Page 50 of Never Finished

I shook my head, unsure. "This trip has been full of surprises, so I want to be prepared for anything my father may throw at me. I may have to give up the resort and my stake in the company, but my mom left that land to me and I’ll do anything to protect it. So far he’s been unmoved by my pleas, and I’ve realized if he's going to play nasty, then I need to fight fire with fire."

Abby grinned. "I’ll make the call."

Jaime

Two days. It had been two days since my fight with Emma and I was going out of my mind.

I understood she needed space, and I knew she was safe because most of my staff would report to me unprompted, but I was miserable. I knew I should go to her and apologize, but I wasn't sure if she was ready to hear it. That she’d stayed away this long made me think she was still really mad.

I saw her rushing out of the hotel regularly, a woman on a mission. But she never looked over at the bar—or me.

I stood idly wiping down the bar, staring off into space, when a familiar female voice sounded in my ear. "Okay, the sister brigade has banded, and I’ve been sent to find out what the hell is going on with you Jaime," I turned to see Sofia.

I quirked a brow. "I'm sorry, sister brigade?"

She shrugged. "Or sister squad, if you prefer alliteration. Makes no difference to me. All I know is Maria called me, saying you've been acting all mopey for the last couple of days. From the way she described it, I totally recognized it as woman troubles. So what's going on between you and the fair Emma?"

I rolled my eyes and shook my head, fully prepared to make something up to get her to drop the subject, but when I opened my mouth, I told her the truth. First, I told her about the run-in Emma had with that jackass Andrew. Then I told her how I reacted and screwed it up, and how Emma needed some space.

Sofia listened patiently, waiting until I was finished to say, "Yeah, you definitely screwed the pooch on that one, little brother. But I don’t think it’s a lost cause. I mean, the worst thing she can accuse you of is being overly concerned, and Emma seems reasonable enough to understand that."

"I know, that's what I keep telling myself, but she was livid, and I can't say I blame her. Especially since her father has spent most of her life second-guessing and overriding her decisions and then here I was doing the same thing."

"That’s true, but at least you’re mature enough to understand what you were doing and feel bad about it. That's more than I can say about most men, her father included. Look, if it's really bothering you this much, you need to gather up your cojones and go talk to her. I know you're trying to give her space, but if you're feeling this miserable, chances are she is too."

"Maybe," I grumped, as one of my servers rushed towards me and nearly slammed her tray on the bar.

"I need two more Blanton’s, Jaime."

"Sure, is everything okay out there, Ashley?"

She let out a huff. "Yeah, I'm fine… just a couple assholes at table twelve."

I went on high alert. Unfortunately, we have a lot of wealthy clientele who think it’s acceptable to belittle the staff, but I wouldn’t stand for it. I didn't let anybody mistreat our waitstaff, especially the women. "Do I need to kick them out?"

Ashley smiled at me sadly. "I wish you could… too bad it’s the owner of Pine Crest and that douchebag who’s been hanging around Emma."

That had me standing at attention and Sofia sitting up straighter on her barstool.

"Mr. Carter's here? How did I not see him?"

"Because they snuck in quietly and took the corner table that's out of your eyesight. A little sketchy, if you ask me. And I know you’ve been trying to rein in the rumor mill, but you're not going to like what they're talking about."

"Well?" Sofia prompted, "Lay it on us."

Ashley looked discreetly over her shoulder, then leaned in close. "They're talking about building an addition to the resort, using the nature preserve out back. And don’t get me started on what they're saying about Emma."

I felt my anger rise, but I had to hear it with my own ears. I nodded at Ashely, urging her to continue. "They're talking about Emma like she's human chattel. Her father is assuring this guy he’ll convince her that marrying him is good for everybody. That she’ll fall into line like she always does."

"That motherfucker," I said under my breath, unable to stop myself.

"I second that," Sofia said. "We gotta shut this guy down."

Ashley continued. "Well, if you come up with a plan, I want in. I can’t believe Mr. Carter would do this to her. It's hard to believe they’re even related. I mean, I don't know her personally, but I've heard nothing but good things about her. She seems like a good person and supposedly her mother was an angel."

"She was, and Emma is too," I confirmed.

"Even if she wasn't," Sofia said, "No one should talk about someone like that, much less their own child."

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