Easy This Time - JH Croix Page 0,2

but I had to find a way to ask. Of all the people to be so embarrassed in front of, I didn’t want it to be Gabby. She had a fairy-tale life with her two children and her professional baseball player husband—a man who had plenty of women drooling over him—but whose eyes remained fixed only on her, if the occasional gossip reports had it right.

If I was beyond desperate for money, I could always call my brother—Max Channing. Max was my older brother who I adored, but who also drove me slightly crazy with his overbearing ways. He was a wealthy tech investor. He could buy this inn and then some if the fancy struck him. Yet my pride was not going to let me call him. I sure as hell didn’t want to tell him he was right about Brett.

Don’t panic. Maybe Brett’s coming back.

Riiiight. That’s why he took everything with him, left in the middle of the night, and disconnected his phone.

I could battle inside my head all day, but it didn’t change the facts of my situation. Brett appeared to be long gone, and I was damn close to broke. With a sigh, I mentally swatted at my always willing-and-ready-to-be-critical voice. Standing from the bed, I steeled myself. I might as well find out if Brett had paid for the room. Then I could problem-solve.

Moments later, I was relieved to discover Gabby had left to take care of some errands. It was quiet downstairs, and I figured the other guests would soon be making their way down for breakfast. I would be humiliating myself to Gabby’s staff, rather than her. It still sucked, but it was a little bit better.

Approaching a woman carrying a tray of food to the sideboard in the dining room, I said, “Excuse me.”

“Yes?”

I smiled tightly, feeling like my face might crack from the effort. “Um, my boyfriend had to leave unexpectedly.” Okay, I wasn’t totally lying there. Seeing as I didn’t expect it, Brett’s departure could count as unexpected even if he’d planned it. “I didn’t have a chance to check with him to find out if he had already taken care of the room for the weekend. I didn’t want to let that detail get away from me.”

All true. Little did she know my boyfriend had fled during the night, and I didn’t know where the hell he was.

The woman smiled warmly. “Give me just a sec.” She set down the platter in her hands before waving for me to follow her down the hallway to the reception desk.

She tapped on the screen of a laptop, her eyes scanning for a moment before she looked up. “It doesn’t look like it. You can take care of it when you check out,” she said, gesturing carefully with her hand. “We hope you’ll stay through the weekend even though he couldn’t. We’re around if you need anything.”

I swallowed. Finally, I thought I might cry. I knew I was well and truly screwed. Now, I had my choice of humiliation. Either I called my older brother, or I revealed the situation to Gabby. The idea of leaving today and not coming back flitted through my thoughts. I couldn’t do the inn equivalent of dine and dash, though. That was just not okay.

Chapter 2

Nash

“Who?”

“Mari Channing,” Lydia, my personal assistant, replied.

I didn’t recognize the name. “What does she need?”

Lydia shrugged, pursing her lips before adding, “She’s rather insistent and would like to meet with you.”

I glanced at my watch. “I only have five minutes.”

“As if I’m not aware of that, Nash,” Lydia replied, her lips quirking slightly in a smile.

Lydia’s smiles were rare. She tended to have a rather severe look with her close-cropped silver hair and whip-thin build. With nothing more than a narrowing of her eyes, she could make one think twice if she disapproved. Although I was technically her boss, I was under no illusions. Without her, my business wouldn’t be what it was.

I leaned back in my chair, crossing my arms. “Now, Lydia, you don’t usually let anyone screw up my schedule. What in the world did Mari Channing say to persuade you that this interruption was worthwhile?”

Lydia stepped into my office, pulling the door closed behind her with a distinct click. “She’s looking for Brett Henson.”

“Oh, that idiot. Did she say why?”

Brett, or rather the “idiot” as I’d just called him, had asked me about an investment opportunity for a restaurant in New Orleans. He’d lied through his teeth, and