Page 88 of Call It Home

A smile that I was sure had charmed the panties off many ladies was aimed in my direction. “Cameron.” The hand I held out was engulfed in a warm, smooth one. “If I recall, we’d already settled on first names.”

I tipped my head. “Connor, then. Please, join me in my office?

“I appreciate that you could make time to travel to Sterling Mill. It’s a little hard for me to get away just now.”

“I find it better to get to know the surrounding community as best I can whenever I buy an investment property.”

“Is that all The Laurel Ridge Hotel is to you?” I tried to sound neutral, but from his frown, he didn’t miss the disappointment in my voice.

“That’s an interesting question, Cameron. I don’t think anyone has asked me that.”

I shrugged. “Just so you know, it’s more than that to me, as it is for a lot of folks around here. While it’s been closed for a couple of decades now, there are still those around these hills who have very fond memories of it, either as a guest or as an employee. If you treat it only as an investment, you won’t care how the designs turn out, so long as they seem appropriate on the surface. But The Laurel Ridge has a personality all her own. She’s not just some building that should be covered up with new clothing like lipstick on a pig. She just needs to be shined up and polished, allowing to let her natural beauty come through.”

He stared at me like I was crazy. And maybe I was, comparing a building to a woman, but he might as well know upfront that I wasn’t interested in transforming the majestic hotel into some modern, shiny thing that would fit into a big city anywhere in the world.

He crossed a leg over the opposite knee and ran his hand across his chin while he studied me. I held his gaze. If he wasn’t interested, fine. I’d treat him to dinner and go on my way. I was getting a flood of calls on a daily basis asking about our build and design work. But I wanted this hotel… if I could find a way to make it work.

“You’re hired.”

“Wait. What?” I wanted the job, but I expected to have to share with him the thoughts I already had, to try to sell him on a certain style, then wait weeks while he made up his mind.

“Cameron, I’ve studied that hotel for hours. I’ve studied more stats on its possibilities, run analytics for so long that a baby could have been conceived and born, and acquired more data than can fill this office. I know I can make it a successful business. But I want more for it. You’re exactly right. Just as Halcyon Hotels has a certain image, The Laurel has her own, and it’s not the same as our usual brand. The fact that you recognize it tells me that you are the right person for the job. I’ve seen your work. I like it.”

“But we haven’t discussed cost. How do you know I won’t inflate our prices now that you’ve verbally committed?”

He smirked. “Will you?”

“Well, no, but you don’t know that.”

“I consider myself a good judge of character. If you were really going to try to screw me over, you wouldn’t have asked the question. And back to your original question. The Laurel is more than just a hotel to me. I don’t know how to describe it, but when I saw a picture of it, a certain calm fell over me. That’s never happened before. And when I visited it on a whim, I knew I had to have it. That was four years ago. That feeling has never gone away.”

His answer made me smile. “Then I think I’ll like working with you.”

“Good. Now, let’s get down to a little more brass tacks, shall we?”

We spent the next hour with him familiarizing me with a very general time frame as well as his goals and a general budget, which had my mouth dropping open. We also set a day when we’d walk the property together, along with his brother, Logan, and Keeley, whom I couldn’t wait to meet.

“Can I ask you a more personal question?” I asked when I finally put down my tablet, wriggling my fingers after typing almost nonstop.

He froze in the process of straightening the papers in a file he’d brought. “You can always ask, but I don’t promise to answer.”

“It’s nothing big,” I hurried to assure him. I sensed he was a closed book on his personal life. “You said you found a sense of peace when you visited The Laurel. Why not just buy or build a house for yourself? Why buy an old, rundown hotel for your business?”

He seemed to relax a little, but his lips twisted slightly into a frown, and I worried I may have crossed a line. I was about to tell him it was none of my business when he finally answered.

“You’re very insightful,” he said. “There isn’t one quick and easy answer, either. The easiest is, it will make money for us. And that’s what most people will see and believe, and they’d be largely right. But,” he added more quietly, “if I am able to find peace there, how many other people would benefit from that same feeling? Why keep that all to myself? Most people don’t have the luxury of building a house with such an amazing view, but they can visit for a short time. It also benefits the area. I’ll be employing large numbers of people, which also stimulates growth in the communities, especially ones like Sterling Mill.”

“Some people aren’t going to appreciate that. With growth comes trouble, too,” I pointed out.

“Growing pains are hard. But I’ve done the research. More and more tourists are coming, whether people like it or not. I believe I can help that along in a positive way. There will be resistance, of course. But I hope to benefit the area more than take from it.”

I thought about his answer for a minute, then asked, “Did everyone at your company agree with this decision?”

He barked out a short laugh. “My own brother thought I was crazy at first. But in the end, he supported the idea. He even went so far as to say he was tired of advertising for the same style over and over again. He’s excited to have something different to focus on. Anyone who didn’t agree with my vision, well, let’s just say, either they kept their mouth shut or they’re no longer working on my executive team.”

“Wow. That’s not a little harsh?”

“Cameron, you run a business here. How does it work for you if they’re not on board with your vision? Unless you haven’t changed in the past several decades, in which case, you might want to think outside the box. But I think you already have. Otherwise, why would you compete on a national show?”

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