Page 88 of As a Last Resort
“Sorry, what?”
“I’m sorry you had to drive all the way over here.I totally could have gotten another place.I didn’t realize they were going to kick you out of this one.”
“No, it’s fine.I’m staying with a friend.It’s no problem, really.”Except the fact I wouldn’t be getting a good night’s sleep, staring at closed doors and imagining what could happen behind them.
“I bet you can’t wait to get back to the city.I’ve only been here twelve hours and I don’t think I’ve stopped sweating once.”
There was a mixture of feelings buzzing around in my chest.This meeting was a pivot point.I had gone over the numbers last night with Robby and I had a good feeling about my recommendations to Glenn.Robby stayed pretty mute on his opinion, which was surprising.I knew Team Glenn wanted a massive skyscraper hotel and a monstrosity of a resort development, but based on what worked here and what was special to the island, I knew a neon slide and a time-share eyesore wouldn’t be successful.
Ivy popped on the screen.“You guys ready?”
“Of course,” I answered.My tone didn’t even convince myself.
“Scoot together more, I can’t see both of you.”
Robby wiggled his chair closer and draped his arm over my shoulders.“Better?”He squeezed my shoulder and gave me his best boy band smile.
We watched Glenn and the rest of the team on my computer screen as they filed into the conference room back in New York.Glenn plopped down and rubbed his hands together, ready for battle.
“Samantha, great, you’re already here.We’ve got some stuff to show you that we came up with.It’s going to be perfect for the island, we just need to find the numbers to justify it all.Robby, you fill her in yet?”
“No, sir, not yet,” he responded, shifting in his seat a little.“I figured I’d let you do the honors since it was your idea.”His voice sounded a bit off.
“Did she at least see the racetrack thing yet?”Glenn asked.
“Racetrack?For cars?”I asked.
Robby leaned over and whispered.“It works in Daytona.”
“I don’t think Daytona is really the vibe we’re after here.”I glared at Robby as nicely as I could.He was sitting too close.“Actually if we’ve got time, I’d really like to start with my recommendations first.I’ve come up with a solid plan based on the due diligence I’m going to share.”
“Sure, we can do that right after.Robby, you ready?”He swallowed next to me as my screen filled with the first visual of the presentation from Glenn’s side.Water Whizz Family Time-share Resortsplashed across my screen in neon green.
This had to be a joke.
“Robby, take it away!”Glenn shouted in what he probably thought was a great theme park host voice.
Robby avoided my very intense stare at the side of his head and started.“Water Whizz Family Time-share Resortis the very first family-style water park resort of its kind in the Southeast.With over thirty water adventures across the property, including twenty waterslides, a lazy river rapid, and a water bumper cars arena, it will be one of the most in-demand parks you can book.Home of the Green Giant”—the slide clicked over to the neon waterslide the duo had shown me from last meeting—“the park will be the talk of Florida.”
Glenn clicked through as Robby narrated slide after slide of unnaturally colored plastic in their quest to convince the team of the sheer genius that lay before us all.
Through the clear view of the room on my computer, I watched Ivy slink farther and farther down in her chair.
Glenn’s knee bounced up and down with excitement.“And look at this.There’s plenty of room to build multiple hotel zones, each matching the color of the waterslide at its pool.”He clicked through a few pictures of bright green and pink buildings, each thirty storieshigh jutting up in the air, screaming for attention right along with their matching waterslides.They were easily the ugliest buildings I had ever seen in my life.
Robby continued.“We’ll build a racetrack that connects all of the different hotel zones.Ancillary businesses will be built along the track including a new ice cream shop, various restaurants, a movie theater.Even a big-box grocery store answering the need for a one-stop shop with everything anyone could want.Souvenirs and tchotchkes, rafts, bathing suits, sunscreen, even some packaged food items—you name it, it’s there.It’ll allow us to still charge tourist pricing, but manage it through one store, which is cheaper to run and stock.This will provide a reason for not only the tourists, but the locals to visit the property, negating the need for all these little specialty stores that are littered throughout the island right now.”
“Litteredthroughout the island?”The hair stood on the back of my neck.He hadn’t even seen the island yet.Did everyone but me forget he’d just landedlast night?I lowered my voice to him.“These are businesses that have been here for decades, passed down from generation to generation.They don’t litter the island.Theyarethe island.”
“You have to think bigger on these types of projects, Samantha.”Glenn’s slightly condescending voice made my jaw tick.“This revenue line captures business from the entire island now, not just the tourists and not just during peak season.We’re making a destination for the entire island, not just the influx of new money during tourist season.”
Heads in the conference room all nodded up and down, like those little plastic bobbleheads that people keep on their dashboards.
I turned to Robby, fuming.He knew this was where the pitch was going last night and he kept his mouth shut as I fed him idea after idea veering in a completely opposite direction.They were planning on building a flashy cartoon version of the island that would bring floods of people in that would boost the local economy, but would irrevocably alter the character of Rock Island, losing the authenticity of the place that’s been created over a hundred years.And pushing all of the locals out of business while doing it.
I saw the creeping signs of destructive tourism leaving their mark already—brightly colored wrist bands, inflated prices for milk, gas streaks in the overcrowded water from too many motorboats plowing through.Resort staff roaming the beach in flashy colored polos asking beachgoers if they’d have time for dinner on the house later that evening if they’d just listen to a thirty-minute overview of the time-share opportunities.
“So, you’re just replacing it all.”My attempt to keep my voice even completely bombed.
