AllFreeNovel
Share Us
No. I’ve had my fill of bullshit excuses from men. I’m going home.
Dropping her room keycard into the box in the foyer, she headed straight to the concierge. “I need a ride to LAX as soon as possible please. Uber. Cab. Whatever. This is urgent.”
She didn’t care how she left the resort, just as long as she was gone. The day which had started out so full of promise had gone downhill at a rapid rate.
Climbing into the back of the cab, she gave one final glance at the hotel entrance. As she did, a flurry of thoughts dropped into her mind. Bryce had slipped back into the US on the quiet and then come out to California. He’d checked into his own resort under a false name. There were rumors of issues at Laguna Beach.
He didn’t care about me, so why should I care about his stupid resort.
He hadn’t trusted her enough to feel he could share his identity. Hadn’t thought her worthy of the truth of who he was.
Vivian angrily brushed away a tear. She was not going to cry over a guy who had clearly decided right from the outset that she meant nothing more to him than a plate of nachos and a night of fun.
When will I ever learn, if a guy seems too good to be true, it’s because he’s full of it.
CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN
The Royal family estate
Armonk, New York
Saturday evening, two days later
“As I said on the phone, you should have told me. What happened to brotherly loyalty?”
Bryce gritted his teeth. He didn’t need this, especially not from Jordan. He was back in New York, suffering through a tense family dinner. These things were normally enjoyable occasions. Rare moments of Royal family togetherness when he was able to make it home to the US. But not tonight.
Jordan, seated on the other side of the brown and gold bespoke tamarind wood table, bristled with fury. Bryce was under no illusion that it was all for show. To get back at their father for having asked him to go out to California.
Bryce wasn’t going to give Jordan the argument he was clearly seeking. He’d done what had been asked of him at Laguna Beach, given the board the full report, then got back on the plane and returned to New York. Jordan could complain about being undermined all he liked.
Edward had made it clear that he considered Bryce’s mission as having been a success. The executives of Royal Resorts now had a clear understanding of the situation in California. A plan to bring the resort back on track was no doubt being formulated. But Bryce didn’t welcome his father’s praise. He had nothing to celebrate.
He’d been ghosted by Vivian.
The meeting with the LA linen contractor had been one of the most deeply embarrassing in his entire career. Standing in the middle of the warehouse, he’d been informed that Austin had cut the original linen order by half. A red faced Bryce had been forced to plea for the rest of the order to be urgently backfilled. Whatever money Austin might have thought he had saved was now gone. The fast-tracked order had come at a premium price.
By the time he finally got back to the resort, Bryce had been aching to see Vivian. To find a moment’s peace in her embrace. He couldn’t share all his troubles with her, but he’d been hoping her smile and tender touch would take the edge off his frustrations.
On the traffic snarled drive back from LA, he’d decided to come clean. To tell Vivian who he really was and give her a full explanation as to his reasons for the subterfuge. The connection he had felt between them was something he’d hoped would allow Vivian to see her way to forgiving him. He didn’t want her to think he was the same as her ex, the one who had charged all that money to her credit card.
And if things had gone according to his hastily put together plan, they would’ve had more time to spend together at the resort. They could have shared more passionate moments in his suite while at the same time nurturing the buds of their deepening relationship. At the end of their stay, he would have flown Vivian home with him on the Royal Resorts jet.
But Vivian hadn’t joined him for dinner. She hadn’t been at the bar. He’d even checked the beach, just in case she had decided to go and watch the sunset. The girl with the bright smile and laugh that went straight to his heart couldn’t be found anywhere.
Then Edward had called. Jordan had been right. People had discovered that Bryce was at Laguna Beach, and the rumors were now spreading online.
With his secret mission effectively over, Bryce had made himself known at reception. He’d introduced himself to Austin Brown, informing him that a new linen order was on its way. He’d been tempted to ask the rattled assistant manager to check the list of guests who were currently staying at the resort, but company protocol held him back. Guest confidentiality was important, and he had to respect that despite his own wants and needs, Vivian was entitled to her privacy. He’d resisted the temptation to look up Vivian Holte on the guest register. Instead, he’d spoken to the head concierge and described her to him.
“I think I recall the young lady in question. She checked out earlier today. Your friend seemed in somewhat of a hurry to make it to the airport,” explained the concierge.
Great, not only had she ghosted him, but she had fled like a bandit in the night. Bryce had been left to deal with the fact that it wasn’t just his ego which had been more than a little bruised by Vivian’s sudden disappearance.
And now Jordan was giving him grief.
“Brotherly loyalty would have been less of a problem, Jordan, if you had come to me and discussed the challenges you faced at Laguna Beach.” He picked up his wine glass and took a sip, hoping that Jordan would take the hint and shut the hell up.
“Could we please change the topic of conversation. This is a family dinner, and I won’t have business discussed at the table,” ground out Edward.
