Mark and Shane spent the next fifteen minutes discussing the hotel, what all of the employees were going to be doing during the next week or so. There was a lot of manual labor that needed to be done, and it sounded like just one more headache to add to the one Abigail was already suffering from. Just when she thought she was going to explode, a five minute break was announced. She turned to Julia with a look of distress.
“What’s wrong?” Julia asked. “You look like you just saw our old algebra teacher, Mr. Geezer.”
“It’s him!” Lowering her voice, Abigail said, “The guy I waited on at the ice cream parlor. The day I…you know…”
“No kidding.” Julia gave him a double take. “He doesn’t look so incredible to me.” Taking a few steps forward, she lifted her eyebrows and said, “Okay, Abs, I see it. But, look. He’s a guy, not a god. Go over and talk to him. Based on what you told me, it sounds like this guy really likes you. Take it from me. You’ve got nothing to lose.”
Abigail wasn’t so sure about that. And Julia didn’t know anything about the business card, or the cash she’d seen sticking out of Ryan Newberry’s pocket. Not that she had a clue what either of them meant, but having questions about what he was doing with them wasn’t the way she wanted to start a boss-employee relationship.
As far as talking to him was concerned, however, she didn’t suppose she had a choice. If this man was going to be her supervisor, it was essential that they get along. That started with getting past the incident at the ice cream parlor.
“Fine, I’ll talk to him, but only so you can see that there’s nothing going on between me and Mr. Baby Blues.” Abigail took a breath and walked across the parking lot.
Ryan Newberry had his hands in his pockets. The breeze was blowing through his thick black hair and he was facing the mountains that stood behind the hotel. Abigail hesitated then perched on her toes. Her hand tingled as it touched his hard, warm shoulder.
Ryan turned around. As he caught a glimpse of her, his eyes widened and his rugged complexion grew pale. She thought for a second that he might just collapse right there on the pavement. She nearly extended her arm to help him.
“Ryan, right?” She teetered on the heels of her shoes. Forcing herself to stand still, she said, “Wow, small world, huh? I’m Abigail Mackenzie.”
He stared at her, eyes so wide they looked as though they were going to pop right out of their sockets. Clearing his throat, he offered a cool expression. “Abigail.”
No “nice to meet you,” or “glad to have you on my team”? Well, of course not. Not when he didn’t even know who she was. She could fix that.
“So, you’re the new front desk supervisor?” She smiled brightly. “That’s pretty cool.”
“Yea.” He eyed her curiously. “What team are you assigned to, Abigail?”
Abigail lifted her chin and answered, “Front desk.”
“I see. Well, if you’ll excuse me. The manger wanted to see me, so…”
Ryan walked to the curb, stopping where Shane was standing with Mark. Placing a hand on Mark’s shoulder, he entered the conversation, laughing loudly at whatever had just been said.
Tears stung in Abigail’s eyes. She could hardly believe what she’d just done. Moreover, she couldn’t believe what he’d just done. This guy who’d excited her as no man ever had, had just blown her off completely.
This job was supposed to be perfect. But if the last two minutes were any indication of what was to come, it was going to be a nightmare. Double the salary wasn’t worth this sort of humiliation. That was, if she could stand to stay there at all.
She ought to have known the minute she saw Ryan Newberry step out of that fancy sports car that the man was nothing but trouble. Their town was predominantly made up of middle-class families, but there were a number of wealthy people in North Conway as well. Still, Abigail had never heard of the name Newberry before. It was almost as if he had swept into town out of nowhere, and come simply for the purpose of throwing his good looks and wealth in her face. Though, driving an expensive car was one thing. Having an enormous wad of cash sticking out of your pocket was another.
Abigail wondered what sort of secrets Ryan Newberry could be keeping. Thinking of the business card, which had been taken from the ice cream parlor counter that day, the suspicions she’d let die over the last few weeks began to grow once again in her mind. Watching her new supervisor smile from a distance, she wondered just what sort of a mystery she might have walked into.
Chapter 3
Ryan Newberry stood opposite two men. One was talking on the phone. The other was guarding him like a watchdog. Both of them now controlled his every breath. As the breeze hit his hot face, he attempted to release his tension, which was something he wasn’t having much luck with lately. He hoped that he appeared to be at ease, but something told him his new supervisors could read him like a book.
The Washington Valley Hotel had been far from his first choice for new employment. Hotels were simply the next step up from working retail. Not to mention there was all the trouble that came along with working in one. If it had been up to him he’d have stayed out of the hotel business altogether. But there were very few career choices, after one had been blacklisted.
Glancing at the empty patch of sidewalk where he and Abigail had been speaking a moment ago, Ryan ground the soles of his shoes against the sidewalk. He hated that he’d just blown off a young woman who was only trying to be nice to him. A very attractive young woman with silky blonde hair and stunning brown eyes whom, under any other circumstances, he might have taken a very different approach with. He wasn’t a jerk. At least, he wasn’t typically a jerk. But after what he’d just done, he wouldn’t blame Abigail Mackenzie for thinking he was a complete bastard.
“We’ll discuss this Monday morning,” Mark Becker said into the phone. As though just then remembering that Ryan was beside him, he added, “This will definitely improve the hotel’s profit margins. Thank you again for your time.”
“Important call?” Ryan said, lifting his eyebrows as Becker hung up.
Ignoring him, Becker turned to Shane. “Mr. Dempsey, I’d like a word with you. In private, if you don’t mind.”
Shane Dempsey shot a glare in Ryan’s direction before following Becker up the sidewalk. The two of them turned the corner and entered the shade of the trees as they disappeared behind the lobby building.
Ryan released a pent-up breath. It was the first time he’d been left alone all morning, discounting the fifteen seconds he’d spoken with Abigail. He imagined this was what prison felt like, or hell perhaps. Though he was quite positive he would have preferred one of those two alternatives to the hand he’d been dealt.
Wishing he were lying on a rock on top of a mountain somewhere, Ryan rubbed his tired face with his hands. When he opened his eyes, someone he definitely hadn’t been expecting to see was standing beside him. Dressed in a blouse and a skirt, she was wearing a good deal more clothing than he was used to seeing her in. But he would have known those long legs anywhere.
“Kimberly.” He nodded curtly.
Her shiny lips curved upward. “It’s funny the way things work out sometimes.”
“Isn’t it?” Ryan narrowed his gaze.
There was no way to tell whether or not she’d intended for them to get jobs at the same hotel. But however it had happened, the coincidence was not for the better.
Kimberly smiled and cupped the side of her face as she spoke. “To tell you the truth, I’m not entirely sure I’m going to stay here. Not after I just heard that the reason this hotel was shut down for the last three months is because someone was murdered here.”
“You’re not really a woman who believes everything she hears, are you, Kimberly?” Ryan walked away, leaving her alone on the sidewalk.
* * * *
“You ready to roll, Abs? Mr. Dempsey here is going to give us the grand tour.” Julia came toward Shane, giving him a playful punch in the shoulder.
Abigail turned just in time to see Julia whisper something into Shane’s ear. Shane whispered something back, and Julia’s laughing face became red. Apparently she’d been wrong about Julia trying to set her up. Julia clearly seemed to have a thing for the new assistant manager.
It was nine o’clock, and after the shortest break in the history of jobs, the managers had decided to break the staff into teams of three. Each group would consist of two newbies, and one supervisor or staff member who had worked at the hotel prior to it being closed. The senior person would serve as a mentor, and would show the other two around the property, answering any questions they might have.
“I’ll be right there, you guys,” Abigail said. She turned just in time to see Ryan Newberry head toward the lobby with a young man who looked like he was barely out of high school, and an older woman with a good bit of meat on her bones.
She was glad she hadn’t been assigned to Ryan’s group. Yes, very glad, Abigail assured herself as she hurried to catch up with Julia and Shane. Though she imagined they wouldn’t be doing much actual work today, she needed some time to get used to the idea that she and Milkshake-Mishap Man were going to be working in the same place. Taking a tour with him after he’d blown her off the way he had was only going to cause fireworks she was sure she wasn’t prepared for.
“Hey, Abigail,” Shane said when she caught up to them. “We were just talking about you.”
“Were you, now?” Abigail cast a look in Julia’s direction.
Shane gestured for the girls to get ahead of him. Following from behind as they walked along the cement path, he said, “I thought we’d start with a viewing of the pool. It isn’t much to look at, at the moment, but we do have a high and low diving board, which is something I, personally, am looking forward to using to practice my cannonballs this summer.” As the girls laughed, he went on. “More important to the bottom line is that it’s something the other hotels along White Mountain Highway don’t have. The owner had to take out extra insurance but I’d say it was worth it.”
“I’m sure you would,” Julia chimed in.
Shane shot a smirk in her direction. Glancing Abigail’s way, he said, “Julia tells me you were on the diving team in high school. That must have been interesting.”
Abigail was surprised Julia hadn’t whipped out her ribbon from the national honor’s society. She resisted the urge to punch her friend’s arm the way Julia just had Shane’s.
“I only did it for a year,” she said as they walked around the pool. “I might have kept going, only I had to travel pretty far for practices and competitions. Our high school didn’t have a diving team.”
“I’d be surprised if they don’t have a team at the White Mountain Aquatic Center,” Shane said. “I’ve only lived in North Conway a few months, but there are several state-of-the-art facilities around here that seem to offer a pretty extensive variety of programs.”
“Please,” Julia said. “As if Leighton Westwood doesn’t control it all, everything but the mountains. I worked at the Westwood Inn a few years ago. I wasn’t so impressed.”
“Well, get ready for some serious boredom.” Shane led them up the hill, along a path that formed a walkway between two large patches of grass. “Westwood Industries owns this hotel, as well as most of the businesses up and down this road. In addition to getting this place back up and running, they’ll soon be expanding the size of the Washington Valley Hotel, possibly even doubling it. When the project’s finished, this will be the largest short-term stay facility in North Conway.”
Abigail could practically feel her best friend grinding her teeth. It was no secret that Julia didn’t think much of the Westwood family. Whereas Abigail had accepted from the time she was young that one man controlled their town, Julia thought the man responsible for employing nearly three quarters of the residents needed to be seriously knocked down a few pegs.
“Well it certainly wouldn’t take much,” Julia said as she stepped ahead of the group. “Would it?”
Shane shook his head. “You’re not easily impressed. Are you, sweetheart?”
“Not really. I find being so distracting.”
“I’ll consider that a challenge. What about you, Abigail? Are you as difficult to impress as your friend over here?”
“Well, I’d say your new front desk supervisor definitely made an impression on her,” Julia replied with a clever smile.
Abigail’s eyes shot wide open. If she could, she’d throttle Julia. Seriously, she’d asked her friend to keep quiet about one thing, and even on that she couldn’t deliver?
Shane rubbed the stubble of blonde hair on his chin. “No kidding? Yea, I can see you guys together. Ryan would have to be crazy not to like you, Abigail.”
“You think so?” Abigail asked, unable to help herself.
“Absolutely. Though it wouldn’t be fair of me if I didn’t warn you that the hotel has a strict no-dating policy. So, just be careful, okay?”
“Well, I wasn’t planning on dating anyone who works here, for the record. But, thanks anyway for the tip.”
It was definitely for the best that the hotel had a no-dating policy. Even if she couldn’t keep herself out of trouble, the rules would set the boundaries for her. She needed to focus on her teaching degree. And more so, she’d yet to come to an understanding of the things she’d discovered in Ryan Newberry’s pocket.
Abigail followed Shane and Julia as they approached the building that stood farthest back on the property. Like the others, it was two stories tall, and it contained an identical row of windows and doors. Surveying the first floor, she saw that the paint was severely discolored, and several of the deck chairs appeared to be missing. The side-paneling had been done in a lighter shade of green than the other buildings, as though this section of the hotel hadn’t been worked on the last time renovations had been completed. An accumulation of dirt had built up, and clearly no one had gone to any great lengths to do anything about it. A stretch of yellow plastic which hung from one of the upstairs balconies had been torn in two. The window above it had been smashed in good.
Staring at the vacant building, Abigail asked, “Is this part of the hotel being used?”
Shane rolled his shoulders. “It wasn’t renovated at the time the rest of the place was, which is how it got the nickname the ‘old wing.’ So in answer to your question, not at the moment it’s not.”
“Well, I assume you plan on taking care of that soon.” Julia crossed her arms. “Particularly if you guys intend to make this the biggest short-term stay facility in North Conway.”
“As soon as it’s in the budget, I’m sure the crew will take care of it. At least, that’s what Mark and I were told.” When the girls didn’t interject, Shane went on. “Building permits can be a mother to acquire. Renovations usually take longer than expected, no matter where the project is being done. The town of North Conway is no exception.”
“Oh, please,” Julia said. “Do you really expect us to believe this part of the hotel isn’t sectioned off because this is where the murder happened? The news is all over town!”
Abigail gasped. She grabbed her best friend’s arm and dragged her halfway across the lawn. “Oh my God, Julia. Do you honestly think that’s something you ought to just be blurting out?”
“Why not?” Julia tugged free. “We work here now, which means whatever happens on this property is our business. I, for one, don’t plan on keeping quiet about things I know to be true.”
“You shouldn’t believe everything you read,” Shane said, approaching Abigail and Julia with a cynical eye.
“He’s right,” Abigail said, but she was hardly focused on what was coming out of her mouth. The broken window had almost no glass left at all—she hadn’t realized it at first. Maybe it hadn’t been a suicide after all, and that room was where the shooting had taken place. The victim might have been trying to get out of the building, and a bullet could have been fired through the glass. It wasn’t until it reached her chin that she r
ealized a tear had rolled down her cheek.
Laughter sounded behind them. Abigail turned to find Ryan Newberry coming up the hill with a small group of people. It consisted of the man and woman she’d seen with him earlier, plus the housekeeping manager, and two of the maids. Apparently the groups had forged as one. And Ryan had appointed himself the leader of both.
He looked so tall, so confident, Abigail thought, staring a little longer than she’d intended to. The man appeared to have everything, and yet, he seemed to be carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Something about Ryan Newberry made him stand apart from the other people at the Washington Valley Hotel. It wasn’t just because he was exceptionally handsome. He was leading a group of people, and yet he walked far ahead of them, as though dead-set on keeping to himself. Abigail wondered whether she’d be able to keep from trying to figure out why that was.
As she looked from the smashed glass window above her, to the mysterious man walking up the hill, she wondered what was going to prove to be more dangerous. The secret behind the hotel murder. Or her attraction to Ryan Newberry.
Chapter 4
Ryan sat on a barstool in the middle of Valley Tavern. Noise filled the crowded room, and it helped to drown his recollection of the past week’s events. As the bartender placed it in front of him, he wrapped his hands around a cold glass of his favorite brew. Lifting it up, he helped himself to a good, hearty swallow.
“Rough first week?” Alec Westwood, fellow medical student, notorious party animal, and Ryan’s closest friend, asked.
“I’ve had worse,” Ryan replied.
And he meant it. The stress he was carrying was eating him alive. Worse than that, he now reported to a couple of world-class jerks. They knew he’d been fired from his previous position, and they’d taken him on with the understanding that a lot of their grunt work would fall to him. It might not be so bad perhaps, if Becker and Dempsey didn’t check in on him every ten minutes like he was in the fifth grade. Ryan had barely started this gig and already he felt like he was caught in the middle of a storm, trying without success to sail his ship to shore.
Dangerous Secret [The Pinnacles of Power Prequel] (BookStrand Publishing Romance) Page 3