Page 128 of Hoax and Kisses
Laughing, I type my message.
Zoey
Don’t you have your sister tonight?
Matt
I’m dropping her off at my parents’ for a few hours. I want to help you move your stuff to the hotel too. Are you sure you’re okay with this?
Ah, yes. I need to pack my suitcases today. Charlee and Oliver will be back from their trip tomorrow. Initially, I planned to stay at Matt’s, but now that Daph is spending another week at his place, it makes more sense for me to sleep at the Butterfly Inn. He doesn’t want her to be uncomfortable, and I agree that taking it step by step is the most sensible option. It’ll be easier for Daphne to get used to me living with her brother once she’snot living with him too. And once I figure out what my next few months are gonna look like.
Zoey
I’m absolutely okay with it. You guys should have your space. Looking forward to finally bonding with Ruth.
Thirty minutes later, the application is filled out and the fees are paid, and I have one thing left to do.
“Here we go.” Heart in my throat, I hit thesubmitbutton. “Holy shit.”
I rise from my chair and pace the room, shaking out my hands. “Holy shit, I did it.”
It’s only when I walk past the mirror in the hallway that I realize I’m grinning from ear to ear.
At three p.m., I finally pick up the phone. I tap on my father’s contact, and on the second ring, he answers.
“What took you so long?”
Oh, he’s very much grumpy. Great.
“Sorry, the day slipped away from me. I’ve got good news, though.”
He grunts a flat “What?”
“I signed the land agreement this morning. We secured the lot for the hotel.”
“That’s great news, princess,” he says, his tone only mildly more friendly. “So everything is in order? They can’t back out of it again, right?”
Wow, that failed deal really traumatized him, didn’t it?
“No, it’s signed now. I sent it to our lawyers a couple of hours ago so we can get the ball rolling with our accountants and tax people.”
“Perfect. The shareholders’ meeting is next month. I’ll shoot them an email today to let them know you closed the deal. Great job, princess. I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but this should sway the votes in your favor. Jeff is gonna be thrilled. He’s been pestering me about his golf course for two years.”
I swallow, my throat like sandpaper. Maybe it’s not the right time to tell him I don’t want to—wait.Golf course?
“What golf course?”
“Attached to the hotel. The land is next to a small patch of woods, right? If we take those trees down, we can even out the ground and put in a golf course.”
“There’s no golf course in my proposal, Dad.”
My voice comes out short. Tired. Confused.
He hums. “I know there isn’t. We won’t be moving forward with your project. I’ll be sending you the new proposal tonight.”
My legs wobble, and I almost go down. But I manage to remain upright until I throw myself into the nearest chair. “This is not what we agreed on. I convinced these people and won the town’s vote based on the project I presented. They’ll never accept something else.”
He chuckles, the sound skittering over me like tiny spiders. “They don’t have to. The land has been secured. The deal is done. All is good, princess. Sometimes, plans change. That’s business, you know that. Why do you care anyway? You got what you wanted. The job will be yours. I’m proud of my daughter today.”
