Page 21 of The Main Event

His answer was so simple it only served to frustrate me more. “What do you call abandoning me with a party I didn’t plan for a girl who should just stamp ‘Karen’ on her forehead and be done with it?”

“I don’t believe Daisy abandoned you.” There was that bluntness the reviews mentioned. “She takes her job far too seriously. Like … far too seriously. She lives for those parties.”

“She might have suggested I should run the party without her to get a feel for what she does,” I hedged. “And I might’ve said I had everything under control, and she could take the night off.”

Fred smirked but didn’t say anything.

“She still shouldn’t have left me,” I insisted. “I had no way of knowing that the party was going to be that big … or require a fight over purple napkins. I’m never going to get over that.”

“Basically, you’re saying that Daisy taught you a valuable lesson,” Fred surmised. “Thatdoessound like something she would do.”

“She’s a pain,” I groused.

“She’s a good girl, and she took care of your grandfather when there was nobody in his family around to do it.” Fred’s gaze was dark. “She’s the one who saw that he took his medications. This was even before anybody knew about the cancer. He had blood sugar issues. Did you know that?”

My heart sank. There was no point in answering the question, though, because he already knew I wasn’t aware of that fact.

“She tested his blood every single day even though he didn’t want her to and kicked up a fuss,” Fred continued. “She balanced his protein. Your grandfather had quite the sweet tooth. She threatened all of the workers what would happen if they gave him the Red Vines he was always looking for.”

That triggered a memory from my childhood. “He always had packages of Red Vines in his pockets when I was a kid. I forgot about that. My mom wasn’t big on candy. Whenever she wasn’t around, he would whip out the licorice and give me some.”

“He was a big kid in a lot of ways,” Fred agreed. “He was a good man, though. Actually, he was a great man. You’re not going to make friends in this town until you understand that.”

“I don’t want to tarnish my grandfather’s memory,” I assured him. “That’s the last thing I want.”

“You’re not going to make any friends if you badmouth Daisy either,” Fred said. “That girl is beloved around these parts.”

As if to prove he was telling the truth, the elevator door slid open and there she was. Daisy. She wasn’t dressed for work. She was in a pair of pink pants that looked painted on. Her outfit—she looked as if she was wearing a tank top under a hoodie—suggested she’d just come from working out.

“Of course,” I muttered.

“Speak of the angel.” Fred beamed at her as he moved in for a hug. “We were just talking about you.”

Daisy was exuberant when accepting the hug, which allowed me a good view of her backside. There were words written on her butt.Take a bite.Seriously? Now all I wanted to do was take a bite.

Geez, what was wrong with me? This woman was more irritating than anybody I’ve ever met. She was full of herself.Was she hot? Absolutely. She was as hot as they came. That didn’t mean she was the angel that Fred and the rest of this town clearly thought she was. No, she had a mean streak. I’d learned that firsthand the previous evening.

“Ms. Reynolds,” I said stiffly as she looked over at me upon separating from Fred.

“Mr. Hunter,” Daisy replied. Her tone matched mine, which made Fred grin even wider for some reason.

“I heard you gave him what-for last night,” Fred said. “You stuck him with a party, did you? Good for you.”

“Been talking about me, huh?” Daisy asked me. Her expression was hard to read.

“Actually, we were talking about funds for the construction,” I countered. “He wanted to know if we would be able to afford the other waves. He thinks it would be a waste of money to do one floor and then abandon the project.”

Daisy worked her jaw, seemingly considering it long and hard. “I don’t actually disagree with that,” she said finally. “If you’re going to do the update, you should do all of it. The hotel should be seamless when finished. That’s hard to do when multiple people are coming up with designs.”

I ran my tongue over my lips. “The thing is, the hotel isn’t going to sell for much in its present state.”

“It’s not,” Daisy agreed. “The lobby and ballroom make for great showpieces, but the rooms all need to be redone. I don’t know anybody who is going to be willing to give you the price you clearly want to unload your grandfather’s pride and joy.”

“Oh, don’t put it like that.” She was even more irritating than I remembered. And why did she have to have words on her butt? Everybody knows that you can’t stop yourself from reading words if they appear on a butt. Did I have to read them over and over again? Probably not. I couldn’t stop myself though.

“It’s the truth.” Daisy was all business when she focused on Fred. “I can bring in most of the money through parties if I really dedicate myself.”

“That’s great, honey.” Fred’s smile never diminished when it was pointed at Daisy. “I’m glad for it. You don’t get a say in the matter, though.”

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