AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Hudson’s phone chirped with a text from Kayleigh, which had a file attached. He saved it to the cloud, then opened it on his laptop.
“Do we really want to tell him in the middle of the day?” Hudson asked when they saw that he’d be taking a late lunch break in twenty minutes. “He still has a couple of appointments after that.”
Caren regarded him for a moment, then said, “He needs to know. If it upsets him too much to return to work, then that’s fine. The guests will just have to adjust.”
“I’ll tell Alexander you said that,” Hudson warned as he dialed room service to adjust the order, adding food for Wilder that hopefully he would like.
That made the older woman chuckle. “Be sure you do.”
Once he’d placed the order, he said, “I’ll text Wilder to have him come up here for lunch.”
Hudson had a knot in his stomach as he sent the message to Wilder. It would be a shock to the man, and he hated that he had to be the one to deliver the news.
They talked for a bit, then he started a message to Kayleigh but was interrupted by a knock on the door. Caren told him that she’d get it, so he stayed at the table and finished his message to Kayleigh.
I’ve asked Wilder to come up to my suite during his lunch break, and we’ll be telling him about what’s going on.
Hudson knew that Kayleigh was probably going to worry a lot about Wilder. She already was worried, but he knew it was only going to get worse until things were resolved.
Kayleigh:Thanks for letting me know. I’m going to tell my parents now so that they can pray for him and the situation.
He appreciated that she’d waited until they told Wilder before saying anything to their parents, but he wouldn’t tell her to keep this from them. From what he’d seen, they were a very loyal family, and Wilder would need plenty of support through this.
I’ll tell Wilder to text you when we’re done.
After Kayleigh thanked him, Hudson put his phone down on the table and stared at the food Caren had set out for them. He’d ordered the same thing Caren had for himself and also for Wilder, since the man would be missing his lunch hour to speak with them. The only difference was he’d gotten a full roast beef sandwich for Wilder.
Wilder texted to let him know he’d received the message and was on his way. When his knock came, Hudson got up and went to let him in.
“Hey, man,” Wilder said. “What’s up?”
“Come in.” Hudson jerked his head toward the table. “I ordered some lunch for you. Hope that’s okay.”
“I’m starving, so that’s more than okay.”
Hudson had a feeling that his appetite might vanish once they had the conversation, so he wasn’t sure when they should reveal their reason for asking him to join them. But he didn’t think they’d be able to put it off.
“Wilder, I’d like you to meet Caren Dennis,” Hudson said as they joined her at the table. She got to her feet and held out her hand. “She’s here from headquarters in New York.”
Wilder gave Hudson a curious glance as he shook her hand and said, “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Let’s have a seat,” Hudson said.
Wilder gave him a nod, then he sat down, taking a moment to bow his head.
Caren looked at Hudson and lifted a brow. Perhaps he should have given her a heads-up about Wilder and his family, but he preferred that she see these things for herself.
They talked a bit about the people Wilder had worked with on the ski slopes that day, before Wilder said, “I sure appreciate the food, but I’m curious why you invited me up here.”
Hudson looked at Caren, who nodded as if to give him the responsibility of sharing. Though it would be difficult, it was probably better coming from him.
He’d thought about what he’d say to Wilder. But now that the moment was there, he felt like he didn’t have the words to share with him in a way that didn’t inflict pain. It was unavoidable.
So he decided to just rip the bandage off. “We’ve had one of the employees here at the resort make a report of sexual harassment against you.”
Wilder’s jaw dropped, and the color drained from his face. “Wha— I don’t…” He shook his head. “I don’t understand.”
Caren took over then, giving a little more information about what they’d been told. At no point did Wilder ever seem to recover from his shock.
