“It’s why you were the first call I made,” she said with a smile.
“Well now you went and did it.” The man sniffled. “How does tomorrow sound?”
“Sounds wonderful. I’ll see what I can get from Roche.” She said goodbye and hung up.
She didn’t get as far with the next call, which went directly to an answering service. Still, she left her name and cell number in hopes that Morgan Roche, owner of Roche Accounting Firm, would give her a call back.
Next, she’d called the maintenance company that worked on the ski lifts. They claimed that the last time they’d inspected or maintained the five lifts on the property was almost four years ago.
Raven was completely shocked that her uncle would let the resort fall into such disrepair. After all, if any of the lifts broke during ski season, god forbid, someone could be seriously injured or killed. After scheduling a full maintenance overhaul on all the equipment, she moved on to her next call.
She’d taken her time talking with the owner of the landscape company, All Things Green, and giving him an idea of what she wanted. Jake Green had immediately jumped at the chance of such a big job. They were scheduled to come first thing in the morning to mow, weed, and edge, with basic maintenance scheduled to begin up again the following day. She’d also arranged to meet Jake and his crew first thing in the morning to discuss improvements they could make to the grounds.
After the calls, she logged onto her laptop and scoured a couple of business outfit sites for new uniforms for the bellboys and front office staff. Moments later, her cousin barged into the room.
“So, it’s true.” Liza Brooks hadn’t changed much. Her cousin was still petite, blonde, and perfect, right down to her heeled Gucci leather boots.
“Hi, Liza.” Raven stood up and moved over to air kiss her cousin. She jerked away slightly.
“Daddy tells me you’re kicking us out?” Liza said, crossing her hands over her chest, which sent the massive collection of silver bracelets on both of her arms jingling.
“What?” Raven frowned. “Kicking you out?” She shook her head.
“Oh, don’t tell me you don’t know that we’re all housed on the top floor of the east wing.”
This was news to her. The last she’d heard, the house her aunt and uncle had owned at the time of the fire was still standing.
“Liza, I just got into town last night.” She sat on the edge of her father’s old desk. “I haven’t had time to learn anything, let alone decide what I’m going to do.”
“You aren’t kicking us out?” Liza asked with a slight pout.
Raven realized that she shouldn’t make promises, not when it could be true that her family was taking up an entire floor of the resort. A floor which, if everything went as she planned, she would need the income from.
“Why don’t you sit down, fill me in on what you’ve been doing?” Raven moved to sit behind the desk again and motioned to the chair. “Did you finish school?”
Liza glanced at the door and then shrugged before plopping down in the chair, much like a young child would have.
“No, I went to acting school in Hollywood for a year, but…” She shook her head, sending her blonde locks flying. “It wasn’t for me. They couldn’t teach me anything I didn’t already have the natural talent for or the knowledge.”
Of course, Raven thought to herself. Her cousin always did have a talent for being dramatic, overly so.
“What about Cal?” she asked.
“Oh, he’s around somewhere.” Liza shrugged.
Cal Brooks was a lot like his sister. Completely in love with himself.
“Is he back from school then?” she asked.
Liza waved her hand. “He never went. Not after he got all of those modeling gigs.”
“Oh?” Raven tried to maintain her patience. “Modeling?”
“Sure.” Liza sat forward slightly. “A few local shops, then that gig in LA.” She shrugged. “There’s no doubt that soon he’ll have agents knocking down his door.”
“Right,” Raven nodded, fully understanding now.
Her cousins were totally living off the resort’s money, along with their parents. No wonder they were upset at her. She’d just moved back with the promise to take all of their security away.
Just one look at the place and anyone, including Cade Stone, could see that someone was siphoning the money, if there was any actually coming in, from the business.
“So, are you working?” she asked Liza.
“Working?” Liza balked. “As in”—she motioned with her many ringed fingers— “here?” She laughed.
“Then, what are you doing for money?” Raven asked.
Liza blinked at her, a blank look in her eyes.
“Oh, I have some money saved up,” Liza added dryly.
“Right.” Raven sighed. “And your brother?”
Liza’s eyes grew colder, and Raven realized she’d gotten her answers.
“Well.” Raven stood suddenly, knowing that if she was going to make the rounds to determine what needed to be done, she needed to get at it. Besides, she doubted she would gain any other knowledge from her cousin. “I need to start making my rounds.”
“Rounds?” Liza stood up. “What is it, exactly, that you think you’re going to do around here that Daddy doesn’t already do?”
Raven pasted on a smile. “For one, I’m going to schedule some remodeling. It’s time we brought the resort into this century,” she joked. “Second, I’m going to tighten the belt around here.” She locked eyes with her cousin. “The flow of money seeping out of the accounts will stop.”
“You know,” Liza jumped in, “everyone in town blames you for the fire. You know that, right?”
She’d witness her cousin’s changing moods before and had prepared for them over the past ten years.
“What they or anyone else thinks about me no longer matters.” She felt her gut twist but held her ground.
Walking out of the office with her iPad in hand, she decided to start at the bottom and work her way to the top. She hadn’t expected Liza to follow her around for half of it, complaining and trying to convince her to leave. Two hours later, her cousin Cal found her making notes about purchasing some new equipment in the kitchen.
“So, it’s true.” Her cousin walked over and, to Raven’s surprise, hugged her. “You’re back.”
Smiling, she nodded. Her cousin was even more handsome than she remembered. She knew that he had been hiding the secret of his sexuality from his family, but Raven knew the truth. Still, she kept his secret. It wasn’t hers to give away.
“How are you?” she asked, setting down her iPad and getting a better look at him. “Liza says you’re modeling?”
He shrugged. “A few gigs here and there.”
“That’s great,” she said automatically.
“Liza says you’re taking over this…”—he rolled his eyes— “hot mess.”
“Trying to.” She leaned against the counter. So far, she hadn’t seen a single employee. Anywhere.
“Good. It needs some serious help. Dad’s been absent lately.” He leaned closer and lowered his voice. “Rumors have him and his mistress spending a lot of time together. Which is why Mom drinks.” He sighed and shook his head. “You can find her in the bar upstairs or the one downtown most nights.”