Page 24 of Searching for Sunshine

“I think that’s a good plan. Can I see the logo ideas?” I ask, leaning over to look at her computer screen. Duke blows out a sigh of annoyance as I shift under him, and I pat his head in apology.

“Okay, obviously these are just some rough sketches, so if you hate them we can trash them and try again. But what do you think?” she asks, turning her screen in my direction so I can see it.

My mouth drops open, and I stare at the computer in shock. “Aves! You did all this last night?”

On the screen, there are at least five different logo options, a stockpile of at least ten social media posts, and some other fun doodles that we could incorporate with our branding.

“Yeah, but like I said, if you hate it, I can totally restart. I was just trying to get an idea of what you might like.”

“They’re freaking perfect, Aves. I’ve always known how talented you are, but this is wild. I love all of them,” I say as I go through some of the pictures.

“Well, you know, it’s amazing how much I can get accomplished now that I’m not managing a hundred and fifty kids every day. I loved teaching so much, but I wasn’t expecting to feel this free, you know? I feel like all of my creativity is coming back now that I know I’m not going back to the classroom this fall.”

I nod because I completely understand what she means. I’ve told myself for years that teaching was my calling and I had to be obsessed with it in order to be good at my job. And while I don’t think I ever would have made the decision to leave on my own, I have to admit that it feels good not to worry about decorating my classroom or calling parents anytime in the foreseeable future.

“But enough about that,” Avery continues, pulling me from my thoughts. “Why don’t we start with the new logos and you can tell me which one’s calling your favorite. Once we have that, I’ll use the colors and fonts to help design the website, and then maybe we can start taking reservations.”

“Oh, it’s so hard because I love them all,” I tell her truthfully, pointing to the one that caught my eye first. It’s a vintage hotel sign with a surfboard and a palm tree coming out of the top, and the pinks and blues match the hotel colors perfectly. “I think this one.”

“Ah, okay, that one is my favorite too. I’ll get it cleaned up and then start using this style to add to those posts I’ve started. And I’ll work on setting up all of our social media accounts too and send you the login information too.”

“All of that sounds perfect. Now we just have to figure out how to get people to come stay here.”

“Yeah, I was thinking about that too. And I feel like we need to decide who our target audience is. Is it families looking for a quick getaway? A romantic couple’s destination? Or a fun girls’ trip? Obviously, we’re probably going to get all of it once we hit our stride, but I think the clearer we can make our vision, the better chances we have of filling this place up.”

I think about it for a moment before I ask, “What if we market it as a wedding and bachelorette location? The walk-up access to the beach and the outdoor bar beside the pool area would both be ideal for a small wedding. And I know when my friends from college got married we had the hardest time finding somewhere that could accommodate us all that wasn’t crazy expensive.”

“You know, that’s not a bad idea. You and I could plan some events here at the hotel, and we could offer a catered dinner on the beach too. I feel like we could put together some packages, and I’m sure some local businesses would be willing to partner with us too. Maybe some boat tours from your new hunky hubby?”

“Yeah, I think that would be so fun. We could offer a welcome party at the pool and maybe some morning fitness classes too if any of the groups are interested,” I suggest.

“Wait, Stels. I think this could actually work,” Avery says. “Plus, weddings are more expensive than just the average hotel stay so that could be a good way to make some extra money. But they’re also a ton of work. So why don’t we try the girls’ trip and bachelorette route until we feel comfortable hiring morestaff, and then we can reassess after that? And we could always offer bachelor parties too, but honestly, we’d have to call in reinforcements from your hubby on that one. I have no idea how to plan a weekend for a whole group of dudes.”

“That sounds perfect. Let me text Wyatt and see if he’s willing to work with us on this,” I tell her, pulling out my phone and sending him a quick message.

Stella: Hey, Avery and I are talking and we had an idea on how to drum up some business for the Hideaway. But I wanted to run it by you real quick if you don’t mind because once I tell Avery to roll with it, there will be no going back.

Wyatt: Sure, go ahead.

Wyatt: Just don’t leave me hanging because honestly your best friend scares me just a little bit.

I laugh at that, and Avery shoots me a suspicious look as I go back to typing.

Stella: We’re thinking about building some packages for bachelorette trips and girls’ weekends. What do you think about something where we offer slightly discounted rooms and boat tours if they’re purchased together?

I see the dots pop up indicating that he’s typing before they disappear again. That happens several more times until finally my phone rings and Wyatt’s name flashes across the screen.

“Hey, so I’m guessing the phone call is your way of letting me down easy, huh? If you don’t want to do it, that’s totally fine.There wasn’t meant to be any pressure. I’m so sorry if it made you feel unc—” I ramble until Wyatt takes pity on me and cuts me off.

“Whoa, Stels. It’s fine. I’m not calling you because I’m upset. I feel like this is something we can make work. But just to be clear, most of these rides aren’t fishing trips, right?” he asks.

I cringe, knowing he probably won’t love the answer I’m about to give him. “No, probably not. Think more of a booze-cruise type of thing.”

Wyatt groans on the other end of the line, and I hear Trent in the background trying to convince him to just give it a shot.

“That’s what I thought. Well, it’s not exactly how I wanted to get our business out of the hole, but we’ve gotta do something. So I’m good with it. Let’s try it,” he finally says, and I hear Trent whooping in the background.

“Are you sure?” I question, wanting to make sure he’s really good with this.

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