Page 22 of A Little Too Late
Back in the suite’s living room, I turn on the gas fireplace and settle in on the leather sofa, kicking my feet up onto a wooly footstool. And then I open up the sales contract and get to work making notes and jotting down questions.
I may have a bad history with this place, but I won’t let my family make any big mistakes.
At six o’clock, I put on a suit and head down to the bar adjacent to the lobby. It’s gotten a glow-up, too. The bar itself is new, with sleek wood and a slate top. There are a dozen barstools and several high-top tables with votive candles flickering merrily on them.
There are two couples seated at one end of the bar, deep in conversation. I pick a stool at the other end. I recognize the bartender from the canteen this morning. She drops a cocktail menu down in front of me. “What can I get you?”
“Wow.” I scan the offerings, and I’m impressed. The menu looks more like a San Francisco gastropub’s than what you’d find at a family ski mountain. “I’d love a ginger martini.”
“We’re out of that, sorry,” the bartender says curtly.
“Oh.” I squint down at the menu again. “Okay, sure. Could I have a Lillet and Tonic?”
“Sorry, we’re out of that, too.”
I look up at her. She’s about thirty, brown hair, pretty face. Her nametag saysHalley. And there’s menace in her eyes.Interesting. “How about this—whatcanI have?”
“A warm Bud Light or a Shirley Temple.”
I bark out a laugh. Then I glance down at a trio of open wine bottles, each one vacuum-stoppered for freshness. I point at one of them. “A glass of the pinot noir, please. And if you try to tell me it’s sold out, I’m calling bullshit.”
Wearing an unhappy expression, she pulls down a shining wine goblet and pours me a skimpy portion. “That will be twenty-five dollars, please.”
“For a…” I think better of arguing. “Fine. Here.” I pull thirty dollars out of my wallet and drop it onto the bar. “Keep the change.”
If this woman tends bar all the time, I can explain at least a million dollars’ worth of the hotel’s heady valuation.
A moment later I forget all about the crazy bartender, because Ava approaches the bar, and I practically swallow my tongue. “Goodevening,” I stammer.
“Evening,” she says stiffly, slipping onto a barstool.
“You look beautiful,” I say, because I can’t stop staring. She’s wearing a dark blue wrap dress made of touchable velvet. The design is modest, but somehow guarantees that I’ll spend the whole evening drawn to the V of exposed skin at the neck. She’s paired the dress with heels that would look appropriate in an office setting, but also make her legs look a mile long.
And she’s done something tricky to her eyes, with dark lashes and sultry lids.
Fuck me. It’s going to be a long night.
“Thank you,” she says stiffly. Then her eyes travel watchfully to the door. “The Sharpes haven’t arrived, have they?”
“Not that I noticed,” I tell her. But it turns out she wasn’t even asking me. The bitchy bartender shakes her head and puts a cocktail napkin down in front of Ava. “Whatcha drinking, babe? And don’t worry, I poisoned Reed’s drink.”
I actually choke on my sip of wine, and the woman tips her head back and laughs.
“Halley!” Ava yelps. “That isnotfunny. Don’t make that joke when the Sharpes arrive.”
She’s still laughing, while I’m trying not to cough up a lung.
“Don’t worry,” she says. “I won’t scare off your golden goose. Nobody wants to see you running this place more than me.”
Interesting. “Is that the deal?” I ask Ava when I can breathe normally. “If Dad leaves, you’re getting promoted?”
“Yes,” she says, lifting her blue eyes to mine. “But only because hewantsto retire. This is his choice.”
“Oh. I have no doubt.” My father is almost unrecognizable to me. I’d been texting my brothers about it earlier, trying to explain how jolly he’s become.Like aliens got him and put a happy person in his body.
Even Crew replied with aWow.
But that doesn’t mean the Sharpes are trustworthy. “Did you get that promotion in writing?” I ask Ava. “Because I didn’t see anything in the deal memo or the contract about who will manage the new entity.”
