Chapter 53
Dorothea was completely lost. She didn’t even know what she should be
apologizing for. Latham sat in her hospital room, stone-faced, glued to his laptop. He barely looked at her, but every time she needed something, he was right there. If she wanted water, he handed her the cup. If she reached for her phone, he unplugged the charger for her. If she needed a tissue, he passed one over without a word.
She could feel his concern, even though his expression never softened. It was like his eyes were telling her, Just take it easy for once.
Dorothea spent the night in the hospital, feeling awkward and a little guilty. By the next morning, after she begged and pleaded, Latham finally agreed to let her go home.
As soon as they walked in the door, Linda was waiting for them with a table full of food. “Dorothea, you’re way too thin. Ladd told me to make you something nourishing. You need to get your strength back. Being skinny isn’t healthy, you know. And honestly, you’d look great with a little more weight on you p>
Linda fussed over her while Latham escaped to his room, clearly unable to handle all the attention. Dorothea had no choice but to sit there and let Linda dote on her. Honestly, Linda’s care felt warmer than anything she’d ever gotten from her own mom.
A day later, Dorothea was back at work. Nash had already found someone new to head the security department.
“Dorothea, are you sure you want to send out the notice today?” Nash asked, looking a little nervous.
She nodded. “Yes, just do it. We don’t need a board meeting for this. Just send the announcement and attach his attendance record p>
“Alright.” Nash’s hand trembled as he typed. He was starting to realize Dorothea wasn’t someone to mess with. And the fact that she didn’t seem scared of Elise- that was the real shocker.
The current security manager was Wyatt, who just happened to be the nephew of Walton’s wife. As soon as Wyatt got the termination notice, he stormed into Walton’s office.
“Walton, what is going on? Why did you fire me p>
Walton looked up, confused. “Who said you were fired p>
Wyatt narrowed his eyes. “You’re the general manager. Don’t tell me you don’t know. Or are you just
pretending? Yeah, my attendancen has been a little off but always get my work done. How could you just let me go? I’m telling Lea about this p>
“Wyatt, wait!” Walton called after him, motioning for the letter. “Let me see it p>
Walton’s expression darkened as he read through the notice.
“You still want to say you had no idea?” Wyatt pressed.
Walton’s head pounded. He hadn’t expected Dorothea to act so decisively. She was really making moves behind the scenes. Was this payback because he’d told her mom about her last time?
“Wyatt, this wasn’t my decision. It was Dorothea. Lea knows the hotel used to belong to Eaton. After he passed away, Elise inherited it, and now Elise has given her shares to Dorothea p>
Wyatt just stared at him. “What do you mean? I thought you were the boss here p>
“I’m the general manager, and I do own some shares,” Walton said quietly. “Just not enough to overrule her p>
He didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of Wyatt, so he left it at that. “Go back to work for now. I’ll talk to her. She’s in HR these days, in charge of all personnel decisions p>
Walton rubbed his temples. If he’d known this would happen, he would’ve kept her in Administration where she’d have no real power.
In
Before he could even make a call, a new announcement popped up in the company group chat. It was the official notice about Wyatt’s dismissal, posted for everyone to see. Dorothea hadn’t even tried to hide it: Nash had included Wyatt’s attendance records and listed every violation of the staff handbook. There was nothing anyone could argue with.
Walton stormed down to HR. Nash kept his eyes glued to his notebook, clearly wanting nothing to do with the confrontation. Walton didn’t bother with him and went straight to Dorothea’s office.
“Dorothea, was this really necessary? Couldn’t you have given me a little respect p>
Dorothea gave him a small, polite smile. “Walton, I’ve already been more than fair. Wyatt was warneda week ago. And don’t forget, last time Albert got angry with us, it was because of security issues at the
hotel. We can’t keep letting these things slide p>