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Kelli took a deep breath.How could Piper act so flippantly? Was this her way of manipulating her?
“Piper, I’m sorry to do this, but I have to let you go.” Kelli pressed her lips together but continued to stare Piper in the eye. She wanted to be respectful in some way, even as she fired this young woman.
Immediately, Piper’s face crumpled. She let out a small laugh, then asked, “Are you joking?”
Kelli bristled. She watched the young woman go through many stages of fear, then acceptance before she collapsed in the chair across from the desk. “Did I do something wrong?” Piper’s voice was so frail, without any of the peppiness she normally offered the hotel guests.
“Do you have your master key? I would like that immediately.” Kelli placed both of her hands on her desk and blinked at Piper, trying not to evoke any emotion, even as her heart shattered in her chest.
Piper’s hand shook as she removed her key from her pocket and placed it on the desk. She looked completely at a loss.
“Please, Kelli. As a friend. Just tell me what I did, so that I won’t do it again at the next place. It’s the least you can do.”
But Kelli had very little information from the officers. More than that, it was difficult for her to imagine Piper stealing anything, not even a packet of chewing gum. Maybe this was the genius of Piper. Maybe she understood she could get away with anything because she was friendly and beautiful and young.
“Please, go to the break room, get your things, and leave as quickly as possible,” Kelli said. “Your payment should be transferred to your account by the end of the month. I wish you luck in your future endeavors.”
Piper gaped at her for a long moment, then stood in a huff and walked out the door, looking like a wounded animal. After the door was closed safely behind her, Kelli placed her face in her hands and allowed herself to cry. She’d forgotten that the officers were watching her on the other side of the door. When they revealed themselves, she tidied herself up and shook their hands, saying, “Thank you for your diligent work. This is my first week as a hotel manager, and I can already tell I’m making about a thousand mistakes per day.”
“It’ll get easier,” Bobby assured her. “Especially now that you have that criminal out of your midst.”
After Bobby and Tristan walked downstairs, already muttering about their plans to arrest Piper officially over the next few days, Kelli rubbed her temples and eventually got up the nerve to text Sandra, the only other person in the hotel who needed to know about Piper.
Sandra arrived a few minutes later, bright and cheery, her cheeks like apples. “I was just in Miss Jennings’ room,” she explained as she sat across from Kelli and crossed her ankles. “That woman just doesn’t know how to have a good time, does she? I want to ask her, ‘Have you seen how beautiful this room is? Have you even bothered to look at it?’” Sandra chuckled adorably.
Kelli struggled to match Sandra’s enthusiasm. It occurred to her, now, that she’d never fired anyone before, and it had felt a bit like punching herself in the face.
“What’s wrong, Kelli?” Sandra’s face transformed. “You look a bit sick.”
“I wanted to let you know first-thing that I’ve had to let Piper go,” Kelli explained.
Sandra’s face now matched Kelli’s stricken feeling. “Are you serious? What happened!”
“The police came to let me know they suspect she’s been involved in criminal activity across the island. They’re preparing to arrest her over the next few days,” she said.
“Piper?” Sandra’s eyes widened with shock. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
Kelli raised her shoulders. “All we can do is press forward as we have been, but without the help of Piper.”
“But you just gave Piper that middle-manager position,” Sandra said softly. “You were just having dinner downstairs with Xander!”
Kelli now felt that the dinner with Xander had been a part of a dream, and she’d awoken to return to the frantic nightmare of her life. “I’ll hire someone to fill Piper’s position soon. In the meantime, it’ll just be you and I keeping this hotel afloat. Remember that this weekend is my cousin’s daughter’s wedding, which will be a doozy. She has over two hundred guests coming, most of whom are staying at the hotel itself. Decorations, cake, food, and so much more will be arriving on a crazy-looking schedule that my sister, the wedding planner, just sent me via email. Maybe I can forward the email to you?”
Sandra set her jaw, her eyes stormy and serious. “Send it my way. I’ll be here as much as you need me, Kelli. I promise you that we will get through this. Together.”
Kelli blinked back tears, telling herself to believe in Sandra’s fortitude. She then reached for Piper’s master key and passed it across the desk to Sandra, who held it, glinting, in her right hand.
“You’ll need this,” Kelli told her. “Like I told Piper earlier today, it opens every single door in the entire hotel. Do not lose it. It’s important that it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.”
“I’ll trust it with my life,” Sandra assured her. “Thank you for this opportunity, Kelli. I won’t let you down.”
ChapterNine
Friday morning, Amanda found herself at the Oak Bluffs harbor in a little white sundress, her eyes to the horizon. The boat that surged toward her carried Richard, Penelope, Jake, Kristen, and Jake and Kristen’s three kids. According to a text from her father, Penelope and Richard had left their child with Penelope’s mother to ensure an easier passage that weekend. “I want this weekend to be all about you, Amanda,” her father had written, which had been nice, she supposed. He got points for that.
Amanda was apprehensive, as she still hadn’t told her father that she wanted Susan to walk her down the aisle instead of him. More than that, though, she was nervous to see her father with Penelope, even though they’d been together “officially” for more than three years at that point. To Amanda, Richard’s affair with Penelope was still the greatest symbol that marriage could ultimately fail. She didn’t like to think about that, especially not this close to her own wedding.
The ferry docked ten minutes after ten. Amanda watched as her proud, confident, forty-something father strode down the ramp with beautiful Penelope beside him. Penelope had lost the baby weight completely and was just as leggy as she’d ever been. Amanda didn’t like to think about how close in age they were.
