Page 3 of Bubbles at the Beach House Hotel

“Here comes Brock Goodwin,” she said with annoyance. “I thought he was an early morning walker. There must be some reasons he’s so late.”

“He’s heading right toward us. I wonder what he wants now.” Brock Goodwin was the president of the Neighborhood Association and thought he could tell us how to run our hotel. He’d fought us at every step when we’d tried to open it.

“Ah, you’re just the two I was looking for,” said Brock, coming up to us and giving us a fake smile that made my blood boil.

By the looks of it, Rhonda was as irritated as I was by his condescending tone.

“Hello, Brock,” I said.

“I heard you had a whole bunch of women arriving at the hotel and staying in one of the guest houses. I bet you didn’t know the neighborhood has regulations about how many people can stay in a rental house.”

“I bet you didn’t know I don’t give a rat’s ass about that and what you’re trying to do,” said Rhonda.

“Your neighborhood rules don’t apply to the hotel,” I said, trying to calm Rhonda while talking straight to Brock. “I’m sure you’re aware of that. If not, read the bylaws of the association again.”

Brock made a face and slammed his hands on his hips. “You two think you can do anything you want, but as president of the Neighborhood Association, I’m here to keep watch on you. You are part of the neighborhood whether I like it or not.”

“You’ve made that point too often,” I said. “We’re not the only ones who think you constantly try to make your position more than it is for your own self-importance.”

“Yeah,” said Rhonda. “Eff off.”

I knew Rhonda was just getting started on telling Brock what else he could do, so I took hold of her arm, and we turned away from Brock.

Brock ran around us and blocked our way. “You may think you have the last word on this and other problems at the hotel, but I promise I’ll keep my eye on you.”

“Brock, I told you to eff off,” said Rhonda. Having grown up in a tough neighborhood, Rhonda was no stranger to speaking her mind or facing an enemy.

Afraid the situation would worsen, I said, “See you later, Brock. And this time, please have the courtesy to step out of our way.”

I could see Brock trying to control his emotions as if deciding whether to stay or move. Finally, he stepped back, and Rhonda and I went on our way.

“That bastard is going to make me do it,” said Rhonda.

“Do what?” I asked.

“Wring his fuckin’ neck,” said Rhonda, her dark eyes flashing. “He has no right telling us how many guests can stay in one of our guesthouses.”

“Of course not,” I said. “He just keeps trying to push his position on us. He’s done it from the beginning. If he’d had his way, the hotel would never have opened. And to have it be the success it is irritates him.”

“I don’t like thinking he has some inside source talking about our guests. Let’s tell Bernie what happened. The staff needs to know they can’t talk about our guests and who’s staying where,” said Rhonda.

“I agree,” I said, and we headed inside to see Bernie.

Bernie was an impressive hotel manager. His presence and manner were noticeably autocratic, but he was a lovely man determined to do an outstanding job. If you gave him the respect he deserved, he was a loyal friend and an excellent person to run our hotel for us. We adored him and his wife, Annette, who worked in hospitality service for us.

When we knocked on Bernie’s door, he called us inside his office.

“We just saw Brock Goodwin on the beach,” I began.

“That’s enough to ruin anyone’s day,” said Bernie. “What now?”

“He thinks he can tell us how many people we must limit to either of our guesthouses,” said Rhonda.

“We all know he can’t. What else did he say?”

“He’s going to keep his eye on us, which is nothing new,” I said. “But we’re unhappy he knew a group of women was staying in one of the houses. Do we need to talk to staff again about not saying anything about the people staying here?”

“It’s always wise to remind staff of that, especially when new people come on board. I’ll add that to the agenda for the upcoming staff meeting,” said Bernie. “It seemed like an enthusiastic group of women. I don’t want to do anything to make them think less of the hotel.”

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