A Baby for the Boss(20)

There was a wide porch that swept along the front of the building, and floor-to-ceiling windows provided a great view of the river and the purple smudge of mountains in the distance. The now pink paint was peeling and the plain boxlike structure wasn’t exactly appealing, but she knew that Mike would be changing it all up. The rehab wouldn’t go fast, but she could imagine it all as it would be in a few months.

Like the setting of the “River Haunt” game, the main building would be made to look like a weathered, deserted cabin. A cabin where ghouls, ghosts, zombies and other assorted supernatural beings assembled and tormented the gamers who fought to defeat Donn, Lord of the Dead.

The guests at the River Haunt hotel would be treated to rooms and suites decked out with top-of-the-line gaming systems, flat-screen TVs and enough gaming tokens and symbols to make them feel as though they were a part of their favorite game. The latest Celtic Knot hotel was going to be huge.

“It’ll be a lot of work,” Jenny said thoughtfully.

“It will.”

She turned and flashed him a quick smile. “But it’s gonna be great.”

“Damn straight.”

His gaze locked with hers and for one bright, amazing moment, Jenny felt like they were a team. In this together. And in that impossibly fast heartbeat of time, she really wished it were true.



They were making the most of their two days in Nevada.

Mike spent hours with his contractor, Jacob Schmitt, going over the plans for the River Haunt. The two of them walked the hotel, checking out the rooms and talking to the skeleton staff who remained on-site.

Mike appreciated good work and loyalty, so when he was given the opportunity to keep on some of the hotel employees, he did. He wasn’t a soft touch, though, so in interviews with the hotel manager, and the heads of the other departments, he’d quickly weeded out the people who were simply dead weight.

Maybe the previous owner’s standards had been lax, but Mike had no intention of paying people to do nothing. But he was also ready to pay top money for the right kind of employee. Which was why he’d fired the previous manager and promoted that man’s assistant, Teresa Graves.

Teresa was a middle-aged woman with a no-nonsense attitude and an unerring ability to cut through the bull and get the best out of the people who worked for her. With his new manager’s help, Mike wanted to keep the skeleton crew in place during the transition. He didn’t want the hotel sitting empty and deserted while it was being rehabbed. It seemed like too much of an invitation to vandals and or thieves.

Having people there was important enough that he was offering bonuses to the workers who were willing to actually live in the hotel so that someone besides the security people he’d hired were around 24/7. With a working kitchen, a pool and plenty of guest rooms to choose from, it was no hardship for those who chose to stay. Plus, they were paid enough that they didn’t have to look for another job while waiting for the hotel to reopen.

“I figure we’ll do the pool last,” Jacob said as they walked through the main lobby and out onto the sun-splashed deck. “Leave it as is so your people can use it while we work. And this way, with all the construction going on, we don’t risk breaking up the new tiles you wanted in the pool surround.”

Mike studied the architect’s line drawings for a long moment.

“That’s a good idea,” he said finally. “Pool’s going to be the last thing we need done anyway.”

“Yeah, and these tiles we’ll be laying in the deck and surround aren’t something we want scratched up.” Jacob yanked his battered blue ball cap with a faded Dodgers patch off his head and rubbed the wild scrub of gray hair that sprung up as if freed from prison. “Just like you wanted, the tiles actually look like rough wood—gives the feel of the forest floor.”

Mike glanced at the man and smiled. “You know the ‘River Haunt’ game?”

“I should,” the other man said. “My son plays the damn thing every chance he gets.” Chuckling, he added, “I swear, I hear banshees wailing in my dreams.”

“That’s good to hear, too,” Mike said, and gave the other man a friendly slap to the shoulder.

“I’ll bet.” Jacob Schmitt turned slowly to take a look around the property. “This is a perfect spot for what you’re wanting. My opinion, the last owner didn’t make enough of what he had. But his loss—your gain.”

“That’s what I think, too.”

“You know, my son’s already nagging at me to bring him to the hotel for a long weekend.”

Mike followed the other man’s gaze and realized that he was anxious to get this hotel up and running, too. He couldn’t wait to see how it all came out. “Tell you what,” Mike said. “You bring the job in on time and on budget, you and your family can stay a week, on us.”