Page 13 of The Mistakes I've Made
I heard a heavy sigh on the other end. Well, not quite a sigh. It was more of an exaggerated huff. “What I think you did is hacked into the company’s database—although I have no idea how—and put your name down as the lead designer for that tiny hotel in North Carolina.”
My lips pressed together as I tried not to smile. Even though we weren’t physically together, she’d be able to sense it.
And she wouldn’t be happy about it.
“Okay, so, yeah…that I did.”
“What the hell, Lani?” Her voice was low, her words hushed, but they carried an intensity that spoke volumes. “You could be fired for this. Worse, you could be arrested. That’s a crime!”
I made that noise again, the one that reminded me of Piper’s niece. “Arrested? Please. Do you really think my father is going to arrest me?”
Silence followed my question until she finally groaned. “No, but seriously, what were you thinking? This isn’t you! The Leilani I know doesn’t do this.”
She’d said something similar last night while I was knocking back those shots from the bartender. It hadn’t bothered me so much then, but it did now.
“Exactly!” I said. “The Leilani you know just sits idly by while her father promotes everyone but her. The Leilani you know continually gets hurt time and time again when that same father constantly bails on her. I’m sick of being that Leilani. I want to be better than that Leilani.” With every word, I’d let my emotions build until tears welled beneath my eyelids, and my chest grew heavy.
“Okay,” she said. “I get it.”
My lips quivered. “I can’t wait any longer. I have to show him what I can be, if he just lets me.”
“Then go show him.”
I could hear the smile in her voice.
Like I’d said, even miles away, I could sense it.
“I will.”
“And, Lani?”
“Yeah?” I smiled back.
“Make sure you show him good. For the both of us.”
It had been three days.
Three days since the announcement of the sale that had rocked the small community of Ocracoke.
Three days of endless chatter revolving around a single word—Hart.
It was all anyone could talk about.
“How will this affect my restaurant business?”
“What about the view from my house?”
“Do you think they’ll tear the whole building down?”
Every single conversation circled around that damn hotel, and in those three days, I hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep.
With everyone in an uproar over this hotel tycoon coming to town, my brother had taken it upon himself to try to calm their fears, once again leaving me to man the family business.
Ever since Cora had shown up and my brother had finally started to give a damn about the world around him, pulling himself out of the rut he’d found himself in after his accident, the town had begun to see him as a sort of leader.
He headed several committees and led town meetings.
I guessed it was a good thing we didn’t have a mayor; otherwise, I’d probably be sitting in this office by myself—permanently.
