Been Here All Along

45| surviror

Having a hotel on the same property as Westchester would have business booming, I'd think. As of right now, it's viewed more as a club for locals to join and come to, but a hotel would additionally give it a resort vibe. There's enough to do at and around Westchester that would make it a good investment.

"That's exciting. I hope it works out."

   "I think it's his way of coping, ya know?" She probably wasn't specifically talking to me, I just happened to be the one around and listening. "He built the lounge when my mom died, and now the hotel."

I remember that sorrowful time here at Westchester when Mrs. Geraldine Westchester passed away. She died unexpectedly when she had a heart attack in her sleep. Mr. Westchester started going through the process to have the lounge built shortly following her death.

Now it's been almost two weeks since Ian died, and Mr. W is looking to take on a new project. He probably does it to keep himself busy and refrain from falling into unhealthy patterns of overwhelming sadness like a lot of his employees have.

Kaila already barely works here because of her actual job, Mason only just returned to work on Thursday, and I have barely been able to step foot on to Westchester property since Ian died. 3 of his most dedicated employees haven't been at work because we have been mourning Ian's death.

"How are you both?" I asked, genuinely curious. While Caroline only really met Ian a few months back, Mr. W has watched us grow into the adults we've become. He's taught us life lessons that no other job could've. He's been a solid model figure in my life, and he was in Ian's too.

"It's hard seeing everyone hurting and not knowing how to help. I kind of feel like my dad thinks there was something he could've done to have prevented all of this, but there wasn't. It was out of his hands."

"He kind of reminds me of Ian, actually. Ian always tried to fix things that he just couldn't. And when he was sad, he channeled his emotions into JROTC, like Mr. W does with work."

"I noticed a lot of similarities in them, too." She smiled to herself, looking to be in wandering thought about something. "Well, my dad asked me to do a run through of the park before we go into our meeting, so I should get moving."

Caroline left, leaving me in the lounge practically alone. Anyone else that works in here is part of the financial team and they all work in little corridors or offices.

My job is to answer phone calls and register newcomers for memberships, and that is pretty much it. I guess the easier the job and the less people around, the better.

Mason walked in, wearing navy blue slacks and a Carolina blue button-up, ready for the meeting.

"Morning, Josie," he flashed me a smile. Shockingly, it did brighten my day a little bit. I appreciated Mason's easygoing presence that was beginning to settle in again.

"Good morning. Good luck with the meeting."

"Thank you!"

I really hope this works out for Mr. W and the rest of his team involved because a new project sounds like a great idea to keep everyone's mind focused on something more important than despair.

Working the front desk at the lounge is easy money, but it's incredibly boring with literally no one to talk to. Cara would always tell me while Ian was initially deployed: keep your mouth busy, not your mind, but that is hard to do when there is no one around.

As you could imagine, my thoughts were running amuck.

And Ian Miller was the root of it all.