Page 70 of Drawing Home
Bea was trying to arrange the drawings on the dining-room table into some sort of order when the doorbell rang. Who the devil was bothering her now?
She made her way to the foyer, recalling with a small shudder the day Victor appeared with the unthinkable news about the house. That felt like months ago, not just weeks. And so little progress had been made.
There was no need for a peephole in the door; the entrance was framed by glass on both sides. She could see a tall man with dark, silver-tinged hair. He wore khaki pants, a polo shirt, and a pair of those obnoxious mirrored sunglasses.
She opened the door. “What can I do for you?” she said in a tone that she hoped conveyedPlease leave.
“Hi, Ms. Winstead. I’m Mark Mapson, Penny’s father. I’d like to talk to you if you have a minute.”
Oh, for heaven’s sake. Who was going to come out of the woodwork next?
Mark Mapson had a slick look about him. His features were handsome, but there was just enough off about the way they all came together to prevent him from being truly attractive.
“I do not have a minute. Your daughter has taken up enough of my time and energy, and unless you are here to tell me that all of you have decided to relinquish claim to the house and estate thatclearly does not belong to you,we have nothing to discuss.”
He nodded and removed his sunglasses. His eyes, dark and sharp, met hers.
“I hear you, Ms. Winstead. And I assure you, we definitely have something to discuss.”
He might be slick, but now he had her attention.
She opened the door wider.
“I hope you are quick to get to the point, Mr. Mapson. I am not a patient woman.”
It took all of Emma’s willpower not to lean on the horn. Damn this summer traffic!
Dr. Wang had spoken to Emma after Penny’s appointment, as she always did, but she’d gone on longer than usual. Emma tried to pay attention while the doctor talked, but she kept checking the time. She appreciated Dr. Wang keeping her in the loop, showing her the exercises Penny was supposed to be doing that week, but all she could think was that it was close to three, and the happy-hour crowd would be arriving soon.
She dropped Penny off in front of the house on Mount Misery.
“Okay if I sleep at Robin’s tonight?” Penny said.
Distracted, in a rush, Emma said fine.
By the time she was back behind the desk, the reservation book was covered with Post-it note messages for reservations, and the lobby was full of people waiting for spots to open up at the bar. Chris had left her a list of bottles of wine to pull from the cellar, one with the note that saidASAP.
“The American Hotel, Emma speaking,” she said, wincing at how out of breath she sounded.
“Emma, it’s Jack. Come see me in the office, please.”
She knew the appointment had taken too long.
As she walked to the back of the first floor, her mind raced with apologies. When she sat down across from Jack, she was shaking.
“I’m sorry I took such a long break. I had to get Penny to her therapy appointment, which usually falls on my day off, but the schedule is different because you asked me to take those days off last week, so it was just not great timing. I’ll take care of everything that needs to be done.”
Jack squeezed the brim of his Delta Marine baseball hat with both hands and sighed deeply. His facial expression said,This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you.And that’s when she knew she was in big trouble.
“I didn’t call you in here because you left the desk this afternoon. I’m more troubled by complaints that you got into a loud personal argument in the lobby early this morning.”
The conversation with Mark? Had it been that noisy? She’d checked around, and the lobby had been empty. Had people heard them from their rooms? The bar?
“Oh, I’m sorry, Jack. My ex-husband showed up. I tried to get him to leave as quickly as possible.”
Jack shook his head. “This is a place where people come to relax. To be taken care of and to feel a sense of privacy. I work very hard to cultivate and maintain that in every detail of this hotel. Emma, I care about you as a person, but my priority has to be my business. You’re missing days at work, you’re late for work, and, as I told you before, I don’t want drama around here. And since you seem incapable of keeping the drama away, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”
“You mean for the day?”
