Page 7 of Jane's Story
"The food?"What?Hopefully, I hadn’t made Charles feel obligated to entertain me by showing up. Lizzy had some explaining to do. “I don’t want to interrupt your work.”
“No, we definitely needed a photographer.” Charles smiled and opened one of the side doors for me. I stepped into all the glory of the Grand Lakes Hotel. I wasn’t in Austen Heights anymore. Gracious crystal chandeliers, endless marble floors, polished furniture, and fresh-cut flowers graced the lobby. A giant Christmas tree adorned the center. With Thanksgiving still a few weeks away, they dressed the tree for fall with autumnleaf garlands, little white pumpkins, and drizzled it with gold and white lights. Part of me loved it, but this wasn’t my reality.
The extravagance was nothing like the cozy bed and breakfasts in Austen Heights, where the decor consisted of homemade quilts showcased in the guest rooms. Back home, we waved hello to everyone we met, and our fae abilities were no secret. But at this grand hotel, people bustled about without acknowledging each other.
I forced a smile. “Beautiful place.”
“It’s a little over the top, I know.” Charles furrowed his brow at the surrounding excess. “But it’s a useful place to hold our tech conventions. All the investors are happy because they can stay in the hotel and enjoy the city, and there’s plenty of space for collaboration, meetings, and launch presentations. We do this every year. You’ll have to meet some of the team.”
“I’m looking forward to it. It sounds like the conference has been pretty successful so far. Where do you go after this?” Maybe he would say back to Austen Heights.
“Oh, we have a New York office. That’s where I’m usually stationed. I’m the acting CEO, but Darcy owns the company and ultimately makes the call on where I end up. It’s why I had to jet out of Austen Heights so quickly.”His simple response spoke volumes. His future plans had nothing to do with me or Austen Heights. He was all about business.
“So Darcy is behind the scenes, pulling the strings. Makes sense. He’s very powerful.” I offered a polite smile, but I didn’t look him in the eyes. “Well, thank you for helping me get this gig. Hopefully, we’ll get some suitable material your marketing team can use. Do you know who I’m supposed to talk to? I think Armond Moreau?”
Charles paused for a moment. “Yes, Armond. I asked him, and he said the main things we will need photos of are the launch presentations when we demonstrate new products today. There will be a lot of VIP guests as well.”
“Great, I just want to make sure I meet expectations.” The type of photographs needed for this event would test my abilities. The largest events I’d handled in the past were local weddings. But he seemed to think I fit the bill—at least as a temporary replacement. “I saw on the news that your first photographer died. Did you know much about her?”
Now Charles failed to make eye contact. “I’d met her a few times. She was very good at her job, very professional, and so young to have died—mid-thirties,I think. Tragic.”
“She died recently, right? And they suspect murder.” I studied his reaction.
Charles's cheerful demeanor dropped, sorrow spreading over his face. He stepped aside to allow an elderly couple to pass between us. “I have doubts about the murder theory. But, yes. She died on Monday afternoon.”
"I'm so sorry that happened." I didn't pick up on anything aside from sadness from Charles. He wasn't angry nor scared, and his calm returned within a few moments.
He led me to the lounge and offered me a seat. “If you want to relax on a sofa for a moment, I need to make sure Haven Corp has set up the account for your room, and I’ll hunt down Armond for you.”
I watched Charles walk away. He stopped and helped a woman who’d dropped a file, then he allowed a young man in a wheelchair to go ahead of him at the concierge counter. He was too perfect to be real. I shook my head. None of this was what I’d expected when I woke up, and I needed a moment to process. I closed my eyes, took in a slow breath, whispered a quiet prayer for guidance, then decided I'd just need to embrace the situation.
Once I had a moment to orient myself, I pulled my laptop and camera out of my bag to make a plan for whichlenses would work best with the hotel’s lighting. But a stifled sob came from the sofa with its back to the one I sat on.
A planter filled with greenery separated the two sofas. When I pushed aside a few leaves, I found a little girl with curly black hair and freckles, nine or ten, attacking a workbook with an eraser. Frustration and fear emanated from her.
“I hate math,” she muttered. The paper she was using tore under her Hello Kitty eraser. “Oh, no!”
“Hey, do you need some help with that?” I asked. Back in college; helping kids with math was my favorite part of student teaching.
She sniffed again and looked at me, scrunching her nose. “Nobody can help me.”
“What about a math teacher?” I stood and walked around to her side of the sofa. "May I see what you’re working on?”
The little girl shrugged and shoved her workbook at me. “This islong division.”
“Oh, yeah, I remember learning this. It looks scary at first because we move the numbers all over the place, and it's confusing, right? May I?” I picked upher pencil and wrote an example problem in the margin of her assignment.
“My name’s Eva.” She frowned.
“Hi, Eva, I’m Jane. I studied teaching in college, and I know some cool tricks for long division. First, remember to start by rounding your divisor and dividend… right? Then you’re basically creating a new division problem. So if you can round and do simple division, you’re really just repeating that process over and over.”
Eva sniffed. “But I get confused about which number to choose.”
Dozens of other children required my assistance with the same thing. “That’s okay. Your remainder is your secret weapon because it gives you a clue. If it’s bigger than your divisor, you need to try again. But if not, you've got it.”
Eva muttered softly, “...I know how to round...maybe.”
A woman in a tweed suit approached us. She had the same dark curls as Eva. “I’m Jane. Are you okay if I help Eva with her long division?”
