Christmas at last chance.., p.1
Christmas at Last Chance Lodge, page 1
Christmas at Last Chance Lodge
C. E. Graham
Cover photo by
Karalee Christensen Photography
c.e.grahamauthor@gmail.com
Christmas at Last Chance Lodge
© C.E. Graham 2020
All Rights Reserved
Last Chance Lodge Series
Christmas at Last Chance Lodge
Last Chance Lodge – Lillian’s story
Chapter 1
Bridgette Harmon’s high heel shoes clicked on the tile floor as she made her way to her office. White floors, white ceiling, the only splash of color in the hallway came from the different outfits she spotted through the glass office fronts.
Philmore Claring, the owner of Claring Meadows Hotels, liked to walk down the hall and see who was working and who wasn’t. The posh high-end resorts were run through this central hub in Atlanta.
Bridgette’s pleated, plaid mini skirt moved up and down as she walked. Not too far up, she hoped. Bridgette paused in front of the office of Harold Claring, the grandson of Philmore, to flip her dark brown hair off her shoulder. Making sure no one saw her; she stuck her tongue out at him then proceeded on her way. The tall, dark-haired man scowled as he did every morning when she stuck her tongue out at him but then went back to the paperwork on his desk.
As Bridgette entered the room, Kate, her office mate glanced up. Unlike Harold, Bridgette had to share an office. “Good morning, Bridgette.” Kate’s pale face looked up at her. Blonde hair and blue eyes, Kate wore deep red lipstick that stood out like a neon sign on a dark street. Bridgette tried to tell her over and over again it didn’t go with her complexion at all. “But it was on sale, I bought a lot of it,” Kate would reply. It wasn’t worth the words anymore.
“You’re here on time, or I’m late.” Glancing down at her watch, Bridgette said, “Nope, you’re here on time.”
“I wanted to smile at Harold on the way past before you stuck your tongue out at him and made him mad.”
“Stay away from that man. He’s nothing but trouble.”
Kate folded her arms. “He’s kinda cute and definitely rich. A girl could do a lot worse. Besides, he’s settled down a lot since that last sexual harassment lawsuit.”
“A girl could do a lot better, too. I don’t know if there’s room in his heart for anyone but himself. The only one who thinks he’s cute is him. You know he has a mirror on his desk. Everyone else in the office has a picture of their mother or family. I don’t know why Philmore puts up with him.”
Philmore had taken Bridgett under his wing when she first came to the company straight out of college. He had shown her the ropes and worked to get her up and running in her job. It had been a great job until she caught the eye of Harold. After having flowers sent to her desk and her home and a barrage of being asked out repeatedly, he had gone up to the line of inappropriate and sailed right over it. She had to finally complain to Philmore, who put a stop to it.
“Well.” Kate stood up. “I’m going to go get another cup of coffee and maybe Harold will notice me.”
Bridgette ignored her and logging onto her computer. Her first order of business was to deal with all the emails.
A few minutes later, Kate rushed back into the office and shut the door behind her. “You’ll never guess what I heard.”
Bridgette hated guessing games and had always refused to participate. “You’re right.”
“When I was getting coffee, I overheard Harold talking to Philmore. Harold said he wanted you gone and Philmore replied.” Kate stopped to giggle. “Philmore replied, ‘Why? Just because she doesn’t swoon over you?’ and Harold replied he couldn’t stand your snotty attitude. Philmore explained to him how resort bookings had gone up twenty percent since you took over the sales position. After a few back and forths, Philmore told him you were too good to lose. They stopped talking when they spotted me, so I left.”
“So, the little weasel’s trying to get me fired? He’ll pay for this.”
“Now, now, be nice, Bridgett. I didn’t tell you all that to get you stirred up. Remember the part where he said you’re too valuable to lose.”
“That was nice to hear. I’ll believe it more when I get a pay raise. Meanwhile, I’m not going to be valuable if you keep talking.”
“I’m doing it again, aren’t I? Sorry.” Kate sat down in front of her computer. A few minutes later, she whispered, “You don’t think he’s cute?”
“No.”
“Still, do you think I have a chance?”
“Not with that lipstick.”
Kate sighed.
On her way to deliver some papers, Bridgett saw Philmore pacing back and forth in his office, as he often did when he had something troubling him. His thinning gray hair had just enough coverage to hide the top of his head. At six-two, he was a man she could look up to, literally. Before she could turn back, Philmore noticed her and motioned her in.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you.”
“No, no. It’s a family matter. Something I should never be dealing with at work, but it's hard not to be dealing with it at work when the problem is here.” He pointed towards Harold’s office.
She nodded. “Here are the reports you asked for.”
She handed them to him, but he threw them on his desk instead of looking at them. “Listen, I have two issues and I think you’re the answer to both. I have a grandson who I need to get rid of, but I can’t until late December when my resort in the Bahamas is complete. He’ll take over there and I’ll get him out of here. Meanwhile, however, I can’t have the two of you under the same roof. I can’t get rid of him or my daughter will never talk to me again.”
“Am I getting fired, Sir?” She felt the blood drain out of her face.
“No, no, no. Don’t be ridiculous. The other issue I have is the lodge I own in Baden, New Hampshire. The Lovely Lucy Lodge. My father built it and named it after my mother, Lucy Claring. What a sweet woman she was. He went on to other things, so I took it over. It was my first hotel, and from there, an empire was born. It’s been struggling along for years, just holding its own. But now the Bullard’s, a group of investors who don’t have a clue how to run a hotel, are building one in Baden. My accountants tell me that two hotels in that small town isn’t sustainable. I’m sending you up there to run it until Harold clears out. I’m hoping you can prove my accountants wrong. I would hate to lose that Lodge. If it all goes south, no worries, I’ll bring you back here to take over his old job when he leaves.”
“Do I have a choice?”
“Of course, you have a choice.” He cleared his throat. “Well, no not really. I want to keep you, just not here.”
“It’s October. Isn’t it cold in New Hampshire?”
“No, it’s not cold.” His eyes widened. “It’s freezing. Cold doesn’t even begin to describe it. Listen, here’s the deal. I’ll move you up there, I’ll give you a fifteen percent raise for going, and it has a small apartment built right in the building where you can live, so you won’t even need to rent a place.”
“Twenty percent and I’ll do it.” What am I thinking? She asked herself. Am I mad? but she had gotten caught up in the moment.
“Make it twenty-one and we have a deal. I always like to have the last word in a negotiation, even when I’m losing badly. Makes me feel like I won.”
She smiled and held out her hand. “It’s a deal.” He shook her hand. She liked shaking hands with him. The large and warm hands reminded her of his large and warm heart.
“You don’t have to move me out there. I have a furnished apartment here in Atlanta. I can fit everything I own in the back of my SUV.”
“Even better. That somewhat makes up for the raise I gave you. Take the rest of the week off. I’ll have Harold take on your work package since this is all his fault anyway. I’ll let them know you’ll be up there on Monday.”
Grabbing a box out of the supply room, she went to her office and packed up her personal stuff, including the picture of her mother.
“What are you doing?” Kate asked.
“I’ve been given my own hotel to manage. You’ll be reporting directly to Harold now.”
“Oh, congratulations. Your very own hotel to manage. Wow, and at your age.”
“Well, Kate. It’s been great working with you. I’ll probably be back in about four months, so this isn’t even goodbye.” She hugged her.
On her way out of the office, she stopped in front of Harold’s, waited until he took notice of her, then stuck out her tongue.
This time he smiled and waved.
What did that smile mean? Does he think he won this round? He has to know his grandfather can’t stand him. She whirled back towards the exit and made her way out, not as happy as she had been a minute ago.
Chapter 2
Not being the type to sit and wait for a job interview, Bryce Jacobson paced back and forth in the office of James Bullard. The walls were a buttery cream color, the type of color someone uses when they can’t decide on a real color. The carpet was so plush, Bryce felt he was walking on a mattress. The office assistant looked from her computer occasionally to roll her eyes at the pacing Bryce, then she’d go back to what she was doing. When he heard the door handle click, he quickly sat down and picked up a magazine. Realizing he had it upside down, he flipped it over. The office assistant rolled her eyes again.
Another person, about his age, left the office. James came out in a neatly pressed suit, whit
“No, it’s Jacobson.”
James flipped through the resumes until he found it. “Ah, yes, there you are. Mr. Jacobson. Come on in.”
As Bryce entered the room, he noticed the windows which looked down on 34th avenue. “Impressive.”
“You should see the Macy’s parade from here. Simply amazing. Anyway, have a seat.”
There were two plush chairs in front of the huge mahogany desk. James sat down behind the desk in a bigger chair still. “I’ll cut straight to the chase.” He consulted the resume again. “Bryce.” Looking back up, he continued, “I’m having a hard time filling this position. I’ve interviewed twenty people today for the job, but either they don’t have hotel experience or they don’t want to live in that small cold town. You are my dream candidate. You have a degree in hospitality management, and you have run hotels before. My question to you is, would be willing to relocate to Icicle, New Hampshire? That’s what I call Baden, anyway.”
“I’m from Baden, Sir. I’ve always wanted to return home. There aren’t a lot of hotels there. In my line of work, it hasn’t been possible, until now.”
“Wow, excellent. I’ll have to talk to my colleagues, and I have two more interviews to get to but it’s looking good so far. I’m going to put your resume’ at the top of the stack.” Bryce watched as James set his resume to the side. A dozen resumes sat in the wastepaper basket and two others sat in the inbox.
Bryce walked out of the office door, he went over to talk to the office assistant. She had a bun in her brown hair and wore glasses but wasn’t bad looking. “Say, it was nice meeting you. Would you want to grab some coffee sometime?”
“Sure, that would be lovely. Here.” She fumbled through her desk drawer. “Here’s my card with my cell number on it. I’m free tomorrow at eight if that works.”
A little over-eager perhaps. “Sure, that works great. Pick you up here?”
“Yes, I’d love that.”
Bryce hadn’t made it out of the office before James called the next person in. “Mr. Craig, I presume.”
“No, I’m Reeves.”
“Susan, when is Mr. Craig coming in?”
“He called and canceled when he found out where he might be working.”
“Oh, too bad.”
Reeves piped up. “Is there a problem with the location? Nowhere cold, I hope. I don’t like the cold.”
The door closed behind them. Bryce couldn’t hear the rest of the conversation.
Susan smiled and winked, “See you in the morning.”
“Eight it is.” In the morning? I thought I was asking her out for tomorrow night. Good thing she said something. I should have asked her to dinner. Dinner is always at dinnertime. He made his way out the door and down the elevator.
The people up and down 34th Avenue were shoulder to shoulder, it seemed to him when he walked out onto it. He made his way down the subway and home to the Upper East Side. He lived in and managed a boutique hotel with forty rooms. He would be doubling that if they offered him the job. Why would you need eighty rooms in Baden New Hampshire? The men he would be working for weren’t hoteliers.
“Well, did you get the job?” John, the desk clerk asked as Bryce entered.
“Won’t know until tomorrow. It’s looking good, though. Nobody else wants to live in the foothills of Mount Washington.”
“It does sound cold. You have some emails from the boss. She marked one of them Urgent. Boy, she’s going to wish she treated you better.”
“I might have a desk clerk position open; do you want to move out of here, too?”
John shivered. “You lost me at foothills of Mount Washington.”
Bryce sat down at his computer and checked his email. The boss wanted the exact same reports he had sent her the day before. She didn’t mince words at her request, even questioning his parentage. I’m going to be so glad to get out of here.
He re-sent the same reports and explained that he had sent them yesterday. They weren’t even due until the next day. He had been so happy to get them done early, but none of that mattered now. She wouldn’t be satisfied. The woman was never satisfied. Greedy. That word always came to mind when dealing with her. She wanted double the profits but wasn’t willing to put a dime into the hotel to fix it up. Ignoring the rest of her emails, he grabbed some food out of his tiny refrigerator. The small apartment attached to the hotel had been one of the reasons he took the job, but now she was wanting to turn that into a hotel room. So far, he had talked her out of it, but she mentioned it every time he talked to her. “I can’t afford to live in New York with the wages you are paying me,” he explained over and over again.
In the morning, he picked up Susan at her work. She stood in front of the building, so he didn’t have to go all the way upstairs to get her.
“Your boss doesn’t mind you not being in the office?” Bryce asked.
“We don’t start until ten, so we have all morning together. I know this lovely coffee shop just around the corner.”
The aroma of twenty different types of coffee hit him as they walked in. The place had glass-paneled arched doorways. Wood shelving held the different glass jars full of all sorts of coffee blends. Round tables and ladder-back chairs finished the look.
The two of them sat and made small talk for an hour. Bryce had waited a while to ask if she thought he had the job. He didn’t want her to feel that was the only reason he had invited her to coffee. It was the only reason, but he didn’t want her thinking that. “So, how are the interviews going? Has James selected someone yet?”
“Well, I think you’re the only one left in the running. They have two choices, start the process all over again, or hire you. I’m hoping they start the process all over again, however. I don’t want you to leave. I’m just getting to know you.”
He nearly spit out the mouthful of drink, luckily swallowing it before he did. Clearing his throat, he said, “Oh?”
“Yes, you’re adorable. And to think you asked me out in the morning. That shows true commitment. My friend Hanna told me that. She says if a man asks you out for dinner or something like that, he’s only thinking the date will last a long time and well, you know he’s only thinking of one thing. In the morning, however, he must really want to get to know you, because, well, you know, there just isn’t time for that one thing before work.”
What are you talking about? “Wow, really? Your friend Hanna must have us guys figured out. Tell me, by chance, is Hanna with a guy now?”
“No, they only want to ask her for dinner. She, of course, refuses those requests for obvious reasons.”
“I see. Oh, my, look at the time. I’ve got to go, but hey, it was great talking to you. If your boss mentions he wants to hire me, tell him yes.”
She put her hands on her hips, “What about us?”
Us? There is no us. “Oh, Baden really isn’t that far. I’m sure your boss will let you stay at the hotel for a discount. He owns it, after all.”
She blushed and then leaned over and kissed his cheek. “You think of everything, don’t you?”
“I try.” He rushed back down to the subway. Checking behind him to make sure she wasn’t following him, he finally relaxed. What on earth just happened? Does she think I’m her boyfriend now? I hope she doesn’t actually show up.
Chapter 3
The trip had gone well for Bridgette until the last twelve miles. With a light snow coming down, the road had only a dusting, but a slick corner caused her to spin out and slide off the side of the road. She hopped out of her red SUV and kicked the tires. Getting in again, she put it in drive to get back on the road. The tires spun, causing it to only dig deeper into the soft mud at the edge of the highway.
A sheriff’s car soon pulled behind her. The tall man with a mustache, put his hat on his head when he stepped out, hiding his greying hair. “Having trouble, Ma’am?”
