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“Is there chocolate on those crepes too?” Hudson asked as he watched her lift her fork.
“Of course.” She held her fork closer to the camera for a moment. “You can’t have crepes with strawberries and whipped cream and no chocolate.”
He chuckled. “I suppose not.”
Kayleigh smiled back at him, though it wasn’t her usual beaming smile. Still, there was a genuine warmth to it that drew Hudson in.
“Do you like cheesecake?” she asked when she saw what he had for dessert.
“It’s probably one of my favorites,” he said.
At one time, his favorite dessert had been a chocolate cake that his mom used to make. Once she was gone, he hadn’t tasted a chocolate cake as good. Maybe it was the negative emotions associated with the dessert that made him feel that way.
“I like it too,” Kayleigh said. “My favorite is blueberry.”
Hudson picked up the cup of coffee the attendant had brought him and took a sip. Their mundane food conversation was just what Hudson needed after the stress of the past few days. He hoped that maybe it was helping Kayleigh a little, too.
They’d both finished their dessert when he noticed Kayleigh covering her mouth as she yawned. He did some quick math and realized that it was probably nearing her bedtime.
“Do you need to go?” he asked. “You look like you’re ready to fall asleep.”
Kayleigh gave him a small smile. “Yeah. My schedule is such that I’m up early most days.”
“I assumed that from our time in the gym. What time do you usually get up?”
“Five o’clock. It gives me time to work out before I start my day.”
“Are you a morning person? Or just that disciplined?”
Kayleigh shrugged. “I don’t mind getting up early, as long as I’ve gone to bed early enough to get me the eight hours of sleep that I need.”
“I burn the candle at both ends if I’m not careful,” Hudson said. It was something Caleb got after him about a lot.
“Like getting in late tonight and probably not sleeping in tomorrow?”
Hudson laughed. “Yeah. Just like that.”
“What time do you want me at the resort tomorrow to meet about this latest turn of events?”
“I’m not sure,” Hudson said. “Do you think Liz or Stephanie would come in on a Saturday?”
Kayleigh grimaced. “Stephanie, probably. Liz? I don’t know. She gets testy about work interfering with her time off.”
“I’ll be calling them in the morning and requesting their presence at a meeting in the afternoon. That should give Caren time to make it to Serenity.”
“Really? She’ll come? Just like that?”
“Just like that,” Hudson said with a nod. “This is a serious accusation, and Alexander wouldn’t be happy if we just sat on it. Surely Liz would understand that sometimes as a manager at a place that’s open twenty-four/seven, you have to come in on your day off.”
“Maybe you’ll have better luck with her than I have in the past.”
Hudson would have no problem convincing Liz it was in her best interest to come in and meet with him and Caren about the issue. “I’ll text you as soon as I know what time Caren will be here, so we can figure out a time to meet.”
“Thank you for jumping on this so quickly,” Kayleigh said. “I just want to get this dealt with so we can move forward.”
After they said goodnight, Hudson continued to drink his coffee as he stared out the window of the plane at the black sky. He wanted to fire Liz and the woman who’d made the accusations because he hated how this accusation against Wilder had upset Kayleigh.
He wouldn’t do that, though. The woman would have the opportunity to present her accusations to him and Caren so that they could be thoroughly investigated. And if there was merit to them—which Hudson doubted—then they’d deal with Wilder at that point.
