“Awesome!” I nodded and followed him.
The Pembroke Hotel was a lot busier than the Carson City Inn. There was no way that I would be able to do any schoolwork—it didn’t seem like the kind of place where I could just take a seat and plug in my laptop, even if there wasn’t a customer in need of assistance. Still, it paid a lot better, and I had set hours that weren’t going to change. Half the time, I had no idea what days or shifts I would be working at the Carson City Inn until Mr. Pruitt posted the schedule for the next week. I was able to handle things on my own by the time Hank took his first break, just like he said, but shortly after he returned—all hell broke loose.
“Call an ambulance!” Rosa came running into the front desk with what appeared to be blood on both of her hands.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt!?” I ran around the front desk as Hank grabbed a phone and started dialing.
“There’s a man—he’s in the stairwell!” She pointed. “He’s hurt—there’s a whole lot of blood!”
“Oh my god!” I blinked in surprise, and my jaw fell open.
I never expected my first day at the Pembroke Hotel to turn into a scene from a horror movie, but that’s exactly what it felt like when I followed Rosa to the stairwell. There was a man laying across several steps, and he was bleeding from two wounds on the lower part of his back. I was no forensic scientist, but it looked like he had been stabbed.
Rosa and I took turns putting pressure on his wounds until the paramedics arrived, and by the time they got him loaded on a stretcher, I had blood all over my uniform. Rosa and I looked like we were the ones who had been stabbed. A couple of police officers took our statements, and then they were gone as well.
Ms. Valerie told us that we could get new uniforms and clock out for the day. I scrubbed my hands in the bathroom sink until most of the blood was gone, but the image of the guy lying in the stairwell was permanently seared into my thoughts.
Maybe the Carson City Inn wasn’t such a bad place to work after all—nobody ever got stabbed there while I was on duty…
Chapter Two
Damien
“Damien, something happened! Jon’s in the hospital!” My assistant, Farrah, came running into my office with a wild look of panic in her eyes before I even had a chance to take the first sip of my coffee.
“What?” I shook my head in confusion. “Is it serious?”
“I think so!” She nodded quickly. “Gina said he never came back from his lunch break yesterday, and something happened—the new girl, Melanie, found him in his car…”
“Really?” I leaned forward and started to stand. “I’ll go talk to her.”
“Um…” Farrah took a step back and glanced over her shoulder. “She hasn’t made it in today.”
“Okay…” I sat back down. “Let me know when she gets here—she’s already late.”
“Yes sir.” Farrah nodded and walked back to her desk.
Jon was my boss and the CEO of Alcott Inc. If something happened to him, then the company was going to dwindle into chaos without him at the helm. I was just a department manager, but it wasn’t uncommon for executives that were a higher pay grade than me to ask for advice—which is exactly what happened once the news of Jon’s medical emergency started to spread. There were more questions than answers, but I gave them the guidance I could offer. I certainly had experience with it—just not at Alcott Inc.
Before I was a random cog in the wheel at Alcott Inc., I was heir apparent to the CEO position at Sinn Technology—my family’s company—but then my grandfather decided he was going to name my father as his successor. That might have made sense to most people, but they didn’t know my father like I did—which is why I decided that a future at my family’s company simply wasn’t for me once the announcement was made. Jon Alcott was a good man, and I trusted him, which is why I asked him for a job after I left Sinn Technology.
“Has Melanie called in or anything?” I walked up to Farrah’s desk after I had run of things to distract me from the fact that my boss was in the hospital. “It’s almost ten…”
“No sir.” She shook her head back and forth. “This whole situation is really weird.”
“What do you mean?” I furrowed my brow inquisitively.
“Well, you know my brother’s a cop, right?” She titled her head and leaned forward.
“Yeah.” I nodded—I really didn’t remember everything about her family, but I remembered her mentioning that her brother was one of Carson Cove’s finest.
“He said that things at the station are hush-hush right now—something happened yesterday, and Jon’s name was mentioned, but nobody will talk about it…” She raised her eyebrows. “That doesn’t sound like a medical emergency.”
“No.” I exhaled sharply. “It doesn’t…”
Sometimes I hate living in Carson Cove. If something really did happen, then there’s enough money changing hands daily to keep it quiet…
Melanie never did show up for work. Jon called me in the afternoon and gave me the same story that was running the rumor mill at Alcott Inc.—he had a medical emergency, but everything would be fine. Our newest employee found him in his car and saved his life. I doubted the story, even though I didn’t believe Jon was the kind of man to lie without a good reason for doing so.
Jon was recently divorced and lonely—that was no secret. Melanie had been working part-time at Alcott Inc. before she graduated from college, and her performance evaluations seemed to last a lot longer than any of the other new hires. I noticed because she reported to me, and there was another thing too—she really screwed up one of our biggest accounts before she even started working full-time. Jon seemed quick to forgive and forget, which was rather strange, in my opinion. I would have fired her on the spot.
If he’s fucking her, that’s his business. Hopefully, she isn’t the reason he’s in the hospital right now…
Jon’s medical emergency proved to be one that would keep him away from Alcott Inc. for a little over a week. I didn’t ask to be put in charge, but it sort of landed in my lap because people kept coming to me for advice. Every time one of the executives had a question, Jon told them to check in with me. I finally just said fuck it, started telling them exactly what they needed to do, and was basically running the company in Jon’s absence. I hoped he remembered it when it was time for my annual performance evaluation, as long as the only thing we talked about when the door closed was my salary—or my next promotion.
“Alright, Farrah. I’m done for the week.” I closed my office door and locked it. “If anything comes up, let me know, but otherwise…”
“I know.” She nodded. “It’s do-not-disturb over the weekend.”
“Thanks.” I smiled and walked to the elevator.
Melanie didn’t return to Alcott Inc. after Jon’s medical emergency. That seemed to confirm my suspicion that they were involved, but it really didn’t concern me in the slightest if it didn’t impact anything at the office. It did bother me that she didn’t even have the courtesy of quitting, but I was sure Jon would sort that out when he returned.
I doubted there would be any issues to deal with at Alcott Inc. over the weekend—and if there were—I hoped they could wait one damn night. I needed some time to myself because it had been a really stressful week—so stressful that I didn’t spend much time dwelling on the one thing that was normally at the forefront of every thought.
I’m sorry, Caroline. I swore the day I put a rose on your coffin that I would never let a minute pass without thinking of you…
I was looking forward to peace and quiet when I left Alcott Inc, especially after the hectic week, but instead, the tranquility I expected, I saw my little sister’s car sitting in my driveway when I got home. She had a key and was always welcome at my house, but I asked her to call first—or at least send me a text message. I didn’t think that was an unusual request, even if she was family. I considered it common decency—she seemed to consider it simply unnecessary. I hit the
button to open the garage and parked my car. I sat there for a couple of seconds and mentally prepared to entertain my sister for a few hours. I wasn’t in the mood, but there were things that neither of us could talk about with anyone else, which is why she normally showed up at my house without giving me any sort of advanced warning.
“Jenny?” I walked through the garage door that led to the kitchen.
“Damien!” Her voice echoed from the living room, and then she came walking into the kitchen with a huge smile on her face. “I was beginning to think you weren’t coming home!”
“Well, if you would have called first…” I grunted under my breath.
“I know...” She sighed and looked down at the floor. “I just had a bad week, and I needed a place to cool off.”
“It’s fine.” It was easier to lie than push the issue. “Did you have dinner?”
“No.” She shook her head back and forth.
“I’ll order a pizza.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone.
“Sure.” She flashed what looked to be a forced smile and then walked back into the living room.
I placed the order and poured a drink before I joined Jenny in the living room. She smiled—she didn’t seem to be that upset—but I had learned a long time ago that she knew how to put on the bravest face when the world was falling apart around her. The world that normally fell apart was the same one that used to bring me so much misery when I was younger. I was able to walk away from it, but Jenny didn’t have that luxury—not for another year at least. Until then, she could come and go as she pleased, but she would never get more than a temporary reprieve from Sinn Manor. Eventually, she would have to go back to hell, so I could forgive a visit that wasn’t preceded by some sort of notification—even if it wasn’t my preference.
“I assume your bad week has something to do with our father?” I narrowed my eyes.
“Isn’t he always the source of it?” She sighed.
“Usually,” I grunted and took a sip of my drink. “Making people miserable is what he does best… Is Mom okay?”
“As okay as she can be living with the devil himself.” Jenny sighed a little louder. “Surprisingly, things haven’t been that bad between them lately, but I’m afraid it’s just the calm before the storm—I think he’s cheating on her again.”
“Of course he is.” I shook my head back and forth. “She should have left him the first time. Why would he change if she just forgives and forgets every time he comes home with another woman’s perfume on his damn shirt?”
“I wish I knew…” Jenny exhaled sharply. “But I’ve got bigger problems than that right now—he emptied my trust fund.”
“What!?” I snapped to attention immediately and felt my whole body tense up. “Your trust fund was set up by our grandfather, just like mine was. Dad doesn’t have any right to touch your money!”
“When Grandpa established our trusts, he made the CEO of Sinn Technology, the trustee—it was supposed to be a safety net in case something ever happened to him.” Jenny closed her eyes and appeared to be fighting back tears. “When that position went to our dad…”
“That son of a bitch.” My jaw tightened, and I felt my blood boiling.
“I tried to talk to grandpa about it, but I think his age is finally starting to catch up with him.” She pressed her finger between her eyebrows and squeezed her eyes shut. “It was pretty bad at the retirement party—he barely recognized people he’s known most of his life…”
“Damn.” I felt a lump rising up in my throat, but I quickly swallowed it.
“I thought I was going to get to leave Carson Cove after I graduated from high school, but that obviously isn’t going to happen now.” Jenny opened her eyes, and the tears finally came. “I’ll be lucky if I even get to go to college.”
“That’s nonsense.” I shook my head back and forth. “I’ll pay for your tuition myself if I have to.”
There was a noise outside, and I realized that the delivery driver had arrived, so I excused myself, so I could meet him at the front door. I was doing my best to keep my anger in check, but there was a rage building up inside me. Our grandfather set those trusts up for us when we were kids. They were supposed to pay for college and help us get started in life once we were old enough to manage the money responsibly. That’s exactly what mine did. Jenny had been counting down the days until she could leave Carson Cove for years—I couldn’t even imagine what she was going through.
“You should try to eat something…” I put the pizza down on the coffee table between us.
“Okay.” She leaned forward and picked up a slice.
Jenny took a couple of bites, but the look on her face suggested that she was just doing it to be polite. I didn’t have much of an appetite either. I did my best to reassure her and make sure she understood that I would take care of things so that she could go to college. I even offered to pay for her to go to school somewhere besides Carson Cove if that was what she really wanted. She was too numb to really process what I said. She needed someone she could talk to—someone that understood what she was going through—not a solution to the problem at hand. I could tell that deep down, she was hurt by what our father did. He still had an effect on her—she hadn’t completely purged her emotional attachment to him like I had.
“I guess I should get home.” Jenny picked up her phone and checked the time. “I don’t want to give him a reason to take anything else away from me…”
“I’m sorry, Jenny.” I stood up when she did and gave her a hug.
I walked Jenny to the front door and stayed there until her car had pulled out of sight. I remembered those gut-wrenching drives back to hell. She deserved better, but she was bound to Sinn Manor until her eighteenth birthday. I was lucky enough to have a little bit of peace during my final years there because our father was in prison—doing time for Securities Fraud—which was why I never expected my grandfather to name him as the next CEO of Sinn Technology. My father knew how much I wanted to take over our family’s company, and he knew I was the right choice for the job, but he didn’t give a fuck. When he wanted something, he took it—and it seemed that Jenny’s trust fund was the latest victim of his gluttony.
You’ve done a lot of evil shit in your life, Edgar Sinn—but this may very well be the worst one of them all.
I didn’t get much peace after Jenny’s visit because I couldn’t settle my anger long enough to let go of it. I tossed and turned all night. I wanted to confront my father, but I knew it would end badly if I did. There was no way to talk any sense into him—cruelty was his nature—and he didn’t care how his actions impacted others. He was greedy, selfish, and he would trample on anyone to get what he wanted. I slept for a few hours right before the sun came up, but I didn’t feel very rested. Sleep was no cure for the rage that was still coursing through my veins.
I desperately needed a change of scenery—or more specifically, I needed to visit an old memory that could always bring me back from the edge when I came dangerously close to losing control. There was only one place in Carson Cove where that memory would be vibrant enough to drown out the chaos in my head—the Pembroke Hotel. It was ritualistic, and some would have probably called it borderline insanity, but it worked—sometimes that was all that truly mattered. I didn’t have to check-in at the front desk. My room was basically reserved until the end of time, so I walked straight to the elevators once I arrived.
They have a new girl working at the front desk—I wonder what happened to the other one…
My mind wandered for no reason at all, or maybe it was just the beginning of the ritual as my thoughts began to sort themselves out. The elevator took me to the top floor of the Pembroke, and I walked to the room at the end of the hall. It was the room Caroline, and I always stayed in when we wanted to escape from the outside world. That was exactly what I needed, even if the emotion I was chasing was just a placebo for the one I would never truly feel again. I dropped my overnight bag on the bed
and opened it. I had a change of clothes inside, but it was the rest of the contents I needed to unpack.
I never thought memories would turn into make-believe, but that’s all I can cling to now…
I put Caroline’s makeup bag on the table beside the bed. I placed the satin box that held her engagement ring next to it and put the ring by the lamp—just like she always did before she went to sleep. I used to tease her about not wearing it to bed. I couldn’t even remember why. Once the table was set up the way it was when she stayed in the room with me, I laid down on my side of the bed and faced the wall.
Her spot would still be cold when I woke up, but if I glanced over my shoulder—I could pretend she was just enjoying one of her long baths—or minutes away from walking out of the bathroom to tell me that I needed to get dressed. It was heartbreaking and comforting at the same time—but for some reason—those memories always returned with enough vivid detail for me to pretend for a solitary second that they could be real.
She always had a way of making me forget everything else—she was my calm in the middle of every storm that raged around me…
Chapter Three
Leigh
“Hey girl, how’s it going?” Rosa walked into the employee bathroom while I was putting on my uniform for work.
“It’ll be better in about eight hours.” I laughed under my breath.
“Ain’t that the truth.” She nodded quickly. “Well, I told Ms. Valerie I’d work overtime tonight, so I’ll be here a little longer than that.”
“She hasn’t asked me to do that yet…” I picked up my name tag and pinned it to the front of my uniform.
“I doubt you’ll have to worry about that—you got a cushy desk job.” Rosa grinned and leaned close to the mirror so she could check her makeup.
Devious Intentions (Carson Cove Sandals Book 3) Page 2