Sweet Heart (The Hearts of Sawyers Bend #2) - Ivy Layne Page 0,17
own expense and neither did any of my siblings. I knew Griffen wouldn’t do it, so they were on their own.
On their own in a luxury resort, eating gourmet meals three times a day. Everyone should be on their own like Bryce and Ophelia.
I shook my head gently. “I'm sorry about that, Ophelia. Maybe you should give him a phone call. In the meantime, you have a roof over your head and three meals a day. Once we have the house fixed up you can move over there, but for now, The Inn is one of the most beautiful spots in the Carolinas. Enjoy. I've got to get back to my office. I'm late for a meeting. I'll see you at Sunday dinner, if not before.”
I made my escape, ignoring Bryce's protests as they followed me down the hall.
I got back to the office to find Tenn standing behind his desk, his phone to his ear, his brows drawn together in frustration.
“Yeah, okay. Royal just walked in. One of us will be down there in a few.” He hung up the phone. “Did you deal with Ophelia and Bryce?”
“Just had to set them straight on a few things.”
“What did they want?”
“Only an open tab for alcohol and at the gift shop,” I said mildly as if that were no big deal.
Tenn gave a short laugh. “Oh, is that all? I shudder to think how much they could have charged to the room if we hadn't thought to cut them off from the start.”
“I know. I told Bryce he should get a job.”
This time Tenn burst out with a genuine laugh. “Bet that didn't go over well.”
“You'd win that bet. What was up with the phone call?”
Tenn let out a long sigh. “The produce order was canceled.”
I stared at him. “Canceled? How did the order get canceled?”
“Someone called in and canceled all the orders from The Inn for this week.”
“And the vendor just canceled it? Without calling us? That's insane.”
“It was our bad luck that a new hire was on the orders desk when the cancellation came through. Whoever it was gave the head chef's name and said there'd been some changes. The new hire didn't know enough to check and went ahead and canceled the order.”
“Fucking hell. Do they have a plan?”
“They're working on it. Waiting on one of us.” Tenn pulled the quarter out of his pocket.
I backed up a step. “Oh, hell no. I just got Ophelia and Bryce. This clusterfuck is your problem.”
Tenn shook his head. “We flip every time. That's the deal.”
Since he was right, I didn't argue. This time I called tails. Mercifully, the quarter fell heads up.
“Damn,” Tenn swore as he pocketed the quarter.
“I have to get over to Heartstone anyway. I told Griffen I'd be there in time for lunch. If you need extra hands on deck to get the produce situation sorted out, give me a call.”
Striding out of Tenn’s office, I stopped abruptly. Penny was braced in the center of the room, her small frame pitted against another—this one taller, stronger, and far more determined.
“I told you, Ms. Sawyer, you can't come in without an appointment.”
“Let go of me, you little bitch.” Vanessa Sawyer looked up and saw me watching. With a toss of her shining black hair, she demanded, “Royal! Tell her to let me go. I’m your sister-in-law. I have a right to be here.”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and ignored Vanessa.
“Thanks, Penny. You can let her go. Tenn and I will take care of her from here.”
In a quick, fluid move, Penny dropped her grip on Vanessa's arms and stepped to the side, out of reach. Grabbing her purse from her desk drawer, Penny announced, “I'm taking an early lunch,” and sailed out the door to the elevators.
“Why are you here, Vanessa?” I asked, sliding to block her entry into Tenn’s office. “You're not our sister-in-law. Ford divorced you years ago. And I know I'm not the only one who wishes you'd find another husband and stop using our name.”
Vanessa tossed her hair over her shoulder again and propped her hands on her hips in a posture she knew thrust her full breasts into prominence.
Vanessa was gorgeous, I’d give her that.
With her pale skin, red lips, and black hair, she was like an evil version of Snow White. It was no wonder Griffen had fallen so hard for her all those years ago. He’d been determined to marry her—right up until our father convinced her