Page 39 of The Last Resort
“You will dazzle them all. Let me know if you need me to do anything at this end.”
“Thanks. Are you back in the office or still working from home? Make sure you’re taking care of yourself.”
A nasty stomach flu had brought Mia down earlier in the week. “I’m still working from home. I don’t want to spread this around the office. Oh, and thanks for the flowers, they’re stunning. AndThe Impossible CollectionFormula One book, is an extravagant gift, but again— thank you. You know one ofthese days we’re going to have to do something about finding you a girlfriend. Your talents with gift giving and caring are going sadly to waste.”
He hadn’t mentioned Rachel to anyone, and an hour before the most important meeting of his life certainly wasn’t the right time to reveal her existence to his work colleagues and family.
“Let’s get this resort contract signed and sealed, then you, my mother, and future sisters-in-law can battle it out to decide who gets to play matchmaker. I’d better go, I’ll call you once it’s over. Take care of you.”
“Good luck, Matthew. Bye.”
With Jordan soon to marry, and Bryce also engaged, it wouldn’t be long before Alice Royal turned her attention to her youngest son and his unacceptable—her words—state of bachelorhood. His mother was from New York City’s elite society and somewhere in her pile of hard-back journals, she would have a list of suitable potential brides already written down. And while Mia, Vivian, and Chloe could all be relied upon to help run interference with Alice, he knew it would come at the cost of him having to meet some of the women they had ontheirown lists.
I kinda wish Rachel was here today. It would have been nice to have her at the presentation.
But that would have meant him telling her who he really was, and dealing with what she might say, once she knew the truth of his family background. He worried it would change things between them, and not for the better.
Who could afford a fifty million dollar house in Aspen? My family could.
No.
Waiting until after today was a much better idea. After he’d got the planning committee out of the way, the salecontracts signed, and the path to building his dream was clear. Then he’d talk to Rachel.
Tell her that he wasn’t just a hotel accountant. If Rachel was the sort of woman, he thought she was, she would find a way to deal with the news that he came from a global family of billionaires.
She’ll find it a bit weird at first … jeez, even I find it strange at times.
But they would work through this, together. It might take a bit of effort on his part, but Rachel seemed grounded enough to be able to get her head around things. To understand that the size of his bank account didn’t change who he, or they were.
Okay, okay. I’ll talk to her as soon as the contracts are signed. I’m sure she’ll forgive my little white lie. Especially when she sees the magnificent design I’ve created to replace the old lodge at the Green Tree Resort.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Aspen city council meeting room
That evening.
Who’d have thought this many Aspenites could be so heavily invested in the fate of an old ski lodge? Rachel took heart at seeing the number of people who were crowded into the planning room for tonight’s meeting. The energy coming from the hum of chat in the council hall could have powered a small city.
Not a spare seat in the house. I wonder if the Brocks called in a few favors.
As she followed Dan and Kellie to the front of the room, a large dose of déjà vu hit Rachel full on. A courtroom in Atlanta. People watching her every move. The sound of her heels clicking on the tiles, a multitude of people all talking at once, the powerful smell of commercial cleaning fluid. The synapse in her brain were firing at a rapid rate. Dread had her swallowing down the bile that rose up her throat.
Pull yourself together. This is Aspen not Atlanta. And no one is on trial tonight.
But her future still hung in the balance. So much depended on the outcome of tonight. If she could stop thetire kickerfrom making a successful bid for the Brock family resort, it would go a long way to resurrecting her career. And she would be able to secure the rest of the completion bonus from Dan’s parents. Money would open up many options.
As representatives of the owners of the Green Tree Resort, a table and chairs had been set aside for their use.At least we have somewhere to sit.By the time Rachel had finished setting up her laptop and papers, there was only standing room left at the back of the hall.
Across the other side of the aisle from her, was another table. This one was empty, but there was a placeholder card on top. She scooted over and picked it up. The card read.
Royal Resorts
They must be the people Dan said had been sniffing around the site.
She could just imagine an army of slickly dressed people marching into the room bringing with them their evil plans to destroy the heritage site.
Back at the table, she questioned her brother-in-law. “Are Royal Resorts the hotel people who’ve been trying to get your parents to sell?”
