Chapter Twenty-two
“Who do you think she’s hiding in there?” asked Gigi.
Chip looked up from the computer screen. “What?”
“In room 106.”
He’d just finished running an antivirus program. Gigi insisted she hadn’t downloaded anything, and yet, after he’d removed fifteen viruses, the computer miraculously started working again. “Lucy is staying in that room.”
“No way.” She lowered her voice. “Lucy isn’t staying in there. I hardly ever see her.”
“She’s probably out sightseeing all day.”
Gigi shook her head. “Layla and I think Claire is hiding a secret sweetheart in there.”
Chip felt a flare of annoyance, but he didn’t want to show it. It was his own fault they were talking like this. He never should’ve let the staff treat Claire with snark at the beginning. Now he couldn’t get it under control. “I don’t think so.”
“I saw Claire carrying food in, and trash out, so –”
“That’s enough.” He turned to face her. “Do you want to lose your job? Is this how you treat your boss?”
Gigi laughed. “Don’t be jealous, Chip.”
He paused. How could Gigi have known that he’d be jealous of Claire having a sweetheart? Was hethatobvious?
Gigi let out a sigh. “We make stuff up about you, too. You just aren’t that interesting most of the time.”
Oh. That kind of jealous. “You caught me.”
Gigi mused on. “I swear I heard a man’s voice in there the other day.”
“Isn’t your shift over soon?”
She looked at her watch and perked up. “It is! Time flies when you’re having fun. Addie should be here any minute.”
As happy as Gigi would be to see Addie, Chip would be twice as happy. Addie was much nicer than Gigi. He was seriously considering putting her on the day shift. “Gigi, we have a photographer coming in on Friday to take new pictures of the hotel. Please treat her kindly when she gets here. Her name is Morgan.”
Gigi smiled. “Sure thing, boss man.”
Chip went back to his office and made some calls. After that, he even found the strength to update all of the revenue sheets. That was one of his least favorite things to do, and he usually put it off.
Now, thanks to his need to avoid thinking about whom Claire had in room 106, the revenue sheets were caught up from the last four months.
An email rolled in from one of the contractors with a quote for replacing the bathroom tile and tubs. Claire was right. It was far less expensive than redoing the entirety of the bathrooms. She’d be excited to see it. He sent her a text message to see if she was busy.
“Just grabbing some dinner before getting back to the hotel tonight. Don’t wait up for me! We can talk about it tomorrow,” she wrote back.
Nonsense. He didn’t mind waiting. There was nothing for him at home. At the hotel, he had work to do, people to yell at, rooms to check on...
No. He wasn’t going to feed into Gigi’s gossip. He knew that Lucy was staying in that room. He’d seen her go in and out. Or, at least, he thought he had.
If anyone had a secret sweetheart, it was Lucy. Maybe she was hiding it from Claire. That made the most sense.
Except...it didn’t make sense for Lucy to hide anyone in her mom’s hotel. She could have picked literally any other hotel on the island.
He frowned. Somehow the rest of his work didn’t seem that appealing. Chip walked out into the lobby, checking in with the bar and restaurant staff – they had no complaints. Business as usual.
Addie was at the front desk, talking to a guest and smiling. Actually smiling. What a nice image that was for the hotel. Chip nodded at her as he walked by, and she waved him down.
