Accidental Surprises

by Tia Wylder

  Maybe they all got called away to deal with a rude guest, I thought as I sauntered across the luxe carpet to the hotel’s signature restaurant. Still! This is an expensive place, I’d normally expect to be treated a little more kindly!

  The restaurant was dark, but the doors were unlocked. I let myself in and frowned. It was completely silent. There was no maître d, no waitresses rushing around in skimpy black cocktail dresses.

  And no Louis Franchot.

  “Hello?” I called out loudly. “I’m Jack Nathan – I have a reservation, after all!”

  My voice echoed off the walls, and I groaned.

  “What is taking so long,” I demanded loudly. “Has everyone lost their fucking minds?”

  There was no answer.

  That was when I saw a long, golden bolt of lightning come down from the clouds and strike the water. There was a loud clap of thunder following immediately after, and the room went completely dark.

  Oh my god, I realized as I stood alone in the restaurant. They’ve evacuated the hotel.

  I balled my hand into a fist and swung it powerfully towards the wall, my hand connecting with the stucco. I didn’t even feel the pain until it shot up my arm.

  “God damn you,” I muttered, picturing Louis Franchot’s fat face in my mind.

  It was his fault that I was stuck here, alone, in this hurricane.

  And it didn’t look like I’d be getting the property deeds anytime soon.

  Fuck.

  Chapter Two

  Adele

  “Adele, are you coming?”

  I cocked my head to the side and grinned. “Of course I am,” I said. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t totally dying at the thought of this research opportunity!”

  Lisa, my best friend and roommate, grinned. “I’m glad,” she said. She wrinkled her nose. “Some crap about a hurricane, though – have you heard?”

  I waved my hand nonchalantly in the air. “It’s probably nothing,” I said. “You know they always blow everything out of proportion.”

  Lisa laughed. “Adele, you’re funny,” she said, shaking her head. “And you would say something like that.”

  I frowned. “Lis, this is the best time of year to check out the coral reefs,” I replied. “And there’s no way I’m leaving Nassau without the research to finish my dissertation.”

  Lisa nodded. “I know,” she said. “I just…”

  “You just what?”

  Lisa shrugged. “It’s nothing, Adele,” she said. “It’s just, sometimes I think you get a little too wrapped up in work, that’s all.”

  “Work is the most important thing in my life,” I said, puffing up with pride. “And Dr. Mitchell thinks my dissertation is coming together really nicely – he even said that I could get a job with the EPA if everything goes well!”

  “That would be great,” Lisa said. There was a touch of envy in her voice. “I’m happy for you.”

  I nodded. “I just hope it works out.” Curling my fingers into a fist, I gently rapped my hand on my faux-wood particleboard desk. “Knock on wood, after all.”

  Lisa laughed. “That’s why I love you,” she said. “Such an optimist!” She got up and stretched. “I’m going to get some food, you want any?”

  I shook my head and turned my attention back down to my laptop. The beginnings of my dissertation were spread out over a variety of open word processing files – I knew I had a long night ahead of me.

  “No, thanks, I’ll grab something at the airport,” I replied.

  Lisa groaned. “God, that stuff is always so expensive,” she complained.

  “Yeah, but they have that great burger place.” My mouth began watering. “And in Nassau, I’m sure we’ll eat well.”

  “If only we could get reimbursed for everything,” Lisa said. She wrinkled her nose. “I just wish there was another place to stay beside the Hotel St. Charles.”

  “I know, god, it always makes me feel so freaking snobby,” I said, tossing my brown hair over one shoulder.

  “The life of grad students,” Lisa said sarcastically. She blew me a kiss, grabbed her bag, and left.

  I sighed, relieved to be alone. As much as I love Lisa, I’m too much of an introvert to really enjoy anyone’s company in particular for too long. I’m happiest when it’s just me and my research.

  Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve known that I wanted to be a famous scientist when I grew up. So, when I got into the prestigious Lager College after high school, it was a dream come true. I liked it so much – and bonded with my professors deeply – that I decided to stay in grad school. I was only in the third year of my Ph.D. program, and I knew that I’d probably be there for a lot longer, but I enjoyed every minute. Even doing the boring stuff, like teaching huge undergraduate classes for a stipend, wasn’t bad.

  Plus, I loved my colleagues. I was lucky that Lisa was my best friend – she was studying the effects of pollution on coral reefs – although sometimes our relationship felt a little more competitive than I would’ve liked. I knew that it couldn’t be avoided, but it did make certain things uncomfortable.

  With a sigh, I got to my feet and stretched. I’d already started packing – we were leaving for the airport in a little over an hour – but my suitcase was a mess of strewn clothes and books. I rolled my eyes when I saw Lisa had tucked my bathing suit in on top.

  Like I was going to have time for swimming when there was important science to be done!

  I finished packing quickly, throwing in enough clothes and a raincoat, in case the rumored hurricane ever made an appearance. Not that I was going to let that stop me, of course.

  By the time I was done, Lisa was back, and we got out stuff together and went outside to wait for a cab. Boston was frigid and snowy, and I shivered as we stood on the curb, imagining how good it would feel to be under the warm Nassau sun. Maybe a little time for swimming wouldn’t be the worst thing, I thought as I pictured the warm tropical ocean and how pleasant it would be to just float with a fruity drink in my hand.

  As the cab arrived, an icy river of slush crashed over my feet, bringing me back to reality. As Lisa and I clambered into the backseat, I shuddered. This trip is going to be so important, I thought. I’m really going to be working hard. The idea wasn’t intimidating, though – if anything, it was more exciting than ever before. I was finally getting somewhere…and soon, it would be time for me to focus exclusively on writing my dissertation.

  “I wonder if there are any cute cabana boys at the hotel,” Lisa mused, staring at the window at our frozen city.

  “You know we won’t have time for anything but work,” I cautioned.

  Lisa rolled her eyes and turned to me. “Adele, sweetie, you need to relax,” she said. “God, it’s been like six years since you had a boyfriend!”

  I shrugged. “I don’t want a boyfriend,” I said honestly. “I want to do my work, undisturbed, without having to worry about some guy criticizing me for not being girly enough.”

  Lisa laughed. “That’s a fair point,” she admitted.

  When the cab pulled up to the airport, we paid the fare. I tucked the receipt into my wallet for reimbursement and grabbed my suitcase, following Lisa inside and out of the blowing snow.

  “I’m going to the gate,” Lisa said. “You’re going to eat?”

  I nodded. “I’ll see you before the flight takes off,” I said. “I won’t forget, I promise.”

  Lisa laughed. “Set a timer,” she advised. “I know how you get wrapped up in your work.”

  I found the burger place – they made killer bacon double cheeseburgers – and sat down in a booth, spreading my research out as I ate. By the time I heard the buzzing of my phone, I had grabbed everything, paid, and left in a rush with grease stains all over my shirt.

  I arrived at the gate and found Lisa chatting with some of our other colleagues, Andrew and Sally. Lisa frowned when she saw me.

  “I have to tell you something,” she said, pulling me aside.


  I frowned. “I know I have grease on my shirt,” I said. “That burger was worth it, though.”

  “No, about Nassau,” Lisa said. She frowned. “I just heard from Andrew – that awful French real estate developer just bought up a huge piece of land.”

  My heart sank. “Louis, what’s his name?”

  “Franchot,” Lisa said. She sighed angrily. “He ruins everything! Do you know how badly ruined the ecosystem is going to be after he builds that stupid hotel?”

  I groaned. My research had involved that exact parcel of land. Of course, I’d known that it had been for sale…but with a thirty-million price tag, I didn’t exactly think anyone was going to swoop in, at least not until after I’d finished my dissertation.

  “Men are so greedy,” I said angrily. “I’ll probably have to find a new topic!”

  Lisa gave me a sympathetic smile.

  Suddenly, an idea popped into my head, and I grinned. “Lis,” I said quickly. “What if I can find a way to stop it? Like, stop him from building anything?”

  Lisa blinked. “And how would you do that?”

  “By making a ton of publicity about it, and getting some rich people who care about the environment to give me the money I need to hire a lawyer! I bet if I can make people care about this a tenth as much as I do, he’ll be forced to leave the land as it is!”

  “Oh my god, Adele, that’s brilliant,” Lisa said slowly. She narrowed her eyes. “But how the heck are you going to pull that off?”

  “I’ll have to sneak around this weekend and take a lot of pictures,” I said. “And then find some new billionaire friends,” I added, rolling my eyes. “You know anyone famous who loves the environment?”

  Lisa laughed. “No,” she said. She frowned. “Hey, Andrew,” she called. “Come over here!”

  Andrew walked over, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his skinny throat. Andrew had to be over six feet tall, but he was the most awkward guy I’d ever met.

  “What else did you say about that land in Nassau?” Lisa asked.

  “Uh, I don’t know,” Andrew replied.

  “No,” Lisa said impatiently, stamping her foot on the ground like a child. “You did say something – there was another name, not the evil French guy.”

  “Oh, yeah,” Andrew said casually. He pulled out a Boston paper and handed it to me. “Some other guy – some local guy – wants the same property.”

  I glanced down at the article and pulled a face of disgust. There was a color photo of a tall, muscular man with dirty blonde hair and an expensive suit. His eyes were dark and cocky, and his lips were curved in a smirk. The headline read: “Jack Nathan Sets His Sights on Tropical Waters.”

  “He wanted to the buy the same land,” Andrew repeated. “The article talked about his plans for a luxury hotel or something.”

  I felt anger rising in my throat like bile. If this other guy was interested, there was no way I’d be able to drum up enough interest to save the property!

  “That’s not fair,” I whined loudly. “He looks like such a jerk!”

  “He probably is,” Lisa said. “Look – he’s so smug.”

  I groaned. “I’ll confront both of them,” I said, gritting my teeth. “And force them to give up their plans, or else the local ecosystem is going to be ruined!”

  Lisa and Andrew stared.

  “Adele, that’s insane,” Andrew said, shaking his head. “There’s no way you’re going to be able to convince two billionaires!”

  I gritted my teeth and crossed my arms over my chest, staring defiantly until Andrew shrank down.

  “Just watch me,” I growled.

  ---

  When we boarded the flight, I was surprised to see that the plane was mostly empty. Lisa took out an eye-mask and travel pillow, and within ten minutes, she was snoring next to me. I’d been planning to use the time in the air to work on my research, but now that I had a new task at hand, I knew I was going to have to work quickly. I paid for the in-flight wi-fi and connected my laptop, searching for Louis Franchot and Jack Nathan.

  Louis Franchot was easier. A simple type of his name yielded a plethora of search results – and most of them were terrible. It looked like he was responsible for several luxury resorts – all of them incredibly overpriced, in exotic locales around the world. I rolled my eyes – he even looked like a jerk. He was overweight, with a big paunchy belly, and he was always photographed wearing suits that were wrinkled and creased. His neck was adorned with several gold chains, and despite the fact that he was balding, tufts of grey and white hair floated around the rim of his head like clouds.

  “I’m going to get you,” I whispered to his photo on the screen of my laptop.

  Next, I looked up Jack Nathan. I was surprised to see that he was local to Boston, and unfortunately, it looked like we had something in common: like me, Jack Nathan had attended Lager College. But then, he’d graduated and taken over what appeared to be his father’s company. Based on his photos – not to mention the one I’d seen in the newspaper – he was the opposite of Franchot. Young, handsome, and lean. But they did share one thing in common: a cocky smirk that told me they both thought of themselves as kings.

  I rolled my eyes, then slammed the screen of my laptop shut. I was angry and excited at the same time – I couldn’t wait to confront these losers and demand they abandon all plans to ruin the wilderness of Nassau.

  When the plane landed, Lisa, Andrew, Sally, and I took a cab to the hotel. The Hotel St. Charles was just as ostentatious as I’d imagined.

  “There’s no way in hell the department’s going to refund all of this,” I whispered to Lisa as we hung around the lobby. “It’s way too expensive.”

  Lisa shrugged. “It’s the only hotel on the island,” she said. “It’s not like we had a choice.”

  I groaned. “Yeah,” I muttered. “I guess you’re right.”

  When the smiling young concierge appeared, Lisa handed over our reservation information.

  “Ladies, I’m so sorry,” the concierge began. “Due to the hurricane, we’re urging all of our guests to leave immediately.”

  “What?” Lisa’s jaw dropped. “You’re kidding,” she said. “Look, we’re not here for a vacation – we’re grad students, and we need to do research.”

  The concierge smiled apologetically. “I understand,” she said. “But unfortunately, I cannot help you. We are not equipped to handle such a disaster.”

  “I’m not leaving,” I said, shaking my head.

  “What?” Lisa turned to me, and I saw that all of the blood had drained from her face. “Adele, what are you talking about? Why not?”

  “Because,” I said slowly. “I have an idea.”

  “What? Like dying?” Lisa shook her head. “Adele, you’re nuts!”

  “Ma’am,” the concierge broke in. “I must urge you – please, leave Nassau immediately.” She shook her head in dismay. “I don’t even know how you were able to fly out here in the first place!”

  “Because if I stay, I’ll get a lot of publications,” I said firmly. “And that’s what I need right now – a lot of attention in environmental publications.”

  “More like mental publications,” Lisa said in exasperation. “Adele, this is suicidal!”

  “Give me my key, please,” I said to the concierge, holding my hand out.

  She hesitated for a long moment before handing me an elegant wooden key fob attached to a silver key.

  Surprisingly, I found that I had a hard time reaching out and taking it. I knew, deep down, that Lisa was more than right – if I stayed in Nassau during a hurricane, I was risking my life. I had no idea how bad things could get. What if I couldn’t find food or water? What would I do then?

  I couldn’t think like that though, not now. I had a stand to make. I could just see it now – headlines in the most famous environmental publications: “Heroic Grad Student Risks Life to Defend Nassau Wildlife.”

  Just thinking about it made me feel good.

  �
��I can’t believe you,” Lisa said when I finally reached out and took the key. “Adele, this is insane! I should call your parents!”

  I rolled my eyes. “Lisa, I’m twenty-four,” I said. “My parents haven’t been able to control me for at least six years.”

  Lisa stared at me for a long moment before shaking her head. “Adele,” she said. “I know you mean well, but…” She trailed off and shrugged. “If you change your mind, call me,” she said. “Maybe I can help coordinate some kind of rescue for you.”