by Holly Jaymes
“Why are you being so nice to him?” George made a face at her.
“Look at him George. The poor guy is riddled with guilt and pain.”
I frowned. She could see that in me?
“Maybe he shouldn’t have seduced and then hurt our girl,” George quipped.
I waved a hand. “I didn’t hurt her.” That was Sal’s doing. And Janice or whoever reported us to Sal.
George’s heated stare made me shift uncomfortably. “You broke her heart.”
If only that were true. But she didn’t love me. She hadn’t even trusted me. She didn’t give me the benefit of the doubt to listen to me.
“That’s not true.”
George looked at Carly and then me incredulously. “Did she get fired for seeing you or not?”
“She did.”
He threw his hands up in a gesture that said, “I rest my case.”
“But to break her heart, she’d have had to have loved me, and she didn’t.”
“Oh I don’t know about that,” Carly said.
“She accused me of setting her up. She didn’t trust me. Wouldn’t even listen. So no, I didn’t hurt her.” She hurt me, but I kept that to myself. “I am sorry for what happened. She was great at her job and Sterling Starr should have recognized it. I’ll be leaving now, and I’ll be sure to have the place cleaned when I’m out.”
“Must you go now?” Carly said. “Maybe you could give it sometime. You shouldn’t make rash decisions when you’re upset.”
Did I look upset? “I appreciate your concern.” I managed a smile because I did appreciate that she was the one person who wasn’t shitting all over me. “It’s best that I go. I don’t belong here.”
“Nonsense—”
“Let him go, Carly.” George put his arm around her. “He doesn’t want to be here, and frankly, I don’t want him here either.”
“George!”
I swallowed, not sure why that hurt so much. Not wanting to analyze, it headed to the door. “Thank you for all you’ve done.”
In minutes, I was in my car and heading out of Eden Lake. I didn’t know what my future held. I hoped it was the ability to support myself writing scripts and screenplays. The only thing I knew for sure was that I’d never be back to Eden Lake. As I drove out of town, I tilted my rearview mirror so that I couldn’t see the town through it. I was in San Bernardino before I fixed the mirror and left Eden Lake behind.
Chapter 15: Being Unfair
Sasha
On Monday, I slept in and then I had a long leisurely morning with my coffee. It was nice, but not something I could get used to. It was unsettling not to have a job to go to. I had events coming up. Who was going to manage them? What were my clients going to think when they learned I was fired?
Just before lunch, I got a call from Janice. I’d nearly not answered, but I figured she was taking over some of my events and might have questions. I didn’t want to help Sterling Starr out, but I also didn’t want my clients’ events to go badly because of this change.
“You won’t believe what happened today?” she said.
“Reece was promoted to CEO?”
“He quit,” she said.
“What?” I tossed aside the magazine I was reading at my little kitchen table.
“He came in, had a staff meeting, handed me the retreat, and then quit.” She sounded a little overwhelmed. “I didn’t want him to stay but now that he’s gone…I don’t know how to do this retreat.”
“You’ll be fine. It’s all in the binder. Plus, you can check out the wall in my office. It’s all there. Who’s in charge of the office now?”
“Me. He put me in charge. I’m old but that doesn’t mean I know how to be the boss.” She blew out a breath. “We’re trying to decide if it would help or hurt to call the main office and ask them to rehire you.”
For a moment, I wanted that. It felt only fair that if Reece wasn’t there, that I’d be able to get my job back. No, not my job. His job. The job that should have been mine. But another part of me didn’t want to work for a place that would fire me and keep him when we both broke the roles. A place that would dismiss all my good work and instead send an outsider, no matter how good he was, because they didn’t value my work wasn’t a place I wanted to work.
“Don’t bother,” I said.
“Why? You think it would be worse?”
“I don’t know. I don’t care.” I stood and emptied the last of my coffee into the sink. It was getting cold anyway.
“What? No. You have to come back. You were born for this job.”
At one time, I believed that. I still loved the idea of planning events. I enjoyed taking people’s visions of their weddings or reunions or parties and turning them into a reality. But I couldn’t do that for Sterling Starr anymore.
My phone beeped with a text notification. “I’m sorry Janice, I’ve got to go.”
“Do you have a job interview? Maybe at one of the resorts?”
“I’m working on it.” We hung up and I checked my texts. I had a moment of disappointment that it wasn’t from Reece telling me he quit. Then I chastised myself for feeling that. Maybe it was wrong to blame him for my predicament, but I was still raw from the unfairness of it.
The text was from Mason. Now I felt guilt that I’d let him and Allie down. I checked the message.
Can you meet me and Allie at the Minors? 1 pm?
I winced as I realized I hadn’t contacted Allie and Mason about my being fired and therefore not able to work on the retreat. It felt like news I needed to deliver in person, so I responded that I’d be there.
On the way out, I stopped by Paradise Java to get the largest coffee I hoped the jolt of caffeine would give me a short-term energy boost out of my funk.
I stepped up to the line behind Wyatt and Lily.
“Oh hey, Sasha,” Lily said, giving her large belly an absent rub. “How are you?”
I mustered a smile. “Okay.” I didn’t need to share all my woes in the middle of Paradise Java. “I’m actually on my way to see Allie and Mason.”
“The retreat. I think I need to send Wyatt there this year,” she said giving his lower back a rub.
He picked up a cup of tea from the barista and handed it to Lily and then took his coffee. “Are you saying I’m uptight?”
She smiled lovingly up at him. “Not in a bad way.”
“Yeah, well give me a minute to adjust. Twins! I guess I should have known, but still…”
“You’re having twins?” I asked. I suppose that made sense as Lily was a twin. Thinking of that made me wonder how Pax and Victoria were doing. I hadn’t seen them since they slid off in holy matrimony back on Valentine’s day.
“We are,” Victoria said, her smile radiating with happiness.
I had a tinge of envy that all the people in her and Wyatt’s orbit had found love. “Congratulations. How exciting.”
Wyatt did look a bit shell shocked. “Thank you.”
“I suppose Josh thinks you’re trying to outdo him,” I joked. Having grown up with Wyatt and his brother Josh, I knew they sometimes competed against each other when they were younger.
“I think he’s glad to let me win this one,” Wyatt said. He looked at Lily. “Two. Are we ready for that?”
She laughed. “Probably not, but we’ll figure it out. Why don’t we start by having our drinks and figuring out what we need before July.”
“Plenty of time I said.” After all, it was still mid-April. “And I’m sure you’ll have lots of help. Pax can teach them guitar.”
“Pax babysitting. I’m not sure I see that,” Lily said.
“How are Pax and Victoria?” I asked.
Lily’s smile faltered slightly and she looked down. “They’re doing good.”
Wyatt rubbed her back as if he were comforting her. I wondered what that was about. Lily and Pax were close and she and Victoria were best friends, although I remembered a little tension between them at the wedding.
&nb
sp; “They’re in London at the moment,” Wyatt said.
“Will they be living there?” I asked.
Lily perked up some then. “They’ll keep his place there, but they’re moving back to California. They’ve actually bought a place here for when they need to get away from L.A.”
“How wonderful you all can spend time together.”
Lily nodded. “Gives me time to make amends.”
I frowned, not quite sure what that meant. Wyatt leaned over and kissed her head as if to comfort her.
Deciding it wasn’t my business to ask what she meant, I wished them well and then ordered my coffee.
I drove out to Pine Rest, parking my car in front of the Minor’s home. This time, I was the last one there, and as it turned out, Allie, Mason and the Minors weren’t the only ones in attendance. Willa, Tucker and Emma were there too.
I felt nervous for some reason as Mrs. Minor invited me in. I was going to let them down. They’d trusted me with their retreat and I’d let my lust for Reece get in the way of that.
“Long day?” Mrs. Minor asked with a nod to my large coffee.
“Just a little pick-me-up.”
“Come sit by me,” Mr. Minor said, motioning to the chair next to his recliner.
“No flirting today, Harry,” Mrs. Minor said to him.
“Why not?”
I smiled. Reece thought Eden Lake was backwoods, but there was a charm to the simple life and good people.
“I have to tell you that I was let go on Friday,” I said, not taking a seat. It seemed like a waste of time to get comfortable when I was just going to have to leave. Maybe I should have called Janice and had her come out and I could make the introductions since she’d be taking on the retreat.
“We heard,” Mason said. There was a tinge of annoyance and I didn’t blame him. I should have told them sooner.
“I think it’s terrible,” Allie said. “You’re so good at your job.”
I managed a smile. “Thank you. I’ve enjoyed working with you. All of you,” I said looking over at Emma who I’d helped with her artist retreat last year. Then I wondered how they knew about my firing. “Who told you?”
“Mr. Alexander stopped by my place earlier,” Mason said. He stood next to a chair where Willa sat. Allie sat on the couch next to Mrs. Minor and Emma. Tucker stood at the other end of the couch.
Of course, he did, I thought. But didn’t Janice say he quit?
“Have a seat, Sasha,” Mr. Minor said, offering the one next to him again.
I sat in the chair, wondering what was going on. It felt like an intervention except I wasn’t sure what addiction they’d been intervening on, unless it was my feelings for Reece.
“Mr. Alexander gave me the impression that your clients could call Sterling Starr and advocate for you to have your job back,” Mason said.
My ears perked up at that. At least at first. But again, I wondered if I wanted to go back to work for a company that so easily dismissed me. Yes, I broke the rules, so my firing was my own fault. But Sterling Starr also passed me over for managing the office. Had they given me the job, I wouldn’t be in this predicament. I pushed away the thought that I also wouldn’t have met Reece. In the end, the company didn’t value me.
“Or we have another option you might consider,” he continued.
I looked at each of them in the room. “What would that be?”
“Pine Rest hires you,” Tucker said.
My gaze went to Mr. Minor who gave me a sweet smile. “We could see each other every day.”
I laughed. “A job perk.” I looked at Mason. “What are you thinking?”
“Well, it occurred to me that nearly everything we’ve hired you for this last year has taken place out here. You’ve done weddings, receptions, and retreats.”
“We heard too that one of the reasons Mr. Alexander was sent here was to build up the celebrity clientele out here,” Allie said. “Pine Rest will never be like the resorts and that’s on purpose. This place is for authentic experiences with nature. It’s for the calm and beauty, but as you know, many rich and powerful people want that.”
I nodded, still not sure what they had in mind.
“If Pine Rest is going to become a place of respite or events, we’ll need an event coordinator,” Mason said. “I’ve talked to Tucker and the Minors, and we’re in agreement. Instead of hiring Sterling Starr, we can hire you.”
“I signed a non-compete.” The disappointment that I couldn’t do this was so acute it was hard not to cry.
“They can’t keep you from being hired by another company. Not legally. You’d be hired as an employee,” Mason explained.
“Like the resorts have,” Allie said with a smile.
“We’ve made a budget that includes a salary for you and if you need to hire someone to help, we can swing that,” Mason said. “I know you had your sights on managing the Sterling Starr office and unfortunately, we can’t pay that, but I believe we can meet the salary you’d get for a similar job at one of the resorts.”
My heart was pounding so fast. It was like a dream come true.
“We get calls all the time now for family reunions and weddings,” Mrs. Minor said. “But I don’t have the ability to help them beyond renting cabins and the lodge.”
“We can give you an office in the lodge, but we’re talking about adding on to that, and would create a suite of offices for event planning,” Tucker said.
“What do you think?” Allie smiled brightly.
“I wonder if I’m dreaming.”
“I have that effect on women,” Mr. Minor said, reaching over to pat my hand.
Everyone laughed.
“It’s up to you, Sasha. We can call your former boss and tell them to hire you back, or you can just work for us,” Mason said.
I swallowed as emotion welled inside. “I’d like to work for you. All of you,” I said looking around the room.
“Yay!” Allie clapped her hands. “So, let's get back to the retreat because there’s hardly any time left.”
“I’ll call Sterling Starr and tell them they’re fired,” Mason said. I wondered if they’d try to sue me for that. I had to hope that Sal wouldn’t want to risk having the Mason’s get upset at them and use their influence to sway their contacts away from hiring Sterling Starr outside of Eden Lake.
“As soon as the wellness retreat is done, I’ll want to meet with you about the artist retreat,” Emma said.
“And I got a call the other day about a family reunion,” Mrs. Minor said.
I felt overwhelmed but in a good way. “Let’s get started.”
I was back in my element, doing what I did best. I should have been ecstatic, and while I was happy and relieved to have a job, there was a part of me that still felt empty. I told myself it was a normal feeling to have. I was leaving my old job, one that I’d enjoyed, and moving into a new situation. It made sense that I’d grieve what I was leaving even if I was forced out.
After spending the afternoon working on the retreat and then setting up an office in the lodge, I headed home stopping first to see my aunt and uncle to tell them the good news.
“That’s perfect,” George said, giving me a big hug. “You can always count on the good folks of Eden Lake to look after their own.” His comment was a barb to Sterling Starr, but also to Reece I suspected.
“Let’s celebrate.” Carly went to the kitchen and came back with a bottle of champagne.
“Champagne. Why do you have that?” I asked, as George pulled out flutes from their hutch.
“We always have one on hand, just in case,” he said.
“Have you called Reece?” Carly said, handing the bottle to George to open.
“No. Why would I?”
“Because I’m sure he’d want to know you’re going to be okay. Plus, didn’t he set this in motion?” Carly said.
“I don’t think Reece cares one way or the other if I’m okay and I don’t know why I have to give him credit for my getting
a job,” I said, knowing I sounded defensive.
Carly gave me a disapproving stare. “He’s left, you know.”
I knew he’d quit. I supposed he had no reason to stay now. My heart contracted at that thought. I rubbed my hand over my chest, not wanting to miss him.
“He thinks you don’t care for him,” she finished.
I frowned. “He and I were just—”
“Sasha Elena Crawford, don’t lie to us. You risked your job to be with him. You wouldn’t have done that if you didn’t care. Now of course you’re angry and blaming him, but it takes two to tango. He owned up to his part. He quit. He told Mason to get your job back for you. And you’re still being a child, blaming him when you entered into that relationship willingly knowing this could happen.”
I swallowed as her words pelted me.
“Your aunt has a soft spot for Reece,” George said, handing me a flute of champagne. “Me. I want to dislike him, but I have to say, the guy looked gutted when he was here earlier.”
“He was here?” I asked.
“He was giving notice that he was moving out of the house,” Carly said. “He’s returned to L.A.”
“For good?” A wave of panic took me by surprise.
“He still needs to move his furniture out,” George said. “But he said he was leaving and the house would be vacant until he arranged for movers.”
I turned away as emotion swept through me. I thought I was moving on, but the prospect of not seeing him again didn’t bring relief. It caused a pain that nearly brought me to my knees.
“But we’re here to celebrate you being the event coordinator of Pine Rest.” George held up his glass. “To my party gal.”
I managed a smile, but I felt too sick to my stomach to drink.
“What’s wrong?” George asked.
“She’s realizing she loves Reece after all,” Carly said, sipping her champagne with a smug gleam in her eye.
“Him? There are plenty of nice boys here,” George whined.
“Reece is a nice boy. A nice boy who loves our girl,” Carly said, her voice turning soft.
I looked at her. “He told you that?”