Page 4 of Love Over Time

Mayor Jonathan Cavalier looked up from his box of donuts and slumped back in his chair. “What do you want?” He blinked slowly as he smoothed the thinning hair on top of his head.

I gripped the back of the chair facing his desk. It was the chair or his neck. How did the townspeople not see him for the creep he was? “There’s a woman in town. Apparently, she’s here for my hotel. Care to explain why the fuck that is?”

He flinched and looked behind me to Patty. I followed his line of sight back to the reception area, where Patty stood by her desk, staring at us with wide eyes and her fingers on the phone keypad. I flashed her a smile to ease her nerves. Hopefully, there would be no need to call the sheriff this time. I was full of patience today.

“What I do with my hotel is none of your business,” he said.

Spoke too soon. I’d run out of small words for Jonathan Cavalier years ago. “Two queens and an ace high say the hotel is mine.”

He perked up at that. His beady eyes darted toward the door before they landed on me. I pursed my lips. Everyone in town knew our esteemed mayor liked to lose money at poker. It was how I was finally the grand owner of one of the oldest buildings in town, an architect’s dream come true.

“Yes. Well, about that. I think it would be best if you discuss it with my lawyer.” He used his chubby index finger to page Patty. When he sat back, his white shirt showed sweat spots around his armpits. What a disgrace he was to the Cavalier family. My dad had always said so, and I agreed.

Patty rushed into the room, pen and notepad in hand. “Yes, sir.”

“Could you schedule an appointment for Henry and—”

“Don’t bother. I don’t need an appointment.” I had no time for appointments. I hadn’t forgotten about “just Nikki,” who no doubt was in the process of settling in.

“Henry. Don’t do anything—” Patty’s words faded behind me as I rushed out the office and took the staircase to the main level, where the mayor’s lawyer and best friend kept his office.

The lawyer’s receptionist stood when she saw me coming down the hall. I put up my hand. “The mayor sent me.”

“Oh, Henry. Please,” she said, hand over her chest.

I knocked on the door and pointed at the too-wide smile on my face that said I was playing nice. She rolled her eyes at me but other than that didn’t try to stop me.

The mayor’s legal friend had the same reaction to my presence as the mayor, except he reached for the antacids instead of the donut holes. “How can I help you, Henry?”

“What’s going on with my hotel?” I crossed my arms over my chest.

He swallowed hard, shuffling through papers. “Right. So you heard?”

“Heard what?” I asked through gritted teeth. I couldn’t lose this hotel.

“Well, you see, back in 1869 when the hotel was built, or rather, renovated, um…” He dug through more papers. I stepped toward him, and he put up his hand. “Here it is. There are two deeds. You see, the hotel was originally two houses. After the big fire and the renovation, they were combined into what we know today as the Cavalier Hotel. See?” He pushed the copies of the two deeds and the hotel blueprints toward me. My great-grandfather’s signature at the bottom caught my eye. The architectural design was his.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Two deeds, two owners. Is that what you’re telling me?”

He wiped his forehead and reached for another tablet. “Yes, Henry. I realize this is unconventional, but back then paperwork had a way of falling through the cracks. Who knows? Maybe this is how the Cavaliers wanted it. It’s hard to say. Either way, Mr. Cavalier had every right to sell the property as two separate entities.”

“Except”—I squeezed the back of the chair—“the property is justonehotel.” Fuck.

“I’m sorry, son.” He offered me a weak smile while he smoothed out his cheap suit. “I spoke with Ms. Swift this morning. She’s a very nice lady. I’m sure if you ask, she’d have no problem selling you her half of the property.”

Yeah, a very nice lady, indeed. Except I didn’t have the money to buy her out. “He knew, didn’t he? When he gambled the deed. You know what? Forget it. I’ll handle this.” His bottle of antacids rattled again when I left his office. He was a dead end.

Back at the construction site, Russ caught up to me before I reached Main Street. “Hey there, boss. Got things sorted out?”

“Almost.”

“Survey’s done. Just so you know.” He winced.

“Out with it.” I halted and turned to face him.

His eyes went wide. “We’re good out here. There’s a small fracture out on Main Street, though. Right next to your hotel.”

“Okay. Let’s go fix it. That’s why we’re here.” Fixing sewage lines beneath the street was a hassle, but we already had the entire block turned upside down. One more hole wouldn’t break the bank.

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