She nodded. “I’m not prepared to answer them tonight. I’m tired. It’s been a long week.”
He nodded, seeing the weariness behind her eyes.
“I’ll walk you out.” He stopped her from turning around. “I hope that you understand that I’m not one of the people who will block you from your goals. The inspection tomorrow will be fair and just. I’m good at my job.”
She smiled up at him. “After you rushed into my office, thinking you were rescuing me from my uncle, I never doubted it.”
“I’ll see you in the morning then,” he said after they walked out front and stood by her car.
“Yes,” she said then bent down and gave Blue some attention. “Does he always go to work with you?”
“He does when he’s welcomed. Tomorrow he’ll stay home or with the guys at the firehouse since your aunt has requested he stay outside,” he answered.
“My aunt is no longer in charge.” She looked up at him. Then she turned back to Blue. “You’re welcome anytime you want.” She leaned in and placed a kiss on his dog’s nose. For a moment, a wave of jealousy for the attention flooded him. Then she was standing and reaching for her door handle. “Thanks again for the dinner.”
“Any time,” he said, holding her car door open for her. “I’m sure my gran will be stopping by your place soon to see all the changes you’ve made up there.”
She smiled as she climbed behind the wheel. “She mentioned stopping by later this week.”
He chuckled. “Night.”
“Good night,” she said before he shut the door.
He watched her taillights disappear down his drive, then looked down at Blue.
“Well? What do you think?” he asked.
Blue sat down and glanced towards the dark driveway and let out a happy bark.
“Yeah,” he responded with a sigh. “She’s not what I thought she would be either.” His dog barked again and then groaned. “I like her too,” he said, then he turned back to head inside.
As the taillights disappeared and the man and dog disappeared into the house, the red ambers of a cigarette were flung into the lush green grass. The monster screamed when the ambers were snubbed out easily, the moisture giving life to the surrounding foliage.
Soon. It could feel the power building. The demand for blood. The desire for it. Soon.
Chapter Seven
Fire takes no holiday
There were a few things that Raven was growing to hate. Her aunt and uncle were the top two items on that list.
Every turn she took, every decision she made, they were there undoing it or criticizing her. She was pretty sure they both had spies sneaking around the resort, watching and waiting to tattle on her.
She’d had more arguments with her uncle in the last week than she could ever remember having with her own parents.
It had continued even after she’d assured them that she wasn’t going to turn them completely out, just as long as they continued to work around the resort. After all, she wasn’t a complete villain.
She had, however, arranged for them to move into some of the lower rooms, but she hadn’t worked up the courage to tell them about it yet.
She figured that after the lower rooms were updated, she’d convince them to move down a few floors since their rooms would need to be updated as well.
In the last week, she’d only had time to inspect about a tenth of the property herself. After walking through several rooms, she was convinced David Green understood what she wanted and was planning on leaving it up to him and his men to maintain the quality of the vision she had for each room.
When she got off the elevator and walked into the lobby the next morning, it was to the sounds of construction work. Saws buzzed and nail gun shots echoed in the three-story rotunda. To her, it was a wonderful sound that signaled progress.
She was excited to see the new wood slat celling for the bar area being installed. The workers had torn out the back wall the first day on the job. She’d been surprised at how quickly they’d gotten to work.
Here it was, four days later and so much had already been done. David had assured her that by the end of the following month, the bar, dining, and lobby areas would be completed, as long as all the new furniture she’d ordered arrived on time.
Then part of David’s crew could move over to the larger ski resort area, where resort guests gathered their gear and rentals for the slopes, as well as the other public seasonal areas, such as the gift shops, a cafeteria, and the changing rooms. David assured her that the carpet replacement and painting in those areas could easily be done within days.
She hadn’t wanted to go with square tile carpeting, but David had shown her a few images that she’d been impressed with, so she’d ordered the same style and hoped for the best. She figured if she didn’t like it, she could replace it in a few years. After all, the high traffic areas required constant maintenance. The current carpet had been there when she’d last seen the place and there were holes and rough spots everywhere.
Once they finished on the main public areas, David and his crew would start the more extensive job of upgrading the private rooms.
The moment she stepped into her office, she held in a groan upon seeing her uncle sitting behind the desk.
“Morning.” She made a point to set her things down and hint that her uncle was in her way.
Thankfully, she’d transferred all of the financial data from the desktop computer to her laptop. Joseph had set up some online accounting software and was in the process of converting all the old data to the new system, a system her aunt and uncle did not have access to. Neither did the old accountant, Morgan Roche.
Raven had yet to meet the woman, since apparently, she’d been in Paris all last week.
“Is there something I can help you with?” she finally asked when her uncle didn’t move.
“I’m just going over the figures.” He motioned to the screen. “I can’t seem to find—”
“They aren’t there. I’m no longer using that software.”
“What?” He jerked around and looked up at her. “Morgan’s going to be here any moment to go over everything.”
She locked her purse in the bottom drawer of the desk and thought about having David change the lock on the office as well. After all, she’d informed both her uncle and her aunt that this was now her space. She’d given them smaller joint offices down the hallway next to Rachelle’s and Eddie’s offices. The larger office that had been her father’s belonged to the owner. Not only because she wanted it, but because it had been her father’s, and she had so many memories of spending time in there with her parents.
“I have left many messages for Morgan Roche informing her that her services are no longer needed. I’ve hired Joseph Ramsey back. He’s taking care of everything now. You no longer need to worry about that part of the business anyway.”
“What?” Her uncle stood up, and she realized just how much he towered over her.
Her father had been a tall man, and she had always enjoyed being close to him. Colin, however, used his height as a tool to intimidate her. Raven wasn’t going to back down. If she did, he would continue to push her even further and further.