Page 79 of Lorenzo & Lily

“You couldn’t have known. We, Phil and I, we don’t discuss it. Of course, it’s one reason why John was sent to the hotel. Phil’s getting older and can’t run the hotel every day anymore. Instead of selling it, Phil had hoped to keep the hotel in the family. After we received your note, though, we went down to the hotel and spoke with the staff. We know everything you’ve been through. We’re so sorry.”

“Blanche–”

“We fired John.”

Lily blinked, and wondered if she’d heard that correctly. “What?”

“And Calvin, too. We’re only sorry we didn’t step in sooner.”

“Oh, Blanche. I know that must be tough for Phil. His family–”

“–will be just fine. They’ll deal with it. They’re not all bad eggs like John. Do you know what we realized this morning?”

“What’s that?”

“We realized you were more our family than John ever was.”

Lily sucked in a breath. “Blanche.”

“We want you to run the hotel. Full promotion and raise, the whole deal.”

Oh my God. “Blanche, that’s a very kind offer, but–”

“Just think about it. I saw the news this morning. I know about the secret you kept from us.”

Lily winced. How could she explain that? “Blanche, I kept that from everyone, not just you. I hope you can understand why.”

“Oh, I do. I really do. I just hope, even if you don’t take us up on our offer, that you’ll let us see you and that little girl once in a while.”

It suddenly hit her that Blanche and Phil had been better parents to her than even her own parents had been. “Blanche, you’re very sweet. Let me think about the offer, okay? If I don’t take you up on it, of course, we’ll come visit you.”

“Take your time. I know you’re busy at the moment, but just don’t take too long.”

“I won’t. I very much appreciate the opportunity here. Please let Phil know how much I appreciate it as well.”

“I will.”

They said goodbye and hung up, leaving Lily reeling. John and Calvin fired. If she’d gone to Phil or Blanche earlier, could all this mess at the hotel been avoided? She felt a little silly for never saying anything sooner.

Not to mention the job offer. She now had the opportunity to run a whole hotel. Or the opportunity to run a conference center and be closer to Liliana and Lorenzo.

She caught sight of the time again and shook her head. She couldn’t think about it now. She had to face the king and queen. She’d worry about it later.

She walked to Liliana’s room. She entered and her breath caught at the sight of Lorenzo with their daughter.

He had a big smile on his face as he worked on his daughter’s hair. Liliana sat on her bed, her dark hair falling to her waist – it was time for a cut again – and a simple purple ribbon pulling back some of her hair into a ponytail.

A very messy ponytail.

“Did Papa do your hair?”

“Yes, Mama! I like it.”

She gave her a small smile. “Yes, I’m sure you do.”

Lorenzo, looking far too sexy in a dark suit, purple shirt and no tie, looked playfully offended. “It’s not that bad.”

Fixing Liliana’s hair might help calm her nerves a little. “Let me show you how it’s done, and you’ll be all set for next time.”

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