Chapter 6
Lula returned to school on Wednesday.
She asked Taryn not to tell everyone what happened.
Taryn respected that.
The school counselor knew because of the police and child-welfare process.
Her teacher knew because she had witnessed the party.
Nobody else needed details.
That evening Lula asked:
“Is Pearl bad?”
Taryn looked up from dinner.
“The dog?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Grandma said the dog was better than me.”
“Pearl didn’t say that.”
Lula considered it.
“So Grandma is bad?”
Taryn chose her words.
“Grandma did something cruel.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Seven-year-olds had an annoying ability to locate the hole in adult language.
Taryn sat beside her.
“I don’t know if people are one thing forever. I know what Grandma did was wrong, and you won’t be around her while we figure out what happens next.”
Lula nodded.
Then:
“Is Camille bad?”
“Camille should have stopped what was happening.”
“She didn’t.”
“No.”
“Why?”
Taryn answered:
“Sometimes people stay quiet because the person doing something wrong is also the person giving them something they want.”
Lula looked at her.
“Like dog presents?”
Taryn almost laughed.
“Sometimes bigger things than dog presents.”
Camille’s own cooperation was proving exactly that.
Her company had received another $620,000 prepayment from Fairmont Crest three weeks earlier.
Purpose:
Inventory reservation for chain-wide pet program.
The contract had not been fully approved.
Camille’s CFO questioned the money.
Camille called Doreen.
Doreen said:
“Keep it. We’ll paper it after closing.”
Camille did.
That was a problem.
She did not spend all of it.
About $470,000 remained in her company account.
Her lawyer advised immediate escrow pending review.
Camille complied.
Then she produced texts.
Camille:
Taryn hasn’t approved expansion.
Doreen:
Taryn doesn’t own the hotels.
Camille:
She runs them.
Doreen:
For now.
That phrase was dated a month before the birthday.
Another:
Camille:
If she leaves, who runs ops?
Doreen:
We have nine GMs and a president. Don’t be dramatic.
So Doreen was not terrified because Taryn was magically indispensable.
She knew the hotels could operate without her.
Then:
Doreen:
I need her through financing. After that, structure changes.
Camille:
Does she know?
No response.
Taryn read the exchange.
Her mother had already planned a post-closing reorganization.
“What structure?”
The board secretary eventually provided draft materials.
After refinancing, Doreen intended to split Taryn’s COO role.
Regional hotel operations would report to the president.
Brand and guest experience would become a new division.
Proposed head:
Camille.
No formal approval.
Just a draft.
Taryn stared.
“So she was planning to push me aside anyway.”
Melissa nodded.
“That seems likely.”
Taryn did not feel betrayed by the job.
She had already quit.
What mattered was timing.
Doreen needed Taryn’s credibility through Friday.
Then she intended to reduce Taryn’s authority.
The money threat at Lula’s party became clearer.
May you like
Doreen had assumed Taryn would tolerate humiliation because she had too much compensation and status tied to the company.
What she had not expected was the badge landing in the cake.
