Page 98 of The Making of Jonty Bloom
Jonty glanced at him, his dark eyes wide. “You’d do that?”
“Yes.”Alan will kill me, but yes.He wasn’t going to let this chance slip through his fingers. He nearly had.
Jonty picked up a piece of driftwood and threw it for Dottie, who ignored it. He knew she would. He needed a moment to think. “Now the idea is in Hamish’s head, he could sell to someone else. I’m not really surprised about him wanting to sell. If I had the money, I’d make this place as spectacular as the view.”
“If the price isn’t right, he won’t sell and we won’t buy.”
“And you’d really still want your month?”
“Yes.”
“You want to take that chance?”
“Yes. What’s the worst that can happen?”
“I might be hopeless in bed.”
Devan laughed.
“Youmight be hopeless in bed.” Jonty grinned.
Devan laughed harder.
“We might run out of lube and condoms.”
“I’ll bulk buy.”
“I’ve waited so long to find a guy who’s into pony play.” Jonty gave a sly grin. “The saddle will fit you, though I’m not sure about the hooves or the head gear. Never mind, we can always go with Daddy play.”
“Oh, are you still talking?”
Jonty slid his hand into Devan’s. “Let’s head back now. Dottie’s a bit bedraggled. Come on, Dottie. Home! Oh, home for now anyway.”
“Those who live in the hotel aren’t just going to get tossed out.”
“Are you going to help them find somewhere?”
“I’ll do what I can. There’s an organisation calledHelperthat provides live-in care by putting active people into the homes of older, less active ones. The older ones get the level of support they need without it being overwhelming. I wondered if those from the hotel could live together in a couple of houses, with a support worker in one of the bedrooms? That person could still work in another job, as long as they were there to help with meals, cleaning, laundry and provide company.”
“Like a very small care home?”
“Yes, sort of, but with no medical help, just domestic and social. Like living with your grandparents. Major Bagshott seems fit and well. He enjoys the comfort and convenience of having his meals provided, his room cleaned, his laundry done, and he has company when he needs it. I don’t know if he gets on with the other residents, but he wouldn’t even need to see that much of them. Well, it’s just an idea.”
“Who’d buy the houses?”
“They could be rented. Maybe my company could buy them. I don’t know. I haven’t thought through all the details. Assuming we do buy the hotel, we won’t start work on it until after Christmas. There’s plenty of time to sort things out for residents and for staff to find other jobs.”
“Off-season’s not a good time of year to be looking.”
“I know, but I suspect once Hamish announces the sale, the staff will gradually leave and temporary staff will be brought in to cover reservations until the building work starts.”
“Right.”
“When do you get off work?”
“Tomorrow morning. Assuming I still have a job. I don’t think I do.”
“You’re not going to get sacked. I won’t let it happen.” He squeezed Jonty’s fingers.
