He rose. “You like her.”
“I respect her. She’s good at her job and she loves this place. Add in the fact that after a few hours with her, it’s obvious she likes to do the right thing and follow the rules.”
“I agree. Plus I’ve run a background check on her. The woman has made a habit of being an overachiever and giving back. She organizes the masquerade to help a kids’ charity, and also organizes a charity fun run in the spring, plus I hear she helps out staff when they need anything.”
“You know her parents were killed.”
“Yeah. Sad. Orphaned at eight. Her aunt raised her.” He paused. “She helps pay her aunt’s mortgage and is helping to send her oldest cousin to college.”
Of course she was. “Find out who’s doing this.” I waved at the railing. “Before someone gets hurt. I want to know who’s targeting me. And what they’re hoping to achieve. Childish pranks are one thing, but Tessa could have died.”
Caden nodded. “I’ll look into it.” A faint grimace crossed his face. “The security team won’t be much help. Deem is on the verge of retirement. His few guards patrol the grounds and deal with unruly guests, but that’s about it. Security is pretty lax, and no one has any investigative skills.”
“Then that’s something we’ll need to change.”
Chapter15
Tessa
With a tired sigh, I walked up the garden path to my aunt’s house.
My brain was still whirring, thinking about basement mishaps and sabotaged railings.
Nasty pranks. That’s what it had to be.
The scent of flowers hit me. My aunt had a green thumb, and the patch of colorful blooms and rambling foliage always made me think of fairytales and elves hiding under bushes. Even now, at the end of summer when things were starting to drop their flowers and leaves, it still felt like magic.
We hadn’t had a house like this when she’d first taken me in. We’d lived in a small condo in the center of town. My parents’ house had been too big, and Aunt Emily hadn’t been able to afford the mortgage. Instead, she’d sold that house and bought a condo, then done everything she could to make it a home. I’d loved it. The room she’d decorated in pink and purple for me.
It wasn’t until she’d met Max, when I was thirteen, that things had changed. They’d fallen in love and gotten married. We’d moved to this house and before I’d known it, Emily was pregnant. I’d worried at first that having her own babies would mean she didn’t love me as much.
I smiled. It hadn’t happened. I’d ended up with an uncle I adored, and four cousins who occasionally drove me crazy, but whom I loved ridiculously.
It had been horribly unfair when Max had been killed in a construction accident three years ago. The kids had grieved so hard, had so much trouble understanding. It wasn’t something I’d ever wished for them to go through. My own experience hadn’t made me any better at helping them through their grief. I’d just loved them as hard as I could.
Things had been better this last year, although I knew Aunt Emily was lonely. She missed Max, and I knew from experience that would never go away.
At the door, I heard laughter and Haley squealing. That usually meant Caleb was pressing her buttons. I opened the door without knocking and the smell of roasting chicken hit me. They were the smells and sounds of home, and they soothed my rattled nerves.
“Hey, there’s my girl.” Emily turned from the stove and smiled. She was still gorgeous and the most beautiful person inside and out. Her blonde hair was the same shade as Haley’s and the few wrinkles she had, she told us, were thanks to her two oldest boys. They were her badges of courage. She was my mom’s sister, and she’d been blonde, too, but I’d inherited my dark hair from my dad.
“Hi.” I went over and just leaned into her. She smelled like lemons.
“Long day?”
“Yes.” With a groan, I sat on one of the stools at the wide, white island. Uncle Max had put it in when my cousins had all gotten bigger. It had become the heart of the home, and host to meals, impromptu lectures, homework, tantrums, tears, and laughter. “The big boss is here. Ambrose Langston.”
“Wow.” Emily stirred whatever was cooking on the stove. “Is he as delicious as he looks in all the pictures?”
“Yes. He looks like a Greek god come to life, slightly annoyed that he has to interact with people that can’t keep up with him.” I nabbed a piece of lettuce out of the salad bowl in front of me. The spicy zing of vinegar hit my taste buds.
“Well, he does run a large corporation,” Emily said. “I assume he’s used to people rushing to do whatever he needs.”
“But he’s not quite as bad as I’d imagined.”
“Oh?”
“We spent several hours together. He demanded a full tour of the hotel. He’s taking stock of what needs to be upgraded.” I was not planning to tell Emily just how well I knew the man.
