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Joya was to be credited for bringing in the business. As the resort’s in-house event planner, it had been her idea to partner with a party organizer. She’d negotiated a lucrative contract for at least half a dozen of these parties. The resort was also offering discounted rooms to those who hoped to get lucky.
Emilie was surprised Flamingo Beach had this many singles. She figured the advertisement must have gone out to the neighboring towns. It amazed her how much people were willing to pay for a social function with no guarantee of finding a soul mate. That reminded her it was high time she did something about finding her own Mr. Wonderful—someone with the potential to go somewhere.
As Emilie was about to slip into her office, a dark-skinned man in sunglasses stepped into her path, folding a business card into her palm.
“Hey, I’m Duncan,” he said. “I noticed you the moment you walked into the lobby.”
Emilie was so taken aback she stuttered, “Uh…I beg your pardon.”
“You’re here for the party, right?” He glanced at her ring finger and smiled. “The singles party?”
“Actually I’m not here for the event. I work here.”
“Too bad. Maybe you’ll change your mind and attend.”
“Some other time, perhaps.” Emilie smiled vacantly and attempted to slide by. A noticeably crestfallen Duncan slunk past her.
Duncan seemed pleasant enough but so not her type. The last thing she needed was to have it all over town that she attended a singles party at her work-place. It would surely scream “desperate” and get the tongues wagging even more.
Emilie entered her office and flipped on the light. Zoe was long gone, out of there on the dot of five. But Emilie had forgotten a folder she needed. She’d promised Tom Burke he’d have the room occupancy report on his desk first thing tomorrow and she planned on working at home. Hopefully business would pick up in the next two weeks. If not, it wouldn’t be for her lack of effort. Tom would be pleased with the signed six-month, two-hundred-room contract from Landsdale International but that still wasn’t enough.
Emilie grabbed the folder and left. As she was crossing the employee parking lot her cell phone jingled. She glanced at the screen, smiling as she recognized the number.
“Hey, Chere,” Emilie said, after pressing the receiver to her ear.
“Hey, girl, what’s the deal? I haven’t heard from you lately. You still interested in buying my husband’s condo?”
“Of course I am. I’ve just been crazy busy and haven’t had the time to do much about it. “
“Well, I’ve had an out-of-town offer so huge I’m going to have to talk to Quen about it. I thought maybe you’d want to counter.”
“How much are we talking about?”
Chere named a figure.
Emilie’s stomach plummeted. “Ouch! I can’t come even close to that. You’ll have to start shopping for something else in my price range.”
Just the thought of having to pack up and move made Emilie groan. Plus moving was expensive. She’d have to cough up first month’s rent, last and security. It would be a sizeable chunk and she’d have nothing to show for it afterward. Maybe she should try to rustle up the money for a down payment for a condo from somewhere.
Hardly good timing though, especially since she had no assurance she’d be in Flamingo Beach long-term. Tom’s instructions were clear: the hotel’s occupancy rate needed boosting or she would be out of a job, and therefore unable to pay a mortgage. She had to think about this.
“Emilie, you there?”
“I’m here. Just wondering how I can swing this.”
“Get creative, child. If this doesn’t work out I’ll find you something else. You know I got your back.”
By the time Emilie got to her rented condo in Flamingo Place her head was pounding. She had so much to think about. Quen’s two-bedroom apartment with the view of the bay suited her perfectly. Not often did you find a twelve-hundred-square-foot apartment in a gated community with really nice oak floors, and a fireplace that was seldom used. She used that fireplace to stash candles. The spacious balcony held a table and two lounge chairs where she liked to get sun.
Emilie’s cat, a rust-colored tabby she had rescused from a Dumpster, greeted her as she entered. She squatted down to pet the beast behind the ear.
“Did you have a good day, Big Red?”
The cat’s answering meow indicated she wanted her meal. Emilie kicked off her heels at the front door and went off to feed her. There would be no relaxing until Big Red had her dinner.
She changed her clothing and quickly heated up yesterday’s leftovers. Emilie gobbled her meal and booted up her laptop. For the next two hours she worked on spreadsheets, inputting numbers and deliberately ignoring the ringing phone.
Room occupancy was nowhere close to the winter months but it was slowly improving. By the time next month’s report was due she’d be darn close to meeting that sixty-five percent goal. Maybe she should jump on Joya’s suggestion and market to the travel-industry crowd.
Emilie sent off her report then continued typing as a myriad of ideas popped into her head. By the time she was through she had four pages of notes and had earned herself a glass of wine. Taking the wine and the Flamingo Beach Chronicle with her, she went out to the balcony.
A cool breeze blew off the water and the twinkling lights signified there were boats on the bay. It was a peaceful time of evening and one of the few times she relaxed. For the next hour Emilie read the paper from cover to cover. All of the news centered on the casino and Keith Lightfoot’s plans for a mega entertainment center. Already the Flamingo Beach Spa and Resort was being upstaged by a property that hadn’t yet been built. She had to be proactive.
The residents were doing something. Some had written letters to the editor about the type of clientele that gambling would attract. Others felt that the money and jobs that would be created were well worth the additional traffic. One concerned citizen addressed the rumor that Mayor Rabinowitz was getting kickbacks to make the casino happen. The editor didn’t seem to want to touch that and the citizen was quickly squashed.
Emilie figured she had six months before she would seriously worry. In that time a lot could happen. The Flamingo Beach Spa and Resort was already up and running, and that in and of itself gave her an advantage. It was up to her to make it the “it” place to be.
She made a mental note to meet with Owen Schwartz, the hotel’s general manager, in the next few days. No point in selling rooms if their service wasn’t top notch. They needed to make a concerted effort to get the hotel there, and that might mean training employees or replacing a few. She needed his buy in for that.
Continuing to flip through pages, Emilie found the “Dear Jenna” column and settled in. She was prepared to read all about the latest romances that had been derailed. Flamingo Beach was heartbreak hotel.
The telephone rang inside as it had been doing off and on since she got home. It was close to her bedtime and she was tempted to ignore it, but what if it was the hotel?
“Yes,” she said, somewhat impatiently.
“Miss Woodward, you need to get over here. Now.”
“Who is this?”
“Melody at the front desk. Mr. Schwartz asked me to call you again. We’ve been trying both of your phones for half an hour.”
“What’s the problem?”
A moment of hesitation as the woman debated. “Ma’am, the police are here and Mr. Schwartz wants all management to get over here on the double.”
“I’m on my way.”
In a New Jersey minute she was back in the clothing she’d hastily discarded. Driving like a person possessed, she made it to the hotel in record time. A huge crowd was gathered out front and all four of the town’s police cars had their sirens going. The WARP van was parked down the street, which meant reporters were there. Cameramen from the local television station had zoomed into action.
Realizing it would be an impossible feat to walk into the lobby, Emilie opted for the employee entrance instead. Inside, she was greeted by total chaos. Guests from the singles party milled around and people lay facedown on the floor being handcuffed.
The general manager, Owen Schwartz, was barking orders at security guards who’d been called in for backup. On the fringe of all the activity were the management types she worked with. Judging by their outfits they’d all been at home relaxing before the call came in.
Emilie, spotting a visibly distressed Joya, made her way over to her friend’s side.
“This is a disaster. What the hell happened here?”
Joya wheezed out an exasperated sigh. “I wish I could tell you. Everything seemed to be going well until a woman said she felt woozy and accused one of the men of slipping something into her drink. There was a huge argument and others got involved.”
“Did he really put something in her drink?”
“Who knows, but it set off a chain reaction. Several women claimed they were dizzy and nauseous. And they all claimed to have had only one drink. There was a lot of finger-pointing and name-calling.”
“I bet. How did things get to the point that the police became involved?”
“In the midst of all the screaming a man came to the front desk claiming there were people doing drugs in the mens’ room. Melody from the front desk called her boss at home, who insisted she call the police. By the time Greg and Lionel got here with backup, the drug users panicked and were trying to flush the evidence down the toilet. They were caught climbing out the windows.”
“Must have been some scene,” Emilie said. She looked over at the two policemen who were handcuffing several empty-eyed guests. Joya had introduced her to Greg Santana and his partner, Lionel. They were two very visible members of the small Flamingo Beach police force.
“Guests have started asking for their money back. What should we do?” Joya asked. “Chris, the party organizer, thinks we might both get sued,” she added.
Emilie hadn’t thought of that. The resort didn’t need that kind of press, especially now that a casino that provided guests with another option was being built in town.
“Let me see what Owen wants to do,” she said, heading over to the area where several colleagues were standing around openly gaping at the scene.
Owen Schwartz, spotting Emilie, met her halfway.
“It’s about time you showed up,” he chastised, as if she’d been in some way remiss or lacking in her duties.
Emilie was so surprised by the rebuke that she said nothing for a while, but then, conscious of her colleagues listening, she felt the need to defend herself.
“I got here as soon as I was notified, Owen,” she said, hoping that her irritation didn’t show. “The police seem to have everything well in hand. Is there something specific you’d like me to do or take care of?”
“Yes. I’d like you to work with the guest relations manager and get our guests calmed down. We need to be in control. Put your heads together and come up with some way to appease these people. I’d like to minimize the number of people wanting to check out.”
His gaze drifted to where a line was beginning to form at the front desk. The resort’s harried personnel were doing their best to pacify people and answer the questions being screamed at them.
“Who’s handling the media?” Emilie had the presence of mind to ask.
“Public relations. I want this lobby cleared immediately so we can get back to business as usual. Whose idea was it to have this singles bash, anyway?” Owen looked at her expectantly as if expecting her to fess up. Emilie refused to take the bait. Instead, she decided to take charge of the situation.
“I’ll go and help the folks at the front desk,” Emilie answered, retreating as soon as she decently could. She’d never been a fan of Owen Schwartz. She didn’t care for the way he did business.
For the next couple of hours Emilie worked with the front desk agents and other managers to allay the guests’ fears. And despite offers of free dinners and even a complimentary extra night, several people decided to check out. The lobby, meanwhile, was slowly being cleared. The cops were now leading away the drug dealers and buyers.
As more and more people exited, it became clear that the lobby was trashed. Cleaners were called in on overtime. The few that answered their phones were doing their best to pick up trash and mop the marble floors that were streaked interesting and colorful shades. But it was hard to mask the noxious odor of stale beer, cleansers and fragrances that lingered in the air.
“You look like you need to sit down,” a familiar male voice said when Emilie thought she would just about die from exhaustion.
She looked up to see Rowan regarding her with a look of both curiosity and sympathy. She wondered where he had come from. He couldn’t possibly have been at the singles event?
“I look that bad, huh?”
“You don’t look good. Why is the director of leisure sales working the front desk, anyway?”
“In crises management pitches in wherever they can. Were you here the entire time? Did you witness the nightmare?”
“I had a meeting in the Travelers Palm Room. It got interrupted when your singles party turned into a zoo,” he said.
“My singles party?” She raised an eyebrow.
“All right, the singles party your company hosted.”
Emilie was suddenly conscious of the surrounding employees regarding them with keen interest. Since the line at the desk was almost nonexistent now, there wasn’t much more she could do. She stepped out from behind the barrier and took Rowan by the arm, leading him to a more remote area.
“What happened to the other people attending your meeting?” she asked.
He laughed. “Are you kidding? They hightailed it out of here. No one with a smidgeon of common sense sticks around when drugs are involved, except for my man Derek, who was worried about his wife.”
“You stayed, too. Why?”
Those blue eyes regarded her carefully. “Because I was worried about you. I thought you might be working and could use my help so I pitched in and helped with crowd control.”
“That was nice of you.”
Rowan bowed from the waist, sweeping out his hand. “At your service, ma’am. Always at your service.”
Emilie wasn’t buying it. She doubted Rowan had stayed on because of her. There had to be an ulterior motive here. No one was that nice.
Derek Morse came hurrying toward them, an arm around his wife.
“What a mess this turned out to be,” he said, as a tearful Joya nodded her head in agreement.
When Joya was able to pull herself together she added, “So much for making a profit on this bash. You probably paid out a bundle in compensation.”
“We offered credits on future stays, complimentary drinks, meals, that kind of thing,” Emilie assured her.
“I was so proud of myself for snagging a contract for six singles parties. Owen’s probably not going to want any more of these parties on the premises now. Who would have guessed they would attract riffraff?” Joya blew her nose in the tissue her husband handed her.
“You’re beating yourself up unnecessarily,” Emilie said, giving her a hug. “The Knight Corporation would be hard-pressed to turn up its nose at a half-a-million-dollar contract. I doubt they would want to refund the sizeable deposit. Next time your party planner is going to be asked to pay for extra security and there’ll be a sizeable damage deposit requested.”
“There’s another positive,” Rowan chimed in. “The Flamingo Beach Spa and Resort will be the talk of the town tomorrow. You will have made every newspaper. You couldn’t buy yourself that publicity.”
Emilie shot him a disgusted look. “Who wants publicity of that kind? People were dealing drugs on the premises. Look at the condition of this lobby.” Her eyebrows shot to her hairline as she spotted Keith Lightfoot. “What’s he doing here?”
“He was part of my meeting,” Rowan explained. “When all hell broke loose he ended our conversation abruptly. Let me find out what’s going on.” Rowan loped off.
It would figure Keith Lightfoot had been a witness to this whole debacle. She wondered if he was spying on her or had even set up the whole thing. It seemed ironic that of all places to have a meeting he would choose her hotel. But maybe that was Rowan’s doing.
On the other hand, she couldn’t exactly ban Keith from coming on the premises. In some ways she was grateful to him. He had just committed to housing his workmen here for the next six months. If you counted meals and accommodations he was shelling out a small fortune. Money the resort desperately needed.
Still, it made Emilie wonder about the coincidence. Since the hotel had been built there hadn’t been one drug problem. It made her think that maybe the townsfolk were right. Talk of a casino was already attracting the worst human elements.
Were Keith Lightfoot and the Seminoles behind this? He wasn’t exactly the enemy but neither was he a friend. And what about Rowan? Whose side was he on…?
Chapter 5
A million thoughts flittered through her head as Emilie paced the lobby of 411 Flamingo Place. On one hand she was looking forward to seeing Rowan again, and on the other she had feelings of trepidation. He’d called last evening to remind her about the jam session. It was a popular event and parking was usually a nightmare, so they’d agreed to leave the cars behind and walk from her place to the beach.
