Page 49 of Room for Improvement

Bryce gritted his teeth. He’d take a bullet for his brother, but damn, he was a pain in the ass. “Try and move past your personal issues or at least work around them as best you can. When you are at the resort, take the time to go back to the basics. Customer service. Guest experience.”

Jordan rolled his eyes. “You think I don’t know all that? I didn’t start with this company last week.”

Bryce’s sound advice wasn’t being taken the least bit graciously. “Fine. Well then, let me give you this other piece of advice. Get your head out of your ass. If you don’t, Dad is going fire you. And if he doesn’t then I will, the second I take over as CEO.”

He hated seeing the shock which registered on his brother’s face. The US Royal Resorts board was yet to ratify his father’s choice of Bryce as the new head, but Edward had made his position clear. He wanted to step back and focus on other areas of the business. Jordan may once have been a possible candidate for the role, but after the disaster in California no one would risk it. Bryce was the clear and obvious best choice.

“When…when were you going to tell me?” stammered Jordan.

“I just did. The board is meeting soon, Edward is going to table his transition plan.” Guilt dropped onto his shoulders. Bryce had always been at pains to make sure his younger siblings didn’t feel as if he always came first. They might be Royal in name, but this was no formal line of succession. “I didn’t know he planned to move things up, not until he told me just a few minutes ago.”

Bryce would’ve much preferred to have sat on the news, but once again Jordan had pressed his buttons. He secretly hoped that in telling Jordan what was soon to happen, he would come to the realization that if he didn’t lift his game, he wouldn’t be able to call upon brotherly connections to save himself.

Jordan closed his eyes. This was clearly a difficult moment for him. While Bryce had been in Europe running that side of the business, Jordan must have figured he had an inside run on the American CEO role. But only someone who wasn’t paying careful attention would miss seeing Edward’s shadow as it loomed over the business.

His brother’s shoulder sagged the instant Bryce’s hand settled on it. Something was wrong. The worry over what it could be had kept gnawing away at him since the day he’d gotten the call from Edward to return to the states.

He was shaking that night at his apartment. What could be so wrong?

“You were killing this gig for the past few years, and then this…I don’t understand. And yes, I expect you don’t want to share whatever it is with me right now, but when you are ready, I will be here for you.” He had genuinely believed Jordan had finally put his wild billionaire bad boy ways behind him. His troubles were all in the past. If he hadn’t, there was no way Bryce would have backed his brother for the Laguna Beach project.

I went out on a limb for you Jordan. The least you could do is tell me why you have dropped the ball so badly.

“Thanks, Bryce. I have go pack. I’ve a plane to catch, and a resort to fix.” Jordan stepped away, leaving Bryce’s hand to drop limply to his side. “I’ll see you when I get back to New York, whenever that is.”

Bryce gave up the battle and let his brother go. The office staff already had more than enough gossip to mull over for when they hit one of the local bars later tonight, he didn’t need to add a screaming row to the mix.

As he watched his brother disappear through the doorway, Bryce was left to wonder what had transpired in the months since he had last been home at Christmas. All the self-assured sassiness so characteristic of Jordan was gone, and in its place stood a sad, broken man.

I will be here for you, but you have to trust me.

CHAPTERTHIRTY-FOUR

Bryce spent the rest of the morning wading through emails from the European desk. His second in command and distant cousin Marcel was holding down the fort. And he was doing a solid job. There was every chance that he would be considered to take over managing the European and British resorts permanently. The House of Royal had an unwritten policy that family members held senior roles within the company. Sometimes Bryce wondered if that was such a good idea.

The knowledge that Marcel would probably get to handle the Paris project made him jealous. The US based CEO role was a huge step up, but Bryce had long held a private ambition to create the ultimate luxury hotel in the French capital. The House of Royal had started in Europe and as one of the few American members he was keen to show the world that a New York born and bred hotelier had what it took when it came to delivering an opulent guest experience.

He had just finished his fourth coffee for the day when his head dropped, and he closed his eyes. Something else apart from Jordan and the hotel in Paris had been nagging at him all morning. The thought of Vivian Holte and the spiteful way he had struck out at her, refused to go away.

Bryce bitterly regretted what he had done. He was nothing more than a rich spiteful bully. Giving her a terrible review on the millionaire dating app had been a nasty, underhanded, and shameful act on his part.

Just because you did it on the sly doesn’t make it any less of a crime. You still lashed out. Still sought to cause Vivian real pain.

His conscience continued to bother him. Who was the bigger ass, him, or her ex— right now it was a close call. He knew she couldn’t afford the subscription, and in the ultimate act of cowardice had decided to take something she had confided in him and use it against her. He’d burned any chance she might have had of finding a decent guy through the millionaire love app.

And then like a weak assed villain, you went and made your profile private.

There was something to be said about revenge being a dish best served cold. He was its poster boy. He’d been angry the afternoon he’d posted the payback review on Vivian’s profile, believing that she had used her rating to judge him personally, so he’d judged her right back.

Bryce was now having to face his own cold, hard truth. He had been the only person handing out false names and lies in California. Vivian had just been doing her job.

“I have to fix this,” he muttered.

Picking up his cell, he opened the app, and immediately searched for Vivian’s profile.

If I can at least delete the review, then message her, she will know that I am sorry.

It was easy enough to find Vivian, her name was the only one in his search history. It came up, but it was grayed out. His thumb clicked on the link which should have taken him to her bio, but it wouldn’t work.

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