She sat in the chair across from my desk. “Well, it’s good news and bad news.”
I cringed. “Why does that sound ominous?”
“Well, it’s not ominous, just annoying,” she said. “Sarah’s sister had her baby last night, so Sarah won’t able to tend bar tonight.”
“Okay,” I replied, “But we have a backup, right? We prepared for this.”
“We did,” Caitlin answered. “But when I called Nat, he said he couldn’t come in.” She stopped and shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
I felt a headache begin to form. “Why am I getting the impression there’s more to this than just Nat being unreliable?”
She took a deep breath and blew it out with a sigh. “He said he heard you were hosting an ‘f-word’ wedding next month and didn’t want to work for an ‘f-word lover’ anymore.”
I reared back in my chair. “What the fuck? That little asshole offered to blow me after I gave him a job. I should have fired his ass right then.”
“It’s weird,” Caitlin said. “I’ve seen him give his number to guys when he was tending bar. I don’t get it.”
I waved my hand dismissively. “Whatever. Blackball him from the bar. Do we have someone to take his place?”
Caitlin shook her head. “Zach is doing National Guard training this week. He won’t be back until Sunday.”
I groaned when I finally got what she wasn’t saying. “That leaves me to tend bar tonight.”
Caitlin grinned sheepishly. “Sorry, boss.”
“Ugh. I haven’t tended bar in two years,” I complained. “I’m gonna suck at it.”
My general manager raised an eyebrow in a very Spock-like way and deadpanned, “You might want to hold off on that until after hours. The other patrons might get upset.”
A laugh burst out of me. “Shut up, you.”
“It’s Thursday night,” she said, attempting to placate me. “It won’t be too busy. I should be able to get someone to cover Friday and Saturday.”
“All right, all right.” I rose from my chair. “Let me get behind the bar and try to remember my mad bartending skills.”
Caitlin rose and turned to leave but then turned back. “I almost forgot,” she said. “The piano tuner is coming in about an hour to make sure everything is set for Mr. Fitzgerald.”
“Is he coming today?” I asked.
She nodded. “He’s supposed to check in this afternoon sometime. He called to confirm this morning.”
I eyed Caitlin. She was a good judge of people. Sometimes it was eerie how good she was. “Think he’s going to cause us trouble?”
She frowned thoughtfully. “I don’t think so. He sounded…nervous when he called. Like he hadn’t talked to anybody in a while. I read up on him when I found out he was coming. There wasn’t anything in what I saw that said he was difficult.”
“Good,” I said as I headed out the door. “I don’t need any complications right now.”
THREE
JEREMY
Moonlight Inn was even more beautiful in person. It was a huge old Victorian mansion that took up a whole block in the Jersey Shore town of Spring Lake. It was late afternoon in mid-May, so the sun was still bright. The weather was mild, and a few people were walking around the small lake across the street from the hotel. The place seemed pretty quiet and peaceful. I hoped it would stay that way. I took a deep breath and got out of the car. Tony, my driver, came around and said, “You’re supposed to let me open the door for you.”
Tony was a big man. I was just under six feet tall, and he towered over me. He was really more than my driver. He also acted as a bodyguard when I needed one—which I hadn’t in over a year. I was fairly certain he carried a gun under the suit jacket he always wore. But mostly, I thought of him as a friend—an extension of the small group of people I allowed in my life. “It’s fine, Tony,” I said with a smile. “I’m just glad you were available to drive me today.”
“Any time, Jeremy.” He hauled my two large suitcases out of the trunk with ease. “Think you have enough clothes in here?” he asked with a smirk.
“Hey, I’m here for a month,” I protested.
