“I knew that old fucker would be behind this. I don’t trust him as far as I can throw him. Hell, less. Why don’t we go down there and find out exactly?” he asked, his voice rising as he got more intense.
“Jordan, chill,” Mason said, and Jordan’s eyes snapped to him. “You said the bar happened to burn down but did anyone ever implicate Danny?”
“As far as I know, no,” I admitted. “Dallas is digging into it further today.”
“So, it really could be a coincidence,” Tyler said.
“Or the first bar gave him an idea for the second,” Matt muttered.
“Either way,” I said, cutting in, “Mason has a point. We don’t know for sure.”
“So, what do we do?” Tyler asked.
“Right now, nothing,” Mason said. “The insurance person is coming today to take pictures so we can file the claim. It should be our focus right now. Let’s start the rebuild, get the bar up and running, and worry about who did it later.”
“I agree,” I said, steepling my fingers in front of me. “This information might be a smoking gun, but it might also be smoke and mirrors. Let’s give Dallas a little more time and take care of ourselves first.”14AmandaWell that was certainly a life lesson I didn’t think I was ever going to have to learn. Don’t walk out into the hotel room where your boss is sleeping in nothing but a towel. It sounded like the beginning of a cheesy movie I certainly didn’t need to envision myself as a part of. Especially considering if that was what was happening, I would have makeup on and be much more alluring.
As it was, I was just rolled up in the hotel towel like a burrito, no makeup, wet hair, and a startled expression. Not the best combination in the world. I’d scurried back into the bathroom and hid behind the closed door like I was running from a serial killer.
What the hell was going on with me? Since when did just being in the same room with him make my brain stop functioning?
I couldn’t deny the reaction he caused in me. The same reaction that made me put on my makeup and get dressed slower than I ever had in my life. It gave me enough time to regain my composure so I could walk back out and look like everything was totally normal.
Not the easiest feat, but I managed it.
Fortunately, I didn’t have to try to maintain that for too long. Within an hour, Tom told me he needed to go. He was meeting with his brothers and the private investigator again. He hesitated like he was going to ask if I wanted to go with him, but I ducked my head down and kept my eyes focused on my laptop.
Finally, he said he would give me a call later, reiterated that I should get anything I wanted from room service and order anything I realized I needed, then left. As soon as the door closed behind him, the muscles on the sides of my neck and my shoulders noticeably relaxed.
I was finally able to really focus and get down to work. When my phone rang several hours later, I was surprised to see how late in the day it had gotten.
“Amanda? This is Ava,” she said when I answered.
“Hey, Ava,” I said. “How are you doing?”
“Doing well. I’m out with Susan, and we wanted to know if you would like to have lunch with us,” she said. “We could swing by the hotel and pick you up.”
“That would be great,” I replied.
“Perfect. We’ll be by in about fifteen minutes.”
She called me when they pulled up in front of the hotel, and I went downstairs to meet them. I slid into the back seat next to Robert. He was sleeping peacefully in his car seat, and I couldn’t help but swoon a little as I stared at him. He was so precious.
“Hi,” Ava said. “Good to see you.”
“You too,” I said. “Thank you for getting me out of there. I’m seriously getting sick of hotel food.”
“Well, I’m glad we could spring you at least for this afternoon. I have a feeling you’ll be in town for a while, so you’ll be getting your fill of that hotel food,” Susan said. “But we will come spirit you away as often as we can.”
I grinned. “I appreciate it.”
“How do you feel about seafood?” Ava asked.
“I love it.”
“Good. We’re bringing you to one of my favorite restaurants. It’s right by the beach, and they have some of the most amazing seafood in the area.”
When she said the restaurant was right on the beach, she wasn’t exaggerating. The back half of the building sat out on the sand, and a deck gave diners an exceptional view of the ocean. It was small, but very popular.