Page 16 of Here With You

Were there no secrets in town?

Did Tilly tell you?She watched the dots dance across her screen and disappear several times before the reply popped up.

I cannot divulge my source.

She knew her source. She could deny this had anything to do with Miles, but her friends knew her too well. Even so, she liked having deniability.

This isn’t about Miles. He’s already in my rearview mirror. This is about representing The Brown, and I can’t do that if I look like something that washed up on shore during the last storm.

There were more dots and pauses before Charlotte replied.I’ll be there at eight.

She was about to complain about the early hour, but another message came in.

Before you whine about the time, look at what I have to work with and be grateful I didn’t say seven. Have the coffee ready.

If she were getting Charlotte’s full treatment, she wouldn’t have time to train Miles on anything tomorrow, and she didn’t have the heart to give him another list of items. She marched herself into the empty lobby of The Kessler.

“Margot?”

Up she popped from behind the desk with a mouthful of food.

“Em.” She swallowed and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Sorry, I didn’t have time to eat.”

All staff members got one thirty-minute and two ten-minute breaks each day. “Did you take your break?”

Margot looked everywhere but at Em. “I did.”

“Why didn’t you eat? What did you do on your break?”

Margot wasn’t the girl who blushed, but her cheeks turned choke cherry red. “I … I …” She shook her head. “What I do on my time is my business.”

Em couldn’t argue with her. “But what you do on my time is my business and eating on the job is unprofessional.” She knew Margot and knew exactly what she was doing with her own time. If she still saw the chef from The Brown, she knew who she was doing on her lunch break. “Tomorrow, you’ll be training Miles on the front counter.” She peeked over the desk at the plate of fries and the half-eaten burger on the shelf. “Set a good example.”

“I’m always good.” She giggled. “At least that’s what they say.”

“I bet your mama’s proud,” Em said.

Margot smiled. “She is. This job is something she can tell people about.” Margot rounded the desk and wrapped Em in a hug. “I’m grateful you saw something in me and took a chance. I know you had your doubts, but I’ll make you proud, too.” She stepped back, and Margot looked like a kid seeking approval for a second. Em knew what that felt like. She was always looking for her parents’ endorsement but never got it. All their praise was lavished on her sister Olivia, who was their first choice to take over The Brown. When her parents passed, Em inherited half of the property but was told it would be better if she were a silent partner. Maybe that was part of her drive to make the resort successful. No one expected her to succeed, and yet, she had. She hadn’t bankrupted it or burned it down in the years since she’d been in charge.

Em felt terrible for the thoughts she had about Margot. Not everyone was cut from the same cloth, and poor Margot was burlap in a room of Egyptian cotton. Maybe Margot needed someone to believe in her so she could believe in herself.

“Make sure to show Miles everything I taught you about guest etiquette.”

Margot laughed. “Don’t worry. I’ll show him everything I know.”

That was what she was afraid of, but everyone deserved a chance to shine.

She walked out and rounded the building to the private residence where Miles was staying. She pulled back her shoulders and raised her hand to knock. Just before her knuckles connected with the door, it opened, and Miles was there wearing a pair of swim trunks and nothing else.

“Hello, Emmaline.” He stopped and looked at her. “Did you need me?”

She shook her head so hard that she scrambled her brains. “No. I don’t need you.”

“Yes. That’s right. You keep reminding me.” He stepped onto the porch to make room for Ollie to join him. As soon as the dog came out, he went immediately for her left shoe and licked it.

“He has a serious problem.”

Miles smiled, and her heart picked up its pace. “He’s in a twelve-step program but stuck at the first step because he won’t admit he has a problem.”

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