Open Your Heart (Kings Grove #4) - Delancey Stewart Page 0,15
And clearly, they did good work if the inn was any indication.
“Hi there,” I said, introducing myself to the young girl standing at the front desk. “I’m Harper Lyles. I’m starting work this morning. Is Michaela Grayson in?”
The girl smiled. “I’m so glad to meet you. I’m Carrie. I’ll go see if she has a few minutes,” she said. “Do you mind waiting a moment?”
“Of course not.” I watched her disappear through a back door and turned to let my eyes follow the line of the massive stone fireplace up to the lobby’s ceiling, which was two stories over my head. This room made me want to grab a book and cuddle up in the corner of one of the overstuffed couches in front of that fireplace and just let the day fade. I could see the appeal of staying here in the winter, though I doubted I’d be out enjoying the winter sports the brochure on a side table touted. It was too tempting to just enjoy the fire inside.
“Hello.” A tall woman with dark hair swept back into a full ponytail emerged from a door next to the reception desk. “I’m Michaela.”
“Hi Ms. Grayson,” I answered, turning to her. “I’m Harper Lyles. You said to pop in when I was ready to get started. Is this a good time?”
We shook hands and she smiled wide. “Absolutely. Please call me Mike. Let’s sit for a moment.” She guided me to a grouping of chairs and we took two facing each other, a small table between us. “It’s really nice to meet you. I’m looking forward to having another set of hands in management.”
“I’m excited to get started,” I said.
“Your dad stopped by at exactly the right time with your resume,” Mike said. “It’s not easy to hire up here—not everyone wants to live on the side of a mountain at seven thousand feet, and I didn’t have much hope of finding anyone with the kind of experience you’ve got.”
It was a relief to hear her say that—I’d been worried the job might have been another instance of my dad twisting someone’s arm, the way he’d done to get me here in the first place. “I’m so glad,” I said honestly. “I was pretty sure I’d end up waitressing or guiding horseback rides over at the stables.”
Mike picked up the resume she’d carried out with her from her office. “Okay, so big event firm, New York City. And why did you leave, Harper?”
There it was. I took a breath and decided to just tell her. Something about Mike’s easy demeanor had my guard down. “I picked up on some invoicing discrepancies I couldn’t track—some charges that looked legitimate, mostly because they were to vendors we’d been working with for years. But when I found an addition error on one and called the company to ask some questions, the number was disconnected. I nosed around, and realized that several of the vendors who invoiced regularly didn’t really exist.
“In the end, I uncovered a huge embezzlement plot that had been going on for years, started by one of the partners of the firm.” I didn’t mention that he’d been my boyfriend, or that he’d tried to get me to join the plot rather than turn him in. “I reported it, the whole thing led to a major lawsuit as the partner tried to defend himself, and he tried to shift the blame to me. I hired an excellent attorney, who managed to defend me.” I took a breath. “But that was very expensive. And by the time it was over, the accused partner had smeared my name everywhere he could. Enough doubt was cast on me that I couldn’t get another job in the city.”
Mike’s eyes were sympathetic when she said, “I’m so sorry. That’s terrible.”
“It was a valuable lesson in trust.” I lifted a shoulder and raised my eyes to meet hers.
“I guess their loss is Kings Grove’s gain,” Mike said. “I’ll just go over the events we’ve got in the works for now, and give you a quick tour.”
“That sounds great. I can go over paperwork or whatever if you’re busy though,” I told her. “I should have made an appointment.”
“Things move a little slower up here than in New York City,” she said, smiling. “They move slower up here than they did in Fresno, where I was living before. This place is . . . well, it’s grown on me. It’s definitely different.”