolutely. It evokes so much. Peace, tranquility, comfort, nature, humanity…” Olivia scanned the whole picture again. “Where’d you get it?”
“I painted it.”
Olivia whipped her head around in disbelief. “Get out. You did not.”
“I did.” Hayley’s smile was filled with pride as she moved to stand next to Olivia. “This is the scene from my favorite bench in Central Park. My mom and I used to meet there and just people-watch.”
Olivia pressed a hand to her chest, her heart filling with warmth. “Really?”
“Mm-hmm.” Hayley pointed to a well-dressed older gentleman in a fedora on the right side of the painting. “That’s Jeeves. Mom and I named him that and decided that he was somebody’s butler, because he was always dressed so nicely and carried himself all stiff and proper.” Olivia watched Hayley’s hand as she moved it to point at one of the dogs. “This Scottie is Angus. I know this because he would come right up to us to say hi. Not long after the first time, my mom started putting a handful of dog treats in her pocket.” Hayley turned to Olivia, and the expression on her face was completely different than Olivia had ever seen. Filled with joy and happiness at the memory she was sharing. “Needless to say, Angus came by every single time after that. As did many of the other dogs.”
They stood quietly for a moment.
“I can’t believe you painted this,” Olivia said. She was truly awed. The colors, the level of detail. “It really is impressive.”
“Thank you.” This time when Hayley said it, her voice was soft. “It’s my favorite piece I’ve ever done. Goes with me everywhere.”
Olivia was so curious now as to the process. “I don’t have a creative bone in my body, so I have no idea about painting and art. Do you paint from a photograph? Is that why you always have your camera when you’re outside?”
Hayley nodded and moved back to her chair, took a seat. “Yeah. If I see something I might like to paint, I snap some shots from different angles.”
Before they could get into any further detail, Olivia heard the phone on her desk ringing. Gesturing to Hayley’s phone, she said, “Do you mind?”
With a shake of her head, Hayley turned her phone around so Olivia had better access.
“That was Nancy down in the spa,” Olivia said as she hung up. “She’s the head of that department.” At Hayley’s blank stare, Olivia suppressed a sigh. “You met her at the first staff meeting.”
Hayley did sigh. “Yeah, that entire day was a blur.”
“Well, she needs help.”
“With?”
“Don’t get me wrong, Nancy’s an amazing massage therapist. I’ve had her work on me and she’s got incredible hands.” Olivia stood. “What she does not have is any kind of sense when it comes to scheduling her people. With Christmas right around the corner, everybody wants time off, and she’s having trouble picking and choosing. Never mind she should have already had this taken care of.” Olivia headed for the door, then had an idea. “You should come with me.”
“I should?” Hayley’s eyes went wide.
Olivia shrugged. “You’re the manager.”
* * *
Walking through the glass double doors and into the spa area of the Evergreen was like walking into a different world with a different atmosphere. It was suddenly much quieter, as if a white noise machine had been running constantly and somebody finally turned it off. The scent was something Hayley couldn’t identify, but it was nice. Mild and lovely. The lights were pleasantly dim and the temperature was a bit warmer. Even if you didn’t come there to relax, Hayley thought you’d have trouble fighting it.
“This is our spa,” Olivia said, and Hayley noticed she’d adjusted the volume of her voice to match the quiet of the lobby. She watched as Olivia looked around, hands on her hips. “It really needs updating. Maybe a little expansion.”
“It does feel a bit…dated,” Hayley agreed as Olivia headed toward a small hallway and she followed.
“These are the massage rooms. We have six. If we had a few more, I think we could use that to book more guests on the off-seasons, when the ski runs are closed for the summer or it’s too early in the fall to ski yet.”
“That sounds like a good plan.”
“Those are the times we have trouble booking rooms and our profits plummet. If you’re not a nature lover or somebody who wants to lie around the pool all day, there’s not much to draw you here. But if we had a state-of-the-art spa, we could advertise that, focus on it, and bring in more guests for things like Couples Weekends or a Girls’ Spa Weekend, you know?”
Hayley nodded, finding herself enjoying this side of Olivia.
Olivia pushed her arm out in a gesture of doing the same to the wall she was aimed at. “We could expand from here. Enlarge the current rooms and add another three or four.” She continued walking until they came to a locker room. It was nice, though also a bit dated. The lockers were a classy wood, but a bit faded and clunky. The décor was also a little bit…eighties. Pinks that should have been mauves. A green carpet that looked clean, but also around when Hayley was a toddler.
Two women were changing, big, fluffy white robes draped nearby. Olivia greeted them each by name, which was astounding to Hayley, as she could barely remember her own name.
Beyond the lockers were a few more doors. Olivia pushed one open once she’d checked to make sure it was unoccupied. “Sauna,” she said by way of explanation. “Kinda small.” She let the door shut and they moved on.
“Have you brought this stuff up to—” Hayley cleared her throat—she’d almost said my father—and continued. “Corporate?”
“At Markham?” Olivia sighed. “I used to send them all my ideas. I’ve probably sent them fifty or sixty of them in the time I’ve been in management. I always get the same reply. Thanks for your suggestions. We’ll take them under advisement. And then I never hear from them again.”
“That doesn’t seem like very good business.”
“Right?” Olivia shook her head. “I was in Boston a couple years ago for my birthday, and my friend and I had a spa day. The place was gorgeous. You got these super-thick robes to put on and the waiting area had overstuffed chairs and a fireplace, and champagne was delivered to you. I was t
ruly pampered.” She stopped walking and turned to face Hayley. Pointing at her, she said, “That is something people will pay for. They do at the Marquez.”
They passed a small bank of windows through which the pools—indoor and outdoor—were visible. Then Olivia pushed through another door and they were back in the lobby at the front desk. This time, a tall blond woman was behind it.
“Oh, hey, Liv.” Hayley knew this was Nancy by the name tag fastened to her top. When her gaze landed on Hayley, she looked momentarily surprised. “Ms. Boyd,” she said, with a nod.
“Let’s see the schedule,” Olivia said and the next minute, they had their heads together, looking at the screen of an iPad.
Hayley watched and listened but also looked around, envisioning all the things Olivia had mentioned, all the changes.
“There,” Olivia said. “Is that better? I mean, it’s not perfect and not everybody gets what they want, but they get most of what they want.”
Nancy nodded, and her relief was so obvious it made Hayley smile. “Yes. Yes, absolutely. This will work. Thank you so much.”
“No problem. Come to me sooner next time, okay?” Olivia smiled that smile of hers, the one that Hayley was starting to realize made everybody feel a bit more at ease.
The smile that had never been aimed at her.
“Ready?” Olivia was looking at her expectantly.
“Oh. Yes. Ready.”
They left the warm, quiet cocoon of the spa and plunged back into the day.
Chapter Eight
Early December had arrived cold and snowy—as early December apparently did in this part of the state. The glittering decorations around the Evergreen were beautiful and festive, but they didn’t keep Hayley from missing New York City. Nothing pulled out her holiday spirit more than the Christmas tree and the angels in Rockefeller Center, the lights and decorations dangling and sparkling all over Manhattan.
She was going to need to plan a weekend getaway, and soon. She missed her loft on the Upper East Side. She missed the coffee shop next door and the art galleries she frequented. She missed Fifth Avenue at Christmas. She missed warm pretzels from the guy with the cart at the entrance of Central Park.
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