It had definitely been a hurry-up-and-wait situation. Tessa had been hired in a rush and then left to her own devices for four days because Levi was involved in a plane crash the evening she was hired. When she finished her dinner at the hotel that evening, it was all over the local news, and a concerned silence had fallen over the city.

The hotel, which wasn't that busy to begin with, was extra quiet. People were subdued and talked in hushed voices. It was an understandable reaction because Levi was the reason the city had the economy it had. If something happened to him, what would become of Shaw Holdings?

Tessa had moved from the hotel to her little rental house two blocks away, just off the main street. It was convenient since she didn't have a car, only a rental, which she returned after a few days.

The house was fully furnished and tastefully decorated. It was a little 1940s bungalow with two bedrooms, a fireplace, which scared her, a sunny kitchen, and beautiful hardwood floors. The décor added to the light and airy feel with light colored furniture and curtains. Besides the tiny bathroom, she was pleased with the little cottage, and it was nice to have something that was her own.

Her days had been spent learning about the small town and the hotel operations. She had taken time to work with each department for a day and had even helped clean a few rooms with housekeeping to learn the ropes. Overall, she was settling in nicely, and the hotel staff seemed friendly.

Tessa hadn't told her family that she had applied for a job. She had told them she was taking a little mini vacation to get away for a while and think. Her father had been pushing his own Director of Operations on Tessa. He thought it would be a good match and keep Ted Braswell loyal to the company if he married into the family.

Ted was an average-looking man in his mid-forties, about 15 years older than her, and slightly balding. She didn't much care for him, much less want to marry him, but her father and sisters had been pushing hard for the match. It was the driving factor in leaving home.

The ideal of a loveless marriage where she stayed home, had babies, and entertained VIPS alongside her husband for a living sounded like a death sentence.

Tessa slid her feet into her shoes and looked at herself one last time in the mirror. She wouldn't win any beauty awards and may have given up her one chance at marriage, but she wasn't sorry. She needed to call her family and tell them she wouldn't return, and she dreaded it.

Looking at her watch, she gave a little yelp and grabbed her work satchel as she hurried out the door.

Tessa had received a text from Josiah last night saying he had set up a meeting with the infamous Trinity at half past eight.

It was a short walk to the hotel, and when she entered, she saw Josiah in the office with one of the most beautiful women Tessa had ever seen. It wouldn't be unbelievable that Josiah and Levi could be in love with such a striking woman.

Tessa saw Josiah give her one of his famous "Joey grins" and felt her stomach roll over. Not that she cared. They were talking about something serious, and Tessa watched as Josiah pulled Trinity close in a hug. Tessa thought she should break up whatever was going on before too many people noticed, so she checked her watch to make sure it was time, then opened the office door, noting that Trinity stepped away from Josiah, keeping her back to Tessa.

"Should I come back?" Tessa asked in a soft voice.

"No, come on in and meet our CFO, Trinity Emerson," Josiah said, looking almost jovial. Was a friendly spat resolved, or a lovers' quarrel solved?

Trinity had pulled herself together and smiled politely as she held out her hand to Tessa.

"Trinity, meet Tessa Baker. She's our new manager," Josiah said, introducing them.

Tessa stepped forward and took Trinity's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Tessa tried her best to keep a vague, friendly look on her face, reminding herself she had no reason not to like the beautiful woman.

"Are you from the area, Tessa?" Trinity asked.

"No, I'm from Texas." Tessa couldn't help tensing like she did whenever her personal life came up in conversation. She was still having a hard time believing that she had landed a job, and she felt that anyone could call her out at any moment for her lack of experience.

"You know ranching then?" Trinity asked.

"No, I'm from the big city. I can ride a horse, but that's about it." Tessa bristled. She didn't understand why she was having such an adverse reaction to the woman, other than that she was jealous of her beauty and poise.

"Don't worry. I don't know much either, and my eyes tend to glaze over when Josiah and Levi start to talk about ranch business." Trinity looked over at Josiah, and they shared a smile, which rankled Tessa even more. She was leaning towards lover's spat.

But Josiah had said he never mixed pleasure and business, and she believed him.

"What about you, where are you from?" Tessa asked in her gentle voice.

"I'm from Georgia," Trinity said, turning her attention back towards Tessa as she asked the question.

"Then you know about cotton farming?" she asked in a charming tone. She knew it was an obnoxious thing to say, but she was intimidated by Trinity Emerson and didn't want to appear weak.

Josiah covered a laugh with a cough, and Trinity's eyes grew wide. "Touche, Ms. Baker. Point taken. Shall we get down to business?"

Tessa felt relief flood through her at the look of amusement in Trinity's eyes at her rebuff.

They spent an hour talking about the state of the hotel finances, and then, with a look at her watch, Trinity stood.

"I have to go. Walk me out, Josiah," she asked as she picked up her bag.

Tessa watched them leave and noted Josiah put his arm around Trinity's shoulders. Tessa took that moment to look at the staff's reaction, and they seemed less than pleased by it. She'd bet anything that Trinity was not well-liked within the company, a fact she was basing on her own reaction to the beautiful woman. Tessa made a mental note then and there not to judge the woman based on her looks. It wasn't fair. After all, if Josiah had based Tessa's capabilities on her looks, she probably wouldn't have gotten the job.

Josiah returned to the office and closed the door, but Tessa was still watching Trinity, wondering what it would be like to be that beautiful. When a man approached her, Tessa kept watching, thinking she wouldn't like strange men walking up to her, so maybe it was a good thing.

"Are you ready to catch me up on everything?" Josiah asked her back.

Tessa watched Trinity tense and then turn toward the elevators with the man. She caught a look of fear in her eyes, which was reflected in the mirror over the front desk. Holly returned her brief greeting but didn't look up from her phone.

That wasn't normal. Tessa ignored Josiah's question and walked towards the elevator, but the doors closed before she made it to Trinity and the man.

Josiah was watching her from the office doorway as she walked to the front desk.

"Holly, who was that man?" Tessa asked, knowing the girl hadn't even looked up from her phone when Trinity went by.

"What man?" Holly asked with a frown.

Tessa took a deep breath and calmed her rising concern. It wouldn't do any good.

"How many people are currently booked into the hotel?" Tessa tried a different approach, knowing there couldn't be many.

"There are currently three bookings." Holly frowned.

"Is one of them a single man?" Tessa asked.

"Yes, I believe so, he asked for a quiet floor, so I put him on the third." Holly pulled up the reservation as Tessa joined her behind the counter. The name didn't ring any bells, and she looked across the lobby at Josiah, who was watching her with a frown.

He must have seen her concern when their eyes met because he moved towards them.

"What's wrong?' he asked.

"Does the name Christopher Langford mean anything to you?" Tessa asked.

Josiah frowned. "Langford, no?" he said, pulling out his phone and Googling it. What he saw made him pale. "He's here in the hotel?" he asked urgently.

"Yes, he just took Trinity up to his room." Tessa nodded as she reached for a blank key card, sensing something was seriously wrong as Josiah texted something to someone.

"Holly, call the police," Tessa said softly as she programmed the room's key card.

Holly had caught on that something serious was going on. "What do I tell them?"

"A guest is disturbing the peace, and we need their help. When they get here, send them to the third floor."  Tessa walked around the front desk and toward the elevators, Josiah on her heels.

As they exited the elevator, they could hear yelling that turned to blood-curdling screams.

Josiah ripped the key from Tessa's hand and opened the door while Tessa stood in the hall, praying that the police would hurry. She heard a muffled fight from behind the door that had closed behind Josiah. Then, a few minutes later, he emerged looking disheveled.

"How did you know?" He asked, shaking his hand, which looked bloody and bruised.

"I saw Trinity get into the elevator with him. She looked frightened." Tessa swallowed hard. "Is she alright?"

"Thanks to you, she's alive, but not alright." Josiah shook his head.

The elevator doors opened, and the police and Levi joined them. Realizing she was not needed, Tessa excused herself to go back downstairs and handle damage control.

The fact that both Levi and Josiah loved Trinity was evident, but who did Trinity love?