“What? Mess with this lobby?”
“It’s all about maximizing income opportunities. You know I have a supplier for builder-grade bathroom vanities and old hotel TV armoires. It would be pretty cost-effective.”
“Oh, and the carpet is terrible. I’ve got indoor outdoor in bulk. For a lake hotel, it’s a must,” Patrick said.
Aunt Emma, who’d mentioned historic architecture, didn’t disagree with his garish plan to put crappy carpet all over the place.
“Look, if you buy it instead of that Vegas schlock peddler, you can turn this into a commune for all I care!” Aunt Emma winked at Goldie.
“The price is right. I mean, if your niece fails to turn the town around, I suppose I can flip the hotel.”
Aunt Emma narrowed her eyes at the man. But it was clear he wanted the place, and he wanted to ruin it, in Goldie’s opinion.
“I’ll take it. If you can go down to three-fifty, I’ll take it.”
That was a low-ball offer, but Aunt Emma looked excited; she was going to take it. She clapped her hands.
Emma Ford was going to let this dufus put in indoor outdoor carpet, Wi-Fi, crappy fixtures, and who knows what else to take the charm out of the Two Lakes.
Goldie knew Libby and her aunt were cash strapped. She knew that she needed to sell. She also knew that Stirling Stone was the enemy. Aunt Emma and Libby would likely lose everything rather than sell to Stone. But in Goldie’s eyes, this was no solution.
She’d already said no to this idea of buying a hotel, but that was before she saw it again. That was before her career prospects had dwindled to jack and squat.
Goldie made a snap decision. She stepped forward. She would not allow this place to go into the hands of this man, this Mr. Patrick.
“Aunt Emma, I’ll give you four hundred thousand no contingencies, all cash. Today.”
“Honey, that’s quite nice. But Mr. Patrick was first in line, as it were.”
“I really see the potential here to earn income, make this a nice little motel spot. I hear you can rent rooms by the hour.” Mr. Patrick winked at Aunt Emma, and Goldie thought she might want to punch the weirdo in the nose.
“Ah, I think they call them no-tell motels,” Aunt Emma quipped, winking back.
“Aunt Emma, that’s—no! Okay, whatever. But I can assure you if you care about making this place lovely and bringing it up to the standard of Nora House, well, that’s me.”
“Oh, my, you sound like you have thought a lot about this. This is exciting. And boy, did my niece read you wrong.”
“No, she didn’t. I didn’t have plans. Oh heck, maybe I do. Whatever I do, they do not include indoor outdoor carpet. If you want to bring life back to Irish Hills, the Two Lakes Grove Hotel is important. It needs to be returned to the showpiece it once was.”
“And you want to do that?”
“I do unless you have a counter, Mr.—what was your name?”
“Tate, Patrick Tate, I mean Tate Patrick.” He looked confused by his own name for a moment. He shook his head.
“Unless you have a counter, Tate Patrick, I’ll get you the money today, and we have a deal.”
“I’ll match, four hundred.”
“Fine, make it an even five hundred thousand.” Goldie was not going to lose. She’d pay a million if she needed to.
“I won’t be able to match, not that fast.”
Aha! Goldie was victorious!
“I’ll arrange a transfer of funds. You’ll have them by the end of the day.”
Aunt Emma and Goldie said their goodbyes, and the good buy Tate Patrick thought he was going to get was now hers.
