“Not likely,” Savannah agreed. “I’ll think of something. Maybe a messaging app? The Inn has an app the concierge uses, tagged to the guest so they can keep track of who needs what. I’ll ask Royal how it works.”
“I’m open to suggestions,” I said, pretending not to hear my sister’s demanding ring. The others followed my lead, and as one, we ignored Sterling. “Let’s take a look at the gym and you can show Hope the laundry while I go upstairs and deal with Sterling.”
“Better you than me,” Hope murmured.
Savannah had been right; the gym needed a complete rehab. It was big, even had a hot tub and a sauna, though the hot tub was bound for the dump. I promised Savannah I’d get her a list of what we needed and jogged up the stairs to the main level. The sooner I got to the second floor, the sooner I could drag my sister’s finger off that goddamn button.
I could move quietly when I wanted to. I crept down the hall to Sterling’s room, swinging her door open with no warning to find her leaning against the wall, her face pasty and gray, her finger jabbing the button by the light switch over and over.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I demanded. All my sympathy for the grieving girl was gone, drained away by the incessant press of her finger on that button. “What do you want? Everyone in this house is busy. Working. You missed breakfast.”
“I’m hungry. And I need my room cleaned,” she whined.
“Meals are served in the dining room. You want to eat? Shower and get dressed like a normal adult human and show up downstairs. There will be no trays brought to your room so you can be a lazy slug.”
Tears brimmed in Sterling’s bloodshot blue eyes. “I don’t know why you have to be so mean to me,” she complained.
“Maybe because you vomited all over my wife last night after stumbling in drunk, falling down in the hall, and waking up the whole house.”
“It was just you and Hope and Savannah. And Savannah is the housekeeper. It’s her job to get up.”
“The hell it is. Her job is to keep the house running, not to wait on you hand and foot. Don’t ring that fucking bell again. If you want something, get your ass up and go get it.”
“I bet you ring the bell,” she muttered.
“It’s my fucking house.” And goddamn, did it feel weird to say that out loud. Tears spilled over Sterling’s cheeks and I felt like an utter shit. “Look, if you want your money, you have to live here to fulfill the terms of the will. But it’s my house. I’m sorry if you don’t like that. I’m sorry if it’s not fair. None of this bullshit is fair, but we all have to live with it.”
“I’m over twenty-one. I’m an adult. You can’t tell me what to do.”
“If you want your money I can. Short of locking you up, I can’t stop you from drinking. But if I catch you driving drunk, or if we have another scene like last night, there will be consequences.”
Sterling crossed her arms over her chest and glared at me. With a sullen mutter, she said “Whatever, Dad.”
I shuddered. I wasn’t brother-of-the-year, but I didn’t deserve to be compared to my father. “You owe Hope an apology.”
“Fine.”
Done with the stink of her room and her adolescent attitude, I headed for the door. “Savannah has hired some staff. Two day maids and a cook. You’re welcome at meals, as long as you’re sober. I’ve instructed Savannah and the day maids to stay out of your room until you clean it up. Once it’s clean they’ll help you keep it clean, but I’m not paying any of them enough to deal with this pigsty. Got me?”
“Fuck you, Griffen.”
I ignored the slam of the door behind me. I knew this wouldn’t be the last time we had this conversation. I felt guilty for the role I’d played in Sterling’s lack of an upbringing but not guilty enough to put up with this bullshit.
Sterling wasn’t unique among the Sawyers. We’d all gotten a raw deal on the parenting front in one way or another. But she was living in what amounted to a modern castle, all expenses paid, just waiting for a huge inheritance. All she had to do was stay reasonably sober and clean her goddamn room. It was hard to feel sorry for her in light of all that.
Since it seemed to be my morning for facing unpleasant realities, I crossed Sterling off my list and got out my phone. Pulling up the numbers I’d noted down when I’d seen Harvey the other day, I placed the calls I’d been dreading.
I found Hope a little later in the office, scrolling through emails on the laptop. “You ready to go?”