Hurricanes in Paradise (37 page)

Tamyra came over and set a glass of juice in front of her. “So you don’t remember telling the entire disco that Laine was an adulterer?”

Riley’s expression immediately registered horror.

Winnie set scrambled eggs on the table and pulled out a chair. She motioned for Laine to sit too. “And you don’t remember gyrating on that dance floor around Christian like a pole dancer, except he was your pole?”

Riley’s hands went to her mouth. Tears immediately flooded to the surface. “Oh no.”

Laine came over and sat beside her, reaching for her hand. “It’s okay. Listen. It’s okay.”

Riley dropped her hand and shook her head rapidly. “I said that about you?”

Laine shook her head again. “It’s okay, Riley.”

“No! No! It’s not okay. I’m so sorry!”

Winnie put her napkin on her plate. “I don’t think it’s Laine you should be worrying about.”

Tamyra patted her hand. “No, I think it’s Christian.”

Riley’s eyes widened further. “What did I do to Christian?” Her voice was weak and trembling.

Laine scrunched her nose. “It’s not important.”

“You acted like a hoochie mama,” Winnie said as she spooned two helpings of eggs onto Riley’s plate.

Laine tossed her a glare. Riley saw it but still couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Tell me it isn’t true,” she said, her face turning to Laine, her heart pleading.

Laine let out a sigh and her shoulders lowered but she gave Riley a compassionate look she knew she didn’t deserve if everything they were saying was true. “It was bad, Riley. It was really bad. You got drunk. You got out on the dance floor and acted in a way that I know you never would have otherwise. Then you got belligerent, said some rather nasty things, and Max heard you and came over and told you to pack up your office and leave.”

Tears were falling freely down Riley’s face now.

“And you can’t remember a thing?” Tamyra asked.

She shook her head slowly, the cries audible now.

“Did you have drinks with Mia at the bar?”

Riley’s scattered thoughts tried to grasp for a memory. Any piece of last night that she could grab hold of. But all she remembered was the concert and the piercing headache. “I don’t remember drinking anything but a bottle of water that Mia gave me. I just had that brutal headache. And I don’t even remember anything at the nightclub.”

Laine pressed further. “You were at the bar with Mia. You were drinking something, I know that for sure. And then by the time Christian got you to the dance floor, you were out of control.”

Riley wiped at her tears. She couldn’t believe all she was hearing. She had felt so good. So alive. It was as if for the first time in the last six years she was free from all her demons. Healed. And ready to see what was on the horizon for her and Christian. She had been so excited about her job too. And now it was all gone. She couldn’t believe it. She couldn’t believe any of it. And on top of all that, she had disgraced Laine. She reached her hand out to Laine quickly. “I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I said that about you. Please, please forgive me. I am so sorry.”

Laine shook her head. “Riley, honestly, it’s okay. I know you weren’t yourself.”

“I would have never said those things, Laine. Even when I used to get drunk, I was never belligerent. So I don’t know what would have made me do that last night. Or act that way. Usually I just shut down and became a recluse. I’ve never done anything like what you’ve described last night.”

“Well, let’s just eat breakfast and we’ll figure this out one thing at a time, okay?”

They all jumped when the umbrella on the back patio came crashing against the glass-paned door. “We’d better get what isn’t nailed down out there put up,” Winnie said as she took a bite of bacon.

Riley jumped up. “My guests. Oh, my word, I’ve got to go make sure my guests are okay. And you! Y’all have to get out of here before this gets any worse! You are all supposed to leave today.”

Tamyra grabbed her arm. “Riley, we’re not leaving. All the flights out of here are done. Plus, we’re not leaving you. And you can’t help your guests. You can only go clean out your desk.”

Riley’s arm dropped at the recognition of how her life had completely changed in the course of one evening. “This can’t be happening,” she said as she collapsed back into her chair.

Winnie put a homemade biscuit on her plate. “Try to eat, baby girl. Try to eat.”

But Riley couldn’t eat. All she could do was bury her head in her hands and weep.

* * *

Riley pressed her umbrella out toward the blowing rain. It was doing little to cover her body, but at least the rain wasn’t beating her in the face. And maybe if she couldn’t see people, they couldn’t see her. She wanted to hide like a child. But she wasn’t a child. She was a grown woman who had made her own bed and would face the consequences of her actions. And this time it would be different than it was four years ago. When she made it beneath the covering, she lowered her umbrella and shook her entire body. Water flickered from her raincoat and umbrella like sparks from a sparkler. She raised her head and Bart was right there with his award-winning smile. That one look assured her that at least everyone didn’t know about last night. The staff moved quickly around her, locking up everything that usually stood out front to welcome visitors to this small piece of paradise.

“This week, Miss Riley?”

“Definitely this week,” she said and smiled as best she could. She rushed to the glass doors of the office and struggled to open them against the wind that blew at her back. Mia stood behind the counter when she came in. Her eyes widened when she saw Riley. She laid her papers down and came around the counter, her face full of sympathy. “I’m so sorry, Riley. What a tragedy all of this is.”

Riley leaned in and gave Mia a hug. Mia returned it. “It’s horrible. And whatever I said or did last night, please know I am so sorry. I have no idea what happened, but with my track record I must have been incredibly intoxicated not to remember anything.”

“You don’t remember anything?”

Riley shook her head. “No, it’s just crazy. And I have been inebriated to extremes before and remembered at least snippets. But I don’t remember anything. After the concert everything else is just gone.”

“So you don’t remember being at the bar drinking and me trying to get you to stop?”

Riley felt the burning sensation of embarrassment sweep through her. She reached her hand up and rubbed her head, then shook it slowly. “No, I had no idea.”

Mia shook her head; her hand patted Riley’s arm. “I tried so hard to get you away from the bar after what you had told me. I knew it wasn’t a good idea. And I had given you a pill for your head and it probably wasn’t a good combination.”

Riley looked up. “I can hardly take an ibuprofen. So if you gave me something for my headache, that and the alcohol probably explains why I can’t remember anything.”

Mia’s face registered her apology before she even spoke. “Oh, Riley, I would have never given you that pill if I thought you were going to drink.”

“I don’t even know why I would want a drink. I haven’t wanted one for two years.”

“You just said it had been so stressful. And that Laine had ruined the morning and then with the guests arriving early and maybe with the pressure of Christian . . .”

“Christian? Did you talk to him?”

She cocked her head again. Pity registered. “Yeah, he was pretty upset about it all. I walked back here to the office with him so he could at least have someone to talk to. He had so enjoyed your time together. He just never dreamed . . .”

Riley walked to the door of her office. “I never would have dreamed either. But it’s done.” Her resolve was settled. “Now I get to clean out my office.”

Mia walked to her office door and leaned against it as Riley walked around her desk and opened the top drawer.

“I guess they’ll put you in here,” Riley said, not looking up.

“Well, Max has asked me to step in until they decide what they want to do. I think my being here yesterday morning just kind of . . .”

Riley looked up. “. . . let him know you were more than capable. And you are. You’ll do a wonderful job, Mia. A wonderful job.” She gave her a sincere smile and began to pull personal items from her desk.

Mia fidgeted at the door. “Do you need some boxes?”

“Yes, that would be great.”

“I’ll go get you a few and be right back.”

Mia left Riley alone. Riley looked down at the picture of her and Gabby that sat in a seashell frame on the edge of her desk. She picked it up and held her angel girl in her hands. She was so grateful she hadn’t been here. The mere thought of her being there with Riley in that state made tears rush to the surface again. Her little girl had been through so much. And if she couldn’t even remember what had happened, what would she have done if Gabby had been there? She could have put her little girl’s life at risk, and there was nothing that would be more horrific than something happening to her and it being Riley’s fault. She couldn’t even trust herself. How in God’s name could she let her daughter be with a woman who could lose such control that she didn’t even remember the night or remember drinking? The thought petrified her.

She set the frame down and noticed a manila folder on top of her desk. She opened it and recognized immediately the termination letter in front of her. A card was inside and she opened it.

I want to see you sometime today. We need to talk about what has transpired here. Sign this today and have it faxed to me. I should be back in the office by midafternoon. I’m extremely disappointed, Riley. But please know I love you. Max.

“Ms. Sinclair, a couple is wanting to see you.” Clint, a beautiful Bahamian man, and the one in charge of all hurricane preparations, stood in Riley’s doorway. “They decided to ride out the hurricane, and now that the weather is getting rough, they’re getting scared. But the airport is shut down for good. So they want to see you.”

Riley walked into the lobby. Mia was nowhere to be found. And Riley still had a responsibility to make sure all the guests were safe. She looked down at the termination letter that requested she leave immediately. And she would. Immediately after she took care of her guests. “Where are they?”

“They’re in room 626.”

She walked to the doorway and he stepped back. “Walk with me and let’s go over all the preparations.” As soon as the doors opened, the reality of what awaited outside swept over her like a tsunami. She pressed her petite frame against the driving wind and walked out into The Cove. Everything in the expansive open breezeways had either been removed or bolted down. Benches and cushions had been stored. Candles and sconces had been put away and all that remained were the gorgeous floors, the bronzed artwork, the magnificent ocean, and prayer. “Everything shut down at Cain?”

“Yes, ma’am. The outdoor casino is closed up, the chairs are all put away, and the bungalows are locked up tight.”

Wind whipped through the open corridors and rain was able to reach them like a mist, yet they both knew it was only a taste of what was to come. “The other pools too?”

“Yes, ma’am, all pools are taken care of.”

“Has someone checked all the roofs?”

“Yes, maintenance did that the first of the week.”

“All the signage has been secured? garbage cans?”

“Yes, ma’am. All taken care of.”

“And all the remaining guests have directions to The Cove meeting rooms and the time they need to be there?”

“Yes, everyone has been given their instructions multiple times.”

The wind whipped at the skirt of her dress and she pressed it down with her hands, grateful she had pulled her hair back. “When did this storm pick up this much speed?”

“It just got over the open water, Ms. Sinclair, and seems like it took off. Took off straight for us.”

“Well, we’ve got our work cut out for us, then, don’t we. Because quite a few of our guests were still planning on leaving today. Food is on hand?”

“Yes, we have food ready.” They walked into the foyer of The Cove. Gerard was standing at the concierge desk.

“I’m going to close these doors here in the next hour or so,” he reported to Riley as she passed through. “Then as soon as we get all of the guests to the ballroom, I’ll pull the shutters and bolt it.”

“Thank you, Gerard. And you too, Clint. You both have done great jobs. It’s been a pleasure working with you.”

Gerard laughed. “You sound like you’re going somewhere, Miss Riley.”

She wasn’t going to address it. “Right now, we’ve got a hurricane to get through.”

* * *

Laine, Winnie, and Tamyra had sneaked out right after Riley. They had work to do. By the time they made it to Starbucks to concoct their plan, they were windblown, wet, and frazzled.

“How are we going to prove this woman has done something to Riley?” Tamyra asked.

“Girl, you have been in the world of the pretty for too long,” Winnie said, her white hair pressed against her face. “Deceitfulness reveals itself.”