Room with a View

Chapter 10 - The Managers Party

Shelia finished her business notes about the other investors then finally got back to her room and called Winston, telling him what had occurred. He expressed displeasure in her tactics until she persuaded him to look at the bigger picture. One problem was now manageable and if he issued dividend cheques immediately they would be waiting for the investors when they got home; it could be enough of a stall for time to wind up their own business.

Winston was concerned that they could be exposed if she continued fraternizing with Gary but she assured him that it would be in Gary's best interest to see that didn't happen. Whatever she decided to pass along would be of no consequence and would be accepted because she was also placing him in an awkward situation with his partner Weiss.

He agreed to go along but he wanted her to come over and study the books once more, together . . . just to get a better picture. She put him off by using the party preparation as an excuse; she needed to organize her material for keeping the new investors happy in a more congenial setting. Shelia was amazed at how her tale had aroused Graves in spite of his protest. Another tumble was out of the question . . . she was only human.

He expressed angry disappointment but she promised to make it up and they hung up, both satisfied to some extent. With her notebook open, Shelia began thinking about the sequence of the things she had to do and when she couldn't find her pen she made a rude noise and went hunting for something to write with. Some days were better than others.

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Miller's day had dragged on with a morose sulking around the lighthouse, walking scrub-covered paths leading to more densely covered hills and gullies and back to the starting point with little gain. He lined up with sunburned kids and mothers to buy a sandwich for lunch at the Dive Shop food stand and ate it while he walked, bored and dejected.

He tried reading on the balcony but the stunning sight dragged his eyes away and he found reading impossible and then, after a while, even the scenery palled. He went inside and browsed through the material from the resort package. He could scuba dive-for a fee. Or he could golf, ride a horse, sail board, water ski, take a craft lesson, all for nominal charges, or tour the grounds with one of the staff, a ruse Miller figured, to entice buyers for the enormously expensive shops the resort featured.

He checked his watch and figured it was too late to go to the beach so he decided instead to make plans to attend the Manager's party. Two and one half hours to go. This gave him lots of time for a long shower in the trickle provided by his bent, pipeline.

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Billy examined herself in the mirror and made a face. She knew she looked good but then she always did . . . it was her job. The outfit she'd purchased from the boutique fit her like a glove and the white contrasted sharply with her tan. She selected a pair of small ruby drop earrings and a matching necklace, grabbed her clutch purse and placed a call to the front desk.

Carlos went over his instructions with her and they shared a brief argument over each other's common sense then he told her to be outside in ten minutes when the cart with Winston Graves would pick her up. Miller wouldn't know that she hadn't come down unannounced, but deliberately, to help her father with the resort's potential investor. The fact that she had no accommodation was another sore point but she still hoped to see Carlos successful - in business as well as personal.

Winston had made it a point to ingratiate himself with management so he would appear to his clients that he was a well known and popular personage about the resort. With golden promises of investing, Carlos had extended extra privileges to his guest, one being the company of his daughter at the party.

When Miguel arrived he barely tipped his head as she greeted Winston Graves with a peck on the cheek and allowed him to help her into the cart. Apparently Miguel didn't approve, Billy thought. They arrived at the center and from there made their grand entrance to the pool patio, shaking hands with Carlos and some of the staff and greeting other owners and guests.