“Oh, my gosh girl! Where the heck have you been?” She squeals before hugging me again. ”And pregnant! Is it a boy or a girl? Oh, my-Lanta! Auggie will have a playmate!” She peppers me with words faster than I can respond, and I laugh merrily, waiting for her to catch her breath.
“Yes! I'm back. X and I are working things out. I AM pregnant. Obviously! We find out today if it's a boy or a girl! And why are you delivering room service before seven in the morning? Did you change jobs?” Ellie has worked in the housekeeping department as long as I have lived here, so seeing her delivering food in a waitress uniform is a surprise.
“I got hired as a waitress, and Lawrence asked if I would do a few room service deliveries before I headed home.”
She shrugs like it’s no big deal, but I can see from the dark smudges under her eyes that she is tired. She’s probably been here all night, and Lawrence has definitely been taking advantage of her willingness to work hard. He’s the manager of the hotel’s main restaurant, he was my boss too, when I worked here. He's an asshat of epic proportions and never would leave Ellie alone when she didn’t work for him. I'm sure that working for him is awful for her, and I'm equally as sure that he's asking her to do room service on top of her waitressing duties was more of an order than a request.
It’s no secret that Ellie needs the money to support her disabled sister and her nephew, Augustus. Most people don't even realize that Auggie is her nephew. Everyone thinks that he is her son. I'm going to talk to Xavier later and find out if there are any better-paying positions available that she can apply for.
“Are you only working the restaurant on your days off? I ask, unsurprised when she shakes her head no.
“I've ended up doing quite a few double shifts. Sometimes split shifts.” She shrugs. While we have been chatting, she has been efficiently setting up breakfast on the dining room table. As she stacks the last empty tray on her cart, she turns back to me and says, “Speaking of doubles. I need to get downstairs with this,” she motions to the cart. “So, I can finally go home.”
We promise to get together for lunch later in the week, and with one last hug and a promise from me to text later about the baby, she hurries to the door and waves as she exits.
Moments later, Faye and Travis let themselves into the apartment. It’s perfect timing really, as X just slipped into the dining room and is helping himself to a strip of crispy bacon off one of the platters.
Faye obviously had a rougher time of things yesterday than I did. Her face is bruised and swollen, and I can see finger marks banding her pale throat. Her arm is in a sling. I gasp out loud at the sight of her, I can’t help myself. Hurrying to her side, tears burning my eyes, I pull her into a tight hug then lead her into the dining room. Travis stalks behind us, a quick glance over my shoulder, showing that he hasn’t taken his eyes off of her.
“X, this is my friend Faye.” I watch as his eyes roam over her, carefully taking note of every visible mark. His jaw tightens with anger. I know he feels responsible for what happened, even though I have assured him again and again that there is no way he could have known that his uncle would order this done. His eyes are soft as he takes her free hand carefully in his and softly says, “Thank you for watching out for my sunshine while she was away.”
As if I were on a spa vacation or something and not hiding from him…I roll my eyes a little, but not so anyone can see it.
He stoops down and presses a light kiss against her bruised cheek, “I’m sorry you were hurt because of my family.” He releases her and pulls out a chair, carefully helping her to sit. He pulls another out for me as Travis steps forward. They shake hands briefly before taking their own seats beside us.
“About that,” Travis starts, “What have you found out about the man who had Faye?”
“He wanted something,” Faye interjects, her low, rasping voice a result of her bruised voice box, I would assume. “He asked me about a ledger of some sort. He thought Brad had it. Actually, he thought I have been hiding it all this time.” She looks at Xavier, “Does that mean anything to you?”
Xavier nods with a sigh. “The man was Salvatore Romano. My father’s right hand man. Also, his cousin. There was no one in the organization that he trusted more. Not even his own brother, Dominic.” He pauses for a long moment, pondering his next words. “I don’t know the details, but I’m pretty sure that your step-father knew a lot about everything that Sal did for my father. When the hit was sanctioned on Brad, Sal would have been the obvious choice to carry it out. From what I’ve been able to find out, Sal never trusted Brad. He believed that he had been keeping records on the family. He tried to use your mother against Brad, but as you know, she was a depressed, troubled lady. She didn’t know anything or refused to tell what she did know. The best I can figure, Sal was a little obsessed with her, but in the end, his loyalty to my father and his anger at Claire caused him to kill them both that night.”
He shakes his head and I can see he is disgusted with his family. With the entire situation. “I just know that if there is a ledger, we need to find it. Whatever it contains will help me shut Dominic down. To stop what my family has done, forever.”
Having finished reciting what he knew, he settles heavily back into his chair and pours himself a cup of coffee. He looks tired, and I lean toward him, resting my head on his shoulder in silent support. None of this mess is Xavier’s fault, and it kills me that he has to shoulder the burden of it.
He absently strokes my hair as Travis looks at Faye and says, “We have to go back to the house, Sweetpea, and look for the ledger.”
“The house?” she asks, sounding confused.
Travis nods, continuing, “I’m Brad’s only surviving family. The house is mine. I never wanted to sell it, in case you ever went back.”
“Ok,” she says accepting his words, even though the look on her face makes it clear that going back is the last thing that she wants to do. It does make sense though, considering that he didn’t know where she was all that time. I think it’s sweet that he wanted her to have someplace to go back to if she ever had felt the need.
“I have no idea where something like a ledger might be, but maybe we will get lucky and find it.” She shrugs her shoulder and reaches for an empty plate from the pile in the middle of the table. It breaks the pall that had fallen over us after X’s recitation, and for a few minutes, the only sounds are the ones of dishes being filled with breakfast.
After we eat, the guys spend a little time discussing Xavier’s proposal to bring K&S Securities to Las Vegas permanently. I think it’s a great idea… mostly because I don’t have many friends and I’d prefer to keep Faye close by. Selfish? Probably a little, but judging from the smile on her face, it’s an idea that she is happy about too. X has plans to end his family’s legacy of crime. What I didn’t realize, and he explains to us all, is that he hopes that with Travis and Blake’s help, he can find some of the people who have been hurt by his father and Dominic and bring them home.
I didn’t know, that while I was gone, he had reached out to the FBI and has been working with them to try to find a way to stop Dominic. He doesn’t want his family name associated with drugs, illegal firearms, and human trafficking, and is willing to do almost anything to accomplish that end.
Blake lets himself in as we are finishing up breakfast. He’s always been quiet around me, but he seems quieter than usual this morning. I overhear him grumble to Xavier about something that needs to be addressed regarding one of his restaurant managers. I can’t help but hope that he means Lawrence. That guy is such a jerk!
X promises to look into things, and they will touch base about it later in the afternoon. Blake seems satisfied with that promise and makes h
imself a plate while Travis fills him in on Xavier’s proposition. Faye and I work together to clear the table and put the leftovers away. There aren’t many left after feeding three big men.
Before I know it, it’s time for my ultrasound appointment, and I think Xavier is as excited as I am about our baby. We all leave together, Travis taking Faye back to their suite to rest. Blake stalks to the service elevator and pushes the button that I know will take him to the housekeeping department. That’s weird. I can’t help but wonder what that’s all about.
I start to ask what he’s doing, but X pulls me into the penthouse elevator, reminding me that we don’t want to be late for our first appointment. He’s right, so I let it go. For now.