“This day has been a total miss so far. We came here to offer a deal to Elissa that you said anyone would take. We run into Colleen, who has to be the town lawyer pitbull, and now I’ve been conned by two cute little girls who first pushed me to help them jump rope and then got money from me. This is not what you said we were doing. Tell me when this gets better,” Liam asked.
“Well, it’s not. We have to have a conversation that neither one of us will like,” Travers said grimly.
“What now?”
“I just got a tip-off that the board is seriously looking into giving you a co-chair. They think you are too radical. They plan on approaching your grandmother with a person who they will pitch as being a good figure for you to follow.”
“You’re sure?”
“The Executive Assistant and I go back,” Travers said, clearing his throat. “We’ve got to change some plans.”
“How much of a change and what is it that they are actually complaining about.”
“Liam, they say you are making too many changes in the staff, and what the equipment is the hotels are upgrading too fast.”
“I make sure everyone keeps their job! I put everyone in training and ask them where else they would like to work if the new position doesn’t suit them. We have a 3% turnover rate in the hotel.”
“I know you see these are good things, and they are, but they are coming too soon. The person they are looking at is someone they know. Someone who has a ten-year plan on how to modernize the hotel as opposed to your eighteen-month plan.”
“Fine, they’re nervous. I get that. That’s what the marriage to Elissa will do. I’ll have the paper, and they’ll see me working in the hotel, and I’ll be a stable person done.”
Travers gave him a side-eye look.
“Why are you looking at me like that? I’m giving you what you want.”
“No, Liam, you’re not. I don’t think you can fake your way out of this one.”
“Fake my way? I’m here!” Liam pushed away from the car and ran his hand through his hair in frustration.
“You’re here, but I think you’re going to have to stay here until the board meeting.”
Liam stopped and looked at Travers for a moment.
“Yes?” Travers asked.
“I’m waiting for the rest of the joke,” Liam said.
“It’s no joke. Instead of doing this thing on paper, you may have to put some face time and real effort to make this look real.”
Liam thought about the hotel and how he loved it. He thought about how every day meeting new people and learning new ways to make people have an enjoyable experience was a passion for him and a gift from his grandfather. His grandmother’s good intentions were placing him in a light that he might lose all of that. “Travers, tell me what to do. I’ll get married, but I still have the hotels to run and plans to do?”
Travers nodded. “You need to stay married and look engaged until the board meeting. If you do it here in town, your grandmother will get word of it. It seems like everyone knows everyone’s business here,” he muttered.
“How do you think to get Elissa to agree to this?”
Travers smiled. “You have money. You have a lot of money, so I’ll get her to agree. We know she wants to keep her business, so money is already on the table.”
“Everybody doesn’t want money Travers, and I’d think Colleen would want to clean house, not Elissa. You may not even get to Elissa if you can’t be nice to Colleen. I’m telling you Colleen is her protector for life.”
Travers gave Liam a smile that said used right before sealing a deal. “Don’t you worry about her lawyer friend I can handle her.”
Liam laughed. “Many a man had said that while we were in college. I’m surprised you didn’t meet her then.”
“I had no time in college anyway. You know I had to pull two jobs and do classes.”
Liam nodded. “I remember waking you up in classes the next day as well.”
Travers smiled. “If I can survive that, then surviving Colleen and Elissa will be a cinch. Besides mark my words, you’ll find that everyone has a price.”
Liam wasn’t sure. Elissa wanted the business, but she’d never agree to fake being with him for money; that wasn’t the Elissa that he remembered. It wasn’t the Elissa he had wanted to spend forever with.
* * *
“This is a better place,” Travers exclaimed. They had moved to the park on the side of the church. You could see people going in and out of the building. Elissa had to admit she felt a lot calmer being here. Looking at Travers, that sentiment was not shared.
“What’s wrong, city, boy? Been so long since you’ve been on church grounds, not sure if you’re going to go up in flames?” Colleen teased. Travers shook his head in disbelief but found a place where everyone could sit down.
Elissa let the words flow over her as she absorbed the afternoon sunlight. This is what she needed. She needed to be home and relax. The grounds of the church were always well manicured and had the grass smell that never went away because they cut the grass every day. These were the grounds that her Aunt Becky had brought her to as a child and told her she could do anything.
Elissa could stay like this forever, but she knew she had to come back and try to figure out this whole mess with Liam. As she came back and opened her eyes, it finally dawned on her the words that she was hearing.
“You can't be serious?“ Elissa said.
“I realized that this may be an inconvenience for you, and we are willing to look at that,” Travers said.
“An inconvenience? I can't believe you even suggested that on church grounds!” Elissa said.
As if looking for some help, Travers turned and looked at Colleen.
“Certainly, you can see how this isn't as bad as it seems?” Travers implored.
Elissa interrupted him. “Not as bad as it seems, are you for real? You want us to pretend to be a real married couple.” Married to Liam, there was just no way. Having to pretend to marry Liam was one thing. If they did anything more than pretending to have a real relationship, that would mean she would have to share her life with Liam.
Again Travers tried to talk directly to Colleen.
“Miss Bowers, certainly you can see some upside in this? Things happen very quickly in the business world. it turns out that the best thing for my client would be a marriage that appears at least should be sincere.”
“Things do happen very fast, Mr. Warner, but it doesn't just happen fast in the business world. You came to Chuseda, and you really don't understand how quickly information travels in a small town. I'm not saying that we will do this, but I do want to hear what the terms are, Colleen said.
Travers smiled and then leaned a little closer toward Colleen.
Elissa placed her hand on Pauline's arm. “You really want to listen to this?”
Colleen smiled. “My love. I want to listen to everything before I make a choice on what I will and won't do and accept.”
“I knew there was something about you that I liked,” Travers said.
“Don't get too happy. I'm just entertaining a thought and nothing more,” Colleen cautioned.