Chapter 3: Ninety Days
1120 Words
Ava barely slept.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the number.
That ridiculous, impossible number sitting on the contract.
Enough money to save the hotel.
Enough money to erase every debt that had haunted her for the past two years.
Enough money to make all her problems disappear.
At least temporarily.
By morning, she was exhausted.
The dark circles beneath her eyes were impossible to hide.
“Rough night?”
Lily stood behind the reception desk holding a cup of coffee.
Ava accepted it gratefully.
“You could say that.”
The younger woman studied her.
“Was t the man of yesterday, another investor?”
Ava nearly choked on her coffee.
“Something like that.”
“What did he want?”
Ava hesitated.
How exactly was she supposed to explain that a billionaire had offered her a contract marriage?
She could barely believe it herself.
“Nothing important.”
Lily didn’t look convinced.
Fortunately, the phone rang before she could ask more questions.
Ava escaped toward her office.
The moment she stepped inside, her smile vanished.
The contract was still there.
Exactly where she’d left it.
Waiting.
She dropped into her chair.
Her gaze lingered on the folder for several seconds before she shoved it into a drawer.
Out of sight.
Out of mind.
At least that was the plan.
A loud knock interrupted her thoughts.
“Come in.”
The maintenance supervisor entered.
Unfortunately, his expression told her everything before he even spoke.
Something else had gone wrong.
“What is it?”
“The boiler.”
Ava closed her eyes.
Of course.
The boiler.
The ancient boiler they’d been nursing along for months.
“Tell me it’s not serious.”
He winced.
That was answer enough.
“The repair company says replacement is the only option.”
Ava felt a headache coming on.
“How much?”
He named the figure.
Her stomach dropped.
The hotel didn’t have that kind of money.
Not anymore.
“Okay,” she said quietly.
“I’ll figure something out.”
The man nodded and left.
Ava stared at the wall.
One problem after another.
Every time she solved one crisis, two more appeared.
Her father had always made running a hotel look easy.
Now she understood how much he’d sacrificed to keep this place alive.
A sharp buzz sounded from her desk phone.
Lily’s voice came through.
“The bank manager is here.”
Ava’s stomach sank.
“What?”
“He says it’s urgent.”
Of course he did.
Everything was urgent these days.
“Send him in.”
Two minutes later, Mr. Collins walked into her office carrying a briefcase.
His expression was sympathetic.
Which somehow made things worse.
People only looked at her that way when they thought she was losing.
“Miss Bennett.”
“Mr. Collins.”
He sat down.
Neither spoke for a moment.
Finally, he cleared his throat.
“The bank has reviewed your case.”
Ava already hated where this was going.
“And?”
Mr. Collins opened a file.
“The board has decided to reduce the grace period.”
The room went silent.
Ava’s pulse quickened.
“What does that mean?”
His expression softened.
“It means you no longer have ninety days.”
The blood drained from her face.
“How many?”
“Thirty.”
Ava stared at him.
Thirty?
Thirty days?
That wasn’t possible.
That wasn’t enough time.
“There must be some mistake.”
“I’m afraid there isn’t.”
“No.”
She stood so quickly her chair nearly tipped over.
“No, we agreed on ninety days.”
“The board changed its position.”
Her hands shook.
“You can’t do that.”
“I’m sorry.”
The apology felt meaningless.
Thirty days.
Thirty days before, everything was gone.
Thirty days before, the hotel belonged to someone else.
Thirty days before her father’s dream ended forever.
For several seconds, she couldn’t speak.
Couldn’t think.
Couldn’t breathe.
Mr. Collins quietly slid a document across the desk.
“Official notice.”
Ava stared at it.
The words blurred.
Thirty days.
Thirty days.
Thirty days.
The number echoed through her mind like a curse.
Eventually, the bank manager left.
The office felt colder after he was gone.
Ava remained frozen in place.
Her eyes were fixed on the notice.
Thirty days.
The boiler needed replacing.
Suppliers wanted payment.
Reservations were declining.
And now the bank had practically handed her an execution date.
A knock sounded.
Lily entered cautiously.
“Ava?”
She quickly wiped at her eyes.
Too late.
Lily had already seen.
“Oh no.”
The younger woman’s face fell.
“What happened?”
Ava forced herself to speak.
“The bank shortened the deadline.”
“By how much?”
Ava swallowed hard.
“Thirty days.”
Lily’s face turned pale.
Neither woman spoke.
There was nothing to say.
Because both of them understood exactly what thirty days meant.
The hotel wasn’t going to survive.
Not without a miracle.
Hours passed.
Guests came and went.
Phones rang.
Staff worked.
Life continued.
Yet Ava felt detached from all of it.
Like she was watching someone else’s life fall apart.
As evening approached, she finally opened the drawer.
The contract waited inside.
Patient.
Silent.
Dangerous.
Slowly, she pulled it out.
Her fingers traced the edge of the paper.
Then she looked at the number again.
The money.
The hotel.
The employees.
Her father.
A single signature.
One year.
That was all.
One year.
A year sounded long.
But compared to losing everything?
Maybe it wasn’t.
Ava hated that thought.
Hated herself for considering it.
Yet she couldn’t stop.
Her phone suddenly vibrated.
Unknown number.
She stared at the screen.
Something told her she already knew who it was.
After a moment, she answered.
“Hello?”
A familiar voice spoke.
Calm.
Controlled.
Dangerously confident.
“Miss Bennett.”
Ava closed her eyes.
Of course.
Ethan Blackwood.
“I didn’t give you my number.”
“No.”
“Then how did you get it?”
A pause.
Then:
“I told you. I make it my business to know things.”
Ava hated how much that unsettled her.
“What do you want?”
Another pause.
Then Ethan said:
“The bank reduced your deadline today.”
Ava froze.
Every muscle in her body went rigid.
How could he possibly know that?
The meeting had happened only hours ago.
Slowly, she lowered herself into her chair.
For the first time since meeting him, genuine unease crept through her.
Because Ethan Blackwood seemed to know far too much.
And she was beginning to suspect that their meeting hadn’t been a coincidence at all.
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