This earns her Brandon Senior’s scowl, which she doesn’t see because he’s focused on me. “For the last time,” he tells me, “I need an office and a computer.”
“Of course,” I say, and, concerned about Shane’s private documents being put on display, I motion toward the kitchen, rather than the office. “Let’s set up in the dining room so you have plenty of room to work.” I start walking, and I don’t miss the way he offers Maggie his back, dismissing her, shutting her out, a bit like Shane did to me last night. It’s a thought that guts me, stirring fears that Shane mimicked Brandon Senior’s behavior without even knowing it. Worse, that Shane and I could become his parents.
“If you have to work,” Maggie says, “I’ll make some coffee or tea. Emily, do you have tea?”
“If Cody’s okay with room service, they can make a green tea with honey,” I suggest, following Brandon Senior into the dining room, where he claims the head of the table and now gives me a scowl. “I need a computer, Ms. Stevens. Are those letters out to the stockholders?”
“Hours ago,” I assure him. “Should I call them and explain our silence this afternoon?”
“The less you say, the less that can be held against you or me,” he says. “Until we know what that silence originated from, no.” His phone rings again and he ignores it. “Get me that computer.”
I nod and rotate back into the kitchen to find Jessica standing by the stove, while Maggie is at the bar, on the room phone. “What can I do?” Jessica asks.
“Go away,” Brandon Senior calls out. “That’s what you can do. My business can be your business when it’s Shane’s, because I’m dead. And I’m not dying.”
“Soap operas and wine it is for me,” Jessica bites out, and then looks at me. “You should join me.”
“My business is her business,” Brandon Senior calls out. “But my wife can join you.”
The clear inference that his business is not his wife’s has Jessica and me looking at Maggie, who laces her fingers together and looks toward the dining room, her usual fierce energy momentarily laced with defeat. A moment later, her jaw sets, her chest rising with a heavy breath, and I can almost feel her resolve form. “You mean your wife can join you,” she says, marching forward.
Jessica and I share a look of discomfort, both of us moving into the living area. “I had no idea he treated her like the rest of us,” she whispers. “If she’s not immune, I wonder if his little girlfriend is?” She doesn’t give me a chance to reply, motioning to the open patio door. “I’m going to go see if I can find out anything we don’t already know about what happened back there.” She lowers her voice. “I’ll find you if I make progress.”
I nod and take a step, intending to head to the office, when a thought hits me, and I follow Jessica to the patio, where I poke my head out of the doorway just as she reaches the balcony. Cody spots me instantly, pushing off the railing. “Is everything okay?”
“I just wanted you to know we ordered tea from room service.”
“That’s no problem,” he says. “I have men watching the floor. I’ll let them know.” He reaches for his phone but hesitates, narrowing his gaze on me. “What’s wrong?”
“Can you confirm Shane and Derek are safe?”
“The last time I communicated with Seth, which wasn’t long ago, they were with him.”
That’s not a yes or a no, but it’s better than nothing. Deciding I’ll text Shane, I slip back into the living room, but I find myself lingering just beyond the patio, observing as Cody and Jessica face the railing, my mind on that first night with Shane. Me lying against that glass. Me giving him my trust when I didn’t know him and had every reason to distrust everyone around me. I still trust him and I know he trusts me. We aren’t his parents. We won’t become his parents.
Shaking off the thought, I hurry to the office and grab a spare MacBook, then make my way back to the dining room, surprised to find Brandon Senior alone, and on the phone, rather than with his wife. He glances up, motions for me to set the computer down. I do so and he immediately points at the door, dismissing me. Unfazed by his typical behavior, I do as he says, but I am bothered by Maggie’s absence. Seeking her out, I head downstairs, find the bathroom door closed, and Lord help me, I don’t know why, but before I can stop myself, I’m walking in that direction, stopping at the door, where I dare to listen. There is silence. Movement. Then words.
“No,” she whispers. “You should have warned me about today. I don’t think I can go through with this.”
Feeling as if I’ve just been punched, I lower my head to my chest. Was Mike behind the evacuation and the smoke, not Martina? Or—oh God—is Martina working with Mike? The doorbell rings and I jolt, my heart in my throat as I race for the hallway. “Who is it?” I call out.
“Room service.”
“You’re clear to open the door,” I hear, turning to find Cody standing behind me, but his eyes narrow at me again, awareness in their depths. “Is something wrong?”
“No,” I say quickly, wanting to talk to Shane about this before anyone else. “I just—I’m nervous right now.”
“With good reason,” he says. “I’ll get the tea.”
“It’s okay.” I rotate and open the door, accepting the tea and willing my heart to slow, and I almost succeed. But then I shut the door and turn to find Maggie standing in the hallway.
“I’ll take the tea to him,” she says, but it’s interesting to me that, as I hand it to her, she doesn’t make eye contact.
She steps away from me and walks into the kitchen, and I find Cody lingering in the hallway, studying me. “What’s bothering you?”
“Nothing,” I say. “I need the ladies’ room.” I hurry forward, but when I try to pass, he catches my arm.
“I’m on your side,” he promises softly.
It’s an odd thing to say, but somehow the right thing as well. And I want to believe him. I do believe him. He works for Shane. And apparently, it’s only Shane’s blood that betrays him. “Thank you,” I say. “I just need to go upstairs and clear my head.”
“Understood. And just so you know, I’m setting every houseguest you have right now up in a room here in the hotel tonight. We want to them to stay, just to be sure the press is well fed before we send them home.”