Resorting To The Truth

The young woman gave her a friendly smile and pointed in the direction of the hallway leading to Sam Briton’s office. “She’s probably in her office back that way.”

Charlotte nodded. “Thank you.” She turned in that direction and paused ever so slightly. She had no wish to run into Sam again. Not only was her body remembering what happened between them in his office, but on the beach, as well. Her hand touched her side where he’d massaged her cramp away.

Her head held high, she took the plunge and headed to Katie’s office. The door was open, but her office was empty. Now what?

Just as she was about to look for paper and pencil to leave a note, Katie came up behind her. “Ms. Miller?”

Charlotte spun around. Her pulse rate accelerated as if she’d been caught doing something illegal. “Yes,” she said breathlessly, then continued in a stronger tone, “I was about to leave you a note. You were looking for me?”

Katie smiled. “Yes, I was. It’s actually Mr. Briton who wants to speak with you. He was dealing with some other issues and asked me to locate you.”

Charlotte’s stomach revolted. She didn’t want to talk to Sam Briton...ever. If she’d known Sam was the one who’d requested her presence, she would have stayed on the beach.

Wow! Where did that come from? Maybe the beach air was giving her the courage to stand up for herself, even if it was only in her head. Although, thinking she’d stay on the beach and actually staying there to spite Sam were two different things. After all, he was in charge of the resort. He could easily make trouble for her.

“Please step into my office, Ms. Miller.” The male voice coming down the hall was already intimately familiar. Instead of allowing Sam to intimidate her, she straightened her shoulders and tried not to be too annoyed by his tone.

Without speaking, she did as he requested. His presence was tangible as he followed her into his office. Thankfully, he left the door open as they took positions on either side of his desk. She didn’t need a repeat of last night’s regrettable incident or their chance meeting on the beach this morning.

Now if only she could erase the unsettling images from her mind. Even in the bright light of day, the ghostly impression of last evening’s intimate clinch remained front and center in her brain.

“Have a seat.” Sam’s tone was commanding as he lowered himself into his chair.

She looked at the chair next to her. “I prefer to stand.” Was she channeling Allie’s self-confidence? This could be habit-forming. Standing up for herself felt pretty good. Especially when it was out loud and not merely in her head.

He shrugged, but his eyes narrowed as if he didn’t like her newfound strength. Not that preferring to stand was actually a definitive issue. He probably didn’t care.

He reached across his desk for a piece of paper that looked as if it contained a list. His shirtsleeves were rolled up to below his elbows and Charlotte found herself fascinated once again by his well-developed, tan forearms. Her gaze traveled to his large hands with their long, slim fingers and neatly trimmed nails.

“Allie?” From Sam’s tone, Charlotte suspected it wasn’t the first time he’d addressed her.

She lifted her chin a millimeter. “Yes?” She needed to get used to answering to her sister’s name if she had half a chance at fooling anyone, especially that big client.

“So I guess the jig is up.”

“Excuse me?”

“Last night you tried to convince me you’re not Allie, but her ‘twin’ sister.” He used air quotes, which she disliked immensely, and his mouth twisted as if to mock her. “Charlotte. Isn’t that the name you used?”

Before answering, she sat down in the chair and pulled it closer to the desk so they were eye to eye. She chose her words with deliberation. “My name is Charlotte, and Allie Miller is my identical twin sister.”

He slammed the paper down in front of her. “Then why is Allie Miller on this list of conference attendees and not Charlotte? Why are you wearing your sister’s name tag?”

She put a hand to her name tag and swallowed with difficulty. People in the art world didn’t speak to her like that. “I’m going to trust you’ll keep this between us.”

He stared at her, and she had trouble finding her voice, as well as the words. Where was that self-confidence now?

She spread out her hands on the desk. “Here’s the deal. When I arrived, I found out there’s a man, a presenter, who is looking to switch advertising agencies. I can’t get in touch with my sister to let her know, but I’m hoping to talk the man into allowing Allie to pitch to him. She needs a large account like his to keep her business going. Meanwhile, everyone thinks I’m Allie, no matter how many times I’ve told them I’m her twin. They just think I’m lying.” Exactly like you do. “So I’ll use that to Allie’s advantage.”

“I’m not surprised.” He turned his back to her and faced the ocean through the window. “Just another lie to protect yourself.”

“What!” Charlotte leaned toward him, hands flat on his desk. She spoke to his back, wishing she could face him eye to eye. “Why won’t you believe me? I’m telling the truth!” She sucked in a breath—she should have just shoved her ID in his face when they’d first met. But at this point, she almost didn’t care what he believed. Almost. “I’m not Allie. I’m Charlotte.” It took a lot to make her mad, but she was almost there. “Is that why you summoned me here? To ask why I’m wearing my sister’s name tag? You could have had Katie ask me.”

He was silent for so long, she thought maybe their conversation was over. Then he asked, “Do you know how to climb a palm tree?”

“What?” The question was so far off topic that she nearly laughed. “Why would I climb a palm tree?”

He spun around to face her. “Never mind.” He tapped a pencil on his desk. He didn’t look at her when he said, “We’re done here, Allie. I don’t know what your game is, but I expect you to stay out of trouble this week.”

Charlotte’s eyes widened and she stared at him for a long moment. Talking to the jerk was a worthless cause. She stomped out of his office and headed directly to her room. She needed time alone to get her emotions back under control. The man made her ridiculously angry and frustrated. So unlike her true self. She rarely found someone who irritated her that much.

She ripped off her name tag lanyard and threw it on the bed. Then she opened the French doors leading onto the balcony, choosing to stretch out on the lounge chair overlooking the ocean. Breathing deeply and closing her eyes, the peacefulness of her surroundings slowly, but effectively, calmed her.

Several minutes later, she rose from her chair and stood at the iron railing to watch the ocean. She smiled. The sunlight reflecting on the water inspired her to grab her camera.

Feeling rejuvenated after capturing many different angles through the lens, she checked the time to see that lunch had already begun.

Charlotte threw the lanyard over her head and reached the lobby a few minutes later. She helped herself to the food set up on long tables.

Carrying a water bottle under her arm, a green salad in a bowl and a plate with a half sandwich and tropical fruit, she stepped outside to the lanai and peered at the square tables to locate a free seat.

She’d have been happier taking her food onto the beach or to her room for some more alone time, but instead she gravitated to the chair Jared and Veronica had waiting for her as they had promised at breakfast.

“Thanks for saving me a seat,” she said and meant it sincerely. These two were the bright spots in this trip, as well as her only information about what to tell Allie regarding Raymond Foster.

“I assume Katie found you,” Veronica said before Charlotte could sit down. “She was asking everyone if they’d seen you.” At Charlotte’s nod, Veronica asked, “So what did she want?”

Charlotte set her plate down and pulled out her chair. “Turns out, it wasn’t Katie who wanted to see me. It was the resort manager, Sam Briton.”

Veronica choked on her sudden intake of breath. “That hot guy who dragged you to his office last night like a caveman?”

“That’s the one.” Charlotte was glad she hadn’t confided in anyone about what actually happened in his office. She had merely told her new friends that Sam had mistaken her for someone he knew back in South Carolina. Someone he didn’t care for.

“What did he want?” Jared took a bite of his sandwich.

“He wanted to apologize again for last night.” That seemed like a credible reason. She congratulated herself for coming up with it so easily.

Before they could ask Charlotte more questions, Katie rang a bell to get everyone’s attention.

“This is your fifteen-minute warning,” she said in her perky voice. “Lunch is almost over and workshops will continue until five o’clock. Please read your provided schedule for times and locations. I’ll be around to answer any questions.” She glanced at the paper she held. “Dinner will be served at six o’clock, followed by some entertainment I’m sure you’ll enjoy. The bar will be open until midnight.” At the crowd’s obvious delight at her last statement, Katie waved and retreated into the lobby.

Fifteen minutes passed quickly as Charlotte, Jared and Veronica discussed which workshops to attend. Charlotte made sure to pick a different one from them. Then they scrambled to finish lunch and get to their chosen workshop. Charlotte went along with the hurrying, thinking she could hide out on the balcony of her room for the afternoon.

That was one place she could definitely avoid running into Sam Briton.

CHAPTER FIVE (#ulink_a749050e-bf34-5e3e-8a84-8143cc8da431)

ALLIE AND JACK left early Saturday morning for Devonshire, Vermont, a small town on the north side of the Green Mountain National Forest. They had just exited US 91 in Vermont when Allie said, “I hope Charlotte made it okay. She was supposed to text me when she got there.” She turned to Jack, who was driving. “Have you heard from her?”