Chapter 319

"I will do that for you," she said while putting the receipt in her purse. "Would you like me to send any personalized messages?"

Garrett tapped his fingers against the edge of the table. "Tell Sadie that I'm looking forward to taking her to lunch tomorrow at Half In The Bag."

Evelyn's eyebrow raised slightly at his comment. "Between your history with your practice venue and a potential lunch date tomorrow, does this mean you intend to pursue Sadie as a romantic partner?"

"You can't deny she's one of the most interesting women in Emerald Pines."

"Indeed."

Vienna looked around the lobby, awestruck. "Wow," she exclaimed, "the Ellis' are going all in. Go big or go home, huh?"

"What if I were to tell you this was all Kim?" Colette said, motioning around the space with her hand. "Her Dad put her in charge of expanding this place."

"I wouldn't be surprised in the least. She was never the type to do things by halves."

The young women stood in the lobby of the recently opened Aquamarine Hotel and Convention Center, the newest addition to the now-year-round resort of Sapphire Drop. Whereas the skiing area sprawled across the slope of Taylor Peak, the hotel had been built in the form of a tower. A four-story, six-sided base gave way to six more floors of residences and high class meeting rooms rising above them to create an open-aired atrium. The entire building dripped with modernity, a sharp contrast to the faux rustic nature of the portion of Sapphire Drop dedicated to recreational activities.

"Kim must be expecting a lot of tourists to start coming up in the spring and summer," Vienna noted as they walked across the lobby.

"Considering the rumors about who her father works with, it's probably some money laundering scheme, but you didn't hear that from me." Colette pointed to an electronic sign in the center of the lobby that displayed a map of the hotel along with a list of events. On this snowy late winter Sunday only one event was listed - PRIVATE EVENT - WEST/EASTMAN, TOPAZ LOUNGE. "Come on," Colette said as she took Vienna's hand in hers. "Looks like we're on the second floor."

The Topaz Lounge served as the hotel bar. Standing outside the entrance were a rugged middle-aged man and a tall, powerful looking blonde woman wearing a black hoodie. "Bar's closed," the woman told them bluntly. "Private event."

"We're friends of one of the players," Vienna responded. "Colette Hansen and Vienna Polley?"

The rugged man checked his phone and nodded to the tall woman. "Hand over your phones once you get inside," she told them. "We see a phone or a camera, we're smashing them, end of story."

Past the front door was another rugged looking man, who took their smartphones and put them in clear Ziploc bags which were then labeled with their names. About thirty of their old high school classmates were in attendance. A majority of them were local to the area, but there was a handful from outside the Roaring Fork Valley who had decided to stay and witness the impromptu contest. While the various bar games were set up in the far corner, on this night a pool table had been placed in the center of the lounge. At the moment Danny Eastman was bent over the table, lining up a shot, while Tyler Hammond stood nearby, pool cue in hand, helping his friend warm up. Sitting off the side, smugly sipping on a glass of red wine, was Amy Yates. She nodded approvingly as Danny sunk his practice shot with ease.

A tight ball of nervousness was beginning to knot up in Colette's chest. Vienna felt Colette tense up. "Are you OK?" she quietly inquired.

"Yeah. Just... this whole situation's making me nervous all of a sudden. I've got my Diazepam in my purse. I'll take it when we sit down."

The pair made their way to a long high top set near the center pool table where the rest of their friends were currently sitting - Gio, Evelyn, Michelle, Sadie, and Brenda. A waitress arrived to take their order - club soda with ice for Colette and tequila for Vienna. "Where's Garrett?" inquired Vienna. "It's almost 7."

"He is in the back with Kimberly," answered Evelyn. "She insisted on going over the rules with Daniel and Garrett one at a time so there wouldn't be any pre-game japery."

The waitress eventually brought over their drinks. The moment Colette chased the two Diazepam with her club soda she began feeling better. Brenda, sitting next to her, gave her a reassuring smile along with a gentle pat on her knee. The group chatted lightly for the next several minutes. Colette would occasionally turn her gaze to the pool table. Danny was making his way around the table, taking shot after shot and making most of them. Tyler would pull the balls out of the pockets and roll them across the table in random patterns so Danny could quickly sink them once again. Flashbacks of the times she attended high school basketball practice with Brenda brushed against her mind - Danny, standing at the foul throw line, making free throw after free throw with the same mechanical precision.

The back door to the Topaz Lounge opened. All eyes turned as a pair of figures emerged. Kim, bubbly as always, walked beside a stoic Garrett. Garrett nodded when Kim said something to him before pointing in the direction of the high top. A weary smile creased the young man's face as he came towards them. He wore a black turtleneck and blue jeans and carried a long black case by its handle. "Hey," he said as he placed the case on the table. "Anything going on tonight?"

"Just chilling," Gio grinned. The grin faded when he saw the black wrist splint wrapped around his friend's right hand. "Dude, what happened to your hand?"

Garrett shrugged. "It felt fine after I went swimming this morning, but I ended up putting this on while I was practicing at Kim's. I spent all afternoon shooting with my left hand." He waved a hand around the crowded bar. "And I'm still trying to come to grips that this is fucking happening. How the hell did I get here?"