Page 9 of Never Finished

He nodded. "I will be there… on time, of course," he said with a grin.

I told him goodnight and watched until he exited the lounge and then turned to the remaining wait staff, announcing, "Alright guys, you were outstanding tonight. I am going to make sure everyone gets an extra twenty percent tip tonight—I cannot thank you enough for this evening."

The servers said their thanks and told me goodnight, and I marched through the lounge towards the elevator before I stopped short, my eyes catching on the bar.

After the long evening I had, I could really go for another Gin Fizz. I completely forgot I wanted to thank the mixologist myself and tell them how much I appreciated that drink.

Even though I was dead on my feet and I wanted nothing more than to get out of these stupid heels, I changed course and stepped into the dim bar.

Even though there were still a few hours until last call, only a few tables were occupied. It was quiet, and I was grateful for that.

I would enjoy a quick drink, and then hit the hay. However, when I approached the bar, it was noticeably empty. I looked around for a bartender and found none. Maybe they were in back room restocking?

I sat on a stool, and while I waited, surveyed the place. It had changed since I saw it last—the liquor bottles were now displayed on illuminated stair-stepped platforms behind the bar and the abstract wall art gave it a more modern feel. This may be a mountain resort, but the bar felt sexy, and I liked it.

My father never saw the point in spending money on the resort’s bar décor because he believed that as long as there was alcohol, the guests would come. I’d heard there was a new manager and mixologist hired recently and wondered this was their handiwork. It would appear I had two compliments to deliver tonight… if only I could find that bartender.

Just then I heard a shuffling behind me and turned, expecting to find the bartender when the breath got knocked out of me.

"Jaime," I breathed, coming face to face with my sexy ghost for the first time in twelve years.

Jaime

It had been incredibly busy for a weeknight. My staff and I had run our asses off trying to keep up with the event in The Lounge.

The guests were extra demanding, and I even caught a few of the servers tearing up after some particularly cruel comments. But whoever was in charge of the event was apparently quite nice and promised them a generous tip, so the staff soldiered on and I kept encouraging them we would get through this.

I would soon learn it was some corporate event host by the resort and I couldn't help but wonder if Emma ever went to those things.

Who was I kidding? Of course she did. I knew she had to rub elbows with these kinds of pricks all the time, and she probably did so with ease.

That was just her way. She could always talk to anybody. I wished for that ability with some of my servers after the night we had, but the best I could give them was to say, "we'll get through this."

As I saw the guests file out of the lounge at a faster pace, I breathed a sigh of relief. The wait staff would be busy cleaning up The Lounge, while the rest of the bar staff would finally have time to restock. Despite their entitled nature, the guests tonight made us a lot of money, so I guess I couldn't complain too much.

I spent the last half hour in my office tallying the evening's totals and closing out the books, while the bar staff wiped down tables and restocked. Once they were finished, I sent them over to The Lounge to help the other waitstaff clean up after the party. No one wanted to be here any longer than necessary.

I leaned back in my chair to peek out my office door and spotted a sexy redhead.

"Get a hold of yourself," I scolded myself. "It’s probably the same woman as before."

After the last redheaded spotting, when I embarrassed myself in front of Charlie, I vowed to not let Emma Carter mess with my head any longer.

But then I saw all the staff was gone, and no one was behind the bar to help the guest. So I jumped up and made my way behind the bar. As I opened my mouth to speak, everything stood still for one heart-stopping moment.

A beautiful, heart-shaped face turned towards me and her red-painted bow mouth dropped into an "o" shape before it breathed out one syllable, "Jaime?"

Well, I'll be damned. After nearly giving myself whiplash, turning to glimpse every redhead that crossed my path, hoping it might be Emma, she finally appeared like some heavenly angel dropped in the middle of my bar.

"Emma?" I said, my voice sounding rusty.

I cleared it and started again. "You’re here. I mean, of course you’re here. It’s your resort. What I meant was, what brings you back?" I asked.

She gave me a gracious smile. "The resort was hosting an event for investors at The Lounge tonight," she said, pointing unnecessarily over her shoulder.

"I should've guessed you would have something to do with that."

She laughed. "I can understand why you would be surprised considered I haven't been back to Silverpine since…" she trailed off, looking away, and then turned to face me again. "Since my mom died."

---