Page 27 of Slumming It
What could I say tothat?
Turns out, nothing. Before I could even think to reply, he flicked his head toward the door. "That's your cue to leave."
And so I did.
Did I say goodbye?
I don't even remember.
AllIrecalled was the look in his eyes as I gave him one final backward glance. Something in that knowing gaze of his suggested thathewas up to something, too.
But what?
That was the billion-dollar question, wasn't it?
Chapter 10
Emily
In the hotel lobby, Vivian stared across the front desk. "You're doingwhat?"
A wave of guilt washed over me. Vivian wasn't just my only sister. She was my oldest friend in the world. And now, I was hiding the truth from her, which made me feel especially cruddy considering how worried she had been for my safety.
It was true that I hadn't yet seen the nondisclosure agreement, but Reese Murdock's final threat gave the word ominous a whole new meaning. Even now, I could still hear his voice in my head, warning me what would happen if I blabbed about our arrangement.
I'll destroy you.
What did that even mean?
Financially?
Physically?
Emotionally?
A guy like Reese Murdock could probably do all three and then some. If it were just me, maybe I'd take the risk. But it wasn't just me. It was Vivian, too, if I spilled the proverbial beans.
I gave her an apologetic smile. "It's not like I'm quitting. I'm just taking a little break, that's all. And I'm paying for my replacement."
"But how can you dothat?" she asked. "You have no money. And neither do I."
This was painfully true. We'd sunk everything we had into acquiring this hotel. A month ago, we had put down a partial deposit, but we still needed nearly thirty thousand dollars to finalize the purchase.
Of course, thirty grand would be pocket change to a guy like Reese Murdock.Hewouldn't need a down payment – much less a mortgage – to snag this place. He'd simply buy it outright.
As for me and Vivian, we still had eleven more months to come up with the remaining cash, which was the absolute bare minimum to secure a mortgage from the bank.
Until then, we were technically renting. Together, we rented the whole property from Mister Dembrowski's son. And then, we rented out rooms to travelers and tourists along with the occasional local. We'd been doing this for nearly a month in hopes of getting a head start in rebuilding the business.
After old Mister Dembrowski had died, the hotel had sat vacant for most of the summer, which was really unfortunate, given that summer was the biggest season for tourism and travel.
Thiswasnorthern Michigan after all.
Now, in late September, we were playing some serious catch-up. Currently, the hotel was only half full, and this included the three rooms rented by you-know-who.
I told Vivian, "Don't worry. I ran into Rosalie Capshaw last week at Stan's Meat Market. She said she's looking for work, even if it's seasonal."
"So?"
