Page 7 of The Last Resort
CHAPTER THREE
Matthew pushed the last of the chairs out of the way, then stood back to admire his handiwork. He’d dragged the dining table from its original position in the center of the room and placed it against the wall. Next to it, he’d stacked a few of the dining chairs. His efforts had resulted in creating a large empty space in the middle of the room. He could see miles of bare beige carpet.
Perfect.
People paid good money to stay in luxury, but he knew from personal experience that more wasn’t always better. And especially not when you needed space to make battle plans. And to think.
He’d booked a private serviced apartment in a hotel complex, just off North Second Street for the next six months. The service staff was under firm instructions not to disturb Mister Jones, the long-stay guest in room two-fifteen. The changing of linens and any cleaning were strictly by appointment only. Food deliveries were to be to the front door and no further.
The last thing he needed was for any of the locals to getwind of who he really was and what he might be doing here and decide to take it upon themselves to come knocking on his door. He’d been in the resorts business long enough to know that everyone had their opinion about what a good hotel looked like, and that it was rare for those views to all line up.
Once the plans for the new hotel complex were approved and the Green Tree Resort was officially in the hands of Royal Resorts, then he would relax. Then he could get about Aspen as Matthew Royal, not Matthew Jones.
That would be great. The whole cloak and dagger, sneaking around, using his mother’s maiden name as a cover, got stale, and tiring very quickly.
Maybe once this is a done deal, I might carve out some time for fun. I could do with getting away from work. A vacation would be nice. Along with a friendly female.
He’d penned getting a social life, somewhere in his extensive to-do-list. Just below it he’d added a note to do something about the lack of a warm body in his bed.
But not yet. I’m just too damn busy. A relationship needs time and attention.
At the moment he didn’t have either to spare.
Retrieving his phone from the table, Matthew hit the number at the top of his recent calls. Mia picked up on the third ring. “Hey, how’s it going?”
“Good. I’m at the apartment in Aspen, and I’ve been moving furniture for the past hour. Any word on a date for the council meeting?” He was impatient to get things sorted.
“You and your need for space,” huffed Mia. “I literally just got off the phone. The meeting is at six o’clock on the first Friday in April. That gives us roughly two and a half weeks to get ready. If you can get the final site checks done today, I’ll get the team to finish up the model.”
And this is why she will make such a great executive one day. Always on the ball.
He fully supported Bryce’s position that all future executive and board appointments for the USA operations should be merit based, not just because they were members of the Royal family. People like Mia, and others outside the Royals had to be given real career opportunities.
“Two and a half weeks. That’s doable.”
“I’m sure once the council and the Brocks see your model, they will understand your vision. I can’t wait for the day when we break ground on the new build.”
“I’m looking forward to that day too. I’ve just finished rearranging all the stuff in the living room to make the place more comfortable, so I’d hate to have to move it all back and go home if the Brocks decide not to sell.”
Not going to happen, have faith. Aspen will thank you for this new project.
“Are the hotel people leaving you alone? I mean, we don’t want anyone figuring out who you really are, not at this late hour.”
The only Aspen townsfolk who knew him as Matthew Royal, not Matthew Jones, were the Brocks, the reclusive owners of the Green Tree Resort. And the only face to face meeting he’d ever had with them was well over two years ago. Since then, the rest of their discussions, and disagreements, had taken place via either phone or email.
“I left a good tip when I got here and let them know that if they left me in peace, I’d continue to match it each week.”
“As always, Mister Royal, smart thinking.”
Matthew’s long held plans were now on the move. They finally had a date for the meeting, and soon he would have his model. People loved models. There was something about seeing a project in miniature that got people excited. And he needed the people of Aspen to be excited over his project.
Royal Resorts Aspen designed by Matthew Royal. I wonder if I can put that on a small plaque somewhere in the building.
“I’m going to be here until Monday, do you think that will be long enough for the team to have the model finished if I send the final pieces today?”
“Yes, that should be fine. It’s basically finished already.”
“Good. I’ll come back to New York on Monday afternoon and collect it. Unless of course you want to fly out to Colorado and bring the model with you.” He stifled a grin. Mia was not one for the cold. In New York, she could hide away from the chill, but in Aspen, that would be unavoidable. Every year she begged him to get the Royal Resorts board to relocate the company offices and staff to Florida for the coldest winter months.
