“Who says anything about playing?” Brandon gave Chase a wicked grin. “I never thought I’d find the love of my life. I can’t get enough of Faith. I really hope you find that special someone, too, Chase. It’s so worth it. I hate to admit it, but Dad’s right about that. Love is everything.”
“I know,” Chase said, his voice low.
“Hey, what’s that look in your eyes?”
“What look?”
“That look,” Brandon said, suspiciously narrowing his eyes. “You know nothing gets past me. You looked as if you were off in a daydream for a minute.”
“Now what the hell’s that supposed to mean?”
A wicked grin curled Brandon’s lips. “You met someone.”
“No. No, I haven’t.”
“Right. I believe you.”
“Well, there is this nice girl. She started orientation here a few days ago. But she’s totally off limits.”
“And why’s that? She’s not taken, is she?”
“She’s on staff.”
“And that’s a problem, why?”
“There’s a policy against that kind of stuff. Remember a while back the old owners of the resort had a few lawsuits to settle?”
“Oh, right. That.”
“Yes. That. Besides, she’s only a contract worker…”
“Hey, good. So she won’t be on staff too long.”
“She might be, if they hire her on. Which reminds me, I need to look into why we don’t have more permanent staff with benefits. How can people survive on part-time wages and contract work with no benefits?”
“True. Hey, you want me to run a check on this chick?” Brandon said, pulling out his smartphone. “What’s her name?”
“Never mind.”
“Never mind? What kind of a crap name is that?” Brandon teased his brother.
“I mean, never mind running a background check on her and she’s not a chick…she’s a beautiful, young lady.”
Brandon smiled wide. “Aha! I knew you were falling for this girl.”
“I’m not. I’m just saying…Well, she’s really cute and kind of fell into my arms a few days ago, but I’m not even going there with any future relationship. I think it’s much too soon to even think about that.”
“Why not? You can’t just let Giline be the last woman you ever have a relationship with, Chase. She was crazy. Not all women are like that. Especially not ordinary working girls next door, which I assume this new woman is.”
“She is.” Chase drew in a deep breath. He had to change the subject. Man, he was getting hard just thinking about Abbi’s dainty curves and her hair that went on forever. Those luscious lips of hers and shapely bosom. She was a god-sent angel. He felt such a strong magnetic chemistry to her. He’d never felt that way about his ex, Giline—even when they began dating in the early stages. But this Abbi woman just enrapt him with one initial meeting. A part of him was dying to find out more about her, to spend some time getting to know whom she was and what she was about. How strange was that? Girls often went out of their way to pursue him but there he was trying to think of all sorts of creative ways he could bump into Abbi again and get to know her better.
“Let’s change the subject,” Chase said. “Any additional news on the swine that’s trying to mess up the reputation of this place?”
“So far, no one suspicious. Just the usual stuff. I’ll keep you posted. We’re checking out the place for anything dodgy and we’re also checking out the Jacksons.”
“The Jacksons?”
“Yes, the Jacksons.”
“Oh, right. We have a feeling they might be behind this crazy smear campaign. Wouldn’t put it past them, you know? Seems like the Jacksons and the Belmonts go way, way back in the old days. Great-granddad and he had some sort of beef or feud or whatever you call it. There’s something about the family that Aunt Maya and Dad just don’t want to get into. I have a feeling it’s about that. Something happened to old man Jackson though, and I heard enough to know they blame great-granddad for their misfortunes after all these decades. Talk about a long family rivalry and feud.”
“I hear you,” Brandon said. “Well, we should probably also amp up security on the premises if anything, just to be on the safe side in case anyone attempts any sabotage.”
“Good thinking. I’m way ahead of you, bro. We can’t take any chances.”
Chapter 5
Later that evening, the sun was setting on the horizon coloring the sky with orange and purple streaks amidst the blue background. Chase couldn’t believe what this country air was doing to him, and for him. He really needed the rest and relaxation more than anything. He sat on the rooftop patio of the main lodge gazing out and capturing the first sights of stars twinkling in the distance, high in the sky. In the city, he’d have to wait until pitch dark to see the stars. There was something about looking up at a starry night that soothed his soul. He’d often done this activity alone. “Let’s go look at the stars at night,” he’d once suggested to his ex- girlfriend.
“Are you kidding me?” Giline had sputtered in disbelief. “Why?”
“Why? Really? I just thought you’d like to…”
“Waste time looking up in the sky?” she’d giggled, flicking her hair to the side. “Oh, Chase, you’re so crazy. You rich guys have nothing better to do.”
“That’s what you think?” he remembered telling her. “Contrary to what you think, some of us appreciate nature and stopping to take in the beauty of the universe. You should try it sometime.” He’d given her a coy smile at the time.
He sat there thinking of the memory of it all. No, Giline wasn’t into that stuff. He’d realized then, she was all about reality TV, fashion shows, expensive dinners, designer bags and clothes, and dance clubs. Anything techno with strobe lights. That was her life. Her middle name should have been Bling for all he cared. God, what had he been thinking dating a materialistic diva like that? He never could fit into her world. She was with him because of his name, nothing more. And oh, yeah, his money. His “old” money. She’d bragged about becoming part of a family dynasty like the Belmonts to her friends. And then of course, that night, they’d been intimate and tried all sorts of wild maneuvers in bed, and well, she insisted on recording it for fun—some sort of pleasure. Well, he sure regretted it afterward. It was nothing but raw sex with Giline, not love.
Chase sighed. But that was all in the past. Even later, when he’d dated, it was the same. The Belmont name was more of a love curse than a blessing. Sooner or later, women showed more interest in what he represented than what he was—as a man. He wondered how many of those girls would have wanted to be with him for life if he’d been just—a Chad Rivers—like he was pretending to be now. Just an ordinary working-class, blue collar Joe. The guy next door. No riches. No bling. No family dynasty or royalty in the blood, just a hardworking guy next door. The socialites, wanna-be stars and model types sure wouldn’t have given him the time of day. Not like…Abbi.
There his mind went on her again.
Truth was, he recalled the way Giline and her friends would treat parking valets, staff members and regular working Joes. Not good at all. They always turned up their noses at other so-called lesser people. Giline’s dad was a hot shot CEO and her mother was a former banker turned rich housewife, so she’d had some taste of white collar living. Of course, marrying “up” as her mother once said and landing a “Belmont heir” would have been the icing on the cake. But too bad for her, Chase just wasn’t into the keeping up appearances gig. He might have been born into a powerful dynasty like the Belmont family, but he was all real. His father raised them to be respectable with all folks, whether they’d been born with a silver spoon in their mouths or not.
Before he knew it, Chase drifted off to sleep in the patio recliner chair…
Later, Chase awoke and propped himself up on the patio chair. He removed his cell phone from his shirt pocket and glanced at the phone display to see the time. He couldn’t believe he’d drifted to sleep like that. He’d had a busy day assembling fixtures on the newly renovated cottages, along with doing some heavy labor around the guest cottages. He hadn’t really slept well during the last couple of nights. He’d been working around the clock, answering on-call emergencies from guests who needed maintenance support for whatever reason. That wasn’t how Chase spent all his time during the past few days, though. He’d also been snooping around management’s offices, looking through documents and work orders that were previously approved by the other owner to see if he could find some clues as to why there were reports that things were not up to par with some of the guest cottages or the reno project.
Just then when he’d leaned back again in his chair, the cool evening wind sweeping over his skin, he heard a sound. Someone was there with him. He leaned forward again and narrowed his eyes, looking around. There were tall plants decorating the rooftop so anyone could be hiding out there.