Page 5 of A Secret Chance
Chapter 2
HE HADN’T BEEN BACKto the Sugar Peaks Mountain range in over ten years. Now, as Baxter Caldwell watched the sea of snow-covered fir trees whizz by through the windows of the chopper, he felt a twinge in his gut – nerves. He told himself they were related to the importance of the business deal, but he knew that deep down, he was wondering if she was still in town.
Lauren.
As the helicopter settled onto the landing pad of the private chalet, he pushed the thoughts of the freckle-faced cleaning lady to the back of his mind. That was ancient history, and he was facing the most important acquisition of his career. For the first time, his father, Baxter Caldwell, Senior, had put him in charge of Caldwell International’s development department. Yes, he was the boss’s son, but he still had to prove himself if he wanted to keep the top spot in the development department.
His father would be joining him for their annual heli-ski vacation after he sealed the deal with the resort. It was their father/son tradition and had been for years, so it seemed fitting that they would be returning to the same lodge where the tradition started.
Once he was settled into his master suite overlooking the Sugar Peaks range, he sent a message to his team to meet him in the dining room, the spot that would function as their conference room for the next month.
“Nicole, where are you with the local contacts?” he asked his assistant after they were all settled at the table.
His assistant, a very capable woman who had been by his side since he started, put on her glasses and opened her laptop. “You have a meeting with the owners of the resort on Wednesday, the local realtor this afternoon, and the opposition lawyer on Thursday.”
“How difficult have they been so far?” he asked.
“Surprisingly civil.” Nicole smiled from behind her computer.
“Good.” Baxter steepled his fingers in front of him and leaned back in his chair. “See if you can move those meetings up, same with the resort. I want to get these balls in the air sooner rather than later.”
“Yes, sir,” Nicole replied, making a note on her laptop.
Baxter looked to the other executives, Barry, his attorney, and Thomas, his lead consultant. “Do you two have all of the material ready to meet with the real estate agent?” he asked.
“Yes, sir,” the duo responded simultaneously.
“Good,” Baxter smiled. He had absolute faith in his team. “It looks like we’re all on the same page here. Thomas, do you mind sticking around to discuss strategy?” He looked to the older of the executives who nodded. “Good. The rest of you can relax for a bit. We will be heading into the town at three o’clock.”
With the majority of the team dismissed, Baxter and Thomas started examining the spreadsheets and discussing strategies. They were only about an hour into their brainstorming session when a loud commotion from outside interrupted their business huddle.
“What was that?” Thomas asked.
“Beats me.” Baxter stood up and stepped onto the massive balcony that ran the length of the private chalet. Nicole and Barry were in the hot tub and waved at their boss. “What’s going on?” he shouted over the noise of the jets.
“Looks like some sort of snowboard thing,” Barry said. He pointed to the base of the gondola.
Baxter leaned over the wooden log railing, scanning the huge crowd of people, and then a snowboarder shot up from the half-pipe, spinning in the air while grabbing his board. The crowd went wild.
“Impressive,” Thomas said.
“Want to go check it out?” Baxter was equally impressed. He wasn’t a snowboarding expert, but he knew that what they were seeing could be a professional-level event.
“Yeah,” Thomas smiled.
