She would have loved to stick around and watch the two young people progress, but after changing her shirt, she sat at her desk and ran over the multi-page spreadsheet containing every single dime she’d spent on fixing up the resort to date.
By the time the sugar from the pie had worn off, she had a better handle on her finances. Or lack thereof. Personally, she was broke. Since returning to the resort, she had yet to take a paycheck for herself. She’d not only sunk every dime she’d saved over the years into the place, but her inheritance from her grandmother was earmarked to finish up all the other repairs and changes.
By the time the place was done, she would have only a few hundred dollars left. Which meant there wasn’t a lot of room for errors or extras.
Her aunt and uncle’s high salaries easily paid for the extra workers Rachelle had hired.
Fiona had filled Rachelle’s position and had immediately suggested lowering the pay to a standard rate. Raven couldn’t with a clear conscious pay a woman less for the same amount of work.
She supposed it was Fiona’s way of trying to help, but the fact was, the woman was making a big difference. Raven knew her worth would really be obvious when they finally opened the doors again for guests.
She’d worried at first that working with Cade’s mother would be odd. But so far, she’d only had a pleasant experience. Over the last week, she’d had several lunches with Fiona and had enjoyed the woman’s company immensely.
When a knock sounded at her door, she glanced up and waved Gloria, her new head of housekeeping, into her office.
“Afternoon, Miss Brooks.” The woman stood in her dark grey uniform just inside her doorway.
“Gloria, what can I do for you?” she asked, closing the screen with all her numbers on it. Not that the woman could see her computer screen, or that it really mattered, but Raven wanted to get in the practice of keeping things like that to herself. Why let the employees worry when they didn’t have to?
“I was hoping to have a talk with you. Several of my employees are worried about some rumors going around,” Gloria started.
Raven waved the woman to the chair across from her desk.
“Rumors?” Raven asked after the woman sat down.
“About Mr. and Mrs. Brooks,” Gloria answered as she rung her hands together.
“My aunt and uncle no longer—”
“No, I’m sorry, I’m not talking about them,” Gloria interrupted.
Raven frowned. “My parents?” She shook her head. “They’ve been dead for over ten years.”
“Yes, but before then, the rumors say they were members of…” The woman crossed herself quickly. “Members of a group that openly hated people like me, and over half your staff.”
It took Raven a few moments to understand what the woman was talking about. Then it dawned on her.
“Are you saying that my parents were racists?” she asked, trying to keep a calm tone.
Gloria nodded. “Some of the staff have been around for a long time. I was only a housekeeper when your parents ran this place.”
Raven laid her hands on the desk and took several deep breaths. “What do you remember of my parents?”
Gloria met her eyes. “Your parents were good people. Which is why I’m coming to you now. I don’t like what I’m hearing from my staff. I didn’t want this to get back to you, but figured…”
Raven relaxed and finished for her. “That it would be better coming from you.”
Gloria nodded. “You have been so wonderful to all of us. Regardless of… who we are or how we live.” She waved her hand in the air. “When you made Tim sous chef…” Gloria smiled. “That boy deserves his own kitchen, and even though your uncle was trying to fire him after your uncle found out about his personal life, you stepped in and promoted him.”
“Tim is easily one of the best chefs I have ever had the pleasure of knowing,” she replied, making Gloria’s smile grow.
“I’ve done what I could to stop the rumors among my employees, but my reach only goes so far.” Gloria stood up suddenly.
“Thank you.” Raven stood as well. “Do you happen to know where the rumors started?”
Gloria frowned. “I’m afraid I do. Thankfully, you have already fired the girl,” Gloria answered.
“Kim?” she guessed. Gloria nodded. “Thank you for bringing this to my attention.”
After Gloria left her office, Raven sat at her desk and tried to think of her next move. If employees were gossiping about her dead parents, it really didn’t bother her. Or so she tried to tell herself.
But the longer she sat there staring at her dark computer screen, the more irritated she grew.
She glanced down at her watch and decided that a short walk would help her clear her mind. She changed out of her low dress heels and pulled on her tennis shoes, then locked up her office and headed outside.
It was the peak of the summer. The flowers in the courtyard were still in bloom and the grass that had been planted a few weeks back was now green and plush.
If she hadn’t known better, she would have guessed that the grounds had always looked this good.
Taking the pathway that would lead her to the base of the ski runs, she tried to figure out why it bothered her so much what people thought of her parents. They had always been good to her. Sure, there had been plenty of fights. But the quibbles they’d had had been the standard parents-versus-teenage-angst variety—being grounded due to bad grades or for not completing her chores.
Looking back at her life with her parents, she could only really remember the good or the happy times.
She hadn’t realized she’d reached the base of the slopes until she heard a dog barking, which shook her out of her haze.
Glancing around, she somehow expected to see Blue rushing towards her. Instead, a pure white husky with piercing blue eyes jogged over to her, it’s tail wagging and its tongue dangling from its mouth.
“Hi.” She bent down and gave the dog some attention. “Who do you belong to?”
“Skid?” a man’s voice called out. “Leave the boss lady alone.” Raven glanced up to see Eddie Mimms walking towards her, a smile on his face.
“Hey,” she said, standing up and shielding her eyes from the sun. “Is this your dog?”
“Yeah, we were just out for a walk. You?” he said, as Skid wandered off slowly.
“Yes.” She glanced up at the hill. During the summer months, the hillside looked less intimidating. Sure, it was an almost straight upwards climb, but it was something anyone in decent healthy shape could enjoy. Raven knew full well that, after first snow, the hillside she was looking at was one of the scariest and hardest runs at Cannon Falls.
“It looks so harmless,” Eddie said, getting her attention.
She chuckled. “I was thinking the same thing.”
“Does it remind you of anyone?” he asked.
She glanced over at him, and he chuckled. “When you returned, a lot of us around here thought you’d last a week.” He shook his head and they started walking down the pathway towards the lifts. “Then you stood up to your family and fired them.” He whistled slightly. “Which took as much guts as it took brains.” He stopped at the base of the lifts and laid a hand on the large metal base. The chairs were off the lifts, currently getting repairs or being replaced, leaving long poles hanging from the thick wires above. “Then you started putting money back into this place.” He tapped the metal, sending an echoing sound vibrating from the base. “Smartest move yet.”