Chapter 2

"Alright, Mr. Aldrich, here is your room key," I say as I hand it over to the older gentleman. "Your room number is on the front, and on the inside is the Wi-Fi password. Checkout is tomorrow at eleven a.m. Do you have any questions?"

"No, I think this is it."

"Great. If you need anything, just call down, and we will get you set up. Would you like someone to help take your bags up to your room?"

He shakes his head. "I got it. Thank you."

"I hope you have a great stay at The Williamson."

The kind gentleman smiles and nods before walking toward the elevator banks.

"You're good," Tristen says.

I look over at my new coworker and smile. "Thanks."

"You have a degree in hospitality, right?"

"I do."

"Did you enjoy it? The classes, I mean. Do you think they are worth it?"

As I straighten up the front desk, I think about her question. "It took me longer than most to finish my degree because of outside commitments, but I loved it. It's too soon to tell if it was worth it, but so far, I'd say yes. Why? Are you thinking about going into hospitality?"

Tristen shrugs as she leans against the counter. "I am. I mean, I kind of fell into this job. I started in the restaurant and then was asked to fill in over here one night. I liked it so much that I told them I would be willing to do it again. With the staffing changes, let's just say they took me up on it."

"Do you like it enough to make a career out of it, though, or are you just passing time?"

"I don't know."

"Well, if I were you, before I sink a bunch of money into school, I would make sure that this is what you want to do for the rest of your life." I cringe. "Sorry, that's the mother in me coming out."

Tristen laughs. "It's all good. So you have a kid?"

I smile as I think about Arianna. "I do, she's four."

"That's amazing."

"It is."

The phone rings, and Tristen picks it up and answers.

A woman walks up to the counter, smiling at me.

"How can I help you?" I ask.

"Excuse me, could you tell me where the nearest pharmacy is?" she asks.

"Of course. If you go out these doors, take a right, and there is one two blocks down."

"Thank you."

I smile. "Of course. Have a great day."

"You too."

Tristen shakes her head as she hangs up. "It's never-ending."

"What is?"

"That was Iris back in the office. We're going to be short-staffed up here again today. One bellboy and us. Oh, and we have a meeting we have to go to in thirty minutes."

I frown. According to the handbook I was given when I started, there are three bellboys and three people working the front desk at all times. While I'm sure it will be fine, it could put us in an awkward position once check-in time comes.

"Both of us?"

Tristen nods.

"Then who's going to watch the front desk if we're already short-staffed?"

Tristen shrugs. "I'm assuming they will send someone up here to handle it while we're busy."

"That's…"

"A shit show?" she says quietly, making me laugh.

"You said it, not me." I bite my lip as I try to decide if I should ask or not.

Tristen must see the question on my face. "Just ask."

"Has this place always been like this?"

Tristen shakes her head. "No. I don't know what happened, but about a year ago, things changed. We used to have a low turnover rate, but then people retired or left for personal reasons. The people they hired to take their places were…" She cringes. "Less than stellar."

I nod. "Got it. Well, hopefully they fix the issue soon."

"You're hired through a temp agency, right? Are you hoping they buy out your contract?"

"It would be nice, but we'll see. It's too soon to tell right now, anyway," I lie.

As much as this would normally be my dream job at another hotel, I can't work here. Not long-term.

"Well, I hope they hire you."

I smile at her. "Thanks."

Tristen continues to talk as we work. She tells me all about how her roommate drives her mad and how she misses her best friend who's going to school out of state.

"Hey, you two can head on back," a woman says as she joins us behind the desk.

"Lexi, have you met Olivia?" Tristen asks.

"I haven't." Lexi looks at me and smiles. "Nice to meet you."

"You too," I murmur.

"Come on." Tristen links her arm through mine and leads us to the back offices.

I can't help but tense up as we step into the conference room I've been in once before. Just being back here makes me feel sick. I squeeze my eyes shut as I try to push back the memories of that horrific day.

He didn't even face me himself and instead sent, as I would later find out, his mother to clean up his mess.

We're better off without him.

While some days I wish I took the money his mother offered, I'm glad I didn't. Arianna and I are doing just fine without him. I'm making it work without his help.

Yeah, but you still wish Arianna had a dad. A little voice whispers in my head.

"Hey, are you okay?" Tristen asks, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I blink and force a smile. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You look pale."

"I'm sure. Let's sit though before this place fills up."

I drag Tristen to the table and sit down as people start to filter in.

I take a deep breath to try to stop the churning in my stomach as everyone talks among themselves. I knew it would be hard working here, but I didn't realize how much.

You need to get over it,I scold myself.

Everyone falls silent as two people walk into the room. I look up and see it's Max, who runs The Williamson, and his assistant, Iris, both of whom I met in passing.

"Thank you everyone for joining us. We're just waiting for two more people to join us," Iris says, smiling to the room. "Oh, and here they are now."

I turn to look toward the door and freeze.

No. No. No. This can't be happening.

He's here.

Mason fucking Williamson is here and staring right at me with a smile on his face, like he didn't break my heart into a million pieces.

* * *

"Come in," Max says after I knock on his office door.

Opening it, I step inside as he looks up. Surprise fills his eyes as he stands. "What are you doing here?"

I raise a brow as my brother comes around his desk. "I thought you told me it was an emergency and you needed my help."

He pulls me in for a hug, and I slap him on the back.

"I do, but you told me you couldn't come right away," he says as he pulls away.

I shrug as we both move to sit. "I lied. Now tell me what's going on."

Max sighs as he rubs his hand down his face. "Last year, we had three people retire and two people who were moving leave. Not a big deal. Melanie and Roger hired new people, and it was supposed to be all normal, only it wasn't. I don't know where they found these people, but they're shit. Never showing up to shifts, and when they do, they won't work, so we've let them go, but while that was happening, employees who have been here longer started acting out and not doing their jobs. That's not even getting into how we're constantly understaffed for each shift. We had to ask a temp agency for help, and while the girl is great, she's only one woman. It's gotten so bad that we took a waitress from the restaurant and had her work the front desk."

"Are you serious?"

How did I miss this?

Max cringes. "That's not even the worst of it."

I pinch the bridge of my nose. "Just tell me."

"I'm pretty sure we need a forensic accountant to come in and do an audit. I'm ninety-nine percent sure Roger and Melanie are stealing from us."

"For fuck's sake, Max, I thought you had this place under control!" I snap.

"I do!" he hisses. "But I'm only one guy, and I don't have eyes in the back of my head. I've been trying to fix it on my own, but I need help."

I hold my hand out. "Show me what you have, and while I look it over, I want you to schedule a staff meeting to happen in thirty minutes."

Wordlessly, Max hands me his tablet, and I start leafing through what he has while he makes the call. The longer I look at all the evidence he's compiled, the angrier I get.

What the hell has been going on?

Numbers aren't lining up, and it's obvious longtime employees aren't doing their jobs despite multiple warnings.

One thing becomes blatantly clear. This won't be a quick trip. No, I'm going to be stuck here in Boston trying to clean this up for the foreseeable future.

"Are you ready?" Max asks as he stands.

I look at my watch and see it's time to head to the meeting.

"Let's get this over with." I sigh as I get up.

Max and I head out of his office and down the hall.

"You know, despite the circumstances, I'm glad to have you home. It's been a while."

"Miss me?" I tease.

Max scoffs. "Like the plague, maybe. Have you been home yet?"

I shake my head. "No, not yet. I figured I'd come here first."

"Do you want to get dinner tonight?"

"Sure."

"If you need, Iris can call and have your place stocked before the end of the day."

"Thanks for the offer, but Alex went ahead and did that for me," I say, mentioning my assistant.

"Hey, Mason," Iris says as she comes into view with Eli.

"Hi, how have you been?" I ask. We both step forward and kiss each other's cheeks while Eli and Max say hello.

"How do you want to do this?" Max asks.

"You two go in first, then Eli and I will follow. Hopefully, catching everyone off guard," I tell him.

Max nods and holds out a hand, silently telling Iris to go in first.

She rolls her eyes but does it anyway.

Eli chuckles quietly. "I keep waiting for them to get together."

"You and me both." I sigh. "What did Iris say?"

Eli sobers. "We're going to be here a while. It seems like we need to clean house."

"And get a forensic accountant," I mutter.

"Goddammit," Eli hisses.

I brush by Eli as I hear Iris talk. "Let's get this over with. I'm going to need a drink when we're done."

"You and me both."

I scan the room as I step inside, and everyone looks our way. My eyes snag on a woman, and I have to do a double take.

Olivia.

I smile as the memories of our night come rushing back. Shit, that was a great night. What was that four, five years ago?

It takes me a moment to register that she doesn't seem happy to see me, and I frown.

What could she possibly be upset about? She left me.

"Stop staring," Eli hisses as he elbows me.

I clear my throat and address the room. "Thank you all for coming. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Mason, the CEO of The Williamson Group."

Eli cuts in and introduces himself and tells them what to expect while we're here. The entire time, Olivia avoids eye contact, meanwhile I can't look away as my mind races.

When did she start working here?

Does she like it?

Does she have a boyfriend?

Does she think about that night like I do every year?

Hell, did she start working here because of me?

When Max tells everyone they are free to go, I move to intercept Olivia to talk to her, only she bolts out of the room like her ass is on fire.

"Why did she look familiar?" Eli asks.

"Who?" I ask, playing dumb.

"The girl who was sitting on the left side of the table, second from the back," Eli says.

"Olivia Knight? She's from the temp agency." Iris frowns. "Do you two know her?"

I clear my throat. "I do. She's an old friend."

Lover, really, but they don't need to know that.

Iris scoffs and crosses her arms over her chest. "You must have parted on bad terms then."

I frown. "Why do you say that?"

"Because no woman runs away from a friend if everything is okay between them," she tells me bluntly.

Max groans as he runs his hands through his hair. "Fix it. Whatever you did, fix it. She's only been here a week, but she's fantastic. Hell, we were just talking about buying out her contract with the agency if all goes well over the next few weeks."

"Don't worry, I'll fix it," I tell them.

Max points at me. "You better."

I nod as I run my hand over my mouth.

I will. I'll fix whatever this is between Olivia and me.

Only, I don't know what it is I need to fix.