Stone Cold Fox (22)

When she comes back, she’s in her jeans, still wearing the swimsuit as a top. Her hair is still wet, but it looks good. We take a cab from the valet stand and in minutes we’re back at the place we were before. I should have known. This will be fun.

The bell on the door rings as we step back inside. The man behind the desk looks right at Mother’s chest. Men can’t help it, she tells me. Mother hands him a new card, this one thick and black, the very best kind. “Use this one. My boyfriend’s,” Mother purrs at him. “But just one night. We’re moving on tomorrow.”

“Yes, miss.” He puts his head down and tries not to look directly at her. I know he’s not worth our time, but Mother still likes to play. She always likes to play and sometimes I like to watch her play, like I do now. The card goes through and we head straight for the pool. It’s big and empty and in plain view of the office. Mother faces the window where the man watches her and shimmies out of her jeans. She stretches out on a pool chair, puts on her sunglasses and fires up another cigarette.

She wants him to watch her.

She wants him to regret how he treated us.

She wants him to be sorry.

I know we can stay anywhere with that black card, but Mother wants to make him feel bad for turning us away. He could have looked at her all week. What a fool he is. Mother doesn’t stop there. When we leave the next morning, there’s a different man at the reception desk. “Is there a suggestion box, sir?” she asks the new man.

“You’re looking at it. I’m the manager.” He’s amused by her and crosses his arms, ready to hear what she has to say.

“Excellent. Then you should know that your employee from yesterday made me extremely uncomfortable. What’s his name?”

“Burke.” He grins at her. He has no idea what’s coming. I stay close to her. She likes to know I’m paying attention to the game.

“Is that his first name or his last name?”

“I don’t see how that’s important, miss.”

“Well, let me tell you that he was leering at me by the pool all afternoon, and I worried for my and my daughter’s safety all night when we were in the room.” Mother’s voice gets louder as the smile falls from the man’s face. “I barely slept! He’s unfit for customer service and I’d like to file a formal complaint against Mr. Burke. That’s why it’s important.”

“I apologize, miss. I’m very, very sorry that happened. That’s completely unacceptable behavior. His name is Burke Tollackson, and I will be having a serious conversation with him today. I can promise you that.”

“Good,” she says.

But that wouldn’t be enough for Mother. She continued to call that motel in Hollywood every few weeks, under a new name, to make a new complaint against Burke Tollackson, until she found out that he was no longer with the motel at all.

That’s just the kind of woman Mother was.

But petty revenge was the least of her sins.





CHAPTER


    5



“HE’S IN WITH his dad,” Syl whispered at me from her post in Collin’s office. Collin and I had a standing lunch date on Mondays at one. Our routine rarely experienced a shake-up. A meeting with his father after our family brunch was alarming. I had held my own with Haven, but would Collin be able stand up for me to his father? I was also very perturbed to be kept waiting in front of his assistant. She should have proactively phoned me about the delay. “They’ve been in there for about an hour. Do you want me to check in?” The high-pitched intonation of her voice suggested she wanted me to say no for her sake, but yes, obviously I wanted a status update immediately.

“That would be great, thanks,” I said, taking a seat in one of the club chairs, crossing my legs. Syl winced at the task at hand.

“Honestly, I thought they would have been done by now or I would have called you about the delay,” she said, picking up the phone with trepidation, essentially reading my mind.

“Not a problem.” I smiled, urging her to hop to it.

Syl cleared her throat. “Yes, ahem, hello. Collin. I’m so sorry to interrupt. I know you said that I shouldn’t, but Bea is here for your lunch.”

Whatever. I could handle a gentle toss under the bus to get the answers I sought. Syl hung up the phone and Collin poked his head out the door. “Babe, I have to rain check today. I’m sorry.” He really did look sorry. Under extreme duress, too. Was their meeting about me or perhaps unseemly business dealings? A lawsuit? Dire financials? Or was Mr. Case merely following his wife’s marching orders to trounce me after I rebuffed their offer? I was miffed but didn’t want to make a scene with the patriarch present. Especially when I wasn’t exactly sure where I stood. I’d have to wait it out before deciding on my next move.

“Of course, babe,” I said to Collin in my sweetest voice. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine,” he said. It definitely wasn’t fine. His face took on the flushed hue of a small child who was in trouble for being naughty. “I just can’t leave right this second, but I’ll call you later, okay? Love you.” He shut the door. A monstrous display of disloyalty and right in front of Syl. It was embarrassing. I suppose Collin and his dad could have been discussing any number of line items as it pertained to the Case Company, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was the subject in question.