Page 7 of Homecoming Heartbreaker

Crap.

Mack rubbed his hand over his face and told himself to get a grip. He was here to do a job and nothing would be accomplished by his standing in the hallway outside her office.

Time to stop thinking about the past and get to work, Mack told himself and rapped on her door. Her head shot up and those sexy eyebrows lifted in surprise. Then her eyes widened and she stood up abruptly, pushing her chair back so hard that it slammed into the credenza behind her desk. “Is it Jameson? Is he okay?”

“Why wouldn’t he be?” Mack asked as he stepped into her chaotic office.

“You have a weird expression on your face.”

He’d thought he’d perfected his implacable expression but obviously not. Damn. “Jameson is fine, Molly. I checked in on him and he’s asleep. I thought sleep was more important than letting him know I was here, so I didn’t wake him up.”

Molly closed her eyes, her expression one of pure relief. When she opened them again, she looked puzzled. “Okay, good. Then what can I do for you?”

“As you know, the only way we could get Jameson to take time away from the business was if one of his sons came home to oversee the resort while he is recuperating.”

Molly’s curls bounced as she nodded. “But I’m here so you don’t need to bother,” she said. “I’m perfectly capable of running this place on my own. You can concentrate on your own businesses.”

Mack steeled himself to burst her bubble. “Jameson was adamant that there’s too much for you to do and manage on your own.”

Mack saw dismay and hurt flicker in her eyes before they iced over. “He doesn’t trust me.”

Now that was just stupid. Jameson trusted Molly almost as much as he trusted them. “Stop feeling sorry for yourself,” he snapped, “and think.”

He ignored her sharp, annoyed intake of breath. “This place is enormous and Jameson has always had a pack of managers. Now it’s only you. Why is that?” Mack demanded.

He saw her hesitate and watched as she looked for a reason that would placate him. Mack hoped she wouldn’t lie.

Molly held his eyes for a minute but then all that stunning blue slid away. She dropped into her chair and pushed her curls off her forehead and out of her eyes. “I’m not sure what you mean, Mack.”

“If you don’t then you shouldn’t be the manager of this hotel,” Mack stated, keeping his voice cool.

Molly muttered a curse too low for him to hear. Gesturing to the chair, she ordered him to take a seat. “Okay, do you want the truth?”

“I always want the truth, Molly.”

She didn’t even bother to hide her skepticism at that statement. “Sure you do.” Before he could ask her what she meant by that low, bitter statement, she told him about rising costs and falling income. The resort was unfashionable, needed updating, it was cash strapped and the guest occupancy was too low to sustain the business. She also informed him that the room decor was outdated and the food served by the kitchen was good, but not great.

Well, at least she wasn’t looking at Moonlight Ridge through rose-colored glasses.

“Also, I think there’s a perception out there that this place is for people of a certain age, so younger people with money don’t come here,” Molly added.

“And have you any ideas on how to turn that around?” Mack asked. Talking business with her was a lot easier than delving back into the past but he wasn’t a fool; at some point they’d discuss why he left without saying goodbye.

But since she was treating him like he was just another business consultant or colleague, maybe he’d dodged that bullet. He hoped. And prayed.

Molly bent sideways, yanked open a drawer and pulled out a file, which she slid across the desk to him. “Actually, I do. I’ve spent an enormous amount of time working on a proposal to revitalize the resort. Jameson and I were going to dissect our business model, reconsider our marketing strategy and look at ways to cut costs. But then he got sick.”

Mack tapped his finger on the glossy cover of Molly’s file. “I’ll read it as soon as I can and we can have that discussion you were going to have with Jameson.”

Molly sent him a scathing look. “I’ll believe that when it happens.”

Yeah, there was no ignoring her sarcastic tone. “I don’t lie, Molly. If I say I’m going to do something, I do it.”

Molly shoved her chair, stood up and walked over to the window, folding her arms across her chest. “Forgive me if I don’t trust anything you say, Holloway.”

Mack gripped the bridge of his nose. So they were going to go there here and now. Oh, joy.

He’d apologize and then they could put this behind them and, hopefully, move the hell on.

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