Hunter's Fortune (River Jewel Resort Series Book 2) (6 page)

“Whatever.”

Hunter was so shocked at the turn in conversation, she found herself on the verge of exploding at this man. Who did he think he was!

“Y’know, you rich folks are all the same. I’m not some charity case.”

“I never said you were.”

“You’re nosy. Eavesdropping on my conversation with my daughter and butting in where you have no business. What did you hope to get out of this meeting? Did you think being nice to some poor strangers would change your karma, get your money back for you?”

“No, actually. I thought it’d be nice to sit with someone and enjoy a friendly conversation. But you know what, forget it. I’m outta here. It’s no wonder Morgan’s mom left you. You, sir, are a jerk!”

Hunter tossed payment for the cocoa on the table and rose to her feet. As she reached the door, she spun around and marched back to the table.

“You know, I wasn’t going to say anything and risk you hating me more, but I believe we are beyond that now. So, Mr. Michaels, I’m sorry you didn’t like your calendar. I thought it would be a way to remind the employees who cannot seem to keep themselves on schedule, that we have deadlines. And
I
di
d
sign authorization for every employee to get a check for five-thousand dollars this year for Christmas. I was under the assumption that each and every family had been given their bonuses. In fact, I believed I was the only one who wouldn’t be having a great Christmas because my company was robbed, every dime stolen except for what I believed I’d paid the drivers and office staff.”

Lee sat there, mouth wide open and Hunter rambled on.

“Furthermore, I am not a bitch. I may have had to take over this company, but I didn’t want it. Like you stated, I was handed the job. I try every day to run things like my father did and being a woman in this position isn’t easy. Not everyone is like Morgan’s mom. Maybe if you weren’t so bitter and angry, you’d give people a chance. Maybe you wouldn’t jump to conclusions and assume the worst in people.”

“Well, maybe you should look at how you treat your employees and you’d see that you indeed are a bitch. Y’know, if I had known who you were, I’d have left you stranded like you’ve left your drivers stranded.”

“Are you serious? I just told you I didn’t do any such thing. I signed the checks! I also told you that I’m the one who’s losing everything and still you have the nerve to say these things to me? Well, Mr. Michaels, I wish I could say it was a pleasure meeting one of my employees, but clearly it wasn’t. If there’s still a company after the first of the year, you can hand in your resignation. I won’t have anyone working for me who treats me like you have. Good day and good luck!”

Hunter marched out the door and didn’t look back. She made it to the corner before she realized she’d once again been crying.

“God, what an asshole!”

Chapter Five

“Are you okay, my dear?” Scarlet appeared out of nowhere and placed a hand on Hunter’s shoulder.

“No, and don’t touch me. I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, but, I’d like to leave. This crazy town is just as weird as your crazy resort! In fact, I think I’ll be checking out once we arrive back.”

“I’m sorry you’ve had such a horrible experience. We try to make sure our guests get everything they need.”

As they strolled through town, Scarlet continued. “Hunter, do you know why you’re here?”

“Honestly? No. Other than a string of horrible luck, being broke, getting screwed over by my boyfriend and basically being hated by my employees and stockholders, I can’t think of anything else.”

“Did it ever occur to you that all of that was supposed to happen?”

“How? Are you saying I was destined to have a shitty excuse for a father and an absent mother? If that’s the case, I sure got the shaft!”

“Sometimes we can’t control what happens to us. But we can control how we react to those circumstances.”

“Why must you speak in riddles? This whole place is a big damn puzzle. Nothing makes any sense! How could I be destined to arrive at this resort where everything up is actually down and how could being berated and hated actually be part of my so-called destiny? Why do you stand there so superior when you’re the reason I just sat through the most horrible cup of hot chocolate I’ve ever had in my life!”

“Can you hear yourself? It’s all about you, isn’t it? You’re broke, you’re abandoned, and you’re screwed over. Stop! Just for one moment, stop! It isn’t always about you, Hunter. It’s time you realized that. Until you do, your life will continue to be one big shitty shafting.”

Hunter stood there speechless. What the hell was wrong with all of these people?

“Screw you, Scarlet. You and your mumbo-jumbo, crazy talk can go to Hell. I’m done.”

Scarlet laughed. “I’m not surprised. That’s what you do. You run. Just like your mother. When things get tough, you run away. You ran here, didn’t you?”

“You bitch! You don’t know anything about me! How dare you stand there and speak to me like that.”

“Really?” Scarlet’s deep brown eyes narrowed as she continued. “My dear, I think this is exactly how you should be spoken to. You’ve obviously been spoiled your entire life. You treat people horribly. For example, let’s take a quick look at Javier and what happened when you arrived.”

The woman raised a hand and the scenery changed.

“What the...”

Before her eyes, Hunter watched a replay of her arrival at the River Jewel Resort. She saw the moment as Javier walked up to her. He hadn’t appeared out of thin air. Hunter
had been distracted when she’d gotten out of the car. She’d been looking up at the massive resort. Javier had simply walked to her from the veranda and Hunter had snapped at him, treated him like he was a leper.

“How about this?”

Scarlet again waved her hand and Hunter was watching as Lee wandered out of the woods. There Hunter sat on the gravel road, kicking and screaming like a child.

“But I was alone. Anyone would act like that if they were stranded on a deserted road. You can’t be serious.”

“Just watch.”

Hunter saw the amusement on Lee’s face as he watched her. He wasn’t making fun of her. He wasn’t some deranged mountain man. And when Lee approached her, she’d grabbed a stick, ready to kill the man.

“How would you react? I thought he was some kind of killer!”

“Of course you did. Because you are that damned important, right? In the grand scheme of the universe, the focus is on you.”

‘Why are you being like this?”

“Just keep watching.”

The scenes played in front of her like a movie on a screen. She’d clearly treated Lee like garbage. Her heart broke as she watched the way she’d behaved. How could she be such a bitch? Why was she like that?

“How about this one?”

Now, the moments of her childhood and adolescence passed in front of her. The day her mother had walked out, when she was too young to speak up. Later, when her father was too busy to come to her school functions, birthday parties and of course, the many Christmas mornings she’d spent alone or with the maid.

Tears were steadily streaming down her cheeks and she let them flow. “Why did they leave me alone? How could they do that? I was just a little girl. I just wanted them to love me, to be proud of me.”

“Of course you did.”

“Is it any wonder I turned out the way I did?”

“Is it? Could you have been any other way?”

Hunter didn’t know. She’d spent years telling herself to be strong like her father. Who would want to be like a mother who’d abandoned them? Hunter had no choice. She had to be tough and she had to guard herself.

“I didn’t want to hurt anymore. So, I stopped allowing it to happen.”

“Yes, you did. How has that worked for you so far?”

She wiped her tears and smirked. “Obviously, not well. I’m alone. I’m hated and I’m miserable. The only happiness I’ve had in years happened a little while ago. Sitting with Lee and watching Morgan eat her marshmallows was amazing and I screwed it up.”

“No, my dear. You didn’t mess anything up. It was destined to happen. This moment is the one you were meant to arrive at.”

Hunter stood there, listening as Scarlet explained.

“Now that you know who stole your money, do you feel any better? Did it fix everything? Will you be happy to just go back to the company and continue on?”

No. Hunter had never really wanted the company. She’d loved the money and even the power, but she wasn’t happy. But what else did she have?

“I think you need to go back to your suite and figure some things out, don’t you?”

With a wave of her well-manicured hand, Hunter once again found herself standing in the elevator. Scarlet was gone.

“Seriously?” Hunter threw her hands up. “You show up out of nowhere, take me on some kind of time-travel trip, rip me a new one and then you disappear? Nice.”

The elevator doors slid open and Hunter headed back to her suite.

“If there were ever a day for drinking, this would be it.” She went to the gourmet-style kitchen, poured herself a hefty serving of red wine and leaned against the granite countertop as she sipped.

“This has to be the weirdest day on record! Maybe it was all a dream? How the hell could I have gone back in time? Christmas is over. I’ll say one thing for this resort, it’s unique.”

She pondered all that had happened throughout the day and knew there was more to it. She was missing something and Hunter hated not knowing all of the facts. A few moments later, she grabbed her diary out of the nightstand drawer in her bedroom of yesteryear. It was time she faced whatever was in it.

Hunter sipped her wine and flipped through page after page of journal entries, finding nothing remarkable about them at first. However, half-way through her fifteenth year, she found it.

Dear Diary,

My life sucks! I have one friend and I think she only hangs out with me for my daddy’s money. Daddy is never around and he couldn’t even be bothered to put up a Christmas tree this year. All I want is a normal family. I have no mother, which you already know. But, what you don’t know is how much it hurts.

I hear everyone at school talk about how great their families are and I hate it. I hide my tears because I know they’ll make fun of me if they see me cry. Hunter Golde is supposed to have everything and I know if I complain, they’ll call me horrible names and treat me even worse.

Daddy has managed to scheme his way through the town. They hate him. They hate me. I’ll never be like him! I don’t want anything to do with his horrible company. He can have it. I wish he’d had a son. Daddy could give the company to him.

When I get married, I want a hard-working husband who showers me with hugs and kisses when he comes home... I’ll be the best mother. And if I ever have a little girl, I’ll devote my life to raising her. I’ll never leave them. We’ll have holiday traditions and there will be Christmas trees in every room. All kinds. And a ton of presents. Even if they’re little presents, that way we can spend hours together, laughing and enjoying Christmas morning together.

I don’t care if I’m poor. This house, these expensive clothes…none of it matters. I just want a real family.

How could she have forgotten that? Hunter remembered wishing every night before bed, praying her mother would come home, hoping her father would be the kind of dad she needed. Eventually, she gave up. She stopped believing in wishes, magic and prayers. All of the money in the world couldn’t make every wish come true, so she gave up.

She wiped the tears from her eyes and placed the book back in the drawer.

“Where are you now, Scarlet? Show yourself! Use your fancy magic to turn back time! I want to go back. I don’t want this stupid company. I never did! This isn’t how it’s supposed to be. I made wishes, I was a good girl. I did everything right and I still have nothing. I’d give anything to have a man like Lee. I’d walk away from the money, the company if I could have a family, a daughter to love.”

Hunter ranted and raved until she passed out from exhaustion and when she awoke, it was with new purpose. She located her cell phone and found she had twenty missed calls from her lawyer.

“Sam? What’s wrong?”

“I’ve been trying to reach you for two days, Hunter! We got the money back. Every damn dollar! As soon as they were arrested, Jason and Giles confessed and gave up every account number they had. Jason swears your family had it coming to them after the way your father supposedly destroyed his father. Giles, on the other hand, committed the felonious act because he’s in love with Jason. Though I must add that I am not entirely sure Jason feels the same about him. The detectives are trying to get more information as we speak. They’ve been in cahoots for years. However, the money was wired back into the company account yesterday. So, my dear, your company is saved. You’re rich again!”

“That’s great. I really don’t care, Sam. Let them be together, let them be whatever they want. Thanks to my father’s stellar reputation, I was reeled in by a gold-digger Hell-bent on revenge and the people who work for me have had a lousy Christmas. How am I supposed to fix that?” She was such a fool. Jason had been after her money all along. He’d obviously never loved her.