She crossed her arms. “Well, it’s none of your business.”
“I disagree. This hotel is about to become my business and the center of my attention.” He looked at his dirty fingernails and picked sardine gunk out of them as he spoke. “Speaking of overheard conversations. It’s a shame about your lover’s finances.”
“Carter is not my lover.” She glared at him. “What about his finances?”
“All tied up. Overheard him on the phone with his money man. He can’t get access to the cash he needs to buy the hotel. He left Wednesday morning. Doesn’t look like he’s coming back.”
Staggered by the news, she swallowed hard. “Are you sure?”
“There’s no one left but me, sweet spot. So, in fact, you are very much my business.”
Ellie wasn’t paying attention to him. Her thoughts swirled around Carter. “He wouldn’t. I know he wouldn’t just leave without...” saying goodbye .
Maybe that was his revenge. He’d made her think he was planning to buy the hotel. He’d seduced her. Tore down her defenses. Forced her to admit that she needed him, and then simply...walked away.
The room started spinning. Unsteady on her feet, she walked away from the bar in a daze. “I have to talk to my uncle.”
Regaining her bearings by the time she reached Russert’s office, she threw open the door without knocking and confronted her uncle. “Why didn’t you tell me Carter was leaving?”
He looked up from behind a pile of documents on his desk. “Beg your pardon?”
“Carter is gone.”
Russert came to his feet. “I knew he went back to the mainland to pull together some investments. He said he’d be back this afternoon.”
“He’s not. I checked the guest list up front. He signed out, but he never signed in again.”
Russert spread his arms. “I’m not sure what to tell you, Eleanor.”
“He has to come back,” she said, her voice trembling. “He didn’t tell me he was leaving.”
Russert drew his lips to one side, as though considering how to tactfully state something. “I, uh-hrm.” He coughed. “I gathered you two were having some sort of... difficulty seeing eye to eye.”
Ellie set her hands on her hips. “Does everyone know about my personal life?”
“The hotel was very quiet last night. Except for—well, you get the idea.”
“Okay, that’s humiliating.” Shoulders drooping, she her hand over her eyes. “I’m sorry, uncle. I didn’t mean draw anyone else into this mess.”
“It got me thinking.” Russert came out from behind his desk, linking his hands behind his back. “Would you prefer one investor over the other?”
“No—yes.” She exhaled. “I know it’s insane to expect that someone might actually ask me what I wanted.”
“I just did.”
She sighed and leaned against the door frame. “It’s a no-win situation.”
“I recognize that.” He adjusted his glasses. “But last night, let’s just say I saw things from a different perspective. I recognized what a difficult position you are in, and while I can’t withdraw the auction, I may be able to stack the deck, if you wish.”
Thinking about it for a few moments, she slowly shook her head. “I don’t know if I want to stay here—I don’t know if I can , not with two investors trying to purchase me along with the hotel. I might decide to leave.”
The lamps in his office suddenly dimmed, flickered, then brightened to full light. “That was strange,” she said, looking around, feeling like someone had walked over her grave.
Russert shrugged. “Probably some disturbances in the power companies south of us. The hurricane is heading toward the Gulf, but I’m sure we’ll feel its effects.”
Ellie paled. “I thought yesterday it had died down to a tropical storm.”
“This morning it was changed back to a category two hurricane. We should be fine. Still, I decided to push up the auction to ten in the morning. Should people need to evacuate for any reason, an earlier start time will give them the opportunity to get back to the mainland quickly.”
Russert sighed. “Anyway, enough of that. Is there something you needed, Eleanor? Oh, you were talking about perhaps leaving the island. I support that idea. I think it’s the best one you’ve come up with yet.”
“Thanks,” she said dully, as her thoughts dragged a slew of fearful warnings through her mind.
First, the sharks barricading the island waters. The lights dimming just now when she talked about leaving. The storm approaching.