“I’m sure he has,” Charlie said gently. “But his license is no longer active, which means any inspection he conducted has no legal standing.”
“But he was here,” Jack protested. “He did the work. He checked everything.” He glanced at the door. “As Holly and Logan.”
“I believe you,” Charlie said. “But Jack, the city didn’t send George Hartwell. They have no record of dispatching him to your property.”
The room seemed to tilt. Jack gripped the desk. “Then who sent him? How would he have known…” He started getting a bad taste in his mouth.
“Both very good questions,” Charlie said. “But there’s more. According to their records, your call a week ago notifying them that repairs were complete was never logged in their system.”
“I called them,” Jack said. “I know I did.”
“I believe you,” Charlie repeated. “But somehow, that notification never made it into their records. Which means asfar as the city is concerned, you missed your sixty-day deadline to complete the repairs and file the proper documentation.”
Jack felt cold dread spreading through his chest. “What does that mean?”
“It means your operating permit has been suspended,” Charlie said quietly. “When required repairs aren’t completed within the deadline, or when proper notification isn’t filed, the permit is automatically suspended pending reinspection.”
“Suspended,” Jack repeated. The word felt like it was choking him. “So I can’t operate the inn.”
“Not legally,” Charlie confirmed. “Not until an official city inspector comes out, verifies the repairs were completed, and issues a new clearance.”
“But they’re coming, right?” Jack grasped at that hope. “You said they’re sending someone.”
Charlie’s expression told him everything before she even spoke. “Jack, they don’t have any inspectors available until after the New Year. The earliest they can schedule someone is the second week of January.”
The room went completely silent. Jack could hear his own heartbeat pounding in his ears.
“But the Winter Ball is in three days,” Jack said, his voice barely above a whisper. “We have guests checking in tomorrow. Every room is booked throughthe New Year.”
“I know,” Charlie said.
“So what do I do?” Jack asked, desperation creeping into his voice. “I can’t just cancel everything. Do you know how much money we’d lose? We’d have to refund every deposit, every ticket sale. That’s tens of thousands of dollars. Money we don’t have.”
“I know,” Charlie said again, her voice heavy with sympathy.
“But if I don’t cancel,” Jack continued, working through the nightmare scenario, “if I let guests stay here without proper clearance, and something goes wrong. Anything. Even something small. I’m personally liable. They could sue me for everything.”
“Yes,” Charlie confirmed.
Jack stood up abruptly, needing to move. He paced to the window, staring out at the ocean without seeing it. “This is Victor. This is all Victor. The missing documentation. George Hartwell showing up out of nowhere with his fake inspection. The convenient lack of available inspectors. He orchestrated all of this.”
“I can’t prove it,” Charlie said. “But yes, I think you’re right. This has Victor Martin’s fingerprints all over it.”
“How?” Jack demanded, spinning to face her. “How did he do this? How did he get my notification call to disappear from their system? How did he get George to lie to me? How did he ensure no inspectors would be available?”
“Victor has connections,” Charlie said. “Money. Influence. He’s been in this business for decades. He knows how systems work and how to manipulate them.”
“So he wins,” Jack said bitterly. “No matter what I do, he wins. If I operate without clearance, I’m breaking the law and risking everything. If I cancel everything and refund the money, we lose so much revenue that we have no choice but to accept his lowball offer. Either way, he gets the inn.”
“That’s exactly what he’s been planning,” Charlie agreed. “Every step of this. The first inspection showing all the problems. Giving you a deadline. Making sure your notification got lost. Sending George with a false report to make you think everything was fine. Ensuring no real inspector would come until it was too late. It’s all designed to put you in an impossible position.”
Jack collapsed into his chair, his legs giving out beneath him. The room spun as bile rose in his throat. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead as he gripped the armrests, knuckles white. “I have to cancel everything,” he choked out, each word like broken glass. “Every reservation. Every promise. The Ball. All of it. There’s no other choice. I can’t—” His voice cracked. “—I can’t risk operating illegally.”
“Jack,” Charlie started, but he cut her off.
“No.” His voice was a hoarse whisper. “You said it yourself. One accident. One single slip on a wet floor, one faulty outlet. And I lose everything.” He dragged a trembling handthrough his hair, eyes wild. “Not just the inn. Everything. My house. What little savings I have left. Any chance of starting over.” His breath came in shallow gasps now, each word punched out between them. “I’d be finished. Completely destroyed. I can’t—” His voice broke as he looked up at her. “I won’t take that risk.” He swallowed. “Victor…”
Before he could finish or Charlie could respond, the library door burst open. Holly and Logan rushed in, their faces flushed and excited.
