Tomorrow, It's Time To Get Back To Work

Mrs. Berrington took Lucas back to DC to be buried next to his father. Tomorrow didn't fight her; she said her goodbyes to Lucas at the funeral home that morning. His mother had him dressed in a black suit, probably the one he wore to his grandfather's funeral. 

She wanted to have him cremated so she could scatter his remains on the beach. Maybe a little on the rocks where he shot off the fireworks. But she knew his spirit was always going to be here on the island. Her question now was what she was going to do. All the fight was out of her, and depression was setting in. Even a guarded view of the dolphins playing in the water didn't bring her the joy it used to.

David found her still in bed, staring at the flowered curtains she couldn't open. She didn't even move as he entered the room. She had her knuckle clenched tightly between her teeth. 

"Sweetheart, wouldn't you like some lunch?" 

"No, I was thinking about going to pee, otherwise I'm fine here," she snapped back.

"Sweetie, you need to eat."

She rolled over and gave him a dirty look, "sweetie, do I look like a sweetie or have you forgotten my name."

"No, I haven't Tomorrow but you used to be sweet."

"Well, boredom will do that to a person."

"And not eating will make them weaker and apparently hangry. You can't let them drag you down Tomorrow. You're going to win, not them. Now get up and eat something," David demanded as he pulled her from the bed. This was the third day she has spent moping in her room and now she has taken to her bed. 

"And do what," she said, slapping his hands from her legs. "I can't even sit on my balcony." 

"They made five more arrests so far. Picking up Paul was the key, and it is all thanks to Dante. He was not implicated at all. Paul finally came home, and we picked him up. Dante was right, he does have a big mouth. He will have to be put in witness protection. He doesn't mind, they promised he would get custody of his daughter, so he is thrilled. His ex-wife is a problem, she will end up in prison with the kid taken away anyways. She was well known for prostitution and drugs in the area. 

He should get custody if he is not in prison. They plan to help him. He's been helpful in this case. They expect that if he can keep a decent job, they should do well. According to Agent Ramos, Paul was very concerned for his daughter. He claims he took the job for the money before he knew what it entailed and then he was stuck," he told her all this as she moved to the living area couch, which is the furthest she has been in a week. Meals and entertainment were all brought to her room. He felt Niesha was enabling her to be bedridden.

"We also know that none of the money was intermixed from Le Moine's business and the drug money. I also told Ramos you wanted to go through the stuff in the house," he said, "they have opened all the boxes, but not molested any of the merchandise and you should expect to spend weeks going through the stuff and good luck."

"When did you find out all this?" She asked as she sat down. 

"Well, I contacted the Bureau to see about moving you and was told to call back in thirty minutes. They were having a conference call that is when they had this discussion. I got off the call right before I came in to see you sweetie. I wasn't trying to hide anything from you," David assured her. 

She shook her head, "No, I didn't mean it that way. It has been days without a word and then all this," she said lifting her hands in a go figure move. 

"The FBI have been working Tomorrow all this takes time. They have been working for years to hide it, and we have only been digging for a couple of weeks. Like I said, Dante opened it all up with his Paul connection. Isn't it strange how small the world is?" 

"I know that was what I was thinking. Of all the people, Dante runs into a man with ties to this case. So, do they know why the LeMoine's wanted me dead?"

"Theory," he said, indicating he was not sure, "if you knew too much. If Billy hadn't run you off the road, you would have been off Scott free. However, once the police started investigating them you had to go. You saw the money you saw the trucks driving by. Oh yeah Paul drove a Swan truck not Schwan the normal delivery company. His was just a mockup. He made a trip to the valley three times a week delivering boxes to a small home near the border. We also believe the old lady counted the money. Her fingerprints were on the money strips, not John's."

"Maybe she was paid for her work and spent it on the products, but really didn't want it. You know 'it is mine and I will spend it as I want' attitude," Tomorrow offered. "Why would they want to help terrorists? That is what Dante said was involved. I never heard anyone talk about HUMAS or hating America. It makes no sense." Tomorrow said, shaking her head in disbelief.

"I know, but it is all turning to that connection," David told her his dismay evident.

"So, when can I go home?"

"Soon but first, you have to talk with the two who want to be managers."

"Oh yeah, what time is it?" Tomorrow asked, not sure about anything now. 

"It is about 1:30, you have time to shower and eat lunch." David suggested. 

She hadn't meant to go back to her apartment, but back to Angleton. However, that will be another battle to fight later. 

Walter Abrams the first candidate was a forty-five-year-old studious looking man. He was what you would expect a hotel manager in New York to be like. He looked too uptight in his suit and tie for a vacation resort feel. The other one, Lance Biggers looked and acted as if he was named for porn movie actors, gay ones. Tomorrow let them each have a nice suite and to spend the weekend. She told them she would let them know soon. Flashing a, you have to be kidding, look at Rocco.

David took her arm and led her to the hotel's office. "Lucas found the others on the internet. We can find more suitable people who would be interested in managing a hotel in paradise," David said, pulling the keyboard around towards him. "Ok sweetheart let's sit down here and find where Lucas found you and Laurel," 

"Ok, I wasn't being obtuse, they were all wrong, right?"

"No, you have it right, they were wrong," he said hurriedly checking the history for personal sites. Finding one, he typed in Lucas's name and found his account. Tomorrow sat back and relaxed, he knew what he was doing so far.

"So how do you want to word these ads?" David asked, fingers perched ready to type.

"Experienced hotel manager needed for a four hundred room singles vacation hotel in paradise. Must be younger and able to mingle with younger people but not be a letch," Tomorrow told him with a smile. "That should weed out the molester's right." 

David burst out laughing and patted Tomorrow on the arm "Sure that should do it."

"Oh yeah, must be willing to Skype during the interview. I want to interact with them. It tells you a lot about a person. Lucas was too cute when we first skyped. He was so nervous I wouldn't come," she said and told David all about the job interview.

She reminisced as he filled out the job requirements. He knew she had no idea what to ask for and thank God he was still here with her. The case was wrapping up and he would be leaving her soon. The Bureau has been very nice to them both not dragging David out here sooner. It had been his guess to solve this mess. 

It appears Dante was right in his assessment. The Mexican government, along with a dozen other agencies in the U.S. government busted, and a HUMAS related camp in Mexico only eighteen miles from the Texas border. Americans were paying for all of it with their drug money. They smuggled money and drugs in tunnels under the Rio Grande River to fund the training camp. They were poised to attack the US as soon as they had trained enough men.

Posting the job took no more than ten minutes. They sat back and waited for the applicants to apply, talking about different aspects of the case. 

Tomorrow was enjoying the different location. A, a week and a half in that room was getting to her. A sharp knock on her door snapped both of them out of their thoughts. David was thinking about what his next case would be. Tomorrow was thinking about the lovemaking that went on in this office. Smiling about Niesha wanting in just as it was getting good. 

Rocco barged in. "So no to both?"

"Rocco, what were you thinking? They would run people off. We need someone like Lucas, handsome, friendly, fun," she told him. 

"Ok, I'll ask around some more."

"No!" She snapped a little too quickly. "That is Ok; we placed a job opening on the internet and are waiting for applicants. I think we will try it this way. That is how Lucas found the rest of us." 

"Not me he asked for me specifically," he snapped back, indignant she would suggest such a thing.

"I know Rocco and Lucas was thrilled when you came. A chef and a manager are two different things. You would be hard to replace. I'll let you know what we find. I know you were just trying to help but no on both of them. How has business been?"

"A little off; but I'm being told we are doing well, for the off season."

Tomorrow smiled, "Good, some fruit and bacon would be good."

"Sure, sweetheart you haven't been eating well. I'll send some as quickly as I can."

"Thanks," she said as they hugged. 

Once he left, Tomorrow whispered, "he tried out four different chefs and we liked him the best. He started out real snotty but got over the big city vibe quickly."

"You're lucky he is good, and he wants to stay. I have spoken with him a number of times. He is so afraid the place will close."

"I think everyone is but all we need is to find a manager and at least two more desk workers. Laurel and Pearson can't keep working these hours. Before I could handle the desk for a few hours, but as you know I haven't been able to lately."

"We didn't discuss how much you are willing to pay?"

"Yeah, I can offer an apartment and meals, but what, a month?"

David pulled the keyboard around again, "let see what others are paying."

"Guess not much depending on experience, start at thirty and not much more." He went digging again and found the stubs for Laurel's and Pearson. He paid them twenty-four and you only got thirty? Man, he got a great deal."

"Smart ass, I would have done it for room and board just to get away. I really hadn't discussed pay until I got here. I felt I was being overpaid, he only got about five or six hours out of me a day." 

"I know he was happy with your work. He was very proud of everything you two accomplished, he told as much."

"I know he was. He was a good boss well before he became a boyfriend. He learned a lot from his grandfather."

"You know I met him when we were kids. My folks brought us out here one summer," he told her the story about the girls. They laughed about Lucas and his women problems. 

David checked the site and had three replies already. They read over the applications but only one looked promising. 

"Are you ready to skype now?" David questioned. 

Checking in the mirror on the back wall, Tomorrow smiled. 

"Hello, my name is Tomorrow Monroe. It is nice you could skype with me. We are looking for a person who could blend in with a younger crowd, but keep an air of professionalism at all times," she said to the handsome young man on her screen."

"I gathered that with the no letch comment," he answered with a devilish smile. 

"So, tell me about your experience with hotel management."

He settled back and explained his background and his aspirations. He has a girlfriend who works the front desk at the Hilton they work at. No, he is not the overall manager, but it is an eight hundred-room hotel. They have conferences there all the time. He is in charge of the conference rooms and half of the other duties of the hotel. They have a huge turnover rate of seven to nine hundred people daily. 

Tomorrow told him what she was looking for and what they had going on this beautiful island setting and his eyes lit up. She told him about the apartments on site and the great chef they have. She could see him squirming in his seat wanting to come out. 

David watched her light up as she talked to him. He had his degree in hotel management, looked, and sounded like a winner with his years of experience. He put his thumb up in agreement as she looked at him for his approval. He had been working on his laptop doing a check on him as she interviewed him. 

"Well, I think you should see when you could get some time off and come out and see the place. See if it is something you would be interested in doing. Right now, it is the off-season, and I will have plenty of time to show you around. If your girlfriend or anyone else you know would be interested in a front desk job, we need two at least, as of right now. We have only been open a short time and we are still filling positions," she explained. Telling him where to find the web site for the hotel and no passport needed was a plus. They spoke a while longer and set up a date for the flight. He would tell his boss he needed time off.

Three more applicants came in, but Tomorrow liked Ty Bancroft best. He is twenty-seven and may have people who want to come with him. They are just getting into the conference season and would love to be gone before it starts. 

"I like him, David said, and he has a girlfriend, so he won't be trying to jump all the female guests."

Three days later, Ty and Megan, walk into the lobby, Tomorrow was behind the desk and David was long gone. They felt confident the FBI caught everyone who was involved, even the killer in Chicago was snagged through email connections. Smart crooks they were not. 

David bid a hugging goodbye and a promise he would be back soon to check on her. She knew he was trying to make a connection with her, but for Tomorrow, it was not there beyond being a good friend. He has a room anytime he wants, but he is not the one. Or maybe she is still numb from losing Lucas. 

She has been working up the nerve to call her mother and come clean with her. Might even have her come out and visit. Might. But for now, Ty is here, and she hopes he will take over. Laurel and Pearson are exhausted. Off-season or not they are busy. 

"Ty," Tomorrow called out, catching Laurel's attention. She has been anxious about his arrival as well. Lucas had been so easy to work for; she hopes he doesn't come in and try to change anything. They have worked out the kinks, 'please don't mess with it' was her attitude.

Coming out from behind the front desk, she watched Megan, she was all smiles, but Ty was busy looking the place over. His eyes darted around taking it all in.

Diego stood at the door, watching him also. That one became invaluable to her. She wished he had a degree in hotel management because she would hand it all over to him gladly.

They meet in the middle of the lobby with a handshake. "I'm so glad you could come out so quickly." She shook hands with Megan. "Would you like to go to your room first and freshen up or start the tour now?" She asked because he seemed very interested in the hotel. A nice cool breeze was flowing through the entry adding to the beauty of the place. Those billowing curtains set such a peaceful mood for the lobby welcoming everyone. 

"That would be perfect to go to the rooms first. We will be down in about twenty minutes," Ty said and flashed a perfect white smile Megan stood right beside him playing the dutiful girlfriend. 

"Keys Laurel," Tomorrow called out as Diego approached the desk knowing where the key for them sat. Laurel was busy with the new guests; a half dozen came in on the same flight. 

Approaching Ty, Diego shook his hand and took his luggage. "I'll take them up," he said and extended his hand to show them the way. "I'm Diego, I have been working here, well before the hotel opened. The owner and I were good friends. 

The staff and I are heartbroken about his death. If you receive a not too hardy welcome, it is for that reason. I know this place like the back of my hand so if you need anything just ask. Tomorrow tires easy and you can't push her too hard so as I said, if you need anything just ask. We will be in the lobby so just come on down and I hope you're going to like it here," Diego told him quickly as they stopped at their door. 

"Thanks. So how long has this hotel been open? I looked at the web site and I realized it is an older hotel, but the renovations are done well," Ty stated, still taking it all in.

"Thanks, we opened just before Christmas, but the hotel has been here forever. My grandmother worked here. She started out cleaning rooms and became head housekeeper back in the sixties I was told. So, it has been here a long time," Diego answered with a smile. 

"Ok, let's get going, we will be down soon," Ty said, patting him on the shoulder as they entered the room. 

They were given a nice two-room suite with a beautiful fruit basket sitting on the table, the curtains were open, and the breeze billowed the sheers. They walked in and Ty put his arm around Megan. "Can you believe it? They act like I have the job already."

"I know, I got the same vibe," Megan said as she walked across the room.

"Let's get cleaned up and go look around because this could be a life changing experience," Ty said excitedly. 

Tomorrow knew those billowing sheers tugged at her heartstrings when she first walked into her room. She hoped it would do the same for them. She was not going to assume they would sleep in the same room and gave them the option when she selected this room for them. Megan looked as pure as the driven snow, apparently marriage material. 

She has moved back into her apartment and had Lucas's belongings packed up and the apartment made ready for the new manager. It was a bigger place than hers, but as Lucas said, she spent so little time there. She had his things placed in storage. Once she has a place to put them, she will sort the stuff when she is sure she can handle it. 

She knows she will spend some time crying. She missed him so badly she kept expecting to see him walk into the lobby wearing his khaki shorts, flip flops, and smiling so happy to see her. Tears came to her eyes, but the elevator dinged and opened, and Ty and Megan were back, and she had to keep it together.