Rescue Me(35)

Meredith sighed. That was it right there. How could she explain it so that Katrina would understand? "Have you ever had someone that thought they knew what was the absolute best thing for you? And they were so convinced they were right that they did everything in their power to make sure it happened?"

Katrina raised her eyebrows and shook her head slowly. "I can't say that I have. Is that what he does?"

Meredith nodded. "He has for a very long time. Like this trip here. He wanted to plan every move I made from start to finish. And not with any ill intent, don't get me wrong. He thinks that if he has everything mapped out, lots of activities and things to do, then he'll ensure that I have the very best vacation possible. What he doesn't understand is that what makes me happiest is being able to do what I want to do."

"I honestly can't say I completely understand, Mere. I can tell he wants to look out for you. But how can he be so controlling of your life and have no clue that it makes you miserable?"

Miserable? Is that what she was? She had never thought of it like that before. She just lived her life the way she was supposed to. She may not be happy all the time, but she was content. Wasn't she? As much as she didn't want to admit it, she was starting to think that wasn't true either.

"Do you really think I'm miserable?"

"Maybe that was a bad choice of words. I don't know you as well as he does. Though I do think I've gotten to know you well enough recently to see that who you are here is not the same person that Brandon has depicted you to be. I don't think he has a clue either."

Her words were eerily similar to what Cole had said the day before. How could two people that she had just met see her so clearly when her own brother didn't even seem to know who she really was? It was too complicated. That was why she never let herself think about any of it. She had no idea how to reconcile who she was with what her brother wanted her to be, so she'd just let that part of her die off slowly.

"So what are you going to do?"

"Do?" Was there anything she could do? If so, she wasn't sure what it was, short of telling her brother everything. But that would never happen because she could never disappoint him like that.

"Are you going to present the idea to him? Maybe if it comes from you then he will listen."

"I doubt that." But could she really give up on the idea that she had been so excited about? She could, if it were just her that would be affected. But this time it affected Katrina as well. She wanted to take her program to the next level and this could be a way to make that happen.

"I'll try my best, though," she said with a new resolve. Katrina's smile only confirmed that she was making the right decision. "I'll just have to present it in a way that lets him know it won't mess up his ideal vacation for me." She rolled her eyes.

"You can do it." She clapped her hands together, then dug out a notebook from her bag. "Now let's get some ideas down on paper."

Meredith quickly fell into the thrill of planning new dances and class ideas, and she spent the next two hours working out a combination of choreography and logistics. When they were finished, they were both exhausted but pumped up about where their ideas could go.

"Do you really think he might go for it?" Katrina asked.

"There's only one way to find out." She looked back over the long list of proposed classes and frowned. "Do you really think you can handle this by yourself? This is a pretty heavy load and I don't want you to run yourself down."

Katrina sighed. "I know. I thought the same thing. Another instructor would be ideal, but there's no way Brandon would go for that. We'll be lucky enough if he accepts even a portion of this proposal, but definitely not someone else on the payroll."

The way she said it had Meredith thinking back to several of the things she'd seen and heard during her stay at the resort. Something wasn't adding up. "Katrina, tell me the truth. Is there something I don't know about the resort? Brandon has been working even harder than usual since I've been here, and that's saying something. Cole is filling in because they are short on instructors, and now you say he won't hire anyone for the dance program. What am I missing?"

Katrina pursed her lips and studied Meredith for a moment. "He made me promise not to say a word to you. But I just can't help it. I think you need to know."

This sounded serious. Was the resort not doing as well as Brandon had led her to believe?

"Well now you have to tell me," she said.

Katrina blew out a breath, causing her bangs to flutter. "Just promise you won't tell him I told you." Meredith nodded impatiently while Katrina gathered her thoughts. "Brandon had to fire the assistant manager for misuse of funds not too long ago. By the time they realized what he had done, the books had been so run into the ground that the resort is barely keeping afloat. I overheard Brandon on the phone the other day, and I think they are looking at a potential bankruptcy."

Meredith was shell-shocked. Why had he not told her this? He was working hard, but he'd never let on that anything else was amiss. And now they were on the verge of bankruptcy. "Oh my God, Katrina, this resort means everything to him. He can't lose it."

"It gets worse. The investors were looking really closely at everything after that, even at Brandon. Everyone was suspect, and they considered cleaning house completely and starting over. The only thing that prevented it was the fact that he was a partial owner. And, of course, that he had done nothing wrong, other than not catching it sooner."