Page 39 of Sea Breezes at The Beach House Hotel

The next morning, Nell and I prepared the library for the Zoom call between Claudine and Clint. We had a notebook and pen lying beside his laptop on top of Vaughn’s desk, a pitcher of ice water within reach, and a calculator lying close by.

Clint sat in the desk chair and surveyed the room with satisfaction. “Nell, you sit over there and take notes. I want to have a witness to conversations between Claudine and me. She told me she’s reworked the numbers, and I’m not sure I’ll agree to them. That wasn’t part of the deal.”

“How will she feel about me being part of this?” Nell asked.

“She has no choice. I’ll record our conversation as well,” said Clint. “I’ve done a lot of thinking about this and many other things.”

“Okay. You know I’ll help you,” said Nell, leaning down and kissing his cheek.

“I’ll see you later. I’ve got to get to the hotel,” I said. “But if you need me for anything, let me know. Liana is here for the children. And Vaughn will be coming and going.”

Nell and Clint smiled and waved, and I left the room. Robbie was back in school, and Vaughn had left for a theater meeting.

I hugged and kissed Bailey and Ned, waved to Liana, and headed toward the hotel feeling better about Nell and Clint. They’d always worked together as a team. This would help heal the hurt and disappointments of the past.

A little while later, I was unprepared for a frantic phone call from Nell as I sat with Rhonda in our office. Trying to remain calm, Nell said, “Claudine refused to let me help Clint. She said any meeting should be here at the house with him, not me. Clint finally agreed for me to leave the room after I turned on Vaughn’s tape recorder. I get the feeling she’s up to something not quite right with this business project. Apparently, the numbers she and Clint came up with for the sale of the property did not meet with approval from the board.”

“That shouldn’t be a cause for alarm,” I said. “Financial deals take time and a lot of compromise.”

“I don’t have all the details, but it involves the sale of one property so it can be re-purchased and then sold as part of a group of properties to another buyer,” said Nell.

“No wonder Clint has felt under such pressure,” I said. “You’ve done what you could to help. I’m sure Clint is grateful.”

“I’m going to go ahead and register the kids in school. You don’t mind my using Liana to babysit until I establish a better order, do you?” asked Nell.

“Not at all. She told me she enjoys your children.” I tried to keep my voice neutral, but the possibility of Nell and her family moving here made me want to jump with joy.

We ended the call, and I turned to Rhonda. “Nell was going to take notes for Clint’s business call, but Claudine wouldn’t allow it.”

“What do you know about this person?” Rhonda said, frowning. “Let’s look her up.”

We checked Claudine Everett online.

She was listed as being 38 years old, married and divorced, the daughter of Louis and Isabelle Everett. An older sister, Natasha, had died as a toddler.

“Look at this,” said Rhonda. “Louis Everett’s company, Everett, Shuster, and Donnelly Real Estate Enterprises has had trouble with some of its dealings. One court case was recently settled for $10 million.”

I shook my head. “Why would Clint get involved with a company like that?”

“They’re high rollers,” said Rhonda. “You said Clint wanted to prove he could support Nell in style.”

“The company recruited him,” I said. “He might have been satisfied to go along as he was. Nell and Clint were doing well until this project came up. And then he had the opportunity to share in the equity.”

“Clint is bright, attractive, and would be appealing to any company,” said Rhonda. “They must have given him an excellent opportunity for him to want to become part of it.”

“He placed a second mortgage on their house to buy equity in this special deal,” I said. “Nell didn’t like the idea, but she went along with it.”

“This doesn’t sound like Clint,” said Rhonda. “It seems a bit risky. Why’d he do it?”

“Like I said, I think he wanted to prove himself to Nell and us.” I couldn’t help clutching my hands together. Alarm bells were ringing in my head.

“You know that Reggie and Will are willing to help in any way they can,” said Rhonda.

“I’ve kept that thought in the back of my mind. But Vaughn and I decided that though we can show our support, we have to let Nell and Clint work this out on their own.”

“Well, I’m just sayin’.” Rhonda’s voice shook with emotion. “You know I love those kids.”

“Thanks. I know you do.”