Seb jerked in his chair. “Oh.” He cleared his throat as all eyes turned toward him. A pin drop would’ve crashed like cymbals through the hushed room. “Is, um, is that how it’s been done in the past?”
“Yes,” Reed said. “It’s out of the way, giving them some privacy with easier security solutions.”
A woman stood up. “Hey, Mr. Sterling. I’m Jess Billings, a regional coordinator for the Guardian Agency.”
Holly caught the flicker of recognition on Seb’s face when he heard the company name. She made a note to ask him if he was using any of the agency’s services at the estate.
“We have a few contracts for acts that have already been invited to the event,” Jess was saying. “If we can continue with the lighthouse location at least for this year, that makes it more appealing to the groups appearing and simplifies our staffing commitments.”
“That’s fine by me,” Seb said in that same flat tone he’d used when referencing red tape earlier.
“Great news all around,” Reed declared over the smattering of applause. “We appreciate it.”
Nearby, Holly caught a murmur of relief. She hadn’t heard anything that would give them reason to worry that Seb would remove that option. Just because he’d ignored committee mail didn’t mean he’d pull something so drastic.
Did it?
She thought again about the awkwardness this morning and that persistent worry of being blindsided returned with a vengeance.
“I need to step out for a moment,” Holly whispered to Vince. She grabbed her phone as if that was the reason. But she needed some space and silence to shake off the feeling that she was missing something vital.
She slipped away from the meeting, toward the restrooms, passing the pub’s small office. As she passed the slightly ajar door of the manager’s office, a voice stopped her cold. It was a voice she recognized from years of town council meetings: Nico Billings, Jess’s father-in-law.
He was one of the friendliest folks in town, but right now he was furious.
“There is no way Sterling gets away with this. That land is an invaluable treasure and a significant part of our history here.”
“I’m just the messenger,” another voice replied.
Holly realized Nico had his phone on speaker as the other man continued.
“The documentation was filed around noon. Sterling has shifted ownership of that land, lighthouse included, to a development firm.”
“He could’ve put it in God’s portfolio for all I care,” Nico snarled. “No one is building on that land.”
“It’s his property now.”
“There has to be something we can do,” Nico grumbled. “The Marion estate leased it to the town for ninety-nine years with the full intention of preserving it forever.”
She should not be listening to this.
She hurried on to the restroom, swiping a tear from her cheek. Why would Seb do something like that except to hide an ulterior motive? This kind of move was too reminiscent of her father. At this rate, Seb could dodge any unpleasantness, claimhe was divesting himself of the property, and not be blamed for any changes to the land.
No. Her stomach pitched and she thought she might be sick. Wetting a paper towel, she blotted her face and the back of her neck. She couldn’t go back out there looking like this. Couldn’t go back out there at all. She was too tempted to expose details she shouldn’t even know about.
Opening the bathroom door, she checked that she was alone in the hallway before she dashed out the back door.
She would text Vince to gather up her belongings. Right now, she needed to be alone and get her head on straight.
Trust was a constant struggle and Seb was challenging all the progress she thought she’d made. She rounded the building and headed across the street for the beach, eager for the pounding surf to drown out the swell of doubts and the ache of betrayal.
Her heart raced despite her best efforts to prevent the worst-case scenarios from running away with her. It was too late.
Everything circled back to one point: she’d let herself be fooled again. She wasn’t his guide, she was a diversion. A friendly, gullible shield he was using to hide a land-grab that would destroy the very history he’d claimed to admire.
It was her father all over again. The charmer with all the right words who looked her in the eye promising one thing while doing the opposite behind her back.
With this information, other details fit neatly into place. Seb hadn’t bought the Marion estate to find a quiet home. He’d bought it to expand his empire, and he was willing to use her to help win over the town.
