Page 5 of Don't Go Bakin' My Heart
“I’ve been told that you are on track to eventually become a partner. Your work always comes in on time and under budget. Those are great numbers and qualities for what we do here. It’s always about the bottom line.”
“Yes, Sir. I run a tight ship and understand the corporation's concerns and the importance of what we do,” even if I didn’t always agree with our approach. This hadn’t been exactly what I had wanted to do with my life. But I couldn’t argue with the money.
“Happiness, Ben. We provide happiness to people. All kinds of people, from a single person to families, as long as they can pay – we can provide the time of your life at any of our five-star resorts. It’s why we exist.” He stopped and turned around to look at the guys sitting beside his desk. “And to make money, of course. We are a business that provides, and all of the towns and cities where we have built the most luxurious of places open their arms and their towns to us. We turn a po-dunk town into a thriving place. Do you agree with me, Ben?”
I nodded. “Yes. You can look at the metrics ofmanyof the small towns where we’ve put resorts to see that they’ve grown and the community thrives.” But that wasn’t always the case.
“So why are we stuck?” He stared at me, waiting for a response. My hands went instantly clammy.
“I’m sorry, I… I’m not sure what you mean.”
“He… uh… hasn’t been briefed, Sir.” Tommy McGrath cleared his throat.
“I see. Wasn’t that your responsibility, Tommy.” His voice dropped with annoyance.
“I literally just found out that he was-“
“Your shortcomings are not my problem right now. Ben, have you ever heard of a small town—and it’s not far from here, either—called Foggy Basin?”
My heart sank. “Uh… Yes. Yes, Sir.”
“According to one of the nice people from HR – you graduated high school from Foggy Basin. Is that right?” His eyes bore into me.
“Yes.” I nodded slowly, feeling my stomach churn at even the mention of my hometown.
“So, you are from there, originally?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Do your parents still live there? Are you in touch with any of your old high school buddies? Larry said you were the high school quarterback. I guess that meant you were pretty popular.” His smile was anything but warm.
“It’s been quite some time since I… Yes, my parents still live there, and I suppose there are some old friends who do too.”
“You were popular? The starting quarterback… How did you know that, Larry?”
“Ben told me at the last holiday party while we were discussing football. It was just something I remembered.”
“Steel trap over there. That’s why he’s a partner, Ben.” He slapped his desk lightly. “And you’re on track, or so they say. You must be very good at your job. Every project is on time and under budget, as I’ve been told. That’s true upper-level management material, son.”
“How long has it been since…” Larry was stopped by Mister Boyd’s shark glance, and he immediately dropped his question.
“How long has it been since you’ve been home? I know that we’ve been working you quite hard. You’re overseeing the lake resort across from Point Pleasant, right? Is it on track?”
“It is. I’m supposed to go back out there next…”
Mister Boyd held up his hand. “See, you are in a very great position to help this company and to even help yourself, Ben. That’s great, right?”
“I… uh… I guess so, Sir.” I could feel the chair sinking into the ground as I knew what he was about to ask of me. The last place I wanted to go was back to Foggy Basin.
“Call me Richard.”
“I guess so, Richard.”
“I think you should take some time and go back to your hometown and try to resolve this issue that we’re having. You were popular, and people will remember you.” He grinned.
“I’m sure they would.” I was afraid of it.
“For this to work, we have to have the businesses on the South side of town sell their property to us. You can’t knock something down and rebuild a palace without them doing that, can you? And I need those businesses to sign, Ben. Sure, a few small businesses have to move or rebuild, but we’re offering a package that is more than fair for them to do it. It’s growth, Ben. Your hometown of Foggy Basin will have one of the best golf courses in the entire world. People from all over the world will come and visit, spending their hard-earned money all over the town. It’s a win-win situation for all of us. But especially for you, Ben. The hometown hero.”
