I just stare at him.
“Have you heard of TravelXpress?” He looks stressed.
“Sure, it’s like a booking website. They charge a fee though, so I don’t use them.”
“They charge a fee, Fletcher, because they are the biggest online booking agent in the world. And they visit and review every hotel, every flight, every car rental company they put up for special promotions. Cole has managed to get the Landslide up for a review, and they are coming tonight. A five-star rating from TravelXpress would be a very big deal.”
“So now Tiffy needs me.” Bitch.
“They’re here to see the show too. It’s the headline act, so if they rate you five stars, it could be a boon to your… career.”
I laugh at his hesitation to call what I do a career. “Can you be any more condescending?”
Claudio stares at me for a minute and then lets out a deep sigh and turns away. “There’s more, Fletcher. And I shouldn’t tell you this, but you need to understand. Mr. Preston is leaving Tiffy this hotel. It’s all she’s going to get in the will.”
“Will?”
“He’s dying, Fletch. He’s got an inoperable brain tumor and was given six months to live. And that was five months ago. He’s deteriorating fast and he’s made some… unusual decisions about his money in the past six months. For one, Tiffy will get this hotel and nothing else. Not even her trust fund. She will be prohibited from selling the hotel for ten years. If she can make it work, she gets the trust fund once it matures. If she sells it, or it goes bankrupt, she loses everything.”
“What kind of asshole does that to his kid? Jesus Christ.”
“I know what you’re thinking,” Claudio says, shaking his head. “But you’re wrong. I’ve known Mr. Preston most of my life. And I know why he’s doing this. He talked it over with me before that brain tumor was ever diagnosed. So it’s not some whim from an eccentric dying man. It’s got solid logic behind it.”
“So Tiffy wants me to save her hotel so she can cash in on the trust fund money ten years from now? Fuck that.”
“Tiffy doesn’t know, Fletcher. She has no idea he’s made these changes to the will. He sent her here to take things over and learn the ropes before he dies.”
“You just said she sent you down here to beg me to stay.”
“She did, but only so when her father gets here, he won’t be disappointed in her. She wants the hotel to get a good rating, but not for the reason you think.”
“Ah, I see. She wants some bonus money, I get it.”
Claudio grunts. “Wow. You really are an asshole.”
“I just call it like I see it.”
“She doesn’t know he’s dying, Fletcher. She doesn’t know the will has been changed. She doesn’t know anything. All she knows is that the hotel will be rated this weekend and she wants to make him happy. She knows he’s sick, he had a small stroke and a heart attack last year and some other minor things. But he’s been lying to her. He says it’s stress. That his heart is weakening. Things like that. They worry people, but they don’t make them break down and be sad. And when she finds out he could die any moment, she will break down. Tiffy is not Mr. Preston’s biological daughter. Her mother, Tessa, met him at one of the Preston Resorts in New York City where she was a waitress. Tiffy was four and they were living in a hotel fifty blocks away, so her mother would bring her to work and hide her with the maids. The hotel manager found out when Tiffy took some toys from a room while she was waiting for her mother to finish work. Tessa was about to be fired when Mr. Preston stepped in and saved her job. They became friends. He adored Tiffy. Treated her like a daughter. When they married three years later Mr. Preston decided to adopt her. He’s been a good father, Fletcher. Her mother died a while back, and Randall never wavered in his love and support of Tiffy.”
“Then why cut her out of the will, Claudio? It’s fucked up.”
“It can’t be helped. Mr. Preston was a lot older than Tessa when they married. In fact, he’d been married three times before. He’d resigned himself to the fact that he’d have no children, he’d never remarry, and he pledged his entire estate to a multitude of charity funds. They’re counting on him to deliver. And he’d never go back on a pledge.”
“So Tiffy is left with nothing.”
“Nothing but this hotel. And she doesn’t know it yet, but she’s worked for him since junior high school and he’s been investing her paychecks this whole time. It was enough to purchase the Landslide a few months ago. He’s trying his best to set her up for success.”
I rub a hand down my face as I take all this in. “And now he’s dying?”
Claudio nods. His face is very sad.
“And Tiffy doesn’t know?”
“No. Nothing. Not even that she owns this hotel. Not the part about losing her inheritance. None of it.”
God. Life is fucked up.
“And I know you two are in some kind of argument, but Fletcher, she needs this to go well. Not for the hotel, don’t think that’s why I’m here begging. She needs to please her father. All she wants in this world is to make him proud. And if you leave, the show will fail, the hotel will get a subpar rating, and she will feel like she’s failed him. She’s a sweet girl, Fletch. You have to see that.”
“She is,” I agree. “I think she’s genuine. And nice. But she doesn’t believe in me, Claudio. She thinks I’m scum. So why should I care if she gets her wish? Why the hell does her happy ending have to depend on me when all she sees when she looks at me is a conman?”
“I understand,” Claudio says. “I do. But… just give it some thought. Just take a few hours to think things over. Don’t pack yet. Please.”
I look at him and see a true friend. Tiffy is lucky to have him on her side. He loves her. He just wants to protect her from the reality that will come crashing down soon enough. He wants to give her one more win before that happens. “I’ll think about it.”
“Thank you,” he says, backing up towards the door. “Thank you.” And then he turns and leaves.
I sit down on the cold wooden bench alongside my locker and put my head in my hands.
Nothing is ever what it seems.
Katie, the girl I put under contract. She’s perfect on the outside, but so damaged on the inside, she paid me money to fix her.
Tiffy, rich beyond belief. Well-educated and polite. A daddy’s girl from top to bottom. And her heart is about to be broken in teeny-tiny pieces. I can see that coming. I can tell she loves her father from the few times she’s mentioned him in conversation. She does care what he thinks. His opinion of her is the one thing that defines her. Just like the opinion of that asshole who hurt Katie is the one thing that defines her.
I can see why Tiffy wants Cole. And not because he’s rich and would take care of her. Especially if she has no idea her inheritance was never hers. I think she likes Cole because he’s dependable. A mountain that stands tall and strong in a valley filled with storms. She needs to feel safe. And even though Randall Preston has provided her with that since she was a small child, there is still that feeling deep down inside her that knows.
It can all be taken away in an instant.
I slam my locker closed and walk out. I walk past all the rich assholes who feel the need to be perfect so strongly that they work out while on vacation, and then make my way up the stairs to the lobby.
I spy Tiffy talking to the people at the front desk. She’s dressed much like she was yesterday. Cream slacks instead of tan. The shoes are high and fancy, but they are a light peach color, like her flowing blouse.
Everything about her screams perfect.
But she doesn’t feel perfect. Even I see that.
She’s afraid. And she’s right to be afraid.
She spots me looking at her and opens her mouth, like she might call out for me. Ask me to help her with this show tonight. Ask me to stay by her side.
But then she presses her lips together, straightens her posture, and turns back to the front desk people.
I turn away too and walk towards the casino. You can get to the beach from the basement, or take the front stairs from the lobby. But I don’t want to walk past Tiffy, so I weave my way through the slot machines and tables until I get to the shops and take the back entrance.