“I thought Mr. Holliday senior said…”
“I just can’t break away. The couples are starting to arrive, and I have to make sure the studio is complete. I would greatly appreciate it if you would go fetch Miss Richey.”
“Of course.” Marcy backed away from the door. “Let me put that call through to you.”
Marcy closed the door and a minute later the phone on Dan’s desk rang.
“Holliday,” he answered.
“Mr. Holliday, it’s Andrew Grayson. I just got an interesting letter from my lawyer and I was wondering if you had a moment to talk.”
Dan picked up his fountain pen and started drawing circles on a notepad. “Wouldn’t this conversation better be suited to your lawyer and my lawyer talking?”
“I had nothing to do with the bogus reporting of those station ratings. I would never have presented them to you if I thought they were false.”
“I’ve already talked to Mr. Hobbs. His lawyers are conducting an internal investigation on their end. I don’t want to get the FCC involved, but I will if I need to. You sold a building and news station based on false ratings, which skewed the price. I think that is fraud, Mr. Grayson.” Dan took a deep breath. “Anything else should probably go through my lawyer.”
“Is there any chance we can sit down and have a meeting? I’m just as flummoxed as you are regarding this. I want to make sure it doesn’t happen to any of my other clients.”
“Then do your due diligence.”
“Yes, sir.” Dan noticed that the man sounded almost scared.
Rubbing his hand down his face, he let out a sigh. “I’m in the middle of shooting a reality show right now. If you want to discuss whatever it is you have, you need to come to Alaska. I don’t have time to travel anywhere. You can make arrangements with my secretary.”
“Thank you, sir,” Andrew replied and disconnected the call.
Dan thought Andrew was more concerned about losing his hefty commission for brokering the deal, than he was about any other repercussions. He’d make mention of the call to Marcy and ask her to push off the meeting for as long as possible.
Elle looked out the window of the plane as it approached Anchorage. She could see the mountains rising in the distance. The sun was reflecting off the snowy peaks. She put her hand up to block the sun, but still enjoy the view.
“We’ll be landing in about thirty minutes. Do you have trash you need to throw away?”
Elle handed the air hostess her empty champagne glass and a balled-up napkin. “No, I think this is it.”
“You have about two minutes if you need to use the facilities, because once we start the descent you need to be strapped in your seat.
Elle nodded and looked back out the window. If anyone had told her two days ago that she would be on a private jet, flying to Alaska to host a brand-new holiday reality show, she would have told them they were lying.
Yet, here she was. Flying in a rather large private jet from New York to Alaska. Granted there were several stops along the way to pick up some of the couples for the show.
At least there was plenty of room on the plane. Instead of seats in rows like a commercial aircraft, there were four pods along the side of the plane and two in the middle. Each passenger had their own pod.
Elle had never been in anything so luxurious. The pod enveloped her in its woodgrain interior. She could hear the other passengers, but she couldn’t see them.
There was a plush chair she could use sitting up or recline it into a comfortable bed to sleep. A small desk was built into the front of the pod, where she imagined an executive working on their latest business plan. There was a television on the pod panel which doubled as a computer monitor.
She was even provided luxury silk pajamas and beauty products for the flight. Her favorite gifts were the sleep mask and ear plugs.
The food was divine. Elle dined on shrimp salad, steak and crab cakes on her trek west. She would never forget this experience for as long as she lived.
“It shor is purty out there,” she heard one of the Santas say in a creole accent.
Elle recognized the voice as Bubba Jean. He spent his days catching gators in the bayou. His wife Betty was very pregnant with their fifth baby. She was a stay at home mom but was looking to go back to college. She wanted to be a schoolteacher.
“It looks cold,” she said.
“I ain’t ever seen mountains like that.”
Elle had to agree. The scenery was breath-taking. She felt the plane bank to the side as it started its descent.
She had taken notes on the couples, hoping that she would learn a bit more about them and be able to pepper those bits into conversation. She flipped open her notebook.
There were the Jeans. Then there were the Batemans. Rino and Sissy. He was a burly biker, covered in tattoos, and she was nurse at the local children’s hospital. Each year Rino would dress up as Santa for the children with Sissy playing Mrs. Santa for the day.
The third couple on the flight were Kendra and Heath Dahle. Heath worked as a police officer and Kendra was a banker. She also appeared a bit afraid of Rino and Bubba.
She flipped back to the front of her book. She was going to be met at the airport by Mr. Holliday himself. She had googled the Holliday family. It appeared there were nine brothers, but only eight were in the spotlight. She couldn’t find much about the second brother. Extremely handsome and rich, eight of the brothers were on all the most eligible bachelor lists. They were dubbed the reindeer brothers by the paparazzi.
Elle put the notebook in her purse and stowed it in the compartment next to her seat. It was so much nicer than shoving it under the chair or in an overhead bin.
As the plane touched down, the air hostess came around again to let them know where to proceed. It appeared that the three couples needed to take the shuttle to the transport station. She told Elle that someone would be in the main terminal waiting for her.
Elle wasn’t sure why they were being separated when it was obvious they were all going to the same place. She gathered her belongings and disembarked the airplane into the cool air of the terminal.
She gave a shiver. Her coat doing nothing to block the blast of arctic air that surrounded her. She would have to remember to dress in layers. She looked over at Santa Bubba, who was wearing shorts and sneakers, along with a bright printed shirt decorated in gators and Santa hats. He must be freezing, she thought.
“See ya there,” Bubba called to her as they proceeded to a different part of the airport. Elle waved to the group and headed to the main terminal as per her instructions.
When she arrived she found a group of men standing with signs in their hands. One had the sign raised high enough over his head so she could read her name.
“I’m Elle Richey,” she said, dropping her bag by her feet. “Are you Mr. Holliday?” He wasn’t at all what she was expecting. He was about six feet tall, several inches taller than her, with jet black hair, dark eyes and stubble covering his chin. He wore a leather jacket, jeans and boots.
He didn’t look at all like a billionaire.
The man gave a sharp laugh. “No. I’m his pilot. We are going to head to the helicopter.”
“Helicopter? How far of a ride is it?”
“We’ll be there in less than two hours. Is that all you brought?” he asked pointing to the duffle bag at her feet.
“I wasn’t sure what to bring. That’s all I have.”
The pilot nodded and slid the board under his arm. He picked up the bag and headed towards a different part of the terminal. They arrived at a set of large glass doors. A woman bundled in a parka stood behind the desk. Elle wondered why she would be wearing such a heavy coat indoors.
The man pulled out an identification card and handed it to her. Elle heard a beep as the woman scanned the ID.
“Thanks, Ricky,” she said, handing his card back to him. “I need to see your identification, Miss.”
Elle fumbled through her purse looking
for her ID card. When she finally found it, she handed it over with a smile. The woman scanned the card and handed it back to Elle. “Enjoy your flight to Holliday Islands Resort.”
Before Elle could respond the doors slid open and a huge gust of frigid air rushed into the gatehouse, stealing the breath from her body. That is why the woman wore such a heavy parka.
“Hurry up,” the man said. “There are blankets in the helicopter and I’ll have the heat running in a few minutes.”
Elle put her face down and kept up with a light jog as they ran towards the helicopter. Ricky arrived first and slid the side door open, dropping Elle’s bag on the floor. Elle scrambled in and climbed into one of the seats.
She put her hand on her chest and tried to catch her breath.
“You get used to it when you’ve been up here for a while.”
Elle looked at the woman across the seat from her. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to that. I think I’m freezing from the inside out.”
The woman laughed. It sounded light and airy. She pulled Elle’s bag further into the airplane so Ricky could close the door. “Here. Drink this. It will warm you.”
Elle took the paper cup the woman offered and took a sip. It was indescribable.
“This is so good.”
“I’m glad you like it. It’s called Kopi luwak.”
“It has a very unusual flavor,” she took another sip. Her hands were starting to warm again.
“That it does.” The woman held out a gloved hand. “I’m Marcy. We spoke on the phone.”
Elle shook her hand and then put it back around the cup to keep it warm.
“I was expecting Mr. Holliday.”
“He was tied up in meetings, but he looks forward to seeing you at the orientation. He also scheduled dinner with you on Friday night, to go over his vision for the show.”
Marcy put on a helmet with a microphone and handed one to Elle. “You’ll want to put this on so we can talk. Otherwise you can’t hear anything over the noise of the rotors.”
Elle secured the coffee cup between her knees and put on the helmet. Marcy reached over and plugged the helmet into a console in the ceiling.
“Can you hear me?”
Elle nodded. Ricky fired up the engine and the noise from the propellers was deafening. Elle understood why folks called helicopters tin cans. The noise reverberated through the headset.
“Let’s show you Holliday Island,” Marcy said with a smile.
Chapter 6
Elle looked out the window as the island came into view. She recalled a similar scene in the movie Jurassic Park and tried to remember this was a reality show, not a dinosaur movie.
“There are nine of them, you know,” Marcy said, pointing to the islands in the distance. “Dancer Island is the closest.”
“Do all the brothers have an island?”
Marcy nodded, her blonde hair bouncing with the rhythm of the chopper.
“The boys were all named after reindeer.”
“The papers call them the reindeer brothers. I read that.”
“That’s correct. Mr. Holliday senior gifted each brother with an island. Dasher Island, which is over there,” Marcy pointed in the distance, “Belongs to Dash. That is where all the ski slopes are. Have you been skiing, Elle?”
“Just once. I had a pretty intimate relationship with a tree after that.”
“Oh no, were you hurt?”
Elle laughed. “Just my pride. I don’t think I’ll be skiing again anytime soon.”
“Over there is Prancer Island. I call that the Isle of Horses.”
“Do they have sleigh rides?”
“All of the islands do. Dancer actually uses reindeer instead of horses to pull the sleighs.”
“That is something I want to see!”
“Vixen Island is over there. They specialize in art projects. If you get a chance to go see the art gallery, do so. It is amazing.”
“Isn’t he the playboy brother?”
Marcy laughed. “The tabloids have names for everyone. He is actually very sweet with a big heart.” Marcy sighed. “All the boys are.”
Elle wondered if there was something more there, the way Marcy sighed. She wouldn’t be surprised. She had heard about relationships between a boss and a secretary. Marcy was beautiful. Her blonde hair was almost white. Elle thought maybe she was in her early thirties, but she really couldn’t tell.
Her outfit was exquisite. She wore black pants with black books and a heavy wool coat. Elle felt frumpy next to her dressed in jeans, a sweatshirt and knock-off sheepskin-style boots. Her coat was nowhere near what was needed for this cold weather.
Maybe that could be her persona for the show… The Frumpy Elf. Maybe she could do the show in a bathrobe and curlers. Elle snorted at the thought.
She realized Marcy had started talking again. “… go to the spa and get a seaweed wrap if you can. They are to die for.”
“Which Island was that?”
“Spa is on Comet’s. They have an amazing hair salon there. You should get over there. You have beautiful hair.”
“Thank you. I have a stylist… had a stylist that did my hair and put together my outfits when I was working at the station.”
“You did? What was his name?”
“Pierre Simone. He worked at the station as well. I’ve never seen anyone put together outfits and costumes the way he did.”
“Did he do the elf costume that you wore last year?”
Elle nodded. “He also put in these candy cane strips in my hair. How he got the color to show against my dark hair, I’ll never know. But he made them pop. Genius, I tell you.”
“You must like him a lot.”
“We are just good friends. He’s like a brother I’ve never had. An annoying older brother. But I love him to pieces.” Elle looked out the window. A majestic lodge rose up from an island they were passing. “What is that?”
“That’s the welcome center.”
“Are we going there?”
“Not today. Today we are going directly to Dancer Island.”
“Which brother is that?”
“That’s Blitzen. Way over there, is Cupid Island. Wanna guess what happens there?”
“A love relationship with food?”
Marcy laughed. “That would be good. Relationships yes. Couples come there from all over the world to celebrate their relationships and fall in love all over again. They even come to heal if things are on the rocks. Cupid Island has a ninety-nine percent success rate at fixing broken relationships.”
Elle knew she needed to avoid that Island. After sharing an earth-shattering kiss in the elevator, all men had a pretty high standard to meet.
“Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen,” Elle counted on her fingers. “Comet, Cupid, Blitzen. We are missing Donner Island.”
“That is my favorite Island here.”
“Why’s that?”
“Retail therapy, of course,” Marcy laughed.
“You would definitely like Pierre then.”
“Perhaps one day I’ll meet him. And finally, we have Rudolph Island which is all about outdoor adventure.”
“Wasn’t that a television show?”
“Yes. Rudy won Lone Survivor and then went on to do his own show. Dancer produced it. Those two are very close.” Marcy flipped a switch on the console above her. “Ricky, can you take a spin around the island before we land?”
“Sure thing, Marcy,” he said and turned the helicopter towards Dancer Island. Elle held onto the handle on the ceiling as the heli tilted.
“Oh my,” Elle said looking out the window. “It’s beautiful. Is that a herd of deer?”
Marcy leaned over her shoulder. “Those are trained reindeer. They’ve been in several movies. Dancer works with some of the best animal trainers in the business. There is also a trained bear here on the island.”
Elle turned and looked at Marcy. “A bear?”
Marcy nodded. “He was needed in a movie and w
hen the movie was done the production company decided to get rid of him. Dancer had him flown here so he could live out the rest of his days.
“Wouldn’t that mean not being in an enclosure like that?”
Marcy shook her head. “He can’t be in the wild. He has been in captivity since he was a cub. Dancer created a large refuge on the far side of the island where they can just live out the rest of their lives in peace.”
It sounds like this Dancer is a pretty incredible individual, she thought.
Elle noticed several snow machines zig zagging across the land.
“There’s our lodge,” Marcy said pointing to a large building in the middle of the island.
“It’s beautiful.”
“You should see in the inside.”
“Do you live on the island?”
“Yes. The staff has its own village over there,” she pointed to a row of log cabins along the water’s edge.”
“It is breathtaking. What’s that?” Elle pointed to a building that looked more modern than the rest she had seen on the island.”
“That’s the studio. That is where you’ll be filming. Over there is the Santa House.” It looked like a large gingerbread castle. “And that is the nightclub.”
“A nightclub?”
“Yes. Very exclusive. Only the wealthiest clients go there.”
“What’s the difference between a wealthy nightclub and say one in New York.”
“Gold toilets.”
Elle laughed and looked at Marcy, who had a stoic expression on her face. “Really?” Before she could reply, Elle looked back out the window.
The Island appeared to have everything. There was even a harbor with two large boats against the dock. One of them even had a helicopter landing pad on the top!
“That is the senior Mr. Holliday’s yacht,” Marcy explained. “He must be visiting his son. I’ll need to get to the offices as soon as we land. The smaller one belongs to Dancer.” Elle didn’t think there was anything small about that smaller boat – it had to be at least a hundred feet long. It dwarfed in comparison to the elder Holliday’s yacht. “You should probably sit back,” Marcy said, touching Elle’s arm. “We are about to land.”
Dancing To The Altar (Holliday Islands Resort Book 2) Page 5
