by Chelsea Hale
He headed down the hall and saw Callie already eating her lunch across the room. She waved to him. What would she do if he tore down the resort? She couldn’t wait six months to get her job back. She’d probably go somewhere else. All of the employees would. Ugh. Frustration at even being left this property in the will in the first place lapped over him again. He wasn’t in the habit of remodeling or acquiring properties this way. Even when he’d taken over the ski resort and golf course in Aspen, he’d done so with the strict understanding that it would be torn down. And it was. Of course, the fire damage had made that the logical choice.
Why was he even having this conflict with himself? With his uncle gone, he was the Summers in charge, the owner of the most premiere resort line in the world, in his opinion, and he had a standard to keep to. He’d already set the bar high.
Liam wanted to provide his guests with a luxurious experience—with the ability to enjoy their time away from their day-to-day life, regardless of whether they spent the times in a beautifully furnished resort room or in any of the rooms or gardens or spas at his resorts. He didn’t want his rooms to look like the last dozen he’d seen. Sure, he promoted his resorts to be enjoyable regardless of the destination, and each guest room was part of the luxury. Rooms needed to be more comfortable and inviting than the ones he’d been working in.
He walked through the lunch line on autopilot, hardly aware of the food he put on his plate, and then sat down. Callie sat across the long table from him.
“Hi. Did you miss me this morning?” she asked.
“You have no idea,” he said, wondering how he’d break the news to her that he’d be tearing down this place, effectually taking away her job and in the process killing her purse dream.
“Bud does a good job. Did you learn a lot?”
That was an understatement. He’d learned a lot, and in some ways, he wished he hadn’t. The wallpaper, the crowded bathrooms, all of it was heavily on his mind. “Yes. We were in the old wing. I can’t believe it hasn’t been torn down and redone.”
Callie held her food inches from her mouth. “What’s wrong with it?”
“It’s old, for starters.”
Callie glanced around her. “It’s not flashy, but if you’re only using a room to sleep in so you can enjoy the rest of the resort, what does it matter?”
“It doesn’t match the rest of resort.”
“Well, it matches most of the resort. I mean, there are a few nice suites in the main building, but that wing isn’t alone.”
That was news to him. Yet another reason why this resort wasn’t going to stand. “It should all be torn down,” he said again, before he could recall his words.
Callie lowered her voice. “I realize this isn’t the kind of place you are used to since you worked at the Summers resorts for so long, but not everyone can afford such a place. This resort serves its purpose for a lot of people. I mean, yes, it could use a little bit of remodeling, but I’ve never thought that it shouldn’t be here.”
Liam felt stupid for bringing it up. This had been her home for the last six months. This was a transactional decision for him, but he knew that it would feel personal to her once her told her. He swallowed. “What remodeling would you do?” At least she wasn’t oblivious to the fact that at least a remodel was needed.
She gave him a quizzical look. “Is this part of what you do when you’re daydreaming? You see the rooms, and then you decide you’d like it differently?” She kept her voice low, and Liam looked around, suddenly self-conscious that he’d brought up such a topic in the middle of other employees.
He shrugged. He wasn’t doing it just for daydreaming. This was part of his job. His real job, not the part he was playing while at this resort. And figuring out what he’d do with this place was exactly why he was undercover.
She nodded. “I’d be happy to talk it over with you. Employees’ beach after work?”
He smiled. “I’ll take it.”
He knew it wasn’t really a date, but she was the one who chose the location, and it happened to be a spot he wanted to go. Maybe she was loosening up a little, allowing herself to enjoy life even in the midst of the craziness she found herself in. And just maybe he was one of the reasons for it. He didn’t allow himself to hope too much, but hope surged a little anyway.
Chapter 16
Callie looked at the excursion brochure. Each employee was trained on at least two of them. It helped guests who wanted to ask questions to any employee, not just the concierge. Callie’s original plan for the day was to train Liam on the front desk, but Gina had switched things up after lunch. She drummed her fingers on the table in front of her as she waited for Liam to come back from helping Bud with two more rooms upstairs.
Liam walked into the employee lounge and scanned the room, his gaze resting on her when he saw her. He walked toward her with a smile that seemed to spread across his whole face.
Callie’s heart skipped and bounced. “You’re back,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady.
“What’s on the schedule this afternoon, o wise trainer?” He gave her a smile that melted her.
“You’re in for a treat.”
“More towel folding?”
She laughed. “You’re far enough into your training because of your accelerated schedule that today we’re going on an excursion.”
He raised his eyebrows, a look of surprise passing across his face. “An excursion?”
She cleared her throat. “Probably not exactly what you’re used to at the other resorts you’ve worked, but they’re nice.”
“Will I be running the excursions? Maybe we should wait for a few weeks before I do that.” He seemed unsure of the idea, but Callie knew that he’d be good at it.
“Normally excursion training is weeks three and four, but since you’re going through the program so quickly, it’s for the next two days straight. But don’t worry, if you can fold towels, you can handle this.” She winked at him and her heart gave a little flutter as she realized she’d been flirting.
His lips twitched. “Did you miss my towel folding? That’s evidence enough that I shouldn’t be doing excursions.”
She laughed. “Accelerated schedule is the best way to do the training, especially for the excursions. You’ll be fine. This afternoon we’ll have one excursion and tomorrow we’ll do three.”
Liam looked like he wanted to say more but finally just nodded and said, “You’re the boss.”
* * *
Callie led Liam down to the dock adjacent to the resort. They stopped in front of a sailboat. The Captain met them and shook their hands. “Welcome to The Whisper. You’ll like her. She’s a great ship.”
“Thanks, Captain,” Callie said. “So any more passengers booked for this afternoon?”
“You’re the only ones.”
“Wait, we’re taking the excursion? I thought I was being trained on what to do for them.” Liam seemed confused.
Callie smiled, betting that the other resorts he’d worked for didn’t offer excursions to the employees. “Experiencing the excursions firsthand is the best way to let guests know how much fun they’ll have. It always means more when employees besides the concierge share their opinions and feedback with the guests. Of course, we want all opinions to be shown in a positive light, so if you don’t like something, try to figure out a way to share something about it to help other guests make decisions.”
Liam nodded. “And nobody else will be trained on it?”
The Captain smiled. “Accelerated program benefits. You’ll get put into your own group for most of them, that’s just how the schedule works, when there are no other guests going out. Three of our sailboats are already out on the water with guests. No doubt they’re already enjoying the dolphins and turtles.”
“We’re going to do about half the time on each of the water excursions, and we’ll do the whole loop for the bike ride and the carriage tour.”
“And we man this ourselves?”
“Have you sailed before?” the Captain asked.
Liam nodded. “My uncle owned a sailboat. He taught me when I was younger.”
The Captain smiled. “That’s helpful to know. Excursions go much smoother when employees actually know what they’re doing. We do have a trained crew. Most of your time on an excursion will be making sure all the guests obey the rules and stay safe. We require life jackets to be worn by anyone under eighteen, and it must be next to all adults during the boat ride. Come on in, and I’ll show you where we store the life jackets and the extra water bottles before we head out.”
Chapter 17
Liam breathed in the salty sea air as the sailboat glided through the water. The ocean breeze filled his senses as the wind whipped around them blowing the sail and making a slight whirring sound. Some of his earliest memories were of being with his uncle on a small sailboat. He remembered tying knots in the ropes and learning the names of each one and their purpose.
He blinked, remembering where he was. They weren’t too far from the Jekyll Island shore, but the waves grew. He marveled that employees were encouraged to enjoy the same excursions that guests took, not for the training, as they had a crew to man each sailboat, but simply for the experience of it. It was plain genius to have other employees back up the recommendations of the concierge. The Summers Resorts were known for their helpful and friendly concierge services, but they couldn’t know everything themselves, and often the concierge staff was booked with appointments. Having another set of employees who could make recommendations and save the concierge some time was brilliant.
Callie came and stood next to him and his heart picked up speed, forgetting everything about business when she was near. Suddenly Liam felt very out of his element, wishing for about the millionth time around her that he could just be himself and wondering if she liked this version of himself that he was showing.
“It’s beautiful out here, isn’t it?” The wind caught her hair, blowing it away from her face.
“Very beautiful,” he said, not thinking about the ocean but her.
She cleared her throat. “So, what do you think of the resort’s excursions so far? It’s only your first one, but …” Her question trailed off, and he wanted to hear what she wasn’t saying.
He tried to turn his thoughts to actual work and business. The resort was smart in how they arranged all of the trainings—building employees’ trust in their product and services, helping everyone work toward a common goal of having an amazing experience. But all he could think about was the fact that his two-week requirement was quickly coming to a close, and he was going to miss spending time with Callie.
Liam still wasn’t sure that putting The Hideaway into the Summers Resort Line was the right move. But what were his other options aside from tearing the whole thing to the ground and using the land to build what he really wanted there? He gazed into the eyes of the woman he was falling for, realizing he’d be the cause of crushing her dreams if he took this place away from her. The closer they became, the harder it was to make the fiscally responsible choice.
She looked at him, her eyebrows raised in anticipation. She was expecting an answer from him. What was the question again? Something about the excursions. “I think I’ve underestimated this place. I guess I didn’t realize very much about it all when I first got here,” he said.
She tilted her head, looking confused. “You didn’t realize it before? Why come here then? Most people who work here have an idea about it ahead of time, it’s part of the draw. That, and the food.” She smiled.
How could he answer? He’d been vague before, but she deserved to know something more. He wouldn’t break the confidentiality agreement that the will stipulated, but he could answer her question. “It was my uncle’s idea to try a change of scenery for a little while. He … told me there was magic here, but didn’t specify what he meant. The only way I would be able to find out was by coming to work here myself. I’m still not sure what he meant.” He shrugged his shoulders, wishing he’d really understand before his time was up. Would he be letting his uncle down if he left without the answers?
“Magic,” she whispered. “That’s an interesting word to describe this place. I suppose it does hold magic. The ability to be so focused on creating an experience that other things in life work themselves out. In magical ways,” she muttered.
He waited for her to say more, but she only shook her head.
“Remind me to show you something when we get back to the resort.”
“Okay,” Liam said, turning his attention to the water. A pod of dolphins appeared together ahead of the boat. “Look at them all,” he said.
The dolphins clustered around the boat, and the Captain and crew threw fish to them.
Callie smiled. “This is one of my favorite parts. The dolphin tour is actually on the shrimp boats, because they can go out faster, but for some reason the dolphins will come around the sailboat.”
“It’s because we feed them,” one of the crew members said, handing a bucket of fish to Callie and Liam. “Go on, give it a try.”
Callie nodded her encouragement, and Liam began feeding the dolphins. She put a hand on his arm. “Can you throw one to that one farther out?” she asked.
Liam threw it farther, and the dolphin disappeared under the water, grabbing the chunk of fish. They spent the next ten minutes feeding the dolphins, before the crew turned the sailboat around and headed for the shore. They sat down at the front of the boat, watching the shore get closer.
Callie handed Liam a packed lunch. “Normally the guests will stay out here longer, and this is the food they eat.”
“Thanks, Callie,” he said, wishing that their time on the boat wasn’t coming to an end. He put his hand around the back of the bench they sat on and she leaned back against him, resting her head on his shoulder. Touching hands was definitely no longer sufficient for him. He wanted to feel this woman’s warmth next to him every day.
Chapter 18
After work, Callie walked to the employees’ beach. Her heart was thrumming so loudly in her chest, she wondered if it could be heard all the way to the water. Several employees were around, and she wasn’t sure if that made her feel more or less nervous. Liam had wanted to pick her brain about hypotheticals, and it was the least she could do after he had let her do the same thing last night about her purses. But Liam wanted to talk about what he’d do with a resort while they were in the actual resort. What would the other employees think? Or the supervisors? The best thing for it was to agree to finish the conversation as far away as possible from the prying ears of the other employees.
He stood up from his lounge chair when he saw her approaching. “Hi,” he said.
It was such a simple greeting, but in those two letters she felt suddenly shy. She let that thought roll around in her mind. He so easily distracted her and maybe that was an okay thing. “Hey.”
He looked around the beach. “Is this spot okay to finish our discussion?”
She smiled at the thoughtful question. “It’s great,” she said, sitting down in the lounge chair next to the one he had occupied before standing up. He settled himself into his chair again. “Much better than spreading rumors in the lounge with hypotheticals.”
He nodded. “Sorry about that. I didn’t even think that people could overhear our conversation and come to that conclusion. You mentioned that you wouldn’t get rid of this place; you’d want to save it,” he said.
“You’ve come up with the strangest hypothetical question. Unless.” She looked at him, wondering if she would be able to read the answer on his face. “Did you overhear something while you were working with Bud? Did Bud say that the hotel was going to be torn down?”
Liam blinked. “Would Bud know such a thing?”
Callie shrugged. “I don’t know, but he often works in areas of the hotel where the management works. Maybe he overheard something. I saw Bud talking to a couple of other employees at lunch. They all looked concerne
d.”
Liam shook his head. “I didn’t hear anything from Bud. We didn’t talk much. He just kept showing me how to fix the A/C, but he really just wanted to do it himself. Finally, he let me do a few rooms by myself, but I think that was hard for him.”
“That’s Bud for you. He’s good at what he does, and it’s hard for him to turn over his job to train others.”
“So why would you keep this place?”
“I think you’ve been spoiled working with the Summers Resorts. I’m still trying to figure out why you’d leave.” When he didn’t respond, she kept talking like she meant for the statement to be rhetorical instead of something he should clue her in to. It was fine if he didn’t open up as much as she had to him. She shouldn’t expect it. “Why would I keep the place? You mean besides the fact that it’s where I work and it’s my sole source of income right now?”
He nodded.
“I know it’s not the prettiest resort. From the outside, it’s dated, but from the inside—”
“It’s still dated,” he finished for her.
She shoved his shoulder playfully, enjoying the fireworks that ran up and down her arm from the touch. “I was going to say, it has some spirit. And personality. Yeah, the building itself may not be much, but that can always be changed in a remodel. But trying to duplicate the staff and the pools, and look at this view,” she said, sweeping her hands in front of her. “Did all of the Summers Resorts you worked at have this kind of view that employees could enjoy, not just the guests?”
